Earl Okin

Earl Okin is a London-based singer-songwriter, musician and comedian from Surrey, born in 1947. He grows up in Carshalton and lives in Notting Hill from the age of five. He studies philosophy at the University of Kent at Canterbury and graduates in 1968, then works as a schoolmaster for eleven years before moving into music full time.

Career

Okin is signed to the same company as The Beatles in 1966 and records his first single at Abbey Road in 1967. During the 1960s, versions of some of his songs are recorded by Cilla Black, Georgie Fame and Helen Shapiro. In the 1970s he becomes a familiar name in folk clubs, while also supporting acts in larger venues, first with artists such as Ralph McTell and Fairport Convention and later with performers including Jean-Luc Ponty and Van Morrison. A 1979 tour with Paul McCartney and Wings prompts him to become a full-time performer.

He also begins appearing at jazz festivals and develops a parallel career in alternative comedy. In 1981 he appears on The Parkinson Show and, after Nigel Planer invites him to The Comic Strip comedy club, he starts to work on the alternative comedy circuit, where he continues as a headline act. His comedy work remains tied to music, and he continues to perform as a one-man act combining songs and humour.

Performance and repertoire

From 1983, Okin appears at the Edinburgh Fringe, where he performs more than 500 shows. He keeps developing both his songwriting and his jazz singing and musicianship, with a particular interest in Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. He gives concerts in Brazil and performs on television in several countries, especially Brazil, Australia and Germany. He also appears at major London venues including the Royal Albert Hall, the Festival Hall, The Palladium and Wembley Arena.

Recordings

Alongside self-published LPs, he has CDs issued by BMG in Germany and Austria and by Sony in the UK. His recorded albums include Bossa Britanica, which focuses on jazz and bossa nova, and Songs from a Garden Shed, which presents his songs across different genres.