Michael Chapman (British guitarist, born 1941)
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Michael Chapman (born on 24 January 1941, in Leeds, Yorkshire, England) is a guitarist and songwriter - playing jazz, acoustic guitar in the folk clubs of the 1960s, and recording over 20 albums. He first appeared on the London and Cornwall folk music circuits in 1967, alongside John Martyn and Roy Harper. His first album was Rainmaker in 1969 on the Harvest Records label, and he played the folk and 'progressive' circuits during the festivals of the early 1970s, with Mick Ronson, Rick Kemp and Keef Hartley.
He recorded a further three albums for Harvest; Fully Qualified Survivor which received much critical acclaim from the likes of John Peel and contained his best well known track, the classic "Postcards of Scarborough". Window and Wrecked Again followed, the latter being Chapman's attempt at a Memphis album. Glorious brass arrangements featured on biographical tracks like "Shuffleboat River Farewell" and the title track. After a tour of the United States with Rick Kemp, Michael signed to Decca's subsidiary, Deram, recording an increasingly rockier set of albums. Championed by Charles Shaar Murray and John Peel he retained a high profile, a lively draw on the college circuit in the UK and across mainland Europe.
Recording for numerous smaller record labels, and playing the folk and club circuits, the 1980s was a quieter time for Chapman. He continued to make fine recordings that straddled musical genres and pushed his guitar playing to the fore, but had neither the profile nor sales of the previous decade.
The late 1990s to the present day represented a rebirth for Chapman. He embraced the 'elder statesman' role and enjoyed critical acclaim for albums like Navigation, Dreaming Out Loud and Still Making Rain (a wry pun title that looked back to his debut album). Bands like Supergrass acknowledged Chapman's material and playing as a formative influence.
The new century saw Michael exploring his guitar player roots and releasing instrumental albums alongside his song based sets. Americana and Words Fail Me feature soundscapes that recalled travels in America, and featured a dexterity and inventiveness on the guitar equal to the classic Harvest and Decca periods.
[edit] Selective albums discography
- Rainmaker (1969) - Harvest
- Fully Qualified Survivor (1970) - Harvest
- Window (1971) - Harvest
- Wrecked Again (1972) - Harvest
- Millstone Grit (1973) - Deram
- Deal Gone Down (1974) - Deram
- Looking For Eleven (1980) - Criminal Records
- Heartbeat (1987) - Coda
- Navigation (1995) - Planet Records
- Still Making Rain (1996) - Making Waves
- Dreaming Out Loud (1997) - Demon Records
- Growing Pains (2000) - Mooncrest
- Americana (2001) - Blueprint
- The Twisted Road (2003) - Mystic UK
