James Alan Hull (20 February 1945 – 17 November 1995) was an English singer-songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk rock band Lindisfarne.
Hull was born at 68 Sutton's Dwellings, Adelaide Terrace, Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne. He began piano lessons at the age of nine, and guitar lessons two years later. He attended Rutherford Grammar School, Newcastle after passing the eleven-plus in 1956 and was given a guitar at the age of twelve. Hull wrote his first song soon afterwards.
He became a member of the band The Chosen Few alongside keyboard player Mick Gallagher. He supported himself by working as a window cleaner, one year by working as a driver for Newcastle Co-op TV Department also as a nurse at St Nicholas Mental Hospital where he met his wife, Pat. At the same time Hull established himself as a folk singer and in 1967 helped form the Brethren and Downtown Faction, which evolved into Lindisfarne in 1970. The name was taken from Holy Island nearby. He also released a one-off solo single, "We Can Swing Together", which was re-recorded with the group on their first album, Nicely Out of Tune, and became a regular favourite in their stage performances.
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| L-R Laidlaw, Jackson, Cowe, Hull & Clements |
The line-up included Hull on vocals, guitar and piano, with Simon Cowe (guitar), Ray Jackson (harmonica, mandolin), Rod Clements (bass and violin) and Ray Laidlaw (drums). The band were signed to Charisma Records, whose boss, Tony Stratton-Smith appreciated Hull's poetic lyrics and the band's uniquely British flavour. Their debut album, Nicely Out of Tune (1970) included one of Hull's most celebrated compositions, "Lady Eleanor". This was followed by the classic Fog on the Tyne (1971), a No 1 hit. The folksy title-track celebrating Newcastle life became a favourite with festival audiences.
Glen Colson, the former tour manager for Lindisfarne understood the background to Hull's work and the band's approach. Lindisfarne's good-time songs reached out to a hugely receptive audience at the great Seventies festivals. "Every time they played a festival they stole the show," Colson recalls: Their big anthem was "We Can Swing Together", which was all about a drug bust. It was an anti-police song and audiences loved it. Only a couple of years ago they were still going down a storm everywhere they played because everyone knew their songs. They were the biggest-selling group in 1972. It was them and Slade.
As the group's most prolific songwriter and joint lead vocalist, Hull came to be regarded as its leader. The band did five albums for Charisma including Dingly Dell (1972), after which Hull considered leaving the group but instead he and joint lead vocalist Ray "Jacka" Jackson formed a new six-piece Lindisfarne the following year, leaving the three other original members to form Jack The Lad. He also released his first solo album, Pipedream, the same year and published a book of poems, Mocking Horse.
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| Alan and wife Pat 1989 |
Lindisfarne re-formed for a Top Ten single, "Run For Home", in 1978. In 1990 the band recorded a version of "Fog on the Tyne" with the Geordie football star Paul Gascoigne which got to No 2. Lindisfarne, with Hull at the helm, remained a huge attraction in the North-east.
On the night of 17 November 1995, Hull suddenly collapsed at his home in North Shields and was pronounced dead on arrival at North Tyneside General Hospital at 11.30pm. A post-mortem held on 20 November revealed his death to be the result of a Coronary thrombosis.
Hull's funeral was held on 24 November at North Shields Crematorium. Musician Chris Rea and actor Tim Healy were among those to attend. Hull's ashes were later scattered at the mouth of the River Tyne. At the time of Alan’s death a new album, Statues & Liberties, was being completed; it was released in 1996.
(Edited from Wikipedia & Alan Hull @ The Telegraph)