Rick Allison
Encyclopedia
Rick Allison is a Belgian musician.
Of Irish and Russian descent, he became bilingual. His mother was an amateur pianist and his father had international music interests. At the age of 15, Allison started a band and gradually performed more and more gigs
in clubs around Brussels.
Rick Allison joined other groups and performed around Brussels, but wanted to become a songwriter. At this transition, he was inspired by various artists, such as: Jacques Brel
, Elton John
, Pink Floyd
, Billy Joel
and James Horner
, to name but a few. In 1985, success beckoned. He was hired at the Molière Studio of Brussels where his interaction with famous musicians developed rapidly and he was entrusted with the production, arranging and recording of many other, young, upcoming musicians.
. Aged 26, he returned to Brussels and became contracted there where his nights were spent in a hip piano bar in Le Crescendo. It was here he encountered Lara Fabian
singing "The Girl from Ipanema
". She was writing her first album and Rick opted to help her and they both went to Montreal
to do such.
that Rick and Lara made fame. Despite not finding a record label to sign to, they made their own and created Lara's first album which, after two years, became gold
, and subsequently platinum
. Lara's second album, Carpe Diem, was also produced by Rick and then released in 1994. In 1995, having gained Canadian citizenship, they created her third album, Pure; teaming up with other famous names, they composed many unforgettable songs that rapidly soared to triple platinum in Canada, Diamond in France, and became internationally acclaimed.
Between 2002 and 2003, Rick decided, after helping so many other musicians, that he would create his own album featuring some songs with those who he had duetted with and some of Lara's work. The album is called Je suis un autre. To this day, he still is surrounded by work in the music industry.
Of Irish and Russian descent, he became bilingual. His mother was an amateur pianist and his father had international music interests. At the age of 15, Allison started a band and gradually performed more and more gigs
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
in clubs around Brussels.
Rick Allison joined other groups and performed around Brussels, but wanted to become a songwriter. At this transition, he was inspired by various artists, such as: Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
and James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
, to name but a few. In 1985, success beckoned. He was hired at the Molière Studio of Brussels where his interaction with famous musicians developed rapidly and he was entrusted with the production, arranging and recording of many other, young, upcoming musicians.
The Lara Factor
In 1987, he was contracted to a studio that was running musical comedy for children in BercyBercy
Bercy is a neighborhood in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. It is the city's 47th administrative neighborhood. -History:Some of the oldest vestiges of human occupation in Paris were found on the territory of Bercy, dating from the late Neolithic . The name of Bercy, or Bercix, appeared for the...
. Aged 26, he returned to Brussels and became contracted there where his nights were spent in a hip piano bar in Le Crescendo. It was here he encountered Lara Fabian
Lara Fabian
Lara Fabian is a Belgian-Italian international singer who also holds Canadian citizenship. Multilingual, she sings in French, Italian and English....
singing "The Girl from Ipanema
The Girl from Ipanema
"Garota de Ipanema" is a well-known bossa nova song, a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s that won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were written later by Norman Gimbel.The...
". She was writing her first album and Rick opted to help her and they both went to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to do such.
Fame
It was in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
that Rick and Lara made fame. Despite not finding a record label to sign to, they made their own and created Lara's first album which, after two years, became gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, and subsequently platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
. Lara's second album, Carpe Diem, was also produced by Rick and then released in 1994. In 1995, having gained Canadian citizenship, they created her third album, Pure; teaming up with other famous names, they composed many unforgettable songs that rapidly soared to triple platinum in Canada, Diamond in France, and became internationally acclaimed.
Between 2002 and 2003, Rick decided, after helping so many other musicians, that he would create his own album featuring some songs with those who he had duetted with and some of Lara's work. The album is called Je suis un autre. To this day, he still is surrounded by work in the music industry.