Brian Protheroe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brian Protheroe is a musician and actor.
"Keep neat, stay clean; your harmony likes to be seen...
Go West, get laid
And never join the fire brigade
Never join the fire brigade"
Brian was born 16 June in Salisbury, Wiltshire in 1944 of a Welsh father and English mother. He joined a local church choir when he was 12 years old and started piano lessons at about the same time. The music of Cliff Richard and the Shadows inspired him to start learning the guitar. He joined a rock band called The Coasters as lead singer in 1961 and also joined an amateur theatre group called The Studio Theatre at around the same time.
First job was a library assistant for a year followed by three years as a student technician in a hospital pathological laboratory.
Musical influences around this time were Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Josh White, Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcghee, Dave Brubeck, and the choral church music of Bach.
Brian joined the folk group, Folk Blues Incorporated (FBI) when he was 19, while at this time listening to Bob Dylan and The Beatles. He came to London with FBI in 1965 and played in folk clubs in and around London.
In 1966, Brian began his career as an actor. His first job was with his local repertory theatre in Salisbury. He worked there for about 7 months then spent the next 5 years in various theatre companies around England, developing his musical skills as well as becoming an experienced actor.
In 1968 he worked for nearly two years in a theatre company in Lincoln in north east England where he met Martin Duncan who was also a musician, writer and actor. Over the next few years they collaborated on various musical and artistic projects.
Later in 1973 Brian was playing the part of a pop singer in a play called "Death on Demand" when a representative from Chrysalis Records heard a song he had written for the show.
Brian's first single, "Pinball" was released in August 1974 followed by an album of the same name. This was followed over the next couple of years by two more albums - "Pick Up" and "I/You". A developing acting career found him, in 1976, starring in the London Production of the rock musical, "Leave Him to Heaven" at the New London theatre. Temporarily laying aside his career in music, he focused on theatre, television, and film.
In 1997, Basta Records released a compilation of the first three albums from the 1970s with an additional disc of unreleased material in a box set, "Brian's Big Box." The advent of the Internet allowed for a resurgence in interest in his musical career.
He released the collection "Citysong" in 2005. It was described as a "New single with 17 bonus tracks and two movies." It included the new song "Holyoke Hotel" as well as two homemade videos.
After remastering his original tapes at Abbey Road Studios, EMI studios released a greatest hits collection called "Pinball and Other Stories" in 2006.
His television work includes: Reilly, Ace of Spies, Gentlemen and Players, Lovejoy, 55 Degrees North, North and South, Love Soup and Midsomer Murders. His personal web page includes his extensive Theater/TV/Movie experience.
