The Animals | |
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 Posing for publicity in 1964: from left to right, Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (keyboards), Chas Chandler (bass), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums) | |
| Background information | |
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| Origin | Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
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| Members | Eric Burdon and the Animals: Eric Burdon Johnzo West Davey Allen Dustin Koester Justin Andres Ruben Salinas Evan Mackey Animals and Friends: John Steel Norman Helm Danny Handley Barney Williams |
| Past members | Hilton Valentine Alan Price Chas Chandler Mick Gallagher Dave Rowberry Barry Jenkins John Weider Vic Briggs Danny McCulloch Zoot Money Andy Summers |
The Animals (currently billed as Eric Burdon & The Animals (feat. original frontman Eric Burdon) and Animals & Friends (feat. original drummer John Steel) are an English rock band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963.
The Animals' original lineup consisted of frontman Eric Burdon, guitarist Hilton Valentine, bass guitarist Chas Chandler, keyboardist Alan Price, and drummer John Steel. Known for their gritty, bluesy sound, they balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-orientated album material, and were part of the British Invasion of the US.
The Animals rose to prominence with their signature song and transatlantic number-one hit single "The House of the Rising Sun", and continued this success with hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "I'm Crying", "See See Rider" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". They underwent numerous personnel changes in the mid-1960s, and suffered from poor business management, leading the original incarnation to split up in 1966. Burdon then assembled a mostly new lineup of musicians under the name Eric Burdon and the Animals; the much-changed act moved to California and achieved commercial success as a psychedelic and progressive rock band with hits such as "San Franciscan Nights", "When I Was Young" and "Sky Pilot" before disbanding at the end of the decade.[3]
The original lineup of Burdon, Price, Chandler, Valentine and Steel reunited for a one-off benefit concert in Newcastle in 1968. They later launched brief comebacks in 1975 and 1983. Several partial regroupings of the original-era members have occurred since then under various names. Altogether, the band has had 10 top-20 hits in both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. The Animals' original lineup were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
- ^ a b Fontenot, Robert (30 January 2019). "The Animals as the British Invasion's Blues-Rock Band". LiveAbout. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ Hoffman, Frank. "Eric Burdon and the Animals". Survey of American Popular Music. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
The band was also one of the few First Wave acts to make a successful transition from mainstream pop to progressive rock in the late 1960s.
- ^ "The Animals Biography". Rolling Stone. 2001. Retrieved 7 August 2016.