Roger Chapman
(born Roger Maxwell Chapman
on 8 April 1942 in Leicester) is an English rock vocalist.'''
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ROGER CHAPMAN TICKETS
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History
Roger "Chappo" Chapman
[1] was originally the vocalist for a band called Farinas formed by
Charlie Whitney, who released the
single "You'd Better Stop" in August 1964 . He is best known as a member of the
progressive band
Family, which he joined along with
Charlie Whitney, in 1967 and also the
rock,
R&B band
Streetwalkers formed in 1974. His
idiosyncratic brand of on-stage showmanship and vocal
vibrato led him to become a
cult figure on the British rock scene. Chapman is claimed to have said that he was trying to sing like both
Little Richard and his idol
Ray Charles. Since the early 1980s he has spent much of his time in
Germany. He has won an Artist of the Year award and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.
Family
During 1966
The Roaring sixties
were renamed
Family and they replaced their drummer Overnall with
Rob Townsend. The band issued its first single as
Family entitled
Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens/Gypsy Woman
in 1967
[2] and Family's debut album
Music in a Doll's House
followed in July 1968.
Family's heavy, experimental
rock music gained them a reputation as a progressive
underground band, and Whitney became famous both for his cocky expression and his double-necked
Gibson guitar. By 1970, with the release of their albums
A Song For Me
and
Anyway
and an unforgettable appearance at the third
Isle of Wight Festival on
28 August in
1970, Family was creating some of the fastest and loudest rock and the most intense acoustic music in the British underground scene. Although
Family proved to be popular in
UK and continental
Europe success in the
US eluded them and in 1973 the group broke up.
Songwriting
Whitney's angular guitar passages on songs like "
Drowned In Wine" and "Good News Bad News" were singled out by fans and critics as being essential to the Family sound. He and Chapman wrote most of Family's songs together as a team. Whitney did compose two tracks, the instrumental "Summer '67" and the childlike folk song "Processions" (about a small boy enjoying a day at the seashore).
Streetwalkers
Charlie Whitney and Roger Chapman formed
Streetwalkers late in 1973. This new band included vocalist and guitarist
Bobby Tench from
The Jeff Beck Group and
Hummingbird and future
Iron Maiden drummer,
Nicko McBrain. Streetwalkers was a polished
AOR band with more elements of white soul than
Family. They signed to the
Vertigo label as Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers recording an
album simply entitled
Streetwalkers
, released on the
Reprise label in 1974, with a line up including other members of
Family and
King Crimson. Chapman and Whitney
morphed their band into the "Streetwalkers" which comprised five members including
Bobby Tench, drummer
Nicko McBrain, who later moved onto play with
Iron Maiden and bassist Jon Plotel. Tench, McBain and Plotel appeared on
Rockpalast in 1975,
[3] alongside Roger Chapman and Charley Whitney, billed as "The Whitney Chapman Streetwalkers" just before the band name was shortened. Their next album was entitled
Downtown flyers which
was released in
USA during 1975. The
groove heavy album
Red Card
[4] was released in the
UK during 1976 and remains a much respected album.
[5] Vicious but fair
was also released by
Vertigo in the same year and a final album
Live Streetwalkers
in 1977 followed, purely to fulfill contractual obligations.
[6] Streetwalkers became highly respected by music fans and the
music press. The band broke up in 1977, ending eleven years of the Whitney-Chapman musical partnership.
Solo career 1979-present
In 1979 Chapman began a solo career and recorded his first solo album,
Chappo
[7]. In 1983,
Mike Oldfield recorded the album
Crises
[8] featuring the song "
Shadow On The Wall" sung by Chapman. In 1986 he guested on the second
Box of Frogs album "Strange Land" singing lead on two songs.
Bobby Tench, from
Streetwalkers, was reunited with Roger Chapman in 1989 and they recorded
Walking the Cat
, released by
SPV's imprint label Maze in 1989 also
Hybrid and Low Down
, released by
Polydor in 1990. Since then Chapman has released eleven albums of new and live recordings, the most recent is the studio album
One More Time For Peace
released by Mystic in 2007. The album
Hide Go Seek
by Chapman was released in May 2009.
Discography
Family
Streetwalkers
;Albums
- Streetwalkers
(1974, Reprise K 54017)
- Downtown Flyers
(1975, Mercury LP SRM-1-1060 (US), Vertigo 6360 123)
- Red Card
(1976, Mercury SMR-1-1083 (US), Vertigo 9102 010, Repertoire REP 4147-WP (CD))
- Vicious But Fair
(1977, Mercury LP SRM-1-1135 (US), Vertigo 9102 012)
- Streetwalkers Live
(1977, Vertigo 6641-703)
- Best of Streetwalkers
(1990, Vertigo CD, CA, LP 846-661)
- BBC Radio One Live
(1995, Windsong CD)
;Singles
- Roxianna/Crack
Reprise (1974)
- Raingame"/Miller
Vertigo (1975)
- Daddy Rolling Stone/Hole In Your Pocket
Vertigo (1976)
- Chilli Con Carne/But You're Beautiful
Vertigo (1977)
Solo
;Albums
- Chappo
(1979)
- Live in Hamburg
(1979)
- Mail Order Magic
(1980)
- Hyenas Only Laugh For Fun
(1981)
- The Riffburglar Album
(aka Funny Cider Sessions
) (1982)
- He Was... She Was... You Was... We Was...
(Double, Live) (1982)
- Swag
(as the Riffburglars) (1983)
- Mango Crazy
(1983)
- The Shadow Knows
(1984)
- Zipper
(1985)
- Techno Prisoners
(1987)
- Live In Berlin
(1989)
- Walking The Cat
(1989)
- Strong Songs - The Best Of...
(1990)
- Hybrid and Lowdown
(1990)
- Kick It Back
(UK compilation) (1990)
- Under No Obligation
(1992)
- King Of The Shouters
(1994)
- Kiss My Soul
(1996)
- A Turn Unstoned?
(1998)
- Anthology 1979-98
(1998)
- In My Own Time
(live) (1999)
- Rollin' & Tumblin'
(live) Mystic (2001)
- Chappo-The Loft Tapes, Volume 1: Manchester University 10.3.1979
Mystic (2006 )
- Chappo-The Loft Tapes, Volume 2: Rostock 1983
Mystic (2006 )
- Chappo-The Loft Tapes, Volume 3: London Dingwalls 15.4.1996
Mystic(2006)
- Chappo-The Loft Tapes, Volume 4: Live At Unca Po's Hamburg 5.3.1982
Mystic (2006)
- One More Time For Peace
Mystic (2007)
- Hide Go Seek
Hypertension Records (May 2009)
;Singles
- "Shadow On The Wall" (Mike Oldfield single sung by Roger Chapman) (1983)
- "How How How" (1984)
DVDs
- At Rockpalast
Wienerworld (2004)
- Family & Friends
Angel Air (2003)
Notes
- Roger Chapmanat Allmusic
- Liberty Records, released September 1967
- Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers Rockpalast archive
- Red Card John Dougan at Allmusic
- British Hit Singles & Albums ISBN 1-904994-10-5
- Streetwalkers, Vertigo,
- Roger Chapman discography at Allmusic
- Mike Oldfield Crisis at Allmusic
References
- Roger Chapmanat Allmusic
- Liberty Records, released September 1967
- Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers Rockpalast archive
- Red Card John Dougan at Allmusic
- British Hit Singles & Albums ISBN 1-904994-10-5
- Streetwalkers, Vertigo,
- Roger Chapman discography at Allmusic
- Mike Oldfield Crisis at Allmusic