Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame is the performing name of Clive Powell, a British singer, keyboard player and organist born in 1943 and associated with jazz, soul, mod, pop, pop rock and vocal jazz. He is from Wigan, in the United Kingdom, and begins playing piano at a young age before moving through the Manchester and London music scenes as a teenager.

Early career and the Blue Flames

As a teenager, he performs with several groups around Manchester and is influenced by artists such as Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1959 his family moves to London, where he is discovered by songwriter Lionel Bart and taken to manager Larry Parnes. Parnes gives him the stage name Georgie Fame, continuing a practice he uses for other British pop acts.

Fame plays piano behind Billy Fury, Marty Wilde and Vince Eager before joining Fury’s backing band, the Blue Flames, in 1961. The line-up includes Colin Green on guitar, Mick Eve on saxophone, Tony Makins on bass and Red Reece on drums. When Fury lets the group go later that year, Fame becomes lead singer and the band develops a live sound that mixes rock, pop, rhythm and blues, jazz and ska.

The Blue Flames build a reputation through the London club circuit and a residency at the Flamingo jazz club in the West End. American servicemen who attend the club introduce Fame to records that lead him to the Hammond B-3 organ, an instrument he becomes one of the few British musicians to adopt in late 1962. The group later becomes billed as Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames.

1960s hit records

In 1963 the band signs to EMI Columbia and releases its debut album, Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo, in early 1964. The first three singles do not chart, but the group soon breaks through with Yeh Yeh, a song linked to Mongo Santamaria and with lyrics by Jon Hendricks. It reaches number one in the United Kingdom in 1965. Fame follows this with the album Fame at Last, which reaches the UK Top 20, and another number one single, Get Away, in 1966.

His biggest success comes with The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde in 1968. That song reaches number one in both the United Kingdom and the United States. He records several other chart singles in the late 1960s, and all three of his Top 10 hits reach number one.

Later 1960s and 1970s

After one more album with the original Blue Flames, Sweet Thing in 1966, Fame ends the group and records as a solo artist. His backing bands include drummer Mitch Mitchell and guitarist John McLaughlin. His solo career begins with the big-band album Sound Venture, recorded with Harry South’s orchestra, which reaches the Top 10 and leads to a tour with Count Basie.

In 1971 he works with Alan Price on the album Fame & Price, and the partnership produces the hit single Rosetta. He later reforms the Blue Flames with Colin Green in 1974 and records for Island, but those releases attract little attention. During the 1970s and 1980s he also works on television, performs on the cabaret circuit and writes advertising jingles.

Work with Van Morrison, Bill Wyman and others

From 1989, Fame becomes a regular contributor to Van Morrison’s recordings, beginning with Avalon Sunset. He plays on all of Morrison’s albums through The Healing Game in 1997, serves as musical director, and receives co-billing on Morrison’s jazz album How Long Has This Been Going On in 1996. He sings harmony vocals and plays keyboards on tracks including In the Days before Rock ’n’ Roll.

Fame also tours with Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings and contributes organ and vocals to several of their albums. He continues to perform as a solo artist, including regular club residencies such as those at Ronnie Scott’s, and he has also played organ on an album by Starclub.

1990s and later jazz work

In the 1990s, Fame’s solo recordings receive stronger critical attention. Cool Cat Blues appears in 1991 and includes a duet with Van Morrison on Moondance. Three Line Whip in 1995 features his sons Tristan and James Powell on guitar and drums, and The Blues and Me in 1996 further strengthens his reputation as a jazz singer. In 2000 he releases Poet in New York on Ben Sidran’s Go Jazz label, an album noted for its focus on vocalese.

Across his career, Fame is known for a blend of jazz and American rhythm and blues, along with early use of ska and bluebeat material. He is also associated with the vanishing art of vocalese and is respected by jazz critics on both sides of the Atlantic.

Selected associated acts

He records and performs as Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames and later with Hudik Big Band, and he works with Alan Price, Van Morrison, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Harry South’s orchestra, Mitch Mitchell and John McLaughlin.