* En anglais uniquement
The seven million people who bought
Eric Clapton's
Unplugged album and the countless more who saw the MTV Unplugged TV show experienced the work of
Andy Fairweather Low, who served as
Clapton's backup guitarist/vocalist. But probably few in that giant audience knew that
Fairweather Low had once been a teen idol and had an extensive recorded catalog in groups and as a solo star. Born in Cardiff, Wales,
Fairweather Low formed
Amen Corner in the mid-'60s, for which he served as lead singer. The group scored six U.K. hits from 1967 to 1969, the biggest of which was the number one "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice." Its success put
Fairweather Low's attractive face on the bedroom walls of teenage girls all over Britain.
Amen Corner broke up at the end of the '60s and evolved into the more progressive
Fair Weather, which scored a hit with "Natural Sinner" in 1970, but broke up in 1971.
Fairweather Low retired for several years, but returned as a solo artist in 1974 and made a series of albums through 1980, reaching the U.K. Top Ten with the singles "Reggae Tune" and "Wide Eyed and Legless." Gradually, however, he began to work as a sideman to more prominent British musicians, notably ex-
Pink Floyd leader
Roger Waters, and with the ARMS benefit group in 1987. He toured Japan with
George Harrison and
Eric Clapton in 1991 and has since been part of
Clapton's backup band.
Fairweather Low began touring with
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and, in 2006, hit the road again with
Waters for the Dark Side of the Moon Tour. ~ William Ruhlmann