Ian Prowse

Ian Prowse (born 10 January 1964 ^[1][2]) is an English singer-songwriter, currently frontman of Amsterdam^[3] and previously of Pele.^[4]

Biography

Pele

Prowse was born in Chester and grew up in Little Sutton, a suburb of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire where he attended Sutton Comprehensive School. Having performed in school bands When in Rome and Joseph Groome Towers, Prowse formed Pele in 1990. Signed by Michael Levy, Baron Levy in March 1991 to Polydor/M&G Records, the band went on to release 2 studio albums 'Fireworks' & 'The Sport Of Kings' and 1 live album 'Alive Alive-O'. Pele only troubled the lower regions of the charts in the UK, with it being often remarked that Pele sold more of their famous T-shirts than they did records, however they scored a number one single in South Africa with "Megalomania"and other hits in Holland, Portugal and Belgium. They split in 1996 due to problems with the record company who wished to market Ian as a solo singer.

Amsterdam

Prowse went on to form Amsterdam in 1999 with former Blow Monkeys drummer Tony Kiley and cousin Johnny Barlow. It wasn't until September 2004 that the band managed to secure a record deal in the form of London based Beat Crazy. They released one album The Journey in February 2005 and three singles, "The Journey" (which hit number 32 in the UK top 40) and "Does This Train Stop on Merseyside" also hit the lower reaches of the charts. The partnership was dissolved by mutual consent in 2006. The band then signed to The Stranglers management company and released their next album Arm in Arm on CIA Recordings in 2008.

"Does This Train Stop on Merseyside" regularly elicited an emotional response from Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Peel's widow Sheila Ravenscroft went on the station after the DJ's death and confirmed that 'He was not capable of playing it without crying'. The song itself got a further lease of life in 2009 as one of the centre pieces of Irish legend Christy Moore's album Listen, which spent 5 weeks at the top spot in his home country.

During this time, the band struck up a friendship with Elvis Costello who used them as his backing band on the Jonathan Ross television show^[5] as well as support act on several occasions. Prowse also performed a duet with Costello for EMI Records with a cover of The Searchers' 1964 hit "Don't Throw Your Love Away" for the Liverpool Number Ones Project in 2008. He also picked up a musical icon award on Costello's behalf at Liverpool's Titanic Hotel in November 2014.

Discography

	Pele - Fat Black Heart Song from Pele
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Albums

Fireworks - Pele (Polydor/M&G) 1992

Sport Of Kings - Pele (Polydor/M&G) 1993

Alive - Alive O - Pele (Polydor/M&G) 1994 (recorded live at Loughborough Uni)

This Time Next Year - Pele (Internet only. Demos for 3rd album)

Attitunes - Amsterdam (Internet only) 2001

The Curse - Amsterdam (Internet only) 2002

The Journey - Amsterdam (Beat Crazy) 2005

1,2,3,4! - Amsterdam (CIA Recordings) 2006 (Live at The Borderline)

Arm In Arm - Amsterdam (CIA Recordings) 2008

Does This Train Stop On Merseyside: The Very Best Of Ian Prowse (CIA Recordings) 2012

Who Loves Ya Baby - Ian Prowse (IRL) 2014

Companeros - Ian Prowse (Learpholl Recordings) 2015

Singles

Raid the Palace/Still In The Air/ Devil on My Back 7" 12" CD - Pele (Polydor/M&G) 1991

Megalomania/ War Of Nerve/ The Boer Song 7" 12" CD - Pele (Polydor/M&G) 1992

Fair Blows The Wind For France/ Name & Number (Live)/ Monkey Scream (Live)/ Oh Lord (Live) 7" CD 10" Gatefold - Pele (Polydor/ M&G) 1992

Fireworks/ Moondance/ Time For Treason/ Green fields Of France - 7" CD Pele (Polydor/ M&G) 1992

Fat Black Heart/ Pain Of A Drinking Song/ One Night In May/ Highway Patrolman/ Richard Cory 12" 10 Picture Disc CD -Pele (Polydor/ M&G) 1993

Don't Worship Me/ Longest Day/ Isn't this the way/ Hothoused 10" Dual CD- Pele (Polydor/M&G) 1993

Love Phenomenon/ Bring on the Healing/ The Time Of Your Life CD - Amsterdam (Weena) 2001

The Journey/ Stop knocking The Walls Down (Ricky) CD 7" - Amsterdam (Beat Crazy) 2005

Does This Train Stop On Merseyside/ John & Paul/ Strangest Girl/ God Bless PW CD 7" - Amsterdam (Beat Crazy) 2005

Taking On The World/ Can't Trust The People/ The Time Of Your Life/ Career Building CD 7" - Amsterdam ( Beat Crazy) 2005

Home/ Class War In The Bedroom CD - Amsterdam (CIA/Universal) 2007

Rosalita (with Steve White)/ Cecilia 7" - Ian Prowse/ Dan Donnelly (80's Vinyl Records) 2013

God & Man Digital/Video Single - Ian Prowse (IRL) 2014

I Did It For Love Digital/Video Single - Ian Prowse (IRL) 2014

Lest We Forget Video Single - Ian Prowse (IRL) 2014

Mississippi Beat Digital/ Video Single - Ian Prowse & Pauline Scanlon (Learpholl) 2015

You Can't Win Em All Mum Digital/ Video single- Ian Prowse (Learpholl) 2015

Other work

Prowse is a member of the Irish Sea Sessions, which is described as "Part super group, part colossal session and part festival, all in a single gig".

April 2012 saw the release of the career spanning "Does This Train Stop On Merseyside: The Very Best Of Ian Prowse". Prowse and former Style Council drummer Steve White released a version of Bruce Springsteen song Rosalita in 2013 for the 'Check 'em Lads' testicular cancer charity. Prowse has a young daughter named after the song. He released his first solo album "Who Loves Ya Baby?" in March 2014 initially via PledgeMusic and then IRL Records.^[6]

Prowse also graduated with a BA (Hons) History Degree in 2009 and completed a Master's degree in Irish Studies in 2010 at the University of Liverpool. His Masters thesis was entitled 'Locating the Role of Christy Moore in Irish Folk and Traditional Music'. Prowse released his 2nd solo album 'Companeros' in 2015, the project rediscovered long lost songs from the British Isles.

References

External links

• Amsterdam official website