Born on this day ...

[Ruby]

Chris Farlowe was born John Henry Deighton, on this day in 1940, in Islington, North London. His really is one of the most extraordinary and unsung voices to come out of his generation, IMHO. He has an incredibly soulful sound that is a prime example of why it’s a very bad idea to judge any book by its cover, or origins. Mick Jagger wrote “Out of Time” for him, which has somehow turned out to be strangely appropriate since although that song (which Farlowe didn’t like at all originally) garnered him the one and only No 1 hit of his career, he never really managed to make the popular impact his vocal prowess merits. He does, however, have a core of loyal fans, and to this day, continues to perform live which is what he’s done for most of his life (he seems to have a following in Germany), rather than spending an inordinate amount of time in the studio; he says he’ll go out singing.

Little known and lauded outside a limited circle he might be, but he has the respect of his peers; Mike d’Abo wrote “Handbags and Gladrags” for his voice, he was with Atomic Rooster in the early 70’s, did a stint with Jimmy Page, and in recent years, has taken to the stage with none other than Van the Man, who as legend has it, is not famous for his bonhomie or high levels of tolerance for fellow humans.

Outside of his music, apparently Mr Farlowe is an ace snooker player.

“Out of Time” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMli47EQVWE

“Handbags and Gladrags” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_oRLe1DkMY

“Can’t Find a Reason” with Atomic Rooster … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A0fk2V6g6k

And this one from his album The Voice …