Alan Williams (born 22 December 1948) is a British singer. He is the former lead singer for The Rubettes and now fronts his own Rubettes spinoff “The Rubettes featuring Alan Williams”.
Alan Williams | |
|---|---|
Alan Williams | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 22 December 1948 Welwyn Garden City |
| Genres | Glam rock |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Member of | The Rubettes |
Career
editWilliams' first band, The Medium, included John Richardson on drums.[1] Williams and Richardson were both in The Rubettes, both before this they were the duo "Baskin & Copperfield".[2] Baskin & Copperfield never charted in the UK, but appeared on Top of the Pops and Hits à Go-Go with the song "I Never See The Sun".
Williams replaces Paul Da Vinci as lead singer of The Rubettes, as he was the only session singer who could replicate Da Vinci’s falsetto vocals.[3] “Sugar Baby Love”, which became the groups most successful song, went to number 1 in the U.K.[4][5] Subsequent songs, such as “I Can Do It” and “Juke Box Jive”, are sang by Alan.
The Rubettes disbanded in 2000, and not that long after Williams recreates The Rubettes with Mick Clarke and John Richardson of the original members. Bill Hurd, original pianist, also recreated the band around the same time as Alan with Paul Da Vinci, and in 2002, the two went to court for reasons surrounding ownership of the “Rubettes” name.[6] The final agreement was that both musicians could tour under the name, as long it specifies which of the two was fronting the group.
In 2005, Alan sued Bill, claiming he breached the terms on the original contract, after he learned he appeared on German television as “The Rubettes”, without any sign that this band was “featuring Bill Hurd”. The court ruled that Williams also breached the contracts agreements as well as Hurd, but since Bill’s abuse of the contract was more severe, Alan ultimately won the case.[6]
In July 2022, Williams was sued by former band mates John Richardson and Mick Clarke, who had also been in Alan’s Rubettes.[7] Williams won the case. He and Bill Hurd continue to lead their own Rubettes band.
References
edit- ^ "Alan Williams". www.alwynwturner.com. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- ^ "Artist: Baskin & Copperfield | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- ^ Mark McStea, "Under the Radar: The Rubettes", Record Collector, No.552, December 2023, p.148
- ^ Roberts, David (2001). British Hit Singles (14th ed.). Guinness World Records. p. 44. ISBN 0-85156-156-X.
- ^ "Rubettes Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. 2023-07-09. Archived from the original on 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
- ^ a b "therubettes.de". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
- ^ "Sugar love goes sour for glam rock band the Rubettes". The Times. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2024.