Alan Parker, English guitarist and songwriter
Alan Frederick Parker (born 26 August 1944) is an English guitarist and composer.
Parker was born in Matlock, Derbyshire, and was trained by Julian Bream at London’s Royal Academy of Music. He had a successful career as session guitarist starting in the late 1960s, and played with Blue Mink, The Congregation, CCS and Serge Gainsbourg.
Much of his session work has gone uncredited, but he has been named as the electric guitarist on Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man", the Walker Brothers' "No Regrets", David Bowie's "1984", Mike Batt's "The Ride to Agadir" and the Top of the Pops theme music version of "Whole Lotta Love".Parker's later work comprised compositions for film and television. His television work includes Angels, Minder, One Summer, The Glory Boys, Dempsey and Makepeace, French Fields, Room at the Bottom, Red Fox, ITN's News At Ten, and the BBC series Walking with Cavemen and Coast. His film scores include Jaws 3-D (1983), American Gothic (1988), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and Alex Rider: Stormbreaker (2006). He also contributed music for two children's series; Gideon and Snowy and the Buttercup Buskers.
Parker is also known to have owned Jimi Hendrix's Epiphone acoustic guitar, which was given to him by Hendrix in March 1970. He is also the father in law of the comedian and actor Ben Miller.
1944Aug, 26
Alan Parker (musician)
Choose Another Date
Events on 1944
- 10Apr
Auschwitz concentration camp
Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp. - 13Apr
Soviet Union
Diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established. - 26Jun
RAF
World War II: San Marino, a neutral state, is mistakenly bombed by the RAF based on faulty information, leading to 35 civilian deaths. - 26Aug
Charles de Gaulle
World War II: Charles de Gaulle enters Paris. - 31Dec
Nazi Germany
World War II: Hungary declares war on Nazi Germany.