Eric Victor Burdon
(born 11 May 1941, Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne) is best known as a founding member and vocalist of The Animals, a rock band formed in Newcastle, England, his multi-racial funk rock band War [1] and his aggressive stage performance.
Burdon was lead singer of The Animals, formed during 1962 in Newcastle, England. They combined electric blues with rock and were one of the leading bands of the "British Invasion". Along with The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, and The Kinks, the group helped to introduce the world to British music and fashion. Burdon's powerful voice can be heard in The Animals singles "The House of the Rising Sun", "I'm Crying", "Boom Boom", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Bring It On Home to Me", "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "See See Rider".
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ERIC BURDON TICKETS
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Eric Burdon and The Animals
By late 1966 the other original members of
The Animals, including
keyboardist Alan Price, had left the band. Burdon and drummer
Barry Jenkins reformed the group renaming it
Eric Burdon and The Animals
. This more
psychedelic incarnation of the group featured future
Family member
John Weider and was sometimes called
Eric Burdon and the New Animals
. Keyboardist
Zoot Money joined them during 1968 until they split up in 1969. This group's hits included the ballad "
San Franciscan Nights", the
grunge–
heavy metal-pioneering "
When I Was Young", "
Monterey", the anti-
Vietnam anthem "
Sky Pilot" and the progressive cover of "
Ring of Fire". In June 2003, he formed another
Eric Burdon and The Animals
band, which included keyboardist Martin Gerschwitz, bassist
Dave Meros, guitarist Dean Restum, and drummer Bernie Pershey until 2005 when they disbanded. During 2008 Burdon toured again as
Eric Burdon and The Animals
with a variable lineup of backing musicians.
[2]
Eric Burdon and The New Animals
Although the band Burdon formed in early 1967 was sometimes called
Eric Burdon and The New Animals,
it wasn't until 1998 that the name
Eric Burdon and The New Animals
was officially adopted. The 1998 band had a lineup of bassist
Dave Meros, guitarist Dean Restum , drummer
Aynsley Dunbar and keyboard guitarist
Neal Morse. They recorded
Live At The Coach House
on 17 October 1998, which was released on
video and
DVD during December that year. In 1999 they released
The Official Live Bootleg #2
and in August 2000
The Official Live Bootleg 2000
, with Martin Gerschwitz on keyboards.
The Animals reunions
In 1975 the original
Animals reunited and recorded an album called
Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted
which was eventually released during 1977 and was much overlooked, due to the dawning of the
punk era. In May 1983 The Animals reunited, with their complete and original lineup and the album
Ark
was released on 16 June 1983, along with the singles "
The Night" and "Love Is For All Time". A world tour followed and the concert at
Wembley Arena London recorded on December 31, 1983 was released in 1984 entitled
Rip It To Shreds
. Their concert at the Royal Oak Theatre in April 1984 was released in 2008 entitled
Last Live Show
; the band members on this occasion were augmented by
Zoot Money, Nippy Noya,
Steve Gregory and
Steve Grant. The original Animals broke up for the last time at the end of 1984.
"The Animals": Burdon versus Steel
On 13 December 2008, Burdon lost a three-year legal battle to win the rights of the name "The Animals" in the UK. Drummer John Steel now owns the rights to the name "The Animals" in the UK only. Eric Burdon still tours the world with his band, as Eric Burdon and the Animals, but is at least temporarily prevented from using the name "The Animals" in the land of his birth and rise to fame, while the case is under appeal. John Steel was a member of the band during its early heyday and left before the band split up in 1966. Steel later played in various reunion versions of the band with Burdon.
[3]
1969–1976: Eric Burdon & War
During 1969, while living in
San Francisco, Burdon joined forces with
Californian
funk rock band
War. The resulting
album was entitled
Eric Burdon Declares "War"
which produced the singles "
Spill the Wine" and "
Tobacco Road". A
two-disc set entitled
The Black-Man's Burdon
, was released later in September 1970. The singles from the double album, "
Paint it Black" and "
They Can't Take Away Our Music", had moderate success during 1971. During this time Burdon collapsed on the stage during a concert, caused by an
asthma attack, and War continued the tour without him.
In 1976 a
compilation album,
Love Is All Around
, was released by
Rhino Records which had recordings of Eric Burdon with War and a live version of "Paint it Black" and a jam session called "A Day In The Life".
War reunion
Eric Burdon and
War were reunited for the first time in 37 years, to perform a
concert at the
Royal Albert Hall London on 21 April 2008.
[4]. The concert coincided with a major reissue campaign by Rhino Records (UK), who released all the War albums including
Eric Burdon Declares "War"
and
The Black-Man's Burdon
.
1971–1979: Solo career
Burdon began a solo career in 1971 with
The Eric Burdon Band, continuing with a
hard rock–
heavy metal–
funk style. In August 1971 he recorded the album
Guilty!
which featured the
blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon, and also Ike White of the
San Quentin Prison Band. In 1973 the band performed at the
Reading Festival and in 1974 they travelled to New York. At the end of 1974 the band released the album
Sun Secrets
and this was followed by the album
Stop
in 1975. Burdon moved to
Germany in 1977 and recorded the album
Survivor
with a lineup including guitarist
Alexis Korner and
keyboardist Zoot Money; the album also had a lineup of four guitarists and three keyboard players and is known for its interesting
album cover, which depicts Burdon screaming. In May 1978 he recorded the album
Darkness Darkness
at the Roundwood House in
County Laois,
Ireland, using
Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio and featuring guitarist and vocalist
Bobby Tench of
The Jeff Beck Group, who had left
Streetwalkers a few months before. The album was eventually released in 1980.
[5]. During January 1979 Burdon changed his band for a tour taking in
Hamburg,
Germany and
Holland.
1979–1981: The Fire Department
During March 1979 he played a concert in
Cologne and changed the band's name to "Eric Burdon's Fire Department", whose lineup included
backing vocalist Jackie Carter of
Silver Convention, Bertram Engel of
Udo Lindenbergs "Panik Orchester" and Jean-Jaques Kravetz. In mid 1980 they recorded the album
The Last Drive
. "Eric Burdon's Fire Department" toured
Europe with this lineup and Paul Millins and
Louisiana Red made special appearances in
Spain and
Italy. By December 1980 the band had broken up.
1981–1982: The film Comeback
In April 1981, Christine Buschmann began to
film Comeback
with Burdon as the star. They created a new "Eric Burdon Band" whose lineup included
Louisiana Red, Tony Braunagle,
John Sterling and
Snuffy Walden. This band recorded live tracks in
Los Angeles. They also recorded in
Berlin with another lineup, the only remaining member being John Sterling. In September 1981 the final scenes of
Comeback
were shot in the Berlin Metropole and Burdon and his band continued to tour through
Australia and
North America. A studio album titled
Comeback
was released in 1982. The 1983 album
Power Company
also included songs recorded during the
Comeback
project.
1982–1990: The Eric Burdon Band and autobiography
On 28 August 1982 "The Eric Burdon Band" including Red Young (keyboards) performed at the
Rockpalast Open Air Concert in
Lorelei,
Germany. Following this Burdon toured heavily with his solo project from March 1984 to March 1985, taking in UK, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Canada and Australia. In 1986 Burdon published his
autobiography entitled
I Used To Be An Animal, But I'm Alright Now
. In 1988 he put together a band with 15 musicians including Andrew Giddings - keyboards, Steve Stroud - bass, Adrian Sheppard - drums, Jamie Moses - guitar and four backing vocalists to record the album
I Used To Be An Animal
in
Malibu, in the
United States. In 1990 Eric Burdon's
cover version of "
Sixteen Tons" was used for the film
Joe Versus the Volcano
. The song, which played at the beginning of the film, was also released as a single. He also recorded the singles "We Gotta Get out of this Place" with
Katrina & The Waves and "No Man's Land" with
Tony Carey and
Anne Haigis. Later in 1990 he had a small lineup of an
Eric Burdon Band
featuring Jimmy Zavala (sax and harmonica),
Dave Meros(bass), Jeff Naideau (keyboards), Thom Mooney (drums) and John Sterling (guitar) before he began a tour with
The Doors guitarist
Robbie Krieger and they appeared at a concert from
Ventura Beach, California, which was released as a
DVD on 20 June 2008.
1991–1994: With Brian Auger
In 1991, Burdon and
Brian Auger formed the "Eric Burdon - Brian Auger Band" with the following lineup: Eric Burdon - vocals, Brian Auger - keyboards, vocals,
Dave Meros - bass, vocals,
Don Kirkpatrick - guitar, vocals, and
Paul Crowder - drums, vocals. By 1992, Larry Wilkins replaced Kirkpatrick and Karma Auger (Brian's son) replaced Crowder and in 1993 they added Richard Reguria (percussion). The
live album Access All Areas
was then released. In 1994 the "Eric Burdon - Brian Auger Band" disbanded. Burdon then formed the "Eric Burdon's i Band". The lineup included Larry Wilkins, Dean Restum (guitar), Dave Meros (bass) and Mark Craney (drums).
1995–2000: Bon Jovi and Lost Within the Halls of Fame
In 1995, Burdon made a guest appearance with
Bon Jovi, singing "
It's My Life"/"
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" medley at the Hall of Fame. He also released the album
Lost Within The Halls Of Fame
, with past tracks and re-recordings of some songs from
I Used To Be An Animal
. In October 1996,
Aynsley Dunbar replaced Craney on drums.
The Official Live Bootleg
was recorded in 1997 and in May that year Larry Wilkins died of
cancer. He also released the compilations
Soldier Of Fortune
and
I'm Ready
which featured recordings from the 1970s and 1980s.
In 2000 he recorded the song "
Power to the People" together with
Ringo Starr and
Billy Preston for the motion picture
Steal This Movie!
.
2001–2002: Rock Walk of Fame
On 11 May 2001, The Animals were inducted into the Rock Walk Of Fame on Burdon's 60th birthday. On 3 March 2002, the live album
Live in Seattle
was recorded. Ex-War member
Lee Oskar made a guest appearance on the album.
Pyx Lux, My Secret Life
and Athens Traffic Live
2003–2005
In 2003 he made a guest appearance on the album
Joyous in the City of Lunatics
(?a???µe??? st?? p??? t?? t?e????) by Greece's top rock band
Pyx Lux (??? ?a?), singing lead vocal on "Someone Wrote 'Save me' On a Wall".
On 13 April 2004 he released a "comeback" album,
My Secret Life
, which was his first album with new recordings for 16 years. When
John Lee Hooker died in 2001, Burdon had written the song "Can't Kill the Boogieman" the co-writers of the songs, on the album, were Tony Braunagel and
Marcelo Nova. In 2005 they released a live album,
Athens Traffic Live
, with special DVD bonus material and a bonus studio track and disbanded in November 2005. He began a short touring as "The Blues Knights".
2006–2007: Soul of a Man and Hippiefest
On 27 January 2006 he released his blues–R&B album
Soul of a Man
. This album was dedicated to
Ray Charles and
John Lee Hooker. The cover of the album was a picture, which was sent to Burdon a few years before. Burdon then formed a new band, with the following members:
Red Young (keyboards), Paula O'Rourke (bass),
Eric McFadden (guitar) and
Wally Ingram (drums). They also performed at the
Lugano Festival and in 2007 he toured as the headlining act of the "Hippiefest" lineup, produced and hosted by
Country Joe McDonald.
2008–present
Bo Diddley
On 7 June 2008, Burdon performed at the memorial service of
Bo Diddley in
Gainesville,
Florida.
[6] During July and August 2008, Burdon appeared as the headline act of the "Hippiefest". He also recorded the single "
For What It's Worth" with
Carl Carlton and
Max Buskohl.
Rolling Stone Magazine
On 12 November 2008,
Rolling Stone
ranked Eric Burdon #57 on the list of the 100 Greatest Singers of all Time.
New band and tour
On 22 January 2009, he first performed with his new band, including keyboardist
Red Young, guitarist Rick Hirsch, bass player Jack Bryant and drummer Ed Freiland. For a few months he was sick and did not perform except in the
United States. On 26 June, he began his European tour. The band includes Red Young (keyboards), Billy Watts (guitar), Terry Wilson (bass), Brannen Temple (drums) and Georgia Dagaki (
cretan lyra).
A tour with
War and
Chester Bennington, the lead singer from
Linkin Park, is scheduled for late 2009.2009
Album discography
The Animals
- 1964: The Animals
- 1965: Animals Tracks
- 1965: In the Beginning
(Live)
- 1965: The Animals on Tour
- 1966: Animalisms
- 1966: The Best of The Animals
(Compilation)
- 1966: Animalization
- 1966: Animalism
- 1967: Eric Is Here
- 1973: The Animals with Sonny Boy Williamson
(Live)
- 1973: Best of The Animals
(Compilation)
- 1977: Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted
- 1983: Ark
- 1984: Rip it to Shreds: Greatest Hits Alive
(Live)
- 1988: The Best of The Animals
(Compilation)
- 1990: The Complete Animals
(Compilation)
- 1997: The Best of The Animals
(Compilation)
- 2008: Last Live Show
(Live)
Eric Burdon and The (New) Animals
- 1967: Winds of Change
- 1967: The Best of Eric Burdon & The Animals, Vol. II
(Compilation)
- 1968: The Twain Shall Meet
- 1968: Every One of Us
- 1968: Love Is
- 1969: The Greatest Hits of Eric Burdon and The Animals
(Compilation)
- 1990: Roadrunners
(Live)
- 1991: ''The Greatest Hits of Eric Burdon & The Animals 1966–1968 (Compilation)
- 2003: ''Absolute Animals 1964–1968 (Compilation)
- 2004: ''Gratefully Dead 1964–1968 (Compilation)
- 2004: Retrospective
(Compilation)
Eric Burdon and War
- 1970: Eric Burdon Declares "War"
- 1970: The Black-Man's Burdon
- 1976: Love Is All Around
- 1996: The Best of Eric Burdon & War
(Compilation)
The Eric Burdon Band and Solo
- 1967: Eric Is Here
(as Eric Burdon & The Animals)
- 1971: Guilty
- 1974: Sun Secrets
(The Eric Burdon Band)
- 1975: Stop
(The Eric Burdon Band)
- 1977: Survivor
- 1980: Darkness Darkness
- 1980: The Last Drive
- 1982: Comeback
- 1983: Power Company
- 1988: I Used To Be An Animal
- 1988: Wicked Man
(Compilation)
- 1992: That's Live
(Live, from 1985)
- 1993: Access All Areas
- 1994: Sings the Animals' Greatest Hits
- 1996: Eric Burdon Live
- 1997: Soldier of Fortune
(Compilation)
- 1998: Live at the Roxy
(Live)
- 1999: Absolutely the Best
(Compilation)
- 2000: The Official Live Bootleg #1
(Live)
- 2000: The Official Live Bootleg #2
(Live)
- 2001: The Official Live Bootleg 2000
(Live)
- 2001: The Night
(Compilation)
- 2004: My Secret Life
- 2005: Athens Traffic Live
(Live)
- 2006: Soul of a Man
- 2006: Wild & Wicked
(Compilation)
- 2008: Mirage
(Unreleased Project)
- 2008: Ultimate Rarities Vol. 1
(Unreleased Songs)
- 2008: Ultimate Rarities Vol. 2
(Unreleased Songs)
Filmography
- 1964: Get yourself a College Girl
- 1964: Whole Lotta Shakin
- 1965: Pop Gear
- 1965: The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood
- 1967: It's a Bikini World
- 1967: Tonite Let's Make All Love in London
- 1968: All my Loving
- 1968: Monterey Pop
- 1973: Mirage (never filmed)
- 1979: 11th Victim
- 1980: Gibbi - Westgermany
- 1982: Comeback
- 1991: The Doors
- 1999: Snow on New Year's Eve
- 2001: Plaster Caster
- 2001: Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me
- 2007: The Blue Hour
- 2008: Nowhere Now: The Ballad of Joshua Tree
Concert films
- 1964: Live at Wembley
- 1973: Rock Concert
(TV performance)
- 1976: Live at Rockpalast
- 1982: Live at Rockpalast, Loreley
(bootleg)
- 1991: Live in Baden Baden
(bootleg)
- 1991: Live in Tokyo
(bootleg)
- 1991: Finally... Eric Burdon & The Animals
(documentary)
- 1996: TVE
(TV-performance)
- 1999: Live at the Coach House
- 2000: The Eric Burdon Band Live
- 2001: The British Invasion Returns
(various artists)
- 2003: Yes, You Can Go Home
- 2004: Live at Rockpalast
(TV broadcast)
- 2004: Live at San Sebastian
- 2006: Live at the Lugano Jazz Festival
- 2008: Live at the Ventura Beach California
(with Robby Krieger and Friends)
Bootlegs
- Live at Olympia Stadium '64 '65 '66, Paris
- The Deluxe BBC Files
- Live at the Marquee Club 1967
- Ultimate Live Rarities 1965 - 68 (3CD set)
- Live at Ronnie Scott's 17.09 - 1970
- Live at Offenbach, January 1971, Germany
- Live at Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, 28 April 1971
- Live at Denver 1973
- When I Was Young 1974
- New York City 1975
- Rockpalast 1976
- Live in Holland 1978/79
- Live at Vienna's first open air festival 1980
- Live at Rockpalast, Loreley 1982
(CD and DVD/VHS)
- Live at the Canary Club
- Rarest Masters (2CD)
- Rare Masters vol. 1
- Rare Masters vol. 2
- Live in Sevilla 1984
- Unreleased Project #2
- Unreleased Project #3
- Unreleased Project #4
- Unreleased Masters and Alternative Takes
- Searching for a Brand New Day
- Live at San Diego Street Scene
- 1990 Detroit Tapes
- Live at the Caravan of Dreams
- Live at the Waters Club 1991
(with Brian Auger & Robbie Krieger)
- Live in Cheiming, Germany
- Live at der Filharmoniehalle, Darmstadt, April 1995
- Pasadena Live
- Live at Abensberg 1996
- Live in Warszawa
- Live in Baltimore
- Live at Robin Two, Wolverhampton
- Live at the Jazz Cafè 2005
- Live at the Jazz Cafè 2006
- Live at the Royal Albert Hall April 2008
- Live at Grand Prairie July 2008
- Live at Clearwater August 2008
Festivals
- 1965: The Richmond Jazz Festival (with The Yardbirds, The Animals Big Band, The Who,...)
- 1967: The Windsor Jazz Festival of the Flower Power Children
- 1967: Monterey Pop Festival
- 1968: Newport Pop Festival '68
- 1969: Newport Pop Festival '69 (with Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles, Lee Oskar,...)
- 1994: Sziget
- 2006: Lugano Jazz Festival
- 2008: Hippiefest
- 2009: Maryport Blues Festival
Personal life
On 7 September 1967 he married
Angie King in
London. Burdon made it clear that he didn't want to make the marriage public, but on the wedding day the press encroached on the church service. This marriage only lasted until 1969, when they divorced. On 17 September 1972, he married a
German girl,
Rosie Marks. They had a daughter
Mirage
. Marks appears in an "
Up North" television programme, appearing with Burdon's family. They divorced in 1978 and a battle for
child custody began. In 1983, after the Animals had re-united again and toured, his ex-wife and their daughter Mirage disappeared. In a 2006 interview Burdon confirmed that he eventually made contact with his daughter. Burdon is now married to Marianna Proesteau, who is also his manager.
Notes
- wolfgangsvault.com/Article/Soul-of-a-Man-The-Story-of-Eric-Burdon.html?page=1&cpage=1 Soul of A Man The Story of Eric Burdon
- Eric Burdon vocals and percussion, Red Young keyboards and vocals, Hilton Valentine guitar and vocals, Paula O'Rourke bass and vocals, Billy Watts guitar, Steve Conte lead guitar, Tony Braunagel drums, Herman Matthews drums, Steve Murphy drums, Bobby Furgo violin
- Animal rights, ''The Daily Mail'' UK
- Eric Burdon & War reunion at the Royal Albert Hall
- Darkness DarknessatAllmusic.com
- Bo Diddley, ''Calgary Herald'', June 8th 2008
Books
- Burdon, Eric. I Used to Be an Animal, but I'm All Right Now
. Faber and Faber, 1986. ISBN 0-571-13492-0.
- Burdon, Eric (with J. Marshall Craig). Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: A Memoir
. Thunder's Mouth Press, 2001. ISBN 1-56025-330-4.