Paul Carrack

Paul Carrack
Carrack being interviewed, 2009
Background information
Birth namePaul Melvyn Carrack
Born (1951-04-22) 22 April 1951 (age 73)
Sheffield, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • musician
  • songwriter
  • composer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • guitar
Years active1969–present
Labels
Formerly of
Websitepaulcarrack.net

Paul Melvyn Carrack (born 22 April 1951)[1] is an English singer, musician, songwriter and composer who has recorded as both a solo artist and as a member of several popular bands.[2] The BBC dubbed Carrack "The Man with the Golden Voice",[3] while Record Collector remarked: "If vocal talent equalled financial success, Paul Carrack would be a bigger name than legends such as Phil Collins or Elton John."[4]

Carrack rose to prominence in the mid-1970s as the frontman and principal songwriter of rock band Ace, and gained further recognition for his work as a solo artist and for his tenures as a member of Squeeze and Roger Waters' backing band, the Bleeding Heart Band, intermittently handling lead vocals on Squeeze and Waters recordings. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, he enjoyed considerable success as the co-lead vocalist (with Sad Café's Paul Young) and a songwriter for Mike + The Mechanics; following Young's death in 2000, Carrack served as the band's sole lead vocalist until his departure in 2004.

Carrack sang some of his affiliated bands' best-known hits, including Ace's "How Long" (1975); Squeeze's "Tempted" (1981); and Mike + The Mechanics' "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" (1985), "The Living Years" (1988) and "Over My Shoulder" (1995). He also performed lead vocals on tracks from the Roger Waters albums Radio K.A.O.S. (1987) and The Wall – Live in Berlin (1990). He has released nineteen solo albums and achieved a major hit of his own with "Don't Shed a Tear" (1988). Carrack's songs have been recorded by artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Eagles, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Michael McDonald and Jools Holland,[5] and he has served as a session and/or touring musician for Roxy Music, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, B.B. King, the Pretenders, the Smiths and Madness.

  1. ^ "Paul Carrack Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  2. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 230/1. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  3. ^ "Paul Carrack: The Man with the Golden Voice". 1. 15 October 2012. BBC. BBC Four. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Paul Carrack – I Know That Name". Record Collector. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  5. ^ Shelton, Jennifer (1 March 2011). "Paul Carrack". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014.