The Animals (translated from English “Animals”) is an incredibly successful British rock band of the 60s. It is noteworthy that this group was one of the main representatives of the so-called British invasion: a cultural phenomenon that occurred in the 60s, when artists from England overwhelmed the American music scene, was similarly called. Want to know more about this group?
Group creation
The actual date of the creation of this musical group can be considered 1959. This year, two Newcastle residents - Alan Price (keyboard player) and Brian Chandler (bass guitarist) met, being in a musical group called The Kansas City Five (translated from English "Five from Kansas City"). Since both guys were fond of blues and jazz, soon, in the wake of common tastes, they decided to form their own group. Further, John Steele (drummer) joined the guys. Thus, a team was formed, around which, after a dozen years, fans will form a real cult.
Further activities
Nevertheless, world-wide fame and recognition was still far away. The musical collective was experiencing certain difficulties - the group "Enimals" was not in demand at that time. The fact is that its composition was incomplete. The guys were not invited to perform in clubs. It was believed that the group "Animals" did not correspond to the then concepts of a musical ensemble. However, the musicians did not despair - they invited friends and acquaintances to their performances. Thus, the band soon replenished with a talented guitarist and vocalist Hilton Valentine and Eric Burdon, who possessed quite extraordinary vocal abilities.
The group gradually gained momentum. The team performed more and more often in various night clubs. Talented guys quickly absorbed professionalism and fame. By the end of 1963, the Enimals group had a decent reputation in and around Newcastle. This allowed the musicians to give a number of concerts with the then-famous bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson, who toured England. It’s worth noting that these were not “opening acts”, on the contrary, a full-fledged tour, during which Williamson played along with the guitar during some of the songs of the British group, and the participants of the “Animals”, in turn, took part in the performance of the bluesman’s songs .
In December 1963, the band "Animals" performed at a local club, and unexpectedly this event became crucial for the team. Part of the concert was recorded on small records, which were soon released in a limited edition (only 500 copies). One of the records accidentally fell into the hands of London manager Giorgio Gomelsky, so the group migrated to London.
The group was at the pinnacle of fame (the photo of the group "Animals" can be seen below). The team regularly toured England. Sometimes "Animals" participated in a tour with popular performers. For example, with Chuck Berry, the group The Swinging Blue Jeans (translated from English "Suspended Blue Jeans"). Also, do not forget about albums and singles, which brought the musical collective wide popularity around the world. Soon, the group "Enimals" went on tour in the United States of America, where he held a number of tours and concerts.
Collapse of the collective
In 1965, the group released a new album, thanks to which the "Animations" led the popular music ratings. Nevertheless, a conflict was brewing within the collective. The band’s lead singer Eric Burdon wished to play classic American blues, but most of the musicians were against such a decision. In addition, Burdon could not share the leadership with Alan Price. As a result, on May 5 of the same year, Alan left the Enimals and created his own group. Soon the drummer John Steele left the band. The musicians pretty quickly found a replacement. The guys recorded a new album called “Enimalism”, which took high positions in the charts, once again confirming the high status of the group. However, this did not help solve the chronic problems. As a result, the rock band "Enimals" broke up.
Joint performances
Although the group broke up, two years later the Enimals gathered again to give a concert in Newcastle. In January 1976, the team again appeared on the same stage in its classical composition. In the same year, it was decided to record a new album. The next time, the band "Animals" met again only in 1983 and 1993, delighting the crowds of fans.
The songs of the band "Animals"
The Animals have always been distinguished by a rather atypical repertoire. If the then groups played successful songs by popular rock guitarists, then the majority of the Enimals repertoire was composed of blues compositions. Also, one can not say about the manner of execution. In their songs, The Animals always focused not on the guitar, like most rock bands, but on keyboards. In addition, a distinctive feature of the team is the soloist Eric Burdon, who boasts a rather lively and expressive manner of performance. It is for this feature that the group got its original name.
Perhaps one of the most famous songs of the group is the single The House of the Rising Sun. The song was known to the public for a long time after all it was recorded by various artists since 1933. Nevertheless, only thanks to "Animals" she became a real hit. The House of the Rising Sun performed by The Animals took 122nd place in the ranking of 500 best songs according to the notorious Rolling Stones magazine . In addition, the group created such hits as Baby Let Me Take You Home, Boom Boom, Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood, Dimples, I Put A Spell On You, Im Mad Again and others.