Arthur Brown (born Arthur Wilton Brown on 24 June 1942) is an English rock musician best known for his flamboyant theatrical performances, powerful wide-ranging operatic voice and his number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart and Canada, "Fire", in 1968. Brown has been lead singer of various groups, most notably The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Kingdom Come, followed by a varied solo career as well as associations with Hawkwind, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa. Though Brown has had limited commercial success, he has been a significant influence on a wide range of musicians and artists and due to his operatic vocal style, wild stage persona and concepts, he is considered a pioneer of shock rock and progressive rock and influential on heavy metal music. Following the success of the single "Fire", the press would often refer to Brown as "The God of Hellfire" in reference to the opening shouted line of the song, a moniker that exists to this day.
Fire - The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown @ TOTP 1968
Arthur Brown made his name in 1967 with his dramatic performances at the UFO club, a venue which Peel attended during his periods of shore leave from Radio London. Consequently, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown signed with Track Records and their first single, "Devil's Grip", was played on the first Radio One Top Gear, hosted by Peel and Pete Drummond. The band was also booked to do a session for the programme, but it went out on the second Top Gear, where Pete Drummond was the main host and Peel was absent.[1] The DJ also described an encounter with Brown in his Perfumed Garden column in the issue of International Times of January 19, 1968: "...the lunatic Arthur Brown, who recently endeared himself to me by carelessly extinguishing his carefully manicured cigarette on my stereo copy of the Sgt. Pepper LP..." Later that year, he reviewed the Crazy World's first LP in his International Times column:
Track 612 005 is the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and I think it has captured their elusive spirit very well. Hearing it brought back many good thoughts of last year's beautiful, futile, happy summer. Playing it often relieves pressures on the head, cures warts, makes the stars blink and removes housemaids' undergarments.[1]
When Brown was active with his projects (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Kingdom Come), Peel featured his music extensively in his programs. After The Crazy World of Arthur Brown broke up in 1969, Atomic Rooster, the band formed by Brown's accompanists, keyboard player Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer, also became Peel show regulars. Then, when Brown re-emerged in the early 1970s with Kingdom Come, sessions and Peel show plays followed, although this band was less commercially successful than Brown's earlier group. Due to the experimental nature of his body of work, some of Brown's music made it into Peel show setlists as late as the 1990s.
Sessions[]
Seven sessions. Two with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, four with Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come, one with Arthur Brown Band. "Fire Poem", "Fire!" and "Come and Buy" from session #2 officially released on the 2 CD edition of "The Crazy World of Arthur Brown" (Esoteric Recordings – ECLEC 22178, 2010). "Spirit of Joy"[2] and "Slow Rock" from session #5 officially available on the expanded edition of "Journey" (Castle Music – CMQCD 806, 2003)
↑Some of the track listed on BBC logs are actually working titles. "Van Gogh's Not Ear" is "Spirit of Joy". "Director General" and "Steer Out" are likely others.
