Mel Pritchard

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Melvyn Paul "Mel" Pritchard (* 20th January 1948 in Oldham , Lancashire , England ; † 28. January 2004 in Greenfield , Saddleworth , England) was an English musician, songwriter and drummer, who as founder and member of the British progressive - rock band Barclay James Harvest (BJH) became known.

biography

Barclay James Harvest (BJH)

Pritchard met his later school and BJH colleague Les Holroyd as a preschooler . He became interested in percussion instruments at an early age, making his first attempts on his father's ukulele banjo , from which he removed the strings and used the body as a percussion instrument. With Holroyd he founded the school band Heart And Soul And The Wickeds , mostly just called (The) Wickeds . Pritchard became a heating engineer. In 1966 he and Holroyd formed the band The Blues Keepers with John Lees and Woolly Wolstenholme , from which the group Barclay James Harvest emerged in 1967. Mel gave up his job as a heating engineer.

Barclay James Harvest Featuring Les Holroyd (BJHFLH)

In 1998 the band Barclay James Harvest split up, and until his death in 2004 Pritchard played with Holroyd and other musicians under the name Barclay James Harvest Featuring Les Holroyd (BJHFLH).

death

In January 2004, BJHFLH performed four times at the Swiss figure skating gala Art on Ice . Three days after the last appearance, on January 28, 2004, Pritchard died at the age of 56 at the age of 56 of a heart attack at Greenfield.

Influence and songs

During his career, Pritchard was primarily influenced by artists such as Simon and Garfunkel , John Lennon and The Band , and his drum idols included Carmine Appice (of Vanilla Fudge ) and later Jeff Porcaro of Toto .

BJH songs written by him are: "Paper Wings" and "Negative Earth" .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d link text , biography of Mel Pritchard on bjharvest.co.uk

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pritchard, Mel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pritchard, Melvyn Paul (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British musician, lyricist and drummer
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Oldham , Lancashire , England
DATE OF DEATH January 28, 2004
Place of death Greenfield , Saddleworth , England