“Hello, my name is Arthur Brown, and I was born before technology has begun!”
With these words, delivered in his characteristic, lyrical tone, he began his speech at a summit I was fortunate enough to attend about a decade ago in London, a man who was, in every other respect, calm and gentle. He had appeared wearing checkered pants, sandals, a cap, and everything else that epitomized an entire era in England, and for him personally, somewhere in the second half of the 1960s, when he was taking his first steps in music. Steps that would turn into leaps for quite a few artists inspired by his pioneering appearance on the artistic scene at the time, in truly difficult times when suspicion and obstacles toward anything new that emerged, outside the systems that societies had imposed, seemed like religious persecutions from a millennium ago.
With Arthur Brown, rock, psychedelia, and theatricality, seemed to flirt amidst flames, dances of monsters, and a feast of sounds, colors, and, above all, a unique vibe with the audience, which seemed more spellbound by a ritual than reacting like a typical rock concert crowd. The name he gave his act, “The Crazy World of Arthur Brown”, is perfectly descriptive of all of the above. Shock rock had already taken its place…
Artistically, Alice Cooper should be considered his spiritual successor (though Frank Zappa also lays claim to that title but perhaps we’ll analyze that in another column at some point), the first to turn those steps into leaps, as I wrote at the beginning.
As is often the case, a single song is enough to catapult an artist to fame, even if it isn’t their best. “Fire,” a 1968 single, was enough to cement his place in the minds of those seeking something in rock that was somewhat different from the objectively revolutionary offerings of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, who were at the height of their popularity at the time.
His discography is unique, with the overwhelming majority of his releases being collaborations with other artists. Hawkwind, the pioneers of space rock, with whom he actually collaborated, are also Arthur Brown’s spiritual heirs. One need only to take a good look at the successful careers of Monster Magnet, Spiritual Beggars, and many others, and trace the line back. Doesn’t it look like a family tree turned upside down? Well, the root of it all is Mr. Arthur Brown. He learned about technology from his “students”, he uses it with moderation and wisdom, he doesn’t ignore it, but he doesn’t put it at the forefront of his work either. At his 84, he continues to create quality music, and in his live performances, he has been conveying the same emotion for 60 years now.
We’ll have the chance, perhaps our last, to experience all of this at his performances in Athens and Thessaloniki on September 18 and 19, respectively. Don’t think of it as just a concert, it’s so much more than that…
Dimitris Kazantzis
