Alan Clark

Hello and welcome to my site.

My lastest solo gig was a piano recital in Pescara, Italy on 22nd Feb. Of everything I’ve done in music, playing piano solo gigs is my favourite. One thing I’m doing this year is a comprehensive tour with DSL, which is a band I’m a member of. Another is Trevor Horn’s band with whom I recently played a charity show at the London Roundhouse.

BACKSTORY is my piano solo record made up of tunes I’ve been associated with in my career to date, plus my own compositions. It’s available on all streaming platforms https://ponderosa.lnk.to/backstory and CDs/vinyls are available via Amazon. And plans are now afoot to make my second solo record, this time featuring all my original compositions. And some friends.

ALAN CLARK – BACKSTORY (POP ROCK): “If you are a fan of Dire Straits or have read the recently released book about the band by bassist John Illsley, you know the impact keyboardist Alan Clark had on the band’s arrangements. Backstory features fresh arrangements of Dire Straits songs that Clark originally played on. Utilizing just his piano, Clark is able to conjure new magic around “Romeo and Juliet” and “Love Over Gold,” as well as Bob Dylan’s “I and I.” A noted composer and producer in his own right, Clark reminds us of the impact he has had on the rock and pop world over the years, and for that, we thank him”.

Preston Frazier, Something Else Reviews

Click on this link for another review by music journalist Mick Middles

2023, Monday July 3rd, my piano concert in Piazza dei Mercanti, Milan

dsl Dire Straits Legacy

10 or so years ago, I received an invitation from an Italian geezer to play Dire Straits tunes on top of a ski mountain with him in the Italian Dolomites in December. The invite had also gone out to my Dire Straits’ colleague John Illsley, so we spoke, figured it would be a laugh, accepted and a good weekend was had. Fast forward to now, and that Italian geezer, Marco Caviglia, plus most of my DS colleagues have played in Brazil, Argentina, the US, the UK, Finland, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, China, New Zealand and more. Marco grew up dreaming of playing with Dire Straits, and with dedication and a lot of work, made his dream come true because we, Dire Straits Legacy, have had the following Dire Straits’ people in the band:

John Illsley, Pick Withers, Mel Collins, Jack Sonni, Phil Palmer, Danny Cummings and Tommy Mandel. We’ve also had in the band the world’s best rock drummer, Steve Ferrone from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, plus world renowned record producer Trevor Horn, and Italian star Max Gazze. DSLegacy.com

If you’re hoping to see Mark Knopfler, he won’t be there. In his place will be the Italian geezer, Marco, whose spirited, dedicated, heartfelt and skilful performance will not leave you wanting anything but more. Learn more here: DSLegacy.com

2023. Among the memorable things I did in 2023 is I played with the excellent Billy Mitchel in Newcastle Cathedral, to say goodbye to the celebrated TV music producer/director Geoff Wonfor. I’ve also recorded with various people including the above now released project with Trevor Horn; I’ve been writing material for my next solo album which I’ll record this year; I toured with DSL in Brazil, USA, France, Spain, Slovenia, Kosovo, China, New Zealand etc etc, and we have more lined up this year.

LIVE AID

I’m often asked in interviews which gig is the most memorable I’ve played. The answer is any of the solo piano concerts I’ve played - I love doing them - but really it has to be Live Aid, because it’s the biggest gig I’ve played and probably the biggest gig anyone has ever played. Here’s a brief account of my day:

I was woken by the morning sun streaming into my window. I switched on the TV and watched the start of Live Aid, knowing I’d be on that stage 9 or so hours later, which was weird because I was still in bed. I ate breakfast sunning myself on the veranda and watching the show, and set off for Wembley around 11am, giving myself plenty of time as I’d wrongly assumed I’d be stuck in endless traffic heading to Wembley but everyone was either in the stadium or watching it on TV, so the traffic was light. The band met up around 1pm in Wembley Arena, which is adjacent to Wembley stadium and is where we, Dire Straits, were several shows into a run of 12. We walked over to the stadium around 2:30pm and it’s all a bit of a blur thereafter but I remember the backstage was heaving with celebrities, that we did a photo shoot with David Bailey, and before we performed we were briefed about how important it was that we stick to the allotted time for our set; to make sure everyone did, there was a large kitchen clock hanging at the side of the stage, which is visible in the photo below.

Festival gigs can be a bit of a lottery because bands rarely get the opportunity to soundcheck, and this was no exception. Because it made logistic sense, I was using Freddie Mercury’s piano (mine was waiting for me onstage across the carpark in the Arena) and the first notes I played on it that day were in front of 100,000 people on the stadium and, I’m told, 1.8 billion around the world. A lot could have gone wrong but thanks to our excellent crew, nothing did. After our performance, we walked back over to the Arena to the strains of Queen starting up their set, and an hour or so later we played a show in the Arena for another 10,000 people. Because we were playing so many shows there, we had a few things set up to amuse us including a backstage sushi bar and in a nearby building, a full-on go kart track, both of which I made full use of that night, which allowed the Wembley traffic to clear. Around 1am, I drove back to Bayswater, sank a couple of beers and went to bed. It was an extraordinary day.

TINA

I met Tina when I was recording the song Private Dancer, after which she invited me to join her on her US tour and become her musical director. She was a shining example to us all.

Bob Dylan

A bit of music trivia: When I recorded Bob Dylan’s album Infidels, in New York, co-producer Mark Knopfler intended to cut the tracks and work on them afterwards, as we had done with most of the tracks for our band’s Love Over Gold album. Because we had little time to familiarise ourselves with Bob’s songs, I played Hammond organ throughout most tracks while they went down, with a view to mixing them in and out later, while Mark observed from the control room. However, Mark and I had to rejoin the Dire Straits tour, and Bob decided to mix the tracks in LA, and my organ parts were left in as I played them. This is also why Mark’s guitar doesn’t feature so much on the record. As he was producing the record, he listened to the initial tracks going down from the control room, thinking he would overdub his guitar during the next break in the Dire Straits tour. But by then, that boat had sailed.

3 CHORD TRICK is the name of an album I produced for a band I’m a member of called LEGACY.

https://www.highresaudio.com/en/content/legacy-3-chord-trick

Co-producer Phil Palmer and I recorded the basic tracks in Los Angeles with LA residents Steve Ferrone and Pino Palladino, then finished the record in Forward Studios in Grottaferrata, near Rome. 3 Chord Trick is available on all digital platforms (iTunes etc), you can buy CD's and vinyl on Amazon, and it's also available on DSD (an ultra-high definition format that has 256 times the resolution of a CD).

LEGACY has this illustrious line-up:

Probably the world’s greatest rock drummer Steve Ferrone from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; legendary guitarist Phil Palmer who played on Dire Straits’ On Every Street record and tour (as well as countless other records), as did our percussionist, drummer and vocalist Danny Cummings who has since toured and recorded with Mark Knopfler. We also have perhaps the greatest rock sax player of our generation, Mel Collins, who was with Dire Straits on our Love over Gold record and tour, the Alchemy live album and the Twisting by the Pool EP. Recently, he’s been touring the world with his former band King Crimson. (Mel and I go way back; we first met when we were on a Gallagher and Lyle tour in 1977) On bass we have the legendary, multi award winning record producer Trevor Horn who first appeared with his band Buggles’ record Video Killed the Radio Star, and went on to produce a long list of hit records which includes the worldwide hit Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes. From Italy we have ace Italian keyboard player Primiano De Biase, and the renowned Italian guitarist/singer Marco Caviglia, and guesting on the record is vocalist and ace multi- instrumentalist Jamie Squire (who sings on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing band when he’s not touring the world with The 1975), plus one of the world’s greatest bass players Pino Palladino.

And, er, me!

First class recording studios with a full size live room are becoming a rarity these days, but there are still some out there. Forward Studios in Grottaferrata, near Rome, is my favourite. It’s a world class, money-no-object facility with a huge Neve 88R desk, a great atmosphere, excellent engineers, and the best pizza in the world a 5 minute walk away (Fondi, Grottaferrata). I made the LEGACY record 3 Chord Trick there, and various other projects. Whenever I’m there, I stay in another favourite of mine, the splendid Villa Mercede hotel in nearby Frascati. A big thanks to owners Luigi and Gianluca and everyone at the hotel for making it my home from home in Italy.

https://www.sundayforsammy.org

Some rock trivia:

I joined Dire Straits in late 1980. Thereafter, I’m the only person in the band besides Mark Knopfler to have played on every track Dire Straits recorded and performed.

More rock trivia…

Doubtless there are many Alan Clarks in the world but the only one I knew when I was growing up was the one on the TV: Allen Clarke from the Hollies. Many years later, when I was in Australia with Dire Straits in 1986 during Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms tour, when Dire Straits was the biggest band in the world, I stepped into an elevator in the Sebel Townhouse hotel in Sydney, and there was Allen. Somewhat to my amazement, he asked me for my autograph. For his kids, apparently.

Many years later, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, I was introduced to the late Denny Lane who said, “Alan, I haven’t seen you for years!” I replied, “Denny, I’ve never met you.” He thought I was Allen Clarke of the Hollies. More recently, I did an interview with a hospital radio station and the interviewer began by asking me what it was like to be the singer in the Hollies. I briefly considered going along with it but I came clean and did a half hour interview with an embarrassed interviewer. And just the other day, someone contacted me via this website, praising my vocal prowess as a member of the Hollies. Fame at last!

Even more rock trivia…

The accordion I played on the track Brothers in Arms was exhibited in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. (Somewhat mbarrassingly, it was the only Dire Straits exhibit because no-one else in the band donated anything) The photo below demonstrates how I played it on Brothers in Arms: I had Guy Fletcher squeeze it while I played the keys. Thanks to ace accordion and keyboard player Primiano de Biase from DSL for helping me play the accordion in a similar fashion on LEGACY’s Three Chord Trick album. The accordion now languishes in the Hall of Fame return box in my cellar.

Even more trivia…

The 1975

I was at Matty Healy‘s christening. I’m a friend of his parents Tim Healy and Denise Welch. We lived in the same Northumbrian village and Matty went to the same school as my kids. The band he was in while he was at school (he was the drummer) entered the school’s Battle of the Band’s competition that I was judging. Matty’s band won, not by favouritism on my part; they were by far the best. Also in that band was the talented Jamie Squire who plays, sings and writes with The 1975, and who you might have seen/heard singing in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing band.

More trivia:

When we recorded the Brothers in Arms record at AIR studios on the Caribbean island of Monsterrat, I stayed for a while in Beatles’ producer George Martin’s house. There was a nice sound system in the living room but no records and all we had between us were the 2 cassettes that were in the bottom of my bag: Pat Metheny’s As Wichita Falls, So Falls Wichita, and Prince’s Purple Rain. Pat Metheny was played occasionally, Purple Rain most nights. Did they influence the record?

A final morsel…

It is written in the history of Dire Straits, that the band broke up after the Brothers in Arms tour and reformed for the On Every Street record. Not true: it was a hiatus, not a breakup. We played Knebworth in that period, albeit as an amalgamation with Eric’s band, which I was also a member of. If it was a breakup, no one told me! History rewritten!

This picture was taken when I was riding the mountains around Lake Ullswater with my son Josh. Just below us, out of sight is Howtown bay where I learned to dinghy sail when I was 12 yrs old, which later led to my love of windsurfing which began when I was making the Dire Straits’ record, Brothers in Arms, on the Caribbean island of Montserrat.

Thanks for visiting, feel free to check out my other pages, keep in touch and STAY SAFE.