Henry Badowski is a British multi-instrumentalist, songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, and composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, who was a member of several punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 bands in the 1970s before embarking on a solo career.

Career

Badowski played in several short-lived bands before joining his friend, guitarist James Stevenson, in Gene October

Gene October

Gene October is an English musician, best known as the singer for the punk rock band, Chelsea.October was instrumental in the creation of the punk venue The Roxy, persuading the manager of gay London nightclub, 'Shageramas', to convert the club to cater for a punk clientele...

's Chelsea

Chelsea (band)

Chelsea are an English punk rock band, formed in London in 1976.Three of the four original band members went on to help found Generation X. More than two decades after its release, "Right to Work", Chelsea's debut single, was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all...

 as bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

ist in March 1977 despite having "barely picked up a bass guitar in [his] life". He then moved on to play Vox Continental

Vox Continental

The Vox Continental is a transistor-based combo organ that was introduced in 1962. Known for its thin, bright, breathy sound, the "Connie," as it was affectionately known, was designed to be used by touring musicians...

 organ in Wreckless Eric

Wreckless Eric

Wreckless Eric is an English rock and roll/new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time...

's band, before forming King as vocalist and keyboard player along with Captain Sensible

Captain Sensible

Captain Sensible is a singer, songwriter, guitarist who grew up in Croydon, England, and co-founded the punk rock band The Damned in 1976. After leaving the band, he reinvented himself as an alternative pop singer with a rebellious, self-conscious image...

, who described Badowski as "a genius". Badowski was invited by Sensible to join a short-lived incarnation of The Damned to replace Lemmy, at which time they went by the name The Doomed. He then drummed for Mark Perry

Mark Perry (musician)

Mark Perry, also known as Mark P, was a British fanzine publisher and is a writer and musician.Perry was a bank clerk when, inspired by The Ramones, he founded the punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue in 1976...

's post-Alternative TV

Alternative TV

Alternative TV were an English rock band, formed in London in 1976. Their punk rock and post-punk sound was influential for several musical artists.-History:...

 band The Good Missionaries, playing on the Fire From Heaven album in 1979, and also got some studio time to work on his first solo release, the "Baby Sign Here With Me / Making Love With My Wife" single, released by Deptford Fun City Records, one of Miles Copeland's labels, and packaged in a gold foil sleeve. He signed to A&M Records

A&M Records

A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...

/I.R.S. Records

I.R.S. Records

I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...

 for subsequent solo releases, including the album Life is a Grand...

Life Is a Grand...

Life is a Grand.. is the only full length release from Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer Henry Badowski.Badowski's solo career began in the summer of 1979, with the release of Making Love With My Wife on Deptford Fun City label...

, from which the single "Henry's in Love" was drawn. Badowski played most of the instruments on the album himself, but with contributions from Stevenson, violinist Aleksander Kolkowski

Aleksander Kolkowski

Aleksander Kolkowski is a British musician and composer whose work combines instruments and machines from the pioneering era of sound recording and reproduction to make live mechanical-acoustic music...

, and drummer Dave Berk (of Johnny Moped

Johnny Moped

Johnny Moped were a mid 1970s English punk rock group from south London, who once had Chrissie Hynde and Captain Sensible within their ranks.-Biography:...

). Although the album met with a favourable response from critics, it proved to be his final solo release.

Singles

• "Making Love With My Wife"/"Baby Sign Here With Me" (1979), Deptford Fun City
• "Baby Sign Here With Me"/"Making Love With My Wife" (1979), A&M
• "My Face"/"Four More Seasons" (1980), A&M
• "My Face"/"Making Love With My Wife" (1980), IRS
• "Henry's in Love"/"Lamb to the Slaughter" (1981), A&M

External links

• Official website