Louis Clark
| Louis Clark | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 February 1947 |
| Origin | Kempston, Bedfordshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1974-present |
| Associated acts | Electric Light Orchestra, ELO Part II, The Orchestra, Renaissance, Annie Haslam, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
Louis Clark (born 27 February 1947, in Kempston, near Bedford, Bedfordshire, England) is a British musical arranger and keyboard player.
He trained at Leeds College of Music.[1]
Electric Light Orchestra
He was the conductor of the orchestra and choir hired to back Electric Light Orchestra's sound, introduced on their album Eldorado in 1974. He assisted Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy in writing string arrangements as well. He later played synthesizers for the band during their Time tour. In 1983 he returned to conduct the strings on the Secret Messages album. In 1986 he played keyboards with ELO on their small number of live dates.
Later he also joined the tour for ELO Part II in celebration of the band's 25th Anniversary. He continues to work with ELO successor group The Orchestra.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
In 1977 he arranged the music of Renaissance for their Albert Hall concert with the RPO.
In the early eighties he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on a series of records under the title Hooked on Classics.
In 1985 he again worked with Renaissance singer Annie Haslam and the band's lyricist Betty Thatcher with the RPO to produce the album "Still Life".
English Pops Orchestra
In 2011 Louis Clark was made president of the English Pops Orchestra, and returned to performing Hooked on Classics 'LIVE' with the EPO using many of the players that recorded the original albums.
Discography
Sourced from Louis Clark's official website - all albums performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra unless otherwise stated.
- (per-spek-tiv) n. (Jet 218, 1979)
- Hooked on Classics (K-Tel One 1146, 1981)
- The Queen Collection (EMI TV33, 1982 and MFP 41 5673 1, 1982)
- Hooked on Classics 2 (K-Tel One 1173, 1983), later releases were subtitled "Can't Stop the Classics"
- Hooked on Classics 3 (K-Tel One 1226, 1983), later releases were subtitled "Journey Through the Classics"
- The Beatles 20th Anniversary Concert (Spartan SRFC1001, 1983)
- Best of Hooked on Classics (K-Tel One 2266, 1984)
- Great Hits from Hooked on Classics (Pickwick SHM3158, 1985)
- Still Life (Spartan LCTV1, 1985) featuring vocals by Annie Haslam and lyrics by Betty Thatcher
- Favourite Classics (Spartan SLCLP2, 1986)
- Hooked on Classics Collection (K-Tel 5107, 1986)
- The Very Best of Hooked on Classics (Pickwick PWKS 4017, 1986)
- Later release: (K-Tel EMC2006, 1992)
- Abbaphonic (Disky AC202, 1987 and Disky DLP2007, 1987)
- Later released as Classic Abba (Icon ICONCD002, 1992), The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Abba (Disky DCD 5246, 1992; Emporio EMPRCD585, 1995; Disky INS 855362, 1999), The Music of ABBA (Hallmark 301372, 1995)
- Beatlephonic (Disky DLP2015, 1987)
- Later released as The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra plays The Beatles (Disky DCD5255, 1992; Disky INS 855372, 1999)
- Hooked on Rhythm & Classics (Telstar 2344, 1988)
- Later re-released with an extra track as The Classics in Rhythm (Arista ARCD-8588, 1989), and as Hooked on Rhythm and Classics (Pickwick PWKS 4223, 1994)
- Hooked on Classics: The Ultimate Performance (K-Tel OCE2432, 1989)
- Legends (Union LP1, 1989)
- Seriously Orchestral Hits of Philadelphia Phil Collins (EDL 2555-1, 1990; Virgin RPOMC1, 1991; EDL 2555-2, 1993)
- Hooked on Hooked on Classics (Music Club MCTC003, 1991)
- Hooked on Classics X-tra Collection Vol 1 (ELAP 4718, 1991)
- Hooked on Classics X-tra Collection Vol 2 (ELAP 4719, 1991)
- The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Queen (Disky DCD 5256, 1992)
- The Two Sides of Louis Clark: Rock Legends and Favourite Classics (Westmore Music CDWM108, 1993)
- Instrumental Classics (K-Tel ECD 3025, 1994)
- Also released as Hooked on Instrumental Classics (K-Tel 6133-2, 1994), albeit in a different track order and with an extra track.
- The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Pop Legends (Disky DCD 5381, 1994)
- More Hooked on Classics (Music Club MCCD 369, 1998)
Compilations:
- Open Space: The Classic Chillout Album (Columbia 504690-2, 2001)
- The New Classic Chillout Album: From Dusk Til Dawn (Sony STVCD148, 2002)
