Noel McCalla (born 5 November 1956, in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer. He was the lead vocalist for the rock group

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's " For You", "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night". After forming in 1971 and with a ...

from 1991 until 2009.

Early life

McCalla was born to Hubert Sylvester McCalla, a minister in a gospel church, and Elizabeth Victoria McCalla, in North London, England. There were eight children in the family. He attended Alexandra Park infant school in London, but was withdrawn at the age of nine, as the family moved to Coventry, where he attended Hillfarm Junior School and began studies at Barkers Butts Secondary School.

Musical career

In 1972, McCalla dropped out of school to work with a band called Black and White Notes. They gigged and eventually supported

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

. In 1972, McCalla left his family in Coventry to move to London. In 1976, he joined Moon, who were signed to Epic Records, releasing two albums, ''Too Close for Comfort'' and ''Turning the Tides'', and made 4 appearances on the John Peel Show. After splitting from the band, he stayed with Epic Records, releasing a solo album. In July 1979 Epic released a single from this album, "Ain't Nothing But a House Party", which is a disco-era reworking of

The Showstoppers The Showstoppers (alternatively the Show Stoppers) was a four-piece African-American vocal soul group formed in Philadelphia about 1967. They are best remembered for their 1967 hit, "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty", which was the debut release o ...

hit dating from 1967. The flipside of that single was "Midnight Girl", another track from the album. From 1977, he worked as a backing vocalist for

Sniff 'n' the Tears Sniff 'n' the Tears is a British rock band best known for their 1978 song "Driver's Seat", a moderate hit in many countries (including No. 15 on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100) (in September 1979). The band is led by singer/songwriter Pa ...

. During this time, he worked as a freelance musician and made a solo album ''Night Time Emotion'' in 1979 produced by

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African rock musician and composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a va ...

. He sang on

Mike Rutherford Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, co-founder of the rock band Genesis. Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks are the group's two continuous members. Initially servin ...

's first solo album '' Smallcreep's Day'' in 1979, and on

Morrissey–Mullen Morrissey–Mullen were a British jazz-funk/fusion group of the 1970s and 1980s. Considered one of the most popular jazz groups in London, the band was led by Dick Morrissey on tenor and soprano saxes and flute, and Jim Mullen on guitar, who joi ...

's 1985 '' This Must Be the Place''. By 1981, he had decided to form his own band, which he had named Contact. They played a series of gigs, producing a cassette. In 1993, the band's name changed to McCalla, and they released “Push and Pull”, followed by “Hot from the Smoke" in 1995. In 1986 he worked as a vocalist for the jazz-rock band Mezzoforte from Iceland, and sang several tracks on the album ''No Limits''.

Manfred Mann

McCalla, having done numerous studio sessions with them from 1980 became steadily involved with Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1990, featuring on the '' Plains Music'' album, and thereafter toured extensively with them, also featuring on the studio albums ''

Soft Vengeance ''Soft Vengeance'' is an album released in 1996 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Track listing #" Pleasure and Pain" (Mike Chapman, Holly Knight) – 5:39 #" Play with Fire" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 3:58 #" Nothing Ever Happens" ( Justi ...

'' and '' 2006'', and the live album '' Mann Alive''. He was replaced as the band's vocalist by Peter Cox, best known for his work as lead singer of Go West. From mid-2006, he collaborated with jazz band Dave Lewis 1Up.

Some Kinda Wonderful

McCalla is the featured vocalist alongside saxophonist Derek Nash in this band dedicated to performing the music of Stevie Wonder. Touring extensively in the UK the band is hugely popular and after a few years of clubs and pubs are now playing large theatres. An album, ''The Music of Stevie Wonder'', was released in 2021 on Jazzizit records.

''X-Factor''

His fifteen-year-old son Mali Michael-McCalla competed for a place in the fifth series of the UK talent competition ''

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...

'' in 2008, but did not progress to the Live Final stages.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCalla, Noel 1956 births Manfred Mann's Earth Band members Living people Black British rock musicians Morrissey–Mullen members British rock singers