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Paul Carrack was pop music's ultimate journeyman. A vocalist and keyboardist who enjoyed considerable success over the course of a lengthy career while in the service of bands ranging from
Ace to
Squeeze to
Mike + the Mechanics, his finest work often came at the expense of his own identity as a performer; indeed, of the many big hits on which the singer was prominently featured, only one, 1987's "Don't Shed a Tear," bore his own name. Despite this,
Carrack maintained an active solo career, releasing a steady stream of albums since the mid-'90s that put the spotlight on his soulful vocal style and expert keyboard work, whether performing his own R&B-influenced pop material or rock and pop classics penned by others. 1987's
One Good Reason featured "Don't Shed a Tear" and set the template for much of his solo career, 2003's
It Ain't Over gave him plenty of room to show off his skills as a singer, composer, and instrumentalist, and 2010's
A Different Hat was an ambitious project with the vocalist accompanied by
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Paul Carrack was born April 22, 1951, in Sheffield, England, and was still a teenager when he made his professional recording debut with the jazz-rock band Warm Dust. Warm Dust would release three albums before splitting in 1972; after they broke up,
Carrack and Warm Dust bassist Terry "Tex" Comer helped to form the pub rock group
Ace the same year.
Carrack wrote and sang their debut single, "How Long." After reaching the Top 20 in the group's native Britain, the record hit the number three position in the U.S.; however, after subsequent material failed to match the success of "How Long,"
Ace disbanded in 1977, and
Carrack signed on with
Frankie Miller's band.
He soon resurfaced in
Roxy Music, appearing on the LPs
Manifesto and
Flesh and Blood before releasing his solo debut, Nightbird, in 1980.
Carrack next joined
Squeeze, replacing keyboardist
Jools Holland; in addition to contributing to the group's 1981 creative pinnacle
East Side Story, he also assumed lead vocal duties on the single "Tempted," their best-known hit. However,
Carrack's tenure in
Squeeze was brief, and after working with
Nick Lowe, he again attempted to forge a solo career with the 1982 LP
Suburban Voodoo, cracking the U.S. Top 40 with the single "I Need You." A tenure as a sideman with
Eric Clapton followed, and in 1985 he joined
Genesis'
Mike Rutherford in his side project
Mike + the Mechanics. Their hits include "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" and "All I Need Is a Miracle."
While remaining a rather anonymous figure at home,
Carrack achieved a higher level of visibility in America as a result of
Mike + the Mechanics' success; subsequently, his third solo album,
One Good Reason, proved to be by far his most popular effort to date, with the single "Don't Shed a Tear" reaching the Top Ten. Another tenure with
the Mechanics followed, and with the title track of 1988's
The Living Years, the group scored their first number one hit. After the 1989
Carrack solo LP
Groove Approved,
Mike + the Mechanics issued 1991's Word of Mouth, which failed to repeat the chart performance of its predecessors; by 1993,
Carrack was again a member of
Squeeze, appearing on the album
Some Fantastic Place and also resuming lead chores for a re-recording of "Tempted." However, he was once again back in
the Mechanics' fold for 1995's
Beggar on a Beach of Gold; the solo
Blue Views was issued the next year, followed in 1997 by
Beautiful World.
Satisfy My Soul was issued in 2000, his first album for Compass Records.
Carrack spent the first half the 2000s touring, both as a solo act and as the frontman in
Mike + the Mechanics, releasing Groovin' in 2001 and
It Ain't Over in 2003. A holiday album appeared in 2005, followed in 2007 by Old, New, Borrowed and Blue. After 2008's knowingly titled
I Know That Name,
Carrack took a detour on 2010's
A Different Hat, an album cut with
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Two years later, he returned with the soulful 2012 album
Good Feeling. Ever the prolific musician,
Carrack went on to release
Rain or Shine a year later in 2013, working with producer
Peter Van Hooke.
Carrack played with
Eric Clapton on the guitarist's 50th anniversary tour in 2013, also appearing at two 70th Birthday celebrations of
Clapton's in 2015. By that point,
Carrack had reunited with
Van Hooke for 2016's
Soul Shadows. The pair also worked together on 2018's
These Days. In 2019,
Carrack released the first of two albums with Germany's
SWR Big Band and Strings; Christmas with Paul Carrack, The SWR Big Band and Strings was a program of holiday favorites, and in 2020 the ensemble joined him for Another Side of Paul Carrack, in which he interpreted a bakers' dozen pop standards. ~ Jason Ankeny & Mark Deming