Colin Allen
Encyclopedia
Colin Allen is an English
blues
drummer and songwriter.
musician in Dorset. During 1961 Allen became a member of Zoot Money's Big Roll Band
, which also included Andy Summers
(later of The Police
) and still appears occasionally, with the 'Big Roll Band'. Allen moved to London on 1 January 1964 with Andy Summers. He has played drums for many US
and UK
musicians including Bob Dylan
, John Lee Hooker
, Sonny Boy Williamson
, Memphis Slim
, Solomon Burke
, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
, Marc Bolan and T.Rex
, Mick Taylor
, Focus
, Donovan
, Stone The Crows
, Georgie Fame
, Brian Joseph Friel
, and since 2006 The British Blues Quintet
, with keyboardist Zoot Money
, bassist Colin Hodgkinson
and vocalist Maggie Bell
.
by artists including Paul McCartney
’s Wings
(with music by Jimmy McCulloch
), Fleetwood Mac
, Mick Taylor
and Mick Ronson
. When co-writing he has mostly worked as a lyricist, as in Talyor's Alabama, from his solo debut Mick Taylor
(1979).
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
drummer and songwriter.
Career
Allen took up drums at the age of 18, playing initially with local jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician in Dorset. During 1961 Allen became a member of Zoot Money's Big Roll Band
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band was a British rhythm and blues, soul and jazz group formed in England in early autumn 1961.-History:An early line-up had Zoot Money as vocalist and Al Kirtley on piano but in the band's best-known form Money himself played Hammond organ. Bassist/vocalist Paul Williams...
, which also included Andy Summers
Andy Summers
Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
(later of The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
) and still appears occasionally, with the 'Big Roll Band'. Allen moved to London on 1 January 1964 with Andy Summers. He has played drums for many US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musicians including Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, Sonny Boy Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
, Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
, Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke was an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the United House of Prayer For All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", and as the "Bishop of Soul", and described as "the Muhammad Ali of soul", and as "the most...
, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1967, but then dropped it for some fifteen years. However, in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and...
, Marc Bolan and T.Rex
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
, Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
, Focus
Focus (band)
Focus is a Dutch rock band which was founded by classically trained organist/flautist Thijs van Leer in 1969, and is most famous for the instrumental pieces "Hocus Pocus" and "Sylvia"...
, Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, Stone The Crows
Stone the Crows
Stone the Crows were a blues band formed in Glasgow in late 1969.-History:The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to Les Harvey by his elder brother, Alex Harvey...
, Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
, Brian Joseph Friel
Brian Joseph Friel
Brian Joseph Friel is a Scottish folk, country and rock singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Biography:He released two albums on the Dawn Records label , Brian Joseph Friel, otherwise known as Second Hand Dealer and Arrivederci Ardrossan...
, and since 2006 The British Blues Quintet
The British Blues Quintet
The British Blues Quintet is a British band formed in 2006 by five musicians, known for their interpretations of blues music. The line-up includes the keyboardist and singer Zoot Money, drummer Colin Allen, vocalist Maggie Bell, bassist Colin Hodgkinson and German guitarist Frank Diez. They...
, with keyboardist Zoot Money
Zoot Money
George Bruno Money, known as Zoot Money is a British vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band...
, bassist Colin Hodgkinson
Colin Hodgkinson
Colin Hodgkinson is a British rock, jazz and blues bassist, who has been active since the 1960s.-Career:...
and vocalist Maggie Bell
Maggie Bell
Maggie Bell is a Scottish rock and blues-rock singer, regarded by some as Britain's answer to Janis Joplin.-Career:...
.
Songwriting
Allen has also written and co-written songs which have been recordedSound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by artists including Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
’s Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
(with music by Jimmy McCulloch
Jimmy McCulloch
James 'Jimmy' McCulloch was a Scottish musician and songwriter, born in Dumbarton and raised in Clydebank and Cumbernauld, Scotland, who was best known for playing lead guitar in Paul McCartney's Wings from 1974 to 1977...
), Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
, Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
and Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
. When co-writing he has mostly worked as a lyricist, as in Talyor's Alabama, from his solo debut Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor (album)
Mick Taylor is the debut album by former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. Though the album was acclaimed by critics, the album's blues-based style was somewhat unfashionable at the time of release, when punk and new wave were becoming more popular....
(1979).