Edward Barton is a Manchester, England, poet, artist and musician, known for his eccentric stage performances and use of home-made instruments. He has had top 30 success as a songwriter with hits including "It's a Fine Day" (Opus III) - the tune of which was then used in Kylie Minogue's hit "Confide in Me" - "Halcyon" (Orbital) and "Happiness" (Pizzaman).
He grew up in Libya, the son of an RAF officer, before attending boarding school in Britain. He moved to Manchester in his mid-twenties, and was signed by Cherry Red Records in 1982.[1]
He is probably best known for composing the song "It's a Fine Day", originally released as a single by Jane in 1983, and later to become a UK chart hit when Opus III covered it in 1992. Under the name Owain Barton,[2] he was later credited with co-writing Kylie Minogue's 1994 hit "Confide In Me", which included musical content taken from "It's a Fine Day". Barton later said "I woke up one afternoon and switched on the radio. I thought, "that's a good tune. In fact that's my tune.""[1]
"It's A Fine Day" was followed by the self-titled mini-album Jane & Barton, and another single, "I Want To Be With You", released through Cherry Red Records. The album featured Andrew Connell on piano. Another Jane single, "Lovely and Chicken", was later released through Barton's own label Wooden Records. More releases on Wooden followed, including a 1989 LP called Edward Not Edward which featured covers of Barton songs by diverse artists like Inspiral Carpets, 808 State, Dub Sex, Ted Chippington, Louis Phillipe and A Guy Called Gerald. Barton also released the single "Me And My Mini" / "I've Got No Chicken But I've Got Five Wooden Chairs".
Barton was a regular fixture of the eighties music scene in Manchester, supporting bands such as Stump. He has also contributed lyrics to albums by 808 State and Lost Witness, after the latter sampled "It's A Fine Day". He branched out into music video direction for the initial release of "Sit Down" by James in 1989 in which he also makes a cameo appearance.
In 1995 he released Hush, a series of albums of a cappella songs specifically designed to be used as samples. This resulted in the Norman Cook hits as Pizzaman, "Happiness" and "Happiness Happening", and "Red Sun Rising" and "7 Colours" by Lost Witness. In 2001 he formed the band O.K. Cola with Mark Day of Happy Mondays.
His television appearances have included performances on The Tube and Tony Wilson's The Other Side of Midnight. He was rumoured to have appeared on Wogan in the late 80s playing guitar in Tears for Fears' backing band. His radio appearances have included at least one guest spot on The Mark Radcliffe Show, during which he gave a live rendition of his song "I Slap My Belly". He has also spent some time in a psychiatric hospital.[1]
In 2009 he issued a new album, And A Panda.[3]