Adrian Baker (born 18 January 1951,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
) is an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
singer,
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
, and music producer.
Baker made his debut as a singer on
Magnet RecordsMagnet Records was a record label started in 1973 by Michael Levy and acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m.Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Adrian Baker, Silver Convention, Darts, Kissing the Pink, Bad Manners, D:Ream, David D'Or, and Chris Rea.Music...
/
Epic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label. It is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment. The label was founded in 1953 as a jazz label, and was eventually expanded to several genres of music. The label manages several imprints as well.-History:...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. In 1975, he released his first
soloIn music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
,
Into a Dream (MAG 5009). From that album, he had several
hitsA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
on the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
's
UK Music WeekUK Music Week was a United Kingdom-wide music chart which compiled the 40 UK greatest artists of all time.Most commercial radio stations took part in the week-long event from April 24 to May 1, 2006, which consisted of special programming and one networked programme on the last day from 3pm-7pm...
chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
and performed several times on the
BBC TelevisionBBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. The British Broadcasting Corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927.-History of BBC Television:...
's
Top of the PopsTop of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. It was traditionally shown every Thursday evening on BBC1, before being moved to Fridays in 1996, and then moved to Sundays on BBC...
programmeA television program , television programme , or television show is a segment of content broadcast on television...
. As a
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
, Baker is known across
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
for his
danceThis article is about dance music in general. You may also be looking for electronic dance music or dance-pop.Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
hit productions with the group
Liquid GoldLiquid Gold was an English disco group from Brackley in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom.Liquid Gold was formed by Ray Knott and Ellie Hope, who had met auditioning to play in Babe Ruth, a group that released four albums between 1972 and 1975. Both of them worked on the band's last album, Kid Stuff...
.
He twice attempted to write the UK's entry for the
Eurovision Song ContestThe Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
, reaching the
A Song For Europe final in both 1979 and 1981.
Adrian Baker (born 18 January 1951,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
) is an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
singer,
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
, and music producer.
Career
Baker made his debut as a singer on
Magnet RecordsMagnet Records was a record label started in 1973 by Michael Levy and acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m.Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Adrian Baker, Silver Convention, Darts, Kissing the Pink, Bad Manners, D:Ream, David D'Or, and Chris Rea.Music...
/
Epic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label. It is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment. The label was founded in 1953 as a jazz label, and was eventually expanded to several genres of music. The label manages several imprints as well.-History:...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. In 1975, he released his first
soloIn music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
,
Into a Dream (MAG 5009). From that album, he had several
hitsA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
on the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
's
UK Music WeekUK Music Week was a United Kingdom-wide music chart which compiled the 40 UK greatest artists of all time.Most commercial radio stations took part in the week-long event from April 24 to May 1, 2006, which consisted of special programming and one networked programme on the last day from 3pm-7pm...
chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
and performed several times on the
BBC TelevisionBBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. The British Broadcasting Corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927.-History of BBC Television:...
's
Top of the PopsTop of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. It was traditionally shown every Thursday evening on BBC1, before being moved to Fridays in 1996, and then moved to Sundays on BBC...
programmeA television program , television programme , or television show is a segment of content broadcast on television...
. As a
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
, Baker is known across
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
for his
danceThis article is about dance music in general. You may also be looking for electronic dance music or dance-pop.Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
hit productions with the group
Liquid GoldLiquid Gold was an English disco group from Brackley in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom.Liquid Gold was formed by Ray Knott and Ellie Hope, who had met auditioning to play in Babe Ruth, a group that released four albums between 1972 and 1975. Both of them worked on the band's last album, Kid Stuff...
.
He twice attempted to write the UK's entry for the
Eurovision Song ContestThe Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
, reaching the
A Song For Europe final in both 1979 and 1981. His first finalist song, "Miss Caroline Newley", performed by the band
M SquadM Squad is an American police drama television series that ran from 1957 to 1960 on NBC.-Synopsis:Set in Chicago, Illinois, it starred Lee Marvin as Detective Lieutenant Frank Ballinger, a member of "M Squad," a special unit of the Chicago Police, assisting other units in battling violent crime...
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 ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
, reaching Number 42.
In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he is best known for being the
falsettoThe term falsetto refers to 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 ligamentous edges of the vocal cords, in whole or in part...
voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary sound source...
for the touring Beach Boys band from 1981-1982, 1988-1993, and 1998-2004. Baker was also a member of
The Four SeasonsThe Four Seasons is an American pop and rock group, with a sound somewhat reminiscent of doo-wop, although they were not thought of as actually being a doo-wop group. By the mid 1960s, they had become an internationally famous rock-and-roll act...
with
Frankie ValliFrankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons....
from 1994-1995. In 2006, Baker released his sixth solo album,
Runaway Tracks. He is currently touring with the band
Papa Doo Run RunPapa Doo Run Run is a band from California, United States, that specializes in covers of songs from the heyday of “surf music” in the 1960s.-History:...
.
Tenure
- The Pebbles – 1969-1971
- Playground – 1972-1975
- Adrian Baker Band – 1975-1980
- The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band. Formed in 1961, the group gained popularity for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing, and romance...
– 1981-1983
- Gidea Park – 1984–1989
- The Beach Boys – 1989-1993
- Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons is an American pop and rock group, with a sound somewhat reminiscent of doo-wop, although they were not thought of as actually being a doo-wop group. By the mid 1960s, they had become an internationally famous rock-and-roll act...
– 1994-1995
- The Beach Boys – 1998-2004
- Papa Doo Run Run
Papa Doo Run Run is a band from California, United States, that specializes in covers of songs from the heyday of “surf music” in the 1960s.-History:...
– 2004-present
- Adrian Baker Band – 2004-present
- Baker Street Quartet – present
Solo releases
- Into a Dream (Magnet/Epic Records) MAG 5009 · 1975
- 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
With other artists
- Mike & Dean - Christmas Party (Hit Bound Records) · 1983 (producer and vocals)
- Elton John - Reg Strikes Back
Reg Strikes Back is the twenty-first studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1988. It was his self-proclaimed comeback album, and his own way of fighting back against bad press. The "Reg" in Reg Strikes Back refers to Elton John's birth name, Reginald Kenneth Dwight. This...
(Rocket Records - MCA) · 1988 "Since God Made Girls" (background vocals)
- Various artists · Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin is a 1991 tribute album consisting of interpretations of sixteen songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The title refers to the song on Elton John's album 21 at 33 "Two Rooms At The End of The World", to the duo's unusual...
(Polydor) · 1991 "Crocodile Rock" (w/ The Beach Boy on vocals)
- The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band. Formed in 1961, the group gained popularity for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing, and romance...
· Summer in ParadiseSummer in Paradise is The Beach Boys' twenty-fourth studio album and their first release of the 1990s. It was released in the United States in 1992 on Brother Records and in the United Kingdom in 1993 on EMI...
(Brother Records) · 1992 (vocals)
- Salute to NASCAR (Tasco Marketing) · 1998 (producer and vocalist)
- Papa Doo Run Run
Papa Doo Run Run is a band from California, United States, that specializes in covers of songs from the heyday of “surf music” in the 1960s.-History:...
· 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)
Singles
- "Sherry" / "I Was Only Fooling" · Magnet Records (MAG 34) · 1975 - UK
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
#10
- "Candy Baby" / "Dance To It" · Magnet Records (MAG 41) · 1975
- "Don't Do It" / "So You Think You've Got It Made" · Magnet Records (MAG 61) · 1976
- "Why Haven't I Heard From You" · Magnet Records (MAG 77) · 1976
- "I'll Keep You Satisfied" / "Feel Like Dancing" · MCA (MCA 1624) · 1978
- "High Time" / "High Time" (instrumental) · Polo Records (POLO 12-7) · 1980
- "Beach Boy Gold" · Polo Records · w/ Gidea Park · 1981
- "Seasons of Gold" · Polo Records · w/ Gidea Park · 1981
- "California Gold" · Polo Records · w/ Gidea Park · 1982
- "Lightning Strikes" / "Baby Come Back" · Polo Records (POLO 18) · w/ Gidea Park · 1982
- "Summer Girls" / "Beach Boy Gold Part II" · Polo Records (POLO 22) · w/ Gidea Park · 1982
- "I Get Around" / "Lazin' on the Beach" / "Stay Healthy" · Polo Records (POLO 12MX1 · w/ 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
Solo releases
- "Sherry" · #10 in UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
; on charts 8 weeks · 1975
- "Beach Boy Gold" · #11 in UK Singles Chart; on charts 13 weeks · 1981
- "Seasons of Gold" · #28 in UK Singles Chart; on charts 6 weeks · 1981
- #82 on Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
· January 1982
- "California Gold" · #47 in UK Music Week; on charts 4 weeks · 1982
With Liquid Gold
All songs produced, arranged, written, and engineered by Adrian Baker
- "Anyway You Do It" · #41 on UK Music Week; on charts 7 weeks · 1978
- "My Baby's Baby" · #45 on Billboard Hot 100; on charts 6 weeks · 1978
- "Dance Yourself Dizzy" · #2 on UK Music Week; on charts 14 weeks · 1980
- "Substitute" · #8 on UK Music Week; on charts 9 weeks · 1980
- "Don't Panic" · #42 on UK Music Week; on charts 5 weeks · 1981
- "Where Did We Go Wrong" · #56 on UK Music Week; on charts 4 weeks · 1982
External links