Brian Protheroe -

Brian Protheroe is an English singer, keyboardist, and songwriter associated with the mid-seventies cabaret glam scene. He released the 1974–76 Chrysalis albums Pinball, Pick-Up, I/You, and the soundtrack to the fifties rock musical Leave Him to Heaven.

Early Life, Activities

Protheroe was born on June 16, 1944, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to an English mother and Welsh father. He sang in church choir as a tween and took piano lessons from age twelve. Inspired by Cliff Richard & The Shadows, he took up guitar and joined The Coasters, a local rock ‘n’ roll band. He also joined Studio Theatre, an amateur acting troupe.

At age nineteen, Protheroe joined Folk Blues Incorporated (FBI), which played the London folk circuit. In 1968, he joined a theatre company in Lincoln and befriended fellow musician–actor Martin Duncan, a subsequent songwriting collaborator. In 1973, Protheroe portrayed a singer in the play Death On Demand, which drew the attention of Chrysalis representatives.

Pinball

Brian Protheroe released his debut album, Pinball, in late 1974 on Chrysalis.

The album contains six Protheroe originals: “Goodbye Surprise,” “Monkey” and the single sides “Pinball,” “Money Love,” “Fly Now,” and “Clog Dancer.” He co-wrote the remaining tracks with Martin Duncan, who provided the “Kinotata” postludes.

Protheroe plays guitar, keyboard, and percussion on Pinball with unidentified backing apart from veteran English jazz saxophonist Tony Coe. The album features string and brass arrangements by Del Newman, who produced this and Brian’s two subsequent albums.

A1. “Clog Dancer” (3:52)
A2. “Money Love” (3:27)
A3. “Moon Over Malibu” (3:19)
A4. “Mickey Dollar Dreams” (3:27)
A5. “Goodbye Surprise” (2:32)
A6. “Pinball” (3:10)
A7. “Kinotata” (0:29)

B1. “Changing My Tune” (2:51)
B2. “Monkey” (3:39)
B3. “Lady Belladonna” (3:57)
B4. “Fly Now” (2:20)
B5. “Interview / Also In The Limelight” (5:44)
B6. “Wrong Kinotata” (0:43)

Sessions occurred in London at Nova Sound Studios, where Newman produced Pinball in sequence with titles by Longdancer, Scott Walker, and former Natural Acoustic Band singer Krysia Kocjan (later of Shot In the Dark). Richard Dodd engineered the aforementioned projects along with 1974 releases by Cockney Rebel (The Psychomodo) and ex-World of Oz guitarist David Kubinec.

Pinball appeared in an off-white sleeve with a line sketch of Protheroe by Dave Smith, a later caricature artist.

“Pinball” first appeared on July 19, 1974, as Protheroe’s debut single (b/w “Money Love”). He mimed it for the September 20 broadcast of the BBC music program Top of the Pops, which also featured in-studio numbers by Andy Fairweather Low (“Reggae Tune”), Cozy Powell (“Na Na Na”), Elton John (“The Bitch Is Back”), Leo Sayer (“Long Tall Glasses”), and Robert Wyatt (“I’m a Believer”).

“Pinball” reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart. In January 1975, Chrysalis lifted “Fly Now” as the album’s second single (b/w “Clog Dance”).

Pick-Up

Brian Protheroe released his second album, Pick-Up, in late 1975 on Chrysalis.

The album contains five Protheroe solo compositions: “Enjoy It,” “Cherry Pie,” “Soft Song,” “I Spy Lady,” and “Running Through the City.” He collaborated with lyricist Martin Duncan on the remaining six songs, including “Scobo Queen,” “Gertrude’s Garden Hospital,” and the title track.

Protheroe plays guitar, percussion, keyboards, and Moog synthesizer on Pick-Up, backed by Apollo 100/Seven Ages of Man bassist Brian Odgers and Blue Mink/Bullet drummer Barry Morgan.

Tenor saxist Tony Coe returns on “Scobo Queen” alongside clarinetists Anita Dobson and Gerry Wright. “Running Through the City” features Free/Back Street Crawler pianist John “Rabbit” Bundrick and ex-Cochise steel guitarist B.J. Cole. “Chase Chase Chase” has banjoist Keith Nelson and fiddler Jack Fallon.

A1. “Enjoy It” (4:19)
A2. “The Good Brand Band” (3:16)
A3. “Scobo Queen” (4:34)
A4. “Cherry Pie” (3:46)
A5. “Oh, Weeping Will” (4:07)
A6. “Gertrude’s Garden Hospital” (2:18)

B1. “Running Through the City” (3:46)
B2. “I Spy Lady” (3:38)
B3. “Chase Chase Chase” (2:38)
B4. “Soft Song” (3:28)
B5. “The Pick Up” (8:01)

Del Newman produced Pick-Up in sequence with 1975 albums by Asha Puthli, Catherine Howe, and Max Merritt & The Meteors. Richard Dodd engineered Pick-Up amid projects by Back Door, Bloodstone, and John Entwistle’s Ox. B.J. Cole played on concurrent albums by Clifford T. Ward, Fox, Limey, Olivia Newton-John, Uriah Heep, and The Walker Brothers.

Pick-Up shows a plain-clothed Protheroe under a marquee being ushered from a limo by a woman with a long mink scarf. The purported photographer, Ian MacDonald, was an NME editor and occasional lyricist whose brother, Bill MacCormick, played on Mainstream, the 1975 one-off by Quiet Sun, the jazz-rock group of Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera.

Chrysalis lifted “Running Through the City” as a September 1975 single with the non-album “Back Away,” a Protheroe lone-write. In January 1976, “The Good Brand Band” became the second Pick-Up single (b/w “Soft Song”).

I/You

Brian Protheroe released his third album, I/You, in 1976 on Chrysalis. Side A contains the Protheroe originals “Every Roman Knows” and “Evil Eye.” He co-wrote “Dancing on Black Ice” and the title track with Martin Duncan. “Under the Greenwood Tree” appropriates Shakespeare verses.

Side B contains four solo Protheroe compositions and “Lucille” a Little Richard cover that anticipates his involvement in the Leave Him to Heaven rock musical.

Protheroe plays piano, percussion, synthesizer, and occasional clavinet and acoustic guitar on I/You, backed on most tracks by Pick-Up bassist Brian Odgers, Chopyn drummer Simon Phillips, and Rumplestiltskin/Hungry Wolf guitarist Alan Parker.

“Under the Greenwood Tree” features Jethro Tull flutist Ian Anderson and percussionist Barriemore Barlow. “Never Join the Fire Brigade” has onetime Heaven trombonist David Horler and the chorus from the musical cast of Happy as a Sandbag. Tenor saxophonist Stan Saltzman plays on “Every Roman Knows” and “Battling Annie,” the latter with backing vocalist Stephanie de Sykes.

Protheroe recorded “Hotel” alone with Velvet Glove contrabassist Dave Olney. “Lucille” features the Leave Him to Heaven lineup.

A1. “I/You” (5:42)
A2. “Every Roman Knows” (3:28)
A3. “Evil Eye” (4:57)
A4. “Under the Greenwood Tree” (2:26) lifts words from the Act II, Scene V song in As You Like It, a 1599 pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare. The title inspired an 1872 novel by Victorian author Thomas Hardy. Donovan lifted the verses for a song on his 1968 double-album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden.
A5. “Dancing on Black Ice” (4:05)

B1. “Battling Annie” (6:36)
B2. “Never Join the Fire Brigade” (3:00)
B3. “Hotel” (3:26)
B4. “Lucille” (3:05)
B5. “The Face and I” (5:16)

Sessions took place in London at Marquee Studios, where Del Newman produced the album ahead of titles by Alfalpha, Maxine Nightingale, and The “O” Band. Richard Dodd engineered I/You amid projects with the Biddu Orchestra and Tina Charles.

Leave Him to Heaven

In late 1976, Brian Protheroe released Leave Him to Heaven, the soundtrack to a Fifties rock musical^> comprised of early rock ‘n’ roll and doo-wop covers.

A1. “Good Evening Friends” (0:27)
A2. “What a Wonderful World” (1:58)
A3. “The Great Pretender” (1:35)
A4. “Chantilly Lace” (1:35)
A5. “Gather Round Everybody” (0:51)
A6. “Teen Angel” (3:05)
A7. “W.I.L. Radio” (0:31)
A8. “Teenager In Love / Wooden Heart” (1:44)
A9. “Never Go Home Anymore” (3:05)
A10. “Walk Hand In Hand” (1:59)
A11. “My Prayer” (2:40)

B1. “Ten Commandments of Love” (3:27)
B2. “Garden of Eden” (1:00)
B3. “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” (1:32)
B4. “Tell Laura I Love Her” (3:10)
B5. “Alma Mater” (1:31)
B6. “Medley” (3:37)
— a. “Tutti Frutti”
— b. “Rock Around the Clock”
— c. “Rockin’ Robin”
— d. “Ready Teddy”
— e. “She’s Got It”
— f. “The Girl Can’t Help It”
— g. “Rock Around The Clock (Reprise)”
B7. “Lovers Never Say Goodbye” (2:40)
B8. “Rock and Roll Is Our Business” (1:45)
B9. “Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay” (1:20)

Music Director – Neil McArthur
Producer – Leo Lyons

Vocals – Brian Protheroe
Bass Guitar – Wally Carslaw
Drums – Roger Truth
Guitar – Lance Dowen
Piano – Neil McArthur
Saxophone – John Hudson

Discography: