Will Birch (born 12 September 1948) is an
English music journalist,
songwriter,
record producer and
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
.
Career
Birch was born in
Southend-on-Sea,
Essex, England. He played
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
s in various
bands in the
Southend area before helping to form
The Kursaal Flyers in 1973. Featuring
singer Paul Shuttleworth, the Flyers developed a strong live reputation on London's
pub rock
Pub rock is a rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particu ...
scene in the mid-1970s, and released several
albums. Their biggest commercial success came with the uncharacteristic
Mike Batt produced
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
hit single
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
, "Little Does She Know", in 1976, which Birch co-wrote.
After The Kursaal Flyers disbanded in late 1977, Birch formed the
power pop group,
The Records
The Records were an English power pop band formed in 1978. They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite "Starry Eyes".
Music career
The Records formed out of the ashes of the Kursaal Flyers, a pub rock group featuring drumme ...
. They released the minor hit "Starry Eyes" in 1978, again co-written by Birch; toured the United States; and
recorded three albums. The Records split up in 1982.
Birch also co-wrote the song "A.1. on the Jukebox" with
Dave Edmunds
David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...
.
Meanwhile, Birch had already moved into production, working with the
Liverpool-based band,
Yachts, plus
Billy Bremner
William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Regarded as one of the game's great midfielders, he combined precision passing skills with tenacious tackling and physical stam ...
of
Rockpile,
Desmond Dekker,
The Long Ryders, and later
Dr. Feelgood.
In the 1990s he moved into
music journalism
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
, writing many articles on the British music scene and, in 2000, writing an acclaimed account of the 1970s pub rock scene, ''No Sleep Till Canvey Island''. He published a well-reviewed biography of
Ian Dury, ''Ian Dury: The Definitive Biography'' in January 2010.
References
External links
Will Birch website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birch, Will
1948 births
Living people
People from Southend-on-Sea
English rock drummers
English record producers
English male songwriters
English male writers