Adrian Baker (born 18 January 1951,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) is an English

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Career

Baker made his debut as a singer on

Magnet Records Magnet Records was a British record label, started in 1973 by Michael Levy and Peter Shelley. It was acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m. Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Stevenson's Rocket, Matchbox, ...

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical m ...

in the United Kingdom. In 1975, he released his first

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''Into a Dream'' (MAG 5009). From that album, he had one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

with "

Sherry Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versi ...

" a cover of the Four Seasons hit on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

reachin
No. 10 in July 1975
and performed several times on the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' programme. As a

, Baker is known across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

for his

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

hit productions with the group

Liquid Gold Liquid Gold was an English disco group, from Brackley in Northamptonshire. Their biggest success came in 1980 with " Dance Yourself Dizzy", which peaked at number two on the UK chart. Career Liquid Gold was formed by Ray Knott and Ellie Hope, w ...

. He twice attempted to write the UK's entry for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, reaching the ''

A Song For Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

'' final in both 1979 and 1981. His first finalist song, "Miss Caroline Newley", performed by the band ''M Squad'' finished eleventh of the twelve songs in 1979. But in 1981, his song "Don't Panic", performed by Liquid Gold, finished in second place and had the rare distinction of being a losing song from the ''A Song For Europe'' contest to make the UK Singles Chart, reaching #42. Baker, with his band Gidea Park, recorded a version of the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

California Girls "California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album, '' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics detail an appreciation for women across the world and a wish ...

" for the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

, ''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

''. It was featured in the opening sequence with Bond snowboarding. It has been suggested that this teaser sequence helped initiate interest in

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

. In the United States, he is best known for being the

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

for the touring

band from 1981 to 1982, 1990 to 1993, and 1998 to 2004. Baker was also a member of The Four Seasons with

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

from 1994 to 1995. In 2006, Baker released his sixth solo album, ''Runaway Tracks''. On 19 March 2011, Baker was presented with the Key to the City of

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...

, for his efforts raising money for education. Baker was Honorary Chairman of the Hickory Rotary Club's Rotarian Idol Education Scholarship competition for the second consecutive year. He is currently touring with the band

Papa Doo Run Run Papa Doo Run Run is a band from Cupertino, California, United States, that specializes in covers of songs from the heyday of surf music in the 1960s. History Papa Doo Run Run (PDRR) was founded in 1965, as The Zu, then changed their name to Goo ...

Tenure

* The Pebbles – 1969–1971 * Playground – 1972–1975 * Adrian Baker Band – 1975–1980 * Gidea Park – 1981–1989 * The Beach Boys – 1981–1982 * The Beach Boys – 1990–1993 *

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The band evolved out of a previous band called The Four Lovers, with ...

– 1994–1995 * The Beach Boys – 1998–2004 *

– 2004–present * Baker Street – present

Discography

Albums

* ''Into a Dream'' (Magnet/Epic Records) MAG 5009 · 1975 * ''Gidea Park'' (Polo Records) POLP 102 · November 1981 (as Gidea Park) * ''ABCD'' (AKB Records) AKB-1 · 1991 * ''Everyone Needs Someone at Xmas'' (ABP Records) ABP 101 · 2003 * ''Surfer's Paradise'' (ABP Records) ABP 102 · 2004 * ''The Christmas Song EP'' (ABP Records) ABP 101-B · 2005 * ''Runaway Tracks'' (ABP Records) ABP 111 · 2006 * ''California Girls'' (ABP Records) ABP 300 · 2010 * ''Gold Medleys'' (ABP Records) ABP 301 · 2011 * ''Summer of Gold'' (ABP Records) ABP 302 · 2013

Singles

* "

" / "I Was Only Fooling" · Magnet Records (MAG 34) · July 1975 * "Candy Baby" / "Dance To It" · Magnet Records (MAG 41) · 1975 * "White Christmas" / "Leave Me Alone" · Magnet Records (Mag 52) · (as The Tonics) · December 1975 * "Don't Do It" / "So You Think You've Got It Made" · Magnet Records (MAG 61) · 9 April 1976 * "Why Haven't I Heard From You" / "Vibrations" · Magnet Records (MAG 77) · 22 October 1976 * "Adrian Baker E.P." (A-Side (1) "Work, Work, Work" (2) "Marlena" B-Side (1) "Look for a Miracle" (2) "Cry Baby Cry")· Magnet Records (Mag) 117 · 1978 * "I'll Keep You Satisfied" / "Feel Like Dancing" · MCA (MCA 395) · 1978 * "Beach Boy Gold" / "Lady Be Good" · Stone (Son 2162) · (as Gidea Park) · 1978 - AUS #49 * "The Boogie Romance" / "From Me To You" · Ariola (Aro 167) 1979 * "California Gold" / "Summer Girls" · Polo Records (POLO 12-5) (as Aero) · August 1980 * "High Time" / "High Time" (instrumental) · Polo Records (POLO 12-7) · April 1981 * "Beach Boy Gold" / "Lady Be Good" · Stone (Son) 2162. (as Gidea Park) · July 1981 (re-issued in picture sleeve) * "Don't Worry Baby" / "Happy Birthday Brian Wilson" · Polo Records (POLO 11) · August 1981 (withdrawn) * "Seasons of Gold" / "Lolita" · Polo Records (POLO 14) (as Gidea Park) · September 1981 (issued in picture sleeve) * "California Gold" / "Summer Girls" · Polo Records (POLO 16) · (as Gidea Park) · 1982 * "Lightning Strikes" / "Baby Come Back" · Polo Records (POLO 12–18) · (as Gidea Park) · January 1982 - - AUS #82 * "Beach Boy Gold Part II" / "Summer Girls" · Polo Records (POLO 12–22) · (as Gidea Park) · July 1982 * "Summertime City" / "American Girls" Mayfair Records (Fair 1) (as Mayfair) · 1984 (issued in picture sleeve) * "I Get Around" / "Lazin' On The Beach" / "Stay Healthy" · Polo Records (POLO 12MX1) · (as Gidea Park) · 1985 * "Sherry" / "Stay Healthy" · ABP Records (ABP 120-S) · 2006 * "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (CD single) · ABP Records (ABP 150) · 2007 * "God Only Knows" · ABP Records (ABP promo) · 2008 * "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" / "The Christmas Song" · ABP Records (ABP 151) · 2008 * "Missing Kissing You" / "Cherie" · ABP Records (ABP 152) · 2009 * "Jingle Bells" · ABP Records (ABP 124-S) · 2010 * "Jingle Bell Rock" · ABP Records · 2010 (Digital Release Only) * "Christmas Party Time" · ABP Records (ABP-X-101) · 2011 * "Poltergeist" · ABP Records (ABP-999) · 2014 * "Thriller" · ABP Records · 2017 (As Adrian Baker & Baker Street Band) (Digital Release Only) * "My Christmas Wish" · ABP Records · 2017 (Digital Release Only) * "Over The Top In Love" · ABP Records (ABP-303) · 2020

Other credits

* ''Mike & Dean – Christmas Party'' (Hit Bound Records) · 1983 (producer and vocals) *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

– '' Reg Strikes Back'' (Rocket Records – MCA) · 1988 "Since God Invented Girls" (w/ The Beach Boys on background vocals) * Various artists · '' Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin'' (Polydor) · 1991 "Crocodile Rock" (w/ The Beach Boys on vocals) *

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

· ''

Summer in Paradise ''Summer in Paradise'' is the twenty-seventh studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 3, 1992, by Brother Records. Produced by Terry Melcher, it is the only album not to feature any new contributions from Brian Wils ...

'' (Brother Records) · 1992 (vocals) * ''Salute to NASCAR'' (Tasco Marketing) · 1998 (producer and vocalist) *

· ''40th Anniversary DVD'' (Blue Pacific Records) BRP 2601 · 2006 (vocals and guitar) * Papa Doo Run Run · ''Soundtrack + 6'' (Blue Pacific Records) BRP 20071 · 2007 (vocals and guitar) * Chris Farmer · ''California Dreamin'' (CF Records) CFM 101 · 2008 (guitar) * Papa Doo Run Run · ''Greenifornia'' (Blue Pacific Records) BRP · 2008 (producer, vocals, guitar) * Adrian Baker with Baker Street and Friends · ''Biggest Little Christmas'' (ABP Records) ABP/BKS 0001 · 2009 (vocals, produced, arranged, multiple instruments) * The Beach Boys – '' That's Why God Made the Radio'' (2012) (vocals on "Daybreak Over The Ocean")

Chart information

Solo releases

* "Sherry" · #10 UK; on charts 8 weeks · 1975 * "Beach Boy Gold" · #11 UK; on charts 13 weeks · 1981 * "Seasons of Gold" · #28 UK; on charts 6 weeks · 1981 · #82 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (January 1982)

With Liquid Gold

''All songs produced, arranged, written, and engineered by Adrian Baker'' * "Anyway You Do It" · #41 UK; on charts 7 weeks · 1978 * "My Baby's Baby" · #45 US; on charts 6 weeks · 1978 * "Dance Yourself Dizzy" · #2 UK; on charts 14 weeks · 1980 * "Substitute" · #8 UK; on charts 9 weeks · 1980 * "The Night, The Wine and The Roses" · #32 UK; on charts 7 weeks · 1980 * ''Liquid Gold'' (album) · #34 UK; on charts 3 weeks · 1980 * "Don't Panic" · #42 UK; on charts 5 weeks · 1981

References

External links

Adrian Baker's official website

Baker Street Band

BeachBoysBand.net
website dedicated to the touring band and former band members
Papa Doo Run Run's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Adrian 1951 births Living people English record producers English male singers English songwriters The Beach Boys backing band members Singers from London Magnet Records artists