The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown are an English rock band formed by singer Arthur Brown in 1967. The original band included Vincent Crane (Hammond organ and piano), Drachen Theaker (drums), and Nick Greenwood (bass). This early incarnation were noted for Crane's organ and brass arrangements and Brown's powerful, wide-ranging operatic voice. Brown is notable for his unique stage persona, featuring extreme facepaint, movement, dance, costume changes and a burning helmet.
Their song "Fire" (released in 1968 as a single) sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart and Canada, and number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as its parent album The Crazy World of Arthur Brown which reached number 2 on the UK album charts, number 6 in Canada, and number 7 in the US. Following the success of "Fire", the press would often refer to Brown as "The God of Hellfire", in reference to the opening shouted line of the song, a moniker that exists to this day.
In the late 1960s, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown's popularity was such that the group shared bills with the Who, Jimi Hendrix, the Mothers of Invention, the Doors, the Small Faces, and Joe Cocker, among others. However, the band's second studio album, Strangelands, although set to be released in 1969, was shelved by the band's record label due to lacking sales potential (although it would later be released in 1988). The band broke up in 1970, with Crane and fellow member Carl Palmer forming Atomic Rooster, Theaker joining the band Love, and Brown joining the group Kingdom Come. Palmer would later co-found Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Asia. Since then, the lineup has seen several changes.
There were further studio and live releases in 1970, 1993 (live album), 2000, 2003, 2011 (live album), 2013 and 2019.
As of 2025 the lineup consists of Brown, Jim Mortimore, Sam Walker, and Dan Smith.
Although the band only had one major hit, they would be incredibly influential in innovating the shock rock genre and the freak scene aesthetic. Numerous shock rock artists, such as Kiss, Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson, alongside other musicians like David Bowie and Peter Gabriel (of Genesis), would be heavily influenced by the group, and Brown would take part in numerous notable projects, including playing a character in the film adaptation of The Who's Tommy.
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