| Clem Curtis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Clem Curtis |
| Born | 28 November 1940 |
| Origin | Trinidad, West Indies |
| Genres | Soul, R&B, pop |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | vocals |
| Years active | 1966-present |
| Labels | Acid Jazz Records, EMI, Pye Records, Riverdale |
| Associated acts | Arthur Brown, Clem Curtis & The Foundations, Donnie Elbert, Mike Elliott, The Foundations, Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon, Lord Large, The Ramong Sound, The Travelling Wrinklies, Alan Warner, Colin Young |
Clem Curtis (born 28 November 1940, Trinidad) is a singer and former lead vocalist of sixties British soul group The Foundations.
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Curtis came to England at the age of fifteen and later found employment as an interior decorator. He entered boxing and won most of his fights as a professional boxer. His mother was a popular singer in Trinidad and Clem Curtis claims that this contributed to his ear for music.
Also He arrived at a cruise ship called the "Azura" which docked in Southhampton England. In his experience of a cruise he met a young group of teenagers from the H20 teenager club in the Manhattan bar.
Between 1966 and 1967 Curtis joined The Ramong Sound. He joined the group after hearing from his uncle that Ramong, the lead singer of the group, was looking for backing singers and he should give it a try. Curtis at this time was a former pro boxer and his singing experience was limited to singing with his uncle when he came around the house with the guitar.[1] After losing their original lead singer Ramong, taking on board Arthur Brown temporarily for a few weeks, going through a few name changes they became The Foundations[2] and emerged in January 1967 with Clem Curtis as their lead singer. The Foundations would go on to have worldwide hits with "Baby Now That I've Found You" and "Build Me Up Buttercup".
Curtis is the lead voice on their hits "Baby Now That I've Found You", "Back on My Feet Again" and "Any Old Time (You're Lonely and Sad)".
After having found success with The Foundations, two hit singles and releasing two albums, some problems started with their songwriter producer Tony Macaulay as well within the group. Curtis felt that after their hit a couple of The Foundations members were taking things a little too easy thinking that they did not need to work so hard now that they had scored a hit. After being disillusioned with the band, he along with another member, Mike Elliott, left The Foundations in 1968 just after recording a version of "It's All Right", a song that they had been playing live for some time. Curtis went to pursue a solo career in the United States. This was probably helped along by the encouragement of Sammy Davis, Jr. who became friends. He stuck around long enough to help the band audition a replacement, Colin Young.[3]
After some well received club appearances and hanging out with artists such as Wilson Pickett, and staying with The Cowsills, he did not receive enough work and decided to come back to England. He returned to the UK in the early 1970s, and did some work with Donnie Elbert and Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon and later reformed a version of The Foundations.
Over the years, Curtis has fronted various lineups of The Foundations, as well as appearing on his own as a solo artist. He has recorded and released records on various record labels which include EMI, Opium, Pye Records, RCA Records, Riverdale and various others. In 1977 Clem Curtis and The Foundations nearly got into the Eurovision final with "Where Were You When I Needed Your Love",[4] a John Macleod and Dave Meyers composition.[5] They came third in the heats, and were picked as a favourite to win, but an electricians' strike ruined their chances, and "Rock Bottom" by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran was the winner.[3]
In the late 1980s, Curtis joined the lineup of "The Corporation", also referred to as "the Traveling Wrinklies", which was a parody of sorts, of the popular Traveling Wilburys. The Traveling Wrinklies were composed of Curtis, Mike Pender, Brian Poole, Tony Crane and Reg Presley, former lead singer of The Troggs. They released a single "Ain't Nothing But A House Party" on the Corporation label in 1988.
In the late 1980s, Curtis teamed up with original Foundations guitarist Alan Warner to re-cut the original Foundations hits.[3]
Curtis has appeared on stage as the Lion in The Wiz at the Lyric Hammersmith, and gave a successful gospel stage performance in Amen Corner at The Lyric in Shaftesbury Avenue. He has also appeared on TV chat shows, British reality television series Airport and had a bit part in the ITV series The Bill.
Curtis is still recording and performing today, he can regularly be seen as part of the "soul explosion" night with former Flirtations singer Earnestine Pearce, and Jimmy James, at resorts such as Butlins and Warner Leisure Hotels in the United Kingdom.[6][7][8][9] He has acquired the unofficial title of "The Godfather of English Soul".ref>Lord Large Website - The History...</ref> In 2005, Curtis and Lord Large released "Stuck in a Wind Up" and "Move Over Daddy", which is a hit with the Northern soul crowd.
Since reforming The Foundations in the early 1970s, Curtis has kept it going in spite of a totally unconnected American band adopting the Foundations name and covering their material.
Curtis is currently residing in the small town of Olney, near Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom.
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