Michael Chapman (musician)

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Michael Chapman (born 24 January 1941, Hunslet, Leeds, Yorkshire, England) is a guitarist and singer-songwriter - originally playing jazz, acoustic guitar in the folk clubs of the 1960s, and latterly recording over 20 albums.

[edit] Career

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, "Postcards of Scarborough". Window and Wrecked Again followed, the latter being Chapman's attempt at a Memphis, Tennessee album. Brass arrangements featured on biographical tracks like "Shuffleboat River Farewell" and the title track. After a tour of the United States with Rick Kemp, Chapman 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.[citation needed]

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 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 onwards represented a period of continued 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.[citation needed]

The new century saw Chapman 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.[citation needed]

[edit] Albums discography

  • Rainmaker (1969) - Harvest
  • Fully Qualified Survivor (1970) - Harvest
  • Window (1971) - Harvest
  • Wrecked Again (1972) - Harvest
  • Millstone Grit (1973) - Deram / Decca
  • Deal Gone Down (1974) - Deram / Decca
  • Pleasures Of The Street (1975) - Nova
  • Savage Amusement (1976) - Deram / Decca
  • The Man Who Hated Mornings (1977) - Deram
  • Play Guitar The Easy Way (1978) - Criminal Records
  • Life On The Ceiling (1979) - Criminal Records
  • Looking For Eleven (1980) - Criminal Records
  • Almost Alone (1981) - Black Crow
  • Original Owners (1983) - Konnexion
  • Heartbeat (1987) - Coda
  • Still Making Rain (1991/3) - Self Release 1991 / Making Waves 1993
  • Navigation (1995) - Planet Records
  • Dreaming Out Loud (1997) - Demon Records
  • Michael Chapman Black And White (1998) - Rural Retreat Records
  • BBC Sessions 69-75 ( 1998 ) Strange Fruit Records
  • The Twisted Road (1999) - Mystic UK
  • Growing Pains (2000) - Mooncrest
  • Growing Pains 2 (2002) - Deram
  • Americana (2001) - Blueprint
  • Live And Unhinged (2001) - Rural Retreat Records
  • Kule 2 B Blue with Alamo Leal (2001) - Rural Retreat Records
  • Dogs Got More Sense (2004) - Secret Records
  • Journeyman Live DVD (2004) - Secret Records
  • 27 06 05 Live In Brighton (2005) - Rural Retreat Records
  • Plaindealer (2005) - Rural Retreat Records
  • Lost (2005) - Rural Retreat Records
  • Words Fail Me (2007)
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