Alan Williams (singer)
Alan Williams | |
|---|---|
Alan Williams | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 22 December 1948 Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | Glam rock |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Member of | The Rubettes |
Alan Williams (born 22 December 1948) is an English singer. He is the former lead singer for The Rubettes and now fronts his own Rubettes spinoff "The Rubettes featuring Alan Williams".
Career
[edit]Williams' first band, The Medium, included John Richardson on drums.[1] Williams and Richardson were both in The Rubettes, both before this they were the duo "Baskin & Copperfield".[2] Baskin & Copperfield never charted in the UK, but appeared on Top of the Pops and Hits à Go-Go with the song "I Never See The Sun".
In 1973, Richardson, Wiliams, Pete Arnesen, and Paul Da Vinci took part in the recording "Sugar Baby Love",[3] which was put together by songwriting duo Tony Waddington and Wayne Bickerton. Mick Clarke, Bill Hurd, and Tony Thorpe were later added in, and the studio project became The Rubettes. Da Vinci could not partake in the group as he was signed as a solo artist to another label, so Williams replaced Paul Da Vinci as lead singer of The Rubettes, as he was the only session singer who could replicate Da Vinci's falsetto vocals.[4] "Sugar Baby Love", which became the groups most successful song, went to number 1 in the U.K.[5][6] Subsequent songs, such as "I Can Do It" and "Juke Box Jive", are actually sung by Alan.
The Rubettes disbanded in 2000, and not that long after Williams recreated The Rubettes with Mick Clarke and John Richardson of the original members. Bill Hurd, original pianist, also recreated the band around the same time as Alan with Paul Da Vinci, and in 2002, the two went to court for reasons surrounding ownership of the "Rubettes" name.[7] The final agreement was that both musicians could tour under the name, as long it specifies which of the two was fronting the group.
In 2005, Alan sued Bill, claiming he breached the terms on the original contract, after he learned he appeared on German television as "The Rubettes", without any sign that this band was "featuring Bill Hurd". The court ruled that Williams also breached the contracts agreements as well as Hurd, but since Bill's abuse of the contract was more severe, Alan ultimately won the case.[7]
In late 2018, Williams sacked original bass player Mick Clarke due to fee disputes, and soon after, Clarke registered rights to use the Rubettes name in the UK,[8] and Richardson and keyboardist Steve Etherington left the band, and made their own group "The Rubettes featuring John, Mick, and Steve". The group was formed because of Williams announcing on Dutch television he was moving to Australia, and decided to carry on without him; in addition, Richardson was growing tired of Alan's control over the band.[9][10] In July 2022, John, Mick, and Steve were sued by Williams over the use of the Rubettes name. Wiliams won the lawsuit.[11][9][12]
References
[edit]- ^ "Alan Williams". alwynwturner.com. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ "Artist: Baskin & Copperfield | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ The Rubettes Story by Alan Rowett ISBN 9780952377207 first published 1994
- ^ Mark McStea, "Under the Radar: The Rubettes", Record Collector, No.552, December 2023, p.148
- ^ Roberts, David (2001). British Hit Singles (14th ed.). Guinness World Records. p. 44. ISBN 0-85156-156-X.
- ^ "Rubettes Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. 9 July 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ a b "therubettes.de". web.archive.org. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20220602/282084870437977. Retrieved 20 January 2025 – via PressReader.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-express/20220715/282071985622649. Retrieved 21 August 2024 – via PressReader.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Ayling, Nev (2 June 2022). "The Rubettes' members feud over who gets to keep the bands name". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
- ^ Editor, Jonathan Ames, Legal (21 August 2024). "Sugar love goes sour for glam rock band the Rubettes". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Sugar love goes sour for glam rock band the Rubettes". The Times. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2024.