Allan Taylor (musician)

Allan Taylor (born 30 September 1945 in Brighton, England is a singer-songwriter who has written and performed music around the world for over 50 years. Allan's style of music is described in his biography : His songs are written from a lifetime of travelling; always the observer passing through, each song is a vignette of life, like a story told over a drink in a bar. He writes his songs in cafes, bars and hotel rooms throughout the world, songs for the lost and lonely, for the unsung heroes of life, for those marginalized by society – they all find a place in his songs. Each song has an integrity that tells you it comes from something real; characters come to life as people you know and places become as familiar as if you had been there.

Allan left school in 1961. Apprenticeship in Telecommunications until 1965. Inspired by Skiffle and the Beat Generation he started singing and playing guitar in the folk clubs of Brighton through his teenage years. He became a full time musician in 1966 and left Brighton to become part of the music scene first in London and then throughout Great Britain, playing all of the major folk clubs of the time (for example, the famous Troubadour Club in London). He toured with Fairport Convention throughout Britain and signed recording contract with United Artists Record Company in 1970. Recorded albums “Sometimes” and “The Lady” LP in London (1970/71). He then moved to New York and became part of the singer-songwriter scene in Greenwich Village, playing legendary clubs such as Gerde’s, The Gaslight, The Bitter End, The Mercer Arts Center and The Bottom Line. He toured throughout America and recorded “The American Album” in Nashville and Los Angeles (1973). He signed to Island Records as a songwriter 1974. In the mid-seventies he returned to live in UK, and then formed the band Cajun Moon. He then signed a recording contract with Chrysalis Records and made one LP. (Cajun Moon, 1976). In 1976 he ended the band and became a solo artist. He made three records with Black Crow/Rubber Records from 1978 to 1983 (“The Traveller”, winner of the Grand Prix du Disque de Montreaux for best European Record, “Roll on the Day” and “Circle ‘Round Again”). Formed T Records in 1980 and made “Win or Lose” – 1984, “Lines” 1988, “Out of Time” 1991, “So Long” 1993, “Faded Light” 1995, “The Alex Campbell Tribute Concert” 1997.

From 1980 to 1992 (whilst continuing as a singer-songwriter, recording/performing artist and working occasionally for the BBC presenting documentary programmes) he gained University degree for Bachelor of Arts (Leeds University), Master of Arts (Lancaster University) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. Ethnomusicology – The Queen’s University of Belfast).

In 1995 he started his relationship with Stockfisch Records (Northeim, Germany), making “Looking for You” 1996, “Colour to the Moon” 2001, “Hotels and Dreamers” 2003, “Old Friends New Roads”2007, “Leaving at Dawn” 2009, “Songs for the Road” 2010, “All Is One” 2013, “There was a Time” 2015.

To date there are more than 100 cover versions of his song “It’s Good to See You” in ten different languages and numerous cover versions of his other songs, also in many different languages.

Allan's song "Roll On the Day", developed from Allan's personal experience of visiting with an ex-coal miner and witnessing the effects on him of a lifetime of working in a coal mine.^[1]

"Allan Taylor is one of the more literate and sensitive of contemporary songwriters in terms of words and music, and one who is capable of exploring more complex subjects than most of his contemporaries… he should probably be regarded as potentially the most important songwriter of his generation." (Dr. Frederick Woods, The Oxford Book of Traditional Verse)

So with a career that spans the very beginnings of Beatnik and Skiffle in Brighton to the folk scene in Greenwich Village in New York and everything that has occurred in the musical world since, Allan brings a significant degree of experience and maturity to his music.^[2]

Allan Taylor continues to record and perform concerts throughout Europe. Currently resides in Leeds, England, UK.

Discography

• The Lady, 1971
• Sometimes, 1971
• The American Album, 1973
• Cajun Moon, 1976
• The Traveller, 1978
• Roll On The Day, 1980
• Circle Round Again, 1983
• Win Or Lose, 1984
• Lines, 1988
• Out Of Time, 1991
• So Long, 1993
• Faded Light, 1995
• Looking For You, 1996
• Alex Campbell Tribute Concert, 1997
• Colour To The Moon, 2000
• Out Of Time - Remastered, 2002
• Banjoman - Derroll Adams Tribute, 2002
• Hotels & Dreamers, 2003
• Old Friends - New Roads, 2007
• Leaving At Dawn, 2009
• In The Groove, 2010
• Songs For The Road, 2010
• Down The Years I Travelled..., 2012
• All Is One, 2013
• There Was A Time, 2016
• Behind The Mix, 2017

References

External links

• Allan Taylor Biography