Chris Farlowe

Chris Farlowe
Eckhard Henkel · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · source
Name	Chris Farlowe
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Henry Deighton
Birth date	13 October 1940
Birth place	Warley, Worcestershire, England
Genres	Rhythm and blues, pop, rock, soul
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1957–present
Labels	Immediate, Columbia, Parrot, Fontana
Associated acts	The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page, Small Faces, The Who, Jimi Hendrix

Chris Farlowe is an English singer known for a powerful R&B and soul-inflected voice that gained prominence in the 1960s. He achieved commercial success with a chart-topping single and maintained a long career as a vocalist, session singer, and live performer linked to prominent British rock and pop figures. His work intersects with producers, songwriters, and bands central to the British popular music scene of the 1960s and beyond.

Early life and influences

Born John Henry Deighton in Warley, Worcestershire, he grew up amid postwar Birmingham and London cultural exchanges that shaped British rhythm and blues tastes. Early influences included American R&B and soul artists such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Etta James, and BB King, whose records circulated in British record shops and on pirate radio stations like Radio Caroline. He was also exposed to skiffle and rock and roll through figures like Lonnie Donegan and Elvis Presley, while contemporaries and local scenes linked him to acts around Merseybeat, Mod clubs, and London rhythm and blues venues such as the Marquee Club.

Career beginnings and Rise to Fame

Farlowe began singing in the late 1950s and formed bands before adopting his stage name; early lineups performed in working men's clubs and on package tours with established performers. He made his first recordings in the early 1960s with labels connected to the burgeoning British pop industry, intersecting with producers and session musicians who also worked with Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Hollies, and The Kinks. His breakthrough came after signing to the Immediate Records label, founded by Andrew Loog Oldham, which positioned him within a roster that included Rod Stewart, PP Arnold, and songwriters connected to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The combination of a distinctive vocal delivery and material selected by leading songwriters and producers propelled him into national charts.

Major recordings and notable songs

His most famous single, a cover that reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, showcased his ability to reinterpret American soul material for British audiences. That hit sat among contemporaneous chart successes by acts such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, and Petula Clark. Other notable recordings include singles and album tracks produced and written by figures associated with Immediate Records and the wider 1960s songwriting network, linking him to the catalogs of Jimmy Page-era session players, and to songwriters whose work was recorded by Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Rod Stewart. His discography includes studio albums and singles released on labels such as Columbia, Fontana Records, and Parrot Records, featuring material ranging from soul standards to contemporary British compositions.

Collaborations and session work

Throughout his career he worked with a wide array of musicians and producers from the British and American rock and soul scenes. He sang on sessions alongside members of The Small Faces, and contributed vocals to projects involving Graham Gouldman-era songwriters, and session musicians linked to The Wrecking Crew-style studios. Collaborations extended to performing with artists associated with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, and he shared billing on concerts with headline acts such as The Who, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Jeff Beck. In later decades he recorded with musicians from the Bluesbreakers-influenced circuit and reunited onstage with peers from the British rhythm and blues movement.

Later career and live performances

Farlowe sustained a live performing career into the 21st century, appearing at festivals, club dates, and nostalgia tours alongside veterans from the 1960s British scene. He frequently performed with backing bands featuring veteran session players and members from The Small Faces and The Pretty Things lineages, and appeared at events celebrating the histories of Immediate Records, Marquee Club, and other landmark institutions. His festival appearances placed him on bills with artists drawn from the histories of Beatles-era contemporaries and later soul revivalists, while his continued touring showcased a repertoire spanning his 1960s hits, soul covers, and more recent recordings.

Musical style and legacy

Farlowe's voice is noted for its robust, emotive delivery rooted in American soul music and British rhythm and blues traditions; critics and historians compare his interpretive approach to that of Van Morrison, Rod Stewart, and Joe Cocker. His success demonstrated how British interpreters could reframe American R&B for a UK pop market, influencing peers and younger singers within the mod and soul revival scenes. His recordings and performances are documented across compilations and reissues that connect to broader narratives involving Immediate Records, the London session community, and the British R&B explosion. As a figure who bridged early rock and roll, soul, and the British rock establishment, his career remains a reference point in studies of 1960s popular music and ongoing revival movements.

Category:English singers Category:1940 births Category:Living people