Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock, blues and blue-eyed soul singer. He is best known for his hit single "Out of Time" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which rose to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1966, and his association with bands Atomic Rooster, the Thunderbirds, and Colosseum. Outside his music career, Farlowe collects war memorabilia.

Early life

Farlowe was born in Islington, North London. His mother sang and played piano at clubs. He is the nephew of Len Deighton. Farlowe was an apprentice carpenter in Holloway, London before he was a professional singer. John Henry Deighton became Chris Farlowe, after taking the surname from American guitarist Tal Farlow. before he joined the Johnny Burns Rhythm and Blues Quartet in 1958. The John Henry Skiffle Group won a local talent show.

Farlowe moved to Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label and recorded eleven singles, five of which were cover versions of Rolling Stones songs: "Paint It Black", "Think", "Ride On, Baby", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", and "Out of Time", which reached No. 1 (1966) in the UK Singles Chart.

He began an association with the jazz rock group Colosseum in September 1970, recording a live album and two studio albums including Daughter of Time (1970). and is featured on the albums Made in England (1972) and Nice 'n' Greasy (1973). Following Atomic Rooster, Farlowe toured in the UK and collaborated with Northern Irish guitarist Bobby Rice.

In 1978 Farlowe collaborated on two BBC Birmingham productions for which his former Colosseum bandmate Dave Greenslade wrote the theme music. First, in the second series of Gangsters, Farlowe sang the theme song. Farlowe and Greenslade then provided the music and Farlowe played the part of Benny opposite Sonja Kristina in the rock opera Curriculee Curricula. The production was first shown on BBC Two and shot in its entirety on video at the University of Birmingham campus, with Magnus Magnusson as the narrator.

Farlowe sang on two tracks from Jimmy Page's Death Wish II soundtrack (1982), as well as the tracks "Hummingbird", "Prison Blues" and "Blues Anthem" on Page's album Outrider (1988).thumb|Farlowe (middle) performing with [[Krissy Matthews and the Hamburg Blues Band in 2021.]]

In 2009, Farlowe toured as a featured artist with Maggie Bell and Bobby Tench as part of the "Maximum Rhythm and Blues" tour of 32 UK theatres. On 30 July 2016, Farlowe appeared at Wembley Arena, performing his 1966 hit "Out of Time" as part of a show marking the 50th anniversary of the England football team's victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final.

Personal life

Farlowe also collects war memorabilia, and once had a shop that sold Nazi uniforms, which had caused controversy at the time.

Singles and EPs on Island and its Sue subsidiary

  • "Stormy Monday Blues" (Part One/Part Two) (as Little Joe Cook, Island Sue WI 385)
  • Stormy Monday (EP: "Stormy Monday" / "She's Alright" / "Voodoo") (as Chris Farlowe, Island IEP 709, ca. 1966)

References

  • Official website, archived in 2010
  • 45-rpm.org.uk website information
  • Extensive fansite with discography
  • Record Collector article