Barry Blue
| Barry Blue | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Barry Ian Green |
| Born | 4 December 1950 London, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels | Bell Records |
Barry Blue (born Barry Ian Green, 4 December 1950, London[1]) is a singer / producer / songwriter from the United Kingdom. He is best known for his hit songs, "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" and "Do You Wanna Dance" (both 1973).
At 14 he signed to record producer Norrie Paramor whose erstwhile assistant was one Tim Rice - the producer of Barry's first song "Rainmaker Girl" which became a hit for Gene Pitney in America. Later he became bass player in the original line-up of heavy rock band Uriah Heep, followed in 1966 by a two-year period in A&R at the Bee Gees' publishing company Abigail Music. In 1970 he signed as a writer to ATV-Kirshner. His first major hit was "Sugar Me" which became a hit for Lynsey de Paul.
He signed to Bell Records in 1973 and had five hit singles, including "School Love" (1974). His final Top 40 hit in the UK Singles Chart occurred in October 1974, when "Hot Shot", another song co-penned with de Paul, climbed to No.23.[2]
Further success came with the production of the British funk/soul band Heatwave, who enjoyed hits in the UK and US with "Boogie Nights" and "Always and Forever". In 1989, under the banner of Cry Sisco!, Blue had another minor UK hit with a song called "Afro Dizzi Act", which reached No.42 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] A compilation album, Greatest Hits was released on Repertoire Records in 2002.
Blue continued to work in the music industry as a record producer for other artists, including Bananarama, Toto Coelo and Cheryl Lynn.
Blue has also been a prolific songwriter for other acts. Among his hit compositions are:
- "Kiss Me Kiss Your Baby" for Brotherhood of Man (a European million seller) (1975)
- "I Eat Cannibals Part 1" for Toto Coelo (1982)
- "All Fall Down" for Five Star (1985) and
- "Escaping" for Dina Carroll (1996).
He has written album tracks for many more artists and has had over forty hits with such artists as Andrea Bocelli, Diana Ross, Celine Dion, The Saturdays and Pixie Lott. Blue in film and TV has provided scores and/or themes for productions including The Eyes of Laura Mars, Long Good Friday and Escape to Athena.
Barry Blue was the founder of Connect 2 Music, now owned by Universal Music Publishing. He is a supporter of the creators' rights in music of all genres and styles and is dedicating his time to become more pro-active in this pursuit.
[edit] Discography
- Singles
- 1973 "Dancin' (On a Saturday Night)" UK #2
- 1973 "Do You Wanna Dance" UK #7
- 1974 "School Love" UK #11
- 1974 "If I Show You I Can Dance"
- 1974 "Miss Hit and Run" UK #26
- 1974 "Hot Shot" UK #23
- 1975 "You Make Me Happy (When I'm Blue)"
- 1976 "Tough Kids"
- 1989 "Dancin' On a Saturday Night '89" UK #86[3]
- Albums
- 1974 Barry Blue
- 1974 Hot Shots
- 1974 Dancin' On a Saturday Night - The Best of Barry Blue
[edit] References
- ^ "IMDB profile". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1154721/bio.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 65. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Chartstats - UK Chart details
[edit] External links
- Songwriting credits at Allmusic website
- Barry Blue on Myspace
- Barry Blue discography at Discogs
- http://www.favorednationsmusic.com/
