Neil Christian
Encyclopedia
Neil Christian, born Christopher Tidmarsh (4 February 1943 – 4 January 2010) had a solo
hit single
in 1966, when "That's Nice" (written
by Miki Dallon
), reached Number 16 in the UK Singles Chart
. He remains, however, a one-hit wonder
. Follow-up singles
"Oops" and "Two at a Time" never reached the charts
. He was born Hoxton
, East London
.
rock and roll
bands
of the 1960s. They were signed to the Strike record label
.
In the early 1960s Jimmy Page
was asked to join The Crusaders. Page toured with Christian for approximately two years, and later played on several of his records
, including their November 1962 single, "The Road to Love" / "The Big Beat Drum", released on Columbia and produced by Joe Meek
under his RGM Sound imprint. At various times the band included Albert Lee
and Alex Dmochowski, who later joined Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation.
When most of the line-up left to join Lord Sutch's Savages in 1965, Christian took on members of Luton Band The Hustlers, including Mick Abrahams
, although in 1966 a touring version of The Crusaders was put together to promote the hit single "That's Nice" which consisted of Elmer Twitch
piano
(better known as Joe Brown); Tornado Evans drum
s; Ritchie Blackmore
guitar
; and Bibi Blange bass
. Further singles failed to reach the charts, however, and Christian moved to Germany, where he remained popular.
In 1971, Christian took on the management of Crushed Butler
who changed their name to Tiger. Christian got them into recording studio
s both in Wembley, and Tooting, London, where he produced them.
Everything Christian released between 1962 and 1968 has been reissued on the CD
compilation
, That's Nice, which also added several unreleased recordings from the same era.
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in 1966, when "That's Nice" (written
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...
by Miki Dallon
Miki Dallon
Miki Dallon is an English musician, songwriter and producer . Miki's first published work was a Mickie Most b-side called "That’s Alright" on which Miki also played piano. One success of his was the song "Take A Heart" by The Sorrows...
), reached Number 16 in the UK Singles Chart
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 selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. He remains, however, a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
. Follow-up singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Oops" and "Two at a Time" never reached the charts
Record chart
A 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....
. He was born Hoxton
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
, East London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
.
Career
Neil Christian and the Crusaders are one of the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
bands
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
of the 1960s. They were signed to the Strike record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
In the early 1960s Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
was asked to join The Crusaders. Page toured with Christian for approximately two years, and later played on several of his records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, including their November 1962 single, "The Road to Love" / "The Big Beat Drum", released on Columbia and produced by Joe Meek
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
under his RGM Sound imprint. At various times the band included Albert Lee
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
and Alex Dmochowski, who later joined Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation.
When most of the line-up left to join Lord Sutch's Savages in 1965, Christian took on members of Luton Band The Hustlers, including Mick Abrahams
Mick Abrahams
Michael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull. He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968, but conflicts between Abrahams and Ian Anderson over the musical direction of the band led Abrahams to leave once the album was finished...
, although in 1966 a touring version of The Crusaders was put together to promote the hit single "That's Nice" which consisted of Elmer Twitch
Joe Brown (singer)
Joe Brown, MBE is an English entertainer.He has worked as a rock and roll singer and guitarist for more than five decades. He was a stage and television performer in the late 1950s and a UK recording star in the early 1960s...
piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(better known as Joe Brown); Tornado Evans drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s; Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
; and Bibi Blange bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. Further singles failed to reach the charts, however, and Christian moved to Germany, where he remained popular.
In 1971, Christian took on the management of Crushed Butler
Crushed Butler
Crushed Butler were a British protopunk/hard rock band that existed between 1969 and 1971. According to 2008's Pretty Vacant: A History of UK Punk, the band "was, in many ways, Britain's first proto-punk band." Band members went on to form Darryl Read's Beat Existentialists The Gorillas and to...
who changed their name to Tiger. Christian got them into recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
s both in Wembley, and Tooting, London, where he produced them.
Everything Christian released between 1962 and 1968 has been reissued on the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, That's Nice, which also added several unreleased recordings from the same era.
Related session musicians
- Paul BrettPaul BrettPaul Brett is a classic rock guitarist. He played lead guitar with Strawbs, The Overlanders, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, The Velvet Opera, Tintern Abbey, Fire, Roy Harper, Al Stewart, Lonnie Donegan, and switched to twelve string guitar in the 1970s.His first...
- Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
- Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie BlackmoreRichard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
- Nicky HopkinsNicky HopkinsNicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....
- Albert LeeAlbert LeeAlbert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
- Mick AbrahamsMick AbrahamsMichael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull. He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968, but conflicts between Abrahams and Ian Anderson over the musical direction of the band led Abrahams to leave once the album was finished...
- Carlo LittleCarlo LittleCarlo Little was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of The Rolling Stones...
See also
- One-hit wonders in the UKOne-hit wonders in the UKThis is a list of artists who have achieved one #1 hit on the UK Singles Chart and no other entry whatsoever on the chart. The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles uses this definition of "one-hit wonder", which is a controversial term with various other proposed definitions.-Methodology:A hit is...
- List of performances on Top of the Pops
- Jacki BondJacki BondJacki Bond was a secretary working for Strike records in the mid 1960s who, though without previous musical experience, had a short recording career in 1965-7...
- Samantha JusteSamantha JusteSamantha Juste , became known on British television in the mid-1960s as the “disc girl” on the BBC’s Top of the Pops. In 1968 she married Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. Their daughter is the actress Ami Dolenz....
- Crushed ButlerCrushed ButlerCrushed Butler were a British protopunk/hard rock band that existed between 1969 and 1971. According to 2008's Pretty Vacant: A History of UK Punk, the band "was, in many ways, Britain's first proto-punk band." Band members went on to form Darryl Read's Beat Existentialists The Gorillas and to...
- Darryl ReadDarryl ReadDarryl Read is a British poet, singer, guitarist, drummer, actor, and writer. Read is among the forerunners of punk rock...
External links
- [ Allmusic.com - biography]
- Chartwatch.com - discography
- Carlo Little bands
- Ritchie Blackmore bands and sessions