Norman Barratt
Encyclopedia
Norman Barratt was a guitarist
and songwriter
, mostly known for his membership of the band Gravy Train and the Christian
groups the Alwyn Wall Band and the Barratt Band
.
with Newton's Theory.
acts in the early 1970s and their albums are all still available today.
. They spent a year living in Nashville
, Tennessee
, as a base for further touring, and then the band broke up in 1979.
.
Once more having control over his work, Barratt then formed the Barratt Band
, and in 1980 a new Christian record company, Chapel Lane, invited the band to record for them. In 1981 Playing in the City was released and became an instant hit around the world. Once again, he set out on a major tour, taking in the United States
, Europe and Scandinavia. During this period Barratt helped Wall to record his Invisible Warfare album (1981) and worked on the Friends on Tour album with the Barratt Band
, Alwyn Wall and Larry Norman
.
In 1983 the Barratt Band
finally released their second album, Voice
, Steve Camp
, Sheila Walsh
, Phil Keaggy
, Steve Taylor
, Debbie Boone, Cliff Richard
and Barry McGuire
.
In 1984, he and Dave Morris, the Barratt Band's keyboard player, released an album called Rock for all Ages, but Barratt had become disillusioned with the CCM industry and made a conscious decision to wind down his involvement with it. He concentrated on playing in the worship band at his local church, and on sessions work for artists such as Paul Young
and Andy Pratt. He also produced albums for bands such as Triumph, a Glasgow-based band, and Creed, a German heavy metal band.
In 1988, Kingsway records asked Barratt to record another Christian album, and the result was Barratt that came out in 1989. Although the album sold well in the U.S., it was short-lived in the UK after a warehouse fire in Carlisle destroyed stock, and along with the rest of the Kingsway catalogue it was sold to America.
In the late 1980s, Barratt became aware of problems with his eyesight, caused by developing cataracts in both eyes, and he was forced to reduce his workload considerably. During this lay-off period he says that he received a prophecy and a calling from God to start a new music production company. He therefore created Daval Music Limited, and put a recording studio together. He then produced further recordings by Alwyn Wall, the Jessy Dixon Roots Blues album, and helped to develop new Christian artists such as Sally Williamson and Jan Wall. He wrote and recorded a 35th anniversary Gravy Train reunion album and recorded songs for new Barratt Band and Alwyn Wall Band albums.
Barratt Band
Alwyn Wall Band
Norman Barratt and Dave Morris
Norman Barratt
Notable sessions
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, mostly known for his membership of the band Gravy Train and the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
groups the Alwyn Wall Band and the Barratt Band
Barratt Band
The Barratt Band was formed in 1980 by Norman Barratt, formerly of Gravy Train and the Alwyn Wall Band, and in its initial stages consisted of Barratt , Dave Morris , Tim Hatwell and Russ Caldwell . The band recorded their first album Playing in the City in 1981 at Chapel Lane Studios just outside...
.
Early life
After leaving school he became a trainee accountant but played guitar in local bands The Hunters (with whom he still sometimes plays) and Newton's Theory. After he had passed his accountancy exams, he became a professional musician and moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with Newton's Theory.
Gravy Train
The band Gravy Train was formed in 1969 and they signed a two-album deal with Vertigo Records. The two albums recorded were Gravy Train (1970) and Ballad of a Peaceful Man (1971). In 1973 the band signed with Dawn Records and they recorded two more albums, Second Birth (1973) and Staircase to the Day (1974). Although the band planned a fifth album, they split up soon afterwards. Nevertheless, they were one of the most respected progressive rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
acts in the early 1970s and their albums are all still available today.
Alwyn Wall Band
At the start of his recording career Barratt became a Christian, and with the breakup of Gravy Train he made the conscious decision to play with other Christian acts. Initially he worked with the band Mighty Flyers, contributing lead guitar to their second and third albums, Under New Management (1975) and What Kind of King (1975). In 1976 he joined Alwyn Wall, one half of the Malcolm & Alwyn duo, and they formed the Alwyn Wall Band. They signed a record deal with Word Records and released one LP, The Prize, in 1977. The band then embarked on a major tour of European and Scandinavian countries as support to Larry NormanLarry Norman
Larry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
. They spent a year living in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, as a base for further touring, and then the band broke up in 1979.
Barratt Band
Barratt still had a publishing contract with ATV Music, and whilst waiting for it to expire, so that he could record his own songs again, he spent the next two years doing studio session work. Acts he worked with included the Mandala Band and the Victor Brox Blues TrainVictor Brox
Victor Brox is a British blues musician from Manchester, England, widely believed to have been described by Jimi Hendrix and Tina Turner as their favourite white blues singer....
.
Once more having control over his work, Barratt then formed the Barratt Band
Barratt Band
The Barratt Band was formed in 1980 by Norman Barratt, formerly of Gravy Train and the Alwyn Wall Band, and in its initial stages consisted of Barratt , Dave Morris , Tim Hatwell and Russ Caldwell . The band recorded their first album Playing in the City in 1981 at Chapel Lane Studios just outside...
, and in 1980 a new Christian record company, Chapel Lane, invited the band to record for them. In 1981 Playing in the City was released and became an instant hit around the world. Once again, he set out on a major tour, taking in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe and Scandinavia. During this period Barratt helped Wall to record his Invisible Warfare album (1981) and worked on the Friends on Tour album with the Barratt Band
Barratt Band
The Barratt Band was formed in 1980 by Norman Barratt, formerly of Gravy Train and the Alwyn Wall Band, and in its initial stages consisted of Barratt , Dave Morris , Tim Hatwell and Russ Caldwell . The band recorded their first album Playing in the City in 1981 at Chapel Lane Studios just outside...
, Alwyn Wall and Larry Norman
Larry Norman
Larry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
.
In 1983 the Barratt Band
Barratt Band
The Barratt Band was formed in 1980 by Norman Barratt, formerly of Gravy Train and the Alwyn Wall Band, and in its initial stages consisted of Barratt , Dave Morris , Tim Hatwell and Russ Caldwell . The band recorded their first album Playing in the City in 1981 at Chapel Lane Studios just outside...
finally released their second album, Voice
Later career
Following the break-up of the Barratt Band, Norman set out on innumerable tours and recording sessions in both Europe and the United States, for artists such as Jessy DixonJessy Dixon
Jessy Dixon was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and pianist, with success among audiences across racial lines. He garnered seven Grammy nominations during his career....
, Steve Camp
Steve Camp
Steven J. Camp is a prominent American Dove Award and Grammy Award-nominated contemporary Christian music artist with an adult contemporary pop sound. He was very popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, where he has sold more than a million albums, who also has written or co-written 21 number one...
, Sheila Walsh
Sheila Walsh
Dr. Sheila Walsh, D.Min. is a Scottish-born contemporary Christian vocalist, songwriter, evangelist, author, inspirational speaker, and talk-show host.-Biography:...
, Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...
, Steve Taylor
Steve Taylor
Roland Stephen Taylor , is an American Christian singer, songwriter, record producer and film director.-Early life:Taylor, the eldest of three children, was born in Brawley, California. Taylor's father, Roland Taylor, was a Baptist minister. When Taylor was six years old, the family relocated to...
, Debbie Boone, Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
and Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
.
In 1984, he and Dave Morris, the Barratt Band's keyboard player, released an album called Rock for all Ages, but Barratt had become disillusioned with the CCM industry and made a conscious decision to wind down his involvement with it. He concentrated on playing in the worship band at his local church, and on sessions work for artists such as Paul Young
Paul Young (Sad Café)
Paul Young was an English singer and percussionist who worked with several successful bands. He initially came to prominence as the lead singer of chart band Sad Café, and later enjoyed further chart success sharing lead vocal duties with Paul Carrack in Mike + The Mechanics.-Career:Young was born...
and Andy Pratt. He also produced albums for bands such as Triumph, a Glasgow-based band, and Creed, a German heavy metal band.
In 1988, Kingsway records asked Barratt to record another Christian album, and the result was Barratt that came out in 1989. Although the album sold well in the U.S., it was short-lived in the UK after a warehouse fire in Carlisle destroyed stock, and along with the rest of the Kingsway catalogue it was sold to America.
In the late 1980s, Barratt became aware of problems with his eyesight, caused by developing cataracts in both eyes, and he was forced to reduce his workload considerably. During this lay-off period he says that he received a prophecy and a calling from God to start a new music production company. He therefore created Daval Music Limited, and put a recording studio together. He then produced further recordings by Alwyn Wall, the Jessy Dixon Roots Blues album, and helped to develop new Christian artists such as Sally Williamson and Jan Wall. He wrote and recorded a 35th anniversary Gravy Train reunion album and recorded songs for new Barratt Band and Alwyn Wall Band albums.
Discography
Gravy Train- Gravy Train (1970, Vertigo RecordsVertigo RecordsVertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
, 6360023) - (A Ballad of) A Peaceful Man (1971, Vertigo RecordsVertigo RecordsVertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
, 6360051) - Second Birth (1973, Dawn RecordsDawn RecordsDawn Records was a subsidiary of Pye Records. Active from 1970 to 1975, it was set up largely as Pye's 'underground and progressive' label, a rival of the EMI and Phonogram equivalents, Harvest and Vertigo....
, DNLS 3046) - Staircase to the Day (1974, Dawn RecordsDawn RecordsDawn Records was a subsidiary of Pye Records. Active from 1970 to 1975, it was set up largely as Pye's 'underground and progressive' label, a rival of the EMI and Phonogram equivalents, Harvest and Vertigo....
, DNLH 1)
Barratt Band
Barratt Band
The Barratt Band was formed in 1980 by Norman Barratt, formerly of Gravy Train and the Alwyn Wall Band, and in its initial stages consisted of Barratt , Dave Morris , Tim Hatwell and Russ Caldwell . The band recorded their first album Playing in the City in 1981 at Chapel Lane Studios just outside...
- Playing in the CityPlaying in the City-Side one:# "The Only One" # "Not the Way" # "Your Love" # "Playing in the CIty" # "Coming of the Man" -Side two:# "Bad Mean World"...
(1981, Chapel Lane, CLS8005) - Voice (1983, Chapel Lane, CLS8015)
Alwyn Wall Band
- The PrizeThe Prize (LP)The Prize is the title of the only studio LP released by the Alwyn Wall Band. A 1981 LP Invisible Warfare is often attributed to the band but was a solo album by Alwyn Wall with mostly different musicians. In fact, the musicians comprised the members of the Barratt Band...
(1977, Myrrh RecordsMyrrh RecordsMyrrh Records, also known as Myrrh Worship, is a Christian music record label. According to Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for Contemporary Christian music as the label that first published music by Barry McGuire, 2nd Chapter of...
, MYR1057) - Live in the USA (200?, Daval Music, DMCD1056)
Norman Barratt and Dave Morris
- Rock for all AgesRock for all AgesRock for All Ages is the title of the only album released by Norman Barratt and Dave Morris. Barratt and Morris were members of the Barratt Band and recorded this album following the band's breakup...
(1984, Chapel Lane, CLS8017)
Norman Barratt
- BarrattBarratt (LP)Barratt is the title of the only solo album released by Norman Barratt. Barratt was previously a member of the Alwyn Wall Band and the Barratt Band...
(1989, Edge Records, ECD7004)
Notable sessions
- Mighty Flyers, Under New Management (1975, Trust, 1)
- Mighty Flyers, What Kind of King (1976, Trust)
- Mandalaband, The Eye of Wendor, (1978, Chrysalis RecordsChrysalis RecordsChrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
, CHR1181) - John PantryJohn PantryJohn Pantry is a musician, singer, songwriter, audio engineer and record producer from Harrow, Middlesex, England. He's been active since the late 1960s...
, To Strangers and FriendsTo Strangers and FriendsTo Strangers and Friends is the title of the fourth solo album by the British singer-songwriter John Pantry.-Side one:# "Don't be Careless" # "Don't Touch" # "I Want to be Like You" # "Runours"...
(1980, Kingsway, KMR323) - Malcom Wild, Broken Chains (1980, Maranatha!, MM0069T)
- Steve Flashman, FreefallFreefall (LP)Freefall is the title of the first solo album by British Christian singer-songwriter Steve Flashman.-Side one:# "Hideout" # "Free Fall" # "You Are" # "Celebrities"...
(1980, Kingsway, KMR313) - Alwyn Wall, Invisible WarfareInvisible WarfareInvisible Warfare is the title of the first LP by Alwyn Wall. It is often attributed to the Alwyn Wall Band, but apart from guitarist Norman Barratt the musicians were all different. In fact they were mostly the members of the Barratt Band. Although Alwyn made brief appearances on recordings over...
(1981, Chapel Lane, CLS8009) - Steve Goddard, Waiting for GoddardWaiting for GoddardWaiting for Goddard is the title of the only album released by Steve Goddard. Backed by some of the top musicians in the Christian music business of the era, Goddard's strong melodies and provocative lyrics were a big hit. Nevertheless, his comments about the attitude displayed by members of the...
(1981, Kingsway, KMR310) - Adrian SnellAdrian SnellAdrian Snell is an English pianist, keyboard player, singer and composer.-Biography:Classically trained at the Leeds College of Music and with a music diploma to his name , Adrian's musical career spans twenty-five years. During this time he has produced six major concept works and thirteen solo...
, The VirginThe Virgin (LP)The Virgin is the title of the seventh solo album by British singer-songwriter Adrian Snell.-Side one:# "Light of the World - Part 1" # "Love in My Life" # "The Promise"...
(1981, Myrrh RecordsMyrrh RecordsMyrrh Records, also known as Myrrh Worship, is a Christian music record label. According to Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for Contemporary Christian music as the label that first published music by Barry McGuire, 2nd Chapter of...
, MYR1240) - Larry NormanLarry NormanLarry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
, Barking at the Ants (1981, Phydeaux, BoN-XOXO) - Sheila WalshSheila WalshDr. Sheila Walsh, D.Min. is a Scottish-born contemporary Christian vocalist, songwriter, evangelist, author, inspirational speaker, and talk-show host.-Biography:...
, Future EyesFuture EyesFuture Eyes is the title of the first solo album by the Scottish singer Sheila Walsh. Recorded in Spring 1981 at Chapel Lane Studios near Hereford, engineered and produced by Paul Cobbold. It was released in the UK in 1981 on Chapel Lane Records. Sparrow Records released a slightly modified version...
(1981, Chapel Lane, CLS8006) - Larry NormanLarry NormanLarry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
, Friends on Tour (1983, Chapel Lane, SRX1117) - Adrian SnellAdrian SnellAdrian Snell is an English pianist, keyboard player, singer and composer.-Biography:Classically trained at the Leeds College of Music and with a music diploma to his name , Adrian's musical career spans twenty-five years. During this time he has produced six major concept works and thirteen solo...
, Midnight AwakeMidnight AwakeMidnight Awake is the title of the eighth solo album by British singer-songwriter Adrian Snell.-Side one:# "Who's Laughing Now" # "Still Your Heart" # "Light on the Road"...
(1983, Marshalls, MRT1007) - Paul Young (Sad Cafe)Paul Young (Sad Café)Paul Young was an English singer and percussionist who worked with several successful bands. He initially came to prominence as the lead singer of chart band Sad Café, and later enjoyed further chart success sharing lead vocal duties with Paul Carrack in Mike + The Mechanics.-Career:Young was born...
and Claire Moore, Gotta Have You (In My Life) (1987) - Creed, Sign of Victory (1990, Pure Metal, SPCN790060)
- Alwyn Wall, Jesus Said, (2000, Daval Music, DMCD1055)
- Barry Lawton, Enough to go Around, (2001)
- Barry Lawton, Brown Lipstick (2003)
- Larry NormanLarry NormanLarry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
, Rock, Scissors Et Papier (2003, Solid Rock RecordsSolid Rock RecordsSolid Rock Records is the record label of Larry Norman. It was set up in 1975 to distribute his own work, after he had been released by Capitol Records. Solid Rock had a distribution deal with Word Records until 1980....
, SRD901) - Andy Thomson, Look Down on US, (200?, Daval Music, DMCD1052)
- Andy Caulfield, Work of Art (2000?, Daval Music, DMCD1053)
- Steve Camp, "It's A Dying World" (1984, Myrrh Records, SPCN 7-01-672306-2)