Alan "Wally" Waller or Wally Allen (born 9 April 1944) is an English bassist and producer. He was a member of

Pretty Things The Pretty Things were an English band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent. They took their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song "Pretty Thing". A pure rhythm and blues band in their early years, with several singles charting in the Unite ...

on their most famous records, ''

S.F. Sorrow ''S. F. Sorrow'' is the fourth album by the English rock band Pretty Things. Released in 1968, it is known as one of the first rock operas ever released. Based on a short story by singer Phil May, the album is structured as a song cycle tell ...

'' and ''

Parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

''.

Biography

Wally Waller was born Alan Edward Waller in

Barnehurst Barnehurst is a town and electoral ward in South East London within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north east of Bexleyheath, and 13.0 miles (20 km) east south-east of Charing Cross. It is separated from North Bexleyheath by the A220 ...

and grew up in neighbouring

Bexley Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Char ...

, then in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. In the early 1960s, Wally Waller played the

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

in Bern Elliott and the Fenmen, a five-piece

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

band. They had a Top 20 hit with their cover of "

Money (That's What I Want) "Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, dist ...

" in December 1963. When lead singer Bern Elliott left the band, early in 1964, the other four continued as The Fenmen, releasing a few singles with strong

vocal harmonies Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chora ...

, such as their cover of "

California Dreamin' "California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 196 ...

" in 1966. Their last single, "Rejected", featured one of the first songs penned by Waller as an A-side. In the early months of 1967, Wally Waller joined

as a bass player, replacing

John Stax John Stax (born John Edward Lee Fullagar, 6 April 1944, Crayford, Kent) is an English musician best known as original bassist for the Pretty Things. He adopted the name "Stax" because of his fondness for the music produced by Stax Records. He ...

. At the same time, Jon Povey, the Fenmen's drummer, became the Pretty Things' keyboardist. Waller was a childhood friend of lead singer Phil May, and they started writing songs together for the Things' third studio album, ''

Emotions Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

'', released in 1967. Their musical partnership continued on the next two albums, the rock opera ''

'' (1968) and its follow-up ''

'' (1970), the latter being entirely written by May and Waller. Wally Waller left the Pretty Things in 1971 to take up a job as producer for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

at the invitation of Norman Smith. As a producer, he worked for

Barclay James Harvest Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004), a ...

and

Marcus Hook Roll Band Marcus Hook Roll Band were an Australian rock group formed by Harry Vanda and George Young (rock musician), George Young. The group is noted for featuring Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young prior to forming AC/DC. Overview Marcus Hook Roll ...

, among others. He also produced the Pretty Things' '' Freeway Madness'' under the alias "Asa Jones", since the Things were then signed to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

He contributed the song "Over the Moon" to the album and sang lead, also singing backing vocals on several other songs. He rejoined the Pretty Things from 1978 to 1981 and from 1994 to 2008.

Discography

With Pretty Things

* ''

'' (1967) *''Electric Banana (Library album by Pretty Things)'' (1967) * ''More Electric Banana (Library album by Pretty Things)'' (1968) * ''

'' (1968) * ''Even More Electric Banana (Library album by Pretty Things'') (1969) * ''Philippe DeBarge (Pretty Things and Philippe Debarge - reissued as Rock St. Trop)'' (1969) * ''

'' (1970) * ''Hot Licks (Library album by Pretty Things)'' (1973) * ''Live 1978'' (1978) * '' Cross Talk'' (1980) * ''On Air'' (1982) * '' ... Rage Before Beauty'' (1999) * ''

Balboa Island Balboa Island is a harborside community in Newport Beach, California, accessible to the public via bridge, ferry and several public docks. The community is surrounded by a paved concrete boardwalk open to pedestrian traffic, designated as a pu ...

'' (2007) * ''Resurrection'' (1998) * ''BBC Sessions'' (2003) * ''40th Anniversary - Live in Brighton'' (2006) * ''Live at Rockpalast'' (2014) * ''Bouquets From a Cloudy Sky'' (2014) * ''Live at the BBC'' (2015)

As producer

, '' Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories'' (1971) *

, ''

Tales of Old Grand Daddy ''Tales of Old Grand-Daddy'' is the only studio album by Australian rock band Marcus Hook Roll Band, released in Australia in 1973. The album is noted for being the recording debut of future AC/DC founders Angus Young and Malcolm Young. Overview ...

'' (1973) * John Lees, ''A Major Fancy'' (1977)

Other participations

* Twink, ''

Think Pink In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

'' (1970) * ''Il Barritz (Several Pretty Things with Philippe DeBarge)'' (1975) * Phil May & the Fallen Angels, ''Phil May & the Fallen Angels'' (1978) * ''The Return of the Electric Banana (Library album by Phil May & the Fallen Angels)'' (1978) * ''Do It (Library album by the Wally Waller Band)'' (1978) * ''I Don't Feel Well (Library album by the Charlie Flake Band)'' (1981) * The Fenmen, ''Sunstroke'' (2010) * xPTs, ''Parachute Reborn'' (2012) * xPTs, ''Parachute Revisited'' (2021) (LP issue - Renaissance Records)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Wally 1941 births Living people People from the London Borough of Bexley English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English rock singers English record producers Pretty Things members