#alan needs an eric burdon (eric is right there)

[the-alan-price-combo]

a sequence of pure animal-silliness 🙏🐾

[the-alan-price-combo]

In The Beginning (1959-63) -

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[Interviewer: “But then, of course you came together as the Animals. Now, tell us about the Animals, because that was the first time you really made it, wasn’t it? Was the Animals?”]

“I don’t know whether you can say there’s a first time. I think, really, when I met Eric for the first time was when I ‘made it’, because I found somebody with a common soul, you know?” - Alan Price, Northerners, 1975.

Alan… Alan, I swear!! What a way to describe your connection with someone…

Anyway, this section is going to be dedicated to miscellaneous things from ‘59 to early ‘63, most of these events not having exact dates tied to them, but still documented and decidedly pre-Animals.

Friendly Competition -

An interesting group of shared events Alan and Eric talk about involve talent competitions they would compete in; not with bands, but by themselves. The date of Eric’s particular recounting is unknown, but it appears to be sometime in ‘58 or ‘59, during a talent competition at the Majestic Ballroom:

“...I saw a list of the other competitors. One name stood out, and I caught a glimpse of him at the bar. His name was Alan Price. I’d seen him before at the Methodist Church Hall, doing Larry Williams’ ‘She Said Yeah!’ with a group fronted by Thomas Hedley. He was fucking good. And on this night, he was planning to do his rendition of Jerry Lee Lewis’ ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’’. I kind of knew then that I was sunk. This guy sang and played piano. I figured I didn’t stand a chance just singing with a big band, especially with such a straight crowd…

“…I knew before either of us went on who was going to take the show.

“At the side of the stage, Alan came up and said hello. He told me that he’d been playing with Hedley’s group, but that he was playing guitar, not piano, which he would have preferred.

“‘Well,’ I told him. ‘We’re thinking about putting a real R&B band together. You can play piano with us anytime.’

“When the band leader announced Alan’s name he climbed onstage, headed right for the big black Steinway, and the 88s began to roll. Microphone stand between his legs, hair flopped over his forehead, Alan got into it, speeding up at the end and throwing off the big-band drummer, just like Jerry Lee.

“When he walked off, Alan seemed surprised at the enthusiasm of the applause, but this was basically a straight crowd seeing and hearing live rock and roll for the first time!

“At least he warmed them up, I thought as I was called on next.” - Eric Burdon, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, 2001 (p. 11).

Eric ended up winning this particular competition, however, Alan has a little more to say about these talent shows…

“Eric is an old, old friend and figures a lot in the formative days of Alan’s musical career. Alan recalls a holiday with him at Butlins.

“‘We paid for it by winning talent competitions,’ he says ‘Eric did a wonderful Presley act and I won the musical section with my Jerry Lee Lewis impression.’” - Beat Instrumental, November, 1966 (p. 6).

…So you went on a private vacation, just the two of you, that you paid for with the money you pooled together from talent shows? …hmm… Said holiday doesn’t seem to be elaborated on further by either of them, besides by Alan in this one article… but to be fair, it doesn’t need to be.

Anyway, this is a perfect representation of the immense amount of respect they had for one another’s talents. A common, misguided observation of most interpretations of their relationship is the idea that neither of them seem to want to “back down” in relation to one another, per-say (which is somewhat true, they are both quite stubborn). However, if there’s one undeniable consistency within their dynamic, it’s that they never lose respect for one another and will always acknowledge when the other is performing well. Enjoying the other’s talents, unabashedly.

Emergence of a Combo -

Amongst all of this, the fundamental elements of what we now know as the Animals were beginning to take shape. Once Alan had joined the Pagans, they had changed their name to the Kansas City Five (KC5); however, he didn’t stick together for too long. After performing with the KC5 for a few months, Alan ended up being a no-show at a particular gig, having been snatched by another band known as the Kontours. It was within this group that Chas Chandler entered the picture, supplying bass guitar within the Kontours. Around this time, the Pagans/KC5 were beginning to disband, with Eric making a trip down to London to explore the scene there and John taking on a real job while playing music on the side. The Kontours had their own fluctuation in members, with Chas and Alan seeking out musicians and the Alan Price Combo emerging from this unit (John was in and out of the band for a time). Like the others, working slightly more stable jobs alongside their musical hobbies, Alan was employed at an income tax office during this time.

Meanwhile, for Eric, London was an unforgiving place; musically and as a general environment, and he was intrigued, especially by the blues music he was hearing. While Alan describes Eric coming back from London as “with his tail between his legs” (Alan Price tour program, 1975), Eric seemed to have a much more excitable, hopeful outlook on things.

“I returned to Newcastle full of enthusiasm, going from one friend’s house to another, telling them they must see what was cooking in London. I made a special trip to Alan’s place of employment, a tax office in the city centre. I told him he must go to London. But Alan was very serious about finishing his time at the tax office and making sure he was secure for life. One day, when the time was right, he too would feel the pull of the smoke.”  - Eric Burdon, I Used to Be an Animal, but I’m All Right Now, 1986 (p. 35).

Such a great description of Alan’s outlook on things, courtesy of Eric… I love the phrase, “feel the pull of the smoke”, which can mean just as much or as little as you want it to. Eric knew Alan had reservations, and even once he was physically in the city, he still wouldn’t entirely be there and Eric didn’t pressure him; not too much, at least. Instead, he provided excitable suggestions, wanting their band to flourish. Wanting to work together again.

The Alan Price Combo, circa 1962. Note Chas on the bass!

Giving Up the Reigns -

However, Alan’s hesitation didn’t just surround “moving to the big city”. No… he had further reservations… mostly revolving around Eric himself. This is where things get just as speculatory and muddled as they are clear-cut. Alan definitely harbored a bit of jealousy towards Eric, which became obvious when Eric held the ‘lead singer’ role in their groups. Just by the nature of this musical position, Eric is the focal point of the band; the focal sound of the band. This was true in the Pagans and KC5, and would be true in the Animals… and if Eric was to join the Alan Price Combo, it would happen there. Eric’s voice would dominate the others, dominate Alan’s piano, dominate Alan’s own voice, and this was something the prickly and stubborn Alan Price didn’t like very much at the time. Sure, Chas and John didn’t take any shit, but their particular instrumentation meant they were never a “threat”. Eric was a “threat” to his image and his sound…

“I don’t think AP could deal with me as the front guy. His attitude is, ‘Here I am, I’ve studied piano all my life, I’m the musician in the band, and this fucker’s out front getting all the adulation.’ The guy’s got problems. Always had problems. Great player, no doubt about it. He was the Animals to a certain degree.” - Eric Burdon, Animal Tracks: The Story of the Animals, 2012 (p. 82).

Now, this sounds mighty antagonistic, doesn’t it? …Yeah, it does. However, this behavior in Alan doesn’t last too long. And the fact that he did harbor these feelings at this time makes many of the things he does a few years from now hold a lot more meaning, indicative of how much he will embrace Eric’s presence in his life… but, we’ll get to that later.

Though, as a small aside - and I might just be reading too much into this - but Alan’s behavior in trying to avoid the inevitable (Eric eventually joining their group) gives me “furiously avoiding his crush” vibes…

Here’s some of the Animals’ takes on the early Burdon-Price dynamic:

“It was Alan who had organized the band from the start. But he realized that he didn’t have the voice for that kind of material. He had to get Eric in. From then on, it was Eric who had the ideas, even though Alan was the leader of the band.” - John Steel, Wild Animals, 1986 (p. 21).

“[Price] did the administration, he was the one that got the money and divided it out, but Eric seemed to be the dominant one.” - Hilton Valentine, Animal Tracks: The Story of the Animals, 2012 (p. 30). (lol thanks Hilton, I kind of figured)

[Interviewer: “Was there an element of frustration with Alan Price wanting to be lead vocalist when he knew damn well that you were doing a fine job, and he really didn’t have much of a chance?”]

“To the outside world, it would appear to be that it was a problem of Alan and his need to be heard, vocally. Maybe it was. I didn’t see it that way because my relationship with Alan was always a love-hate, delicate relationship from the very beginning.” - Eric Burdon, BBC Interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFTtReqO9bs&t=0s)

“Love-hate, delicate relationship”... believe me, the first time I heard this, I just about fell apart at the seams. Because, yeah, despite the tension, there was something very delicate there…

Anyway, hello, Hilton Valentine! Of course, he was the last piece of the Animal-puzzle, joining in mid-’63, after Chas had seen him performing around clubs with a skiffle group known as the Wild Cats. He was honestly the perfect final addition, not only providing the lead guitar the group desperately needed, but also more of that rock-image, which Hilton was practically schooled in. John also permanently joined around this time, truly rounding the group off. At this point, the band was still referred to as the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, however, this wouldn’t last for too much longer…

Music to His Ears -

I talked enough about Alan being a bit prickly and restating what dozens of online articles who don’t read obscure Beat Instrumental articles daily have said already, so let's get to the beginning of the absolutely soft content. Again, this is something they were basically doing since ‘59, and probably later on throughout the decade, but it’s most documented and palpable here.

Eric had a huge impact on Alan musically, because one of the things Eric would do was sit him down and play Alan records that he hadn’t heard much before; of pianists he hadn’t heard much before. Pete Johnson, Memphis Slim, accompanying pianists on Gene Vincent and Elvis records… and, of course, Ray Charles. This was a world of wonder Alan had never had the chance to fully be exposed to before, and after hearing this music for the first time, he would try and emulate it on a piano as soon as he possibly could. Eric knew how good Alan was with his jazzy, more lounge-ish style, as well as church-esque music… but he also knew he could foster a more bluesy, more rock-based sound within him as well. And Alan not only let him… but considers these moments they shared to be some of the most formative in his entire career.

“Eric was always introducing me to new artists which I hadn’t come across before.” - Alan Price, Beat Instrumental, November, 1966 (p. 6).

“Eric is an old, old friend and figures a lot in the formative days of Alan’s musical career. …It was the music he heard through Eric that made him a follower of quality, a seeker after big sounds, as near perfect as perfection itself.” - Beat Instrumental, November, 1966 (p. 6).

“I think, perhaps, if there were any big influences, musically there was Ray Charles, in the beginning, and all of rock and roll, but Ray Charles, because he sang like I felt. I didn't want to imitate him, I didn't want to do a Joe Cocker.

“The next one was Eric Burdon, who educated me to blues music in the real sense of the word, Joe Turner, Pete Johnson, and I found I could play like these people. It's funny to find out you can actually play. I mean, when you're self-taught and you can't read, and you suddenly play and you find that you are playing what these people are playing, as well as getting the same thrill, that's a nice sense of identification…

“…I'd say I owe most to those two, Eric and Lindsay [Anderson].” - Alan Price, interview from October, 1975 (http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/alan-price/6673)

“Alan didn’t know much about blues until Eric started ramming Ray Charles at him. He was more into Jerry Lee Lewis. But it was always Eric who had dug out some good, unheard-of blues thing or other. …It was Eric who was always looking for that kind of stuff, and Eric who was always wanting to play it.

“If it hadn’t been for Eric, I expect Alan Price would still be a tax inspector, playing Jerry Lee Lewis on the side.” - John Steel, Wild Animals, 1986 (p. 17).

Shout-out to John Steel for saying one of the absolute most telling statements up to this point. Because… yeah, he’s completely right: Eric changed Alan’s life for the better… and Alan seems to agree. Eric completely shifted his outlook on music and the way he would approach his own style… and this would have a profound impact on the sound they created together.

Also, the image of an excitable Eric and a curious Alan huddled around a record player, just the two of them, is adorable. Wonder if they did a lot of “listening” on that holiday they went on together…

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