Brian Protheroe

Quite enjoying Brian's recent-ish album Hot Spot Melodies. It's maybe a bit similar to Desert Road but his love for ad-hoc polystylism is still on nice display. "O Rheanna" is a nice Costello-ish ballad (and his voice has even got a bit similar), "Crazy Running" is a match for Gilbert O'Sullivan's new (very good) album, "The Fatal Tree" unexpectedly puts me in the mind of Goats Don't Shave (production aside), there's vocal jazz and pop reggae songs that work for him and his voice, "Before the Battle" is a strange spoken word collage, and the inevitably less polished "Salvador Demo" is exactly like classic 70s Brian! (to the point where I'm wondering if it actually is).

What do we think of Brian? His 70s triad of albums - Pinball, Pick-Up and I/You - are all eccentric art-rock classics to me, definitely up there with the best of the decade, and all recently reissued in a wonderful set by Cherry Red. I've interviewed Brian too and he is a really lovely man.

Stumped. Will give a listen . "eccentric art-rock" sounds more interesting than the allmusic description: Best known in Britain as an actor who sustained a career on screen and stage for over four decades, Brian Protheroe is also known for a clutch of soft rock records

Although Allmusic contributor calls "Pinball," an exquisite piece of post-McCartney pop

those 70s lps are great bargain bin pickups. (no pun intended, 'cause there's one called 'pick-up.') will investigate the new one...

and brian protheroe needs a revival.

― scott seward, Friday, September 11, 2009 9:32 PM (twelve years ago)

always ahead of his time.

The recent albums, both rather relaxed and easy, may not be to everyone's tastes but for me there's a real 'nice to have him back'-ness at play.

All three 70s albums deserve much more of a look in. Typically Brian'd write maybe half the songs by himself and the other half would be with Martin Duncan, who would really push Brian even more for song structures to take detours and arrangements to be wonky and weird (aided by engineer Richard Dodd's stereo and editing theurgy). Del Newman as producer was key for bringing the exact sort of unlikely session people Brian would hear in his head.

"Pinball", and parent album of that name, are indeed exquisite McCartney-esque pop of the highest standard ("Fly Now" was explicitly indebted to "Monkberry"). The album isn't quite as mad or art rock (in a David Essex/Sparks-like sense) as the next two but it's probably my favourite. Favourites are "Money Love", the title track itself (labyrinthine and catatonic before gradually ending up somewhere trip hop-ish fields with Tony Coe's tenor) and "Monkey" (all lopsided and staccato with, in the chorus, quavering hands descending down the fretboard).

I saw his name as voiceover/narrator on one of those police/ambulance docudrama things, and thought oh is that the same guy as did "Pinball"?

It is.

New Brian album on Friday https://brianprotheroe.bandcamp.com/album/a-salisbury-boy

Randomly played "Pinball" and never heard it before. What a great song.

Right?!

:-O

He has been narrating the Channel 4 dating show First Dates since 2015.

I didn't tell Brian I've never seen the show when I interviewed him, but I was once told that "a boy from Trowbridge with Aspergers" was on it. What are the chances.

Incidentally Brian - A Salisbury Boy - picked up my accent straight away when it seems few do.