THE EARLY YEARS :  

My childhood ... influence,...   ( without a doubt ! ) came from my parents, who were professional musicians and played big band swing music in theatres and clubs throughout England UK.

My father ... ( Edwin George Baker ),...   at age 21, was "called up" (drafted) to join the Royal Artillary Militia in September 1939, (the beginning of World War II).

Soon to become Lieutenant, in 1945 Eddie formed his own Glenn Miller  - type swing band, that included fourteen of his fellow soldiers to make up a band called  "The Pennypot Serenaders."  (Eddie chose this name simply because they were  initially stationed at Pennypot Lane, Harrogate, Yorkshire, U.K.) 

"The Pennypot Serenaders"  were reviewed by the "Daily Mirror" newspaper in the UK. (while performing with  George Formby ) and referred to them as the "First Militia Dance Band." 

During the war ... Eddie met my mother  (Doris Crabb)  while performing together at a charity function. (Doris was actually playing the accordion at the time they met.) 

Just after the war had ended,...    he continued to host shows as band leader of his new swing section called   "The Troubadours,"  that featured my mother as pianist, along with a full horn and rhythm section.  

"The Pennypot Serenaders"	Lieutenant  E. Baker	Eddie & George Formby

My mother ... ( Doris Geraldine Baker ),...   aside from playing piano with  "The Troubadours,"  accompanied celebrities at top theatres and clubs in the UK and hosted her own trio... as pianist / organist / accordion player and arranger..... along with an acoustic bass player and jazz drummer. 

Doris & Eddie  -  Duo - 1958	Doris Baker  -  17  yrs. old	Tommy Cooper & Doris  - 1962

PIANO :           

At age four ...   my mother began teaching me piano and later I moved on to study at the  London Institute of Music.   

By age sixteen I had received awards that included  Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals   for Pianoforte Playing. 

GUITAR :

My passion for playing the guitar  began when I was twelve years old.

Although piano was my 'forte' instrument, it was hard to resist the seduction of the ELECTRIC GUITAR !

Consequently, I spent hours practicing the guitar in preference to the piano. 

Funny as it seems now, upon my return from school at 4pm each day, my mother would hide my guitar until I practiced the piano for at least one hour. Only then would she return my guitar to me.  

With regard to my musical accomplishments, especially my receiving the Award / Medals from the London Institute of Music, I am extremely grateful to my mother for teaching me and keeping a sensible balance between my piano and guitar instruction.

RECORDING  :

AS ARTISTE AND PRODUCER :

From age fourteen, I was intrigued by a few artistes who were making records entirely by themselves, such as  Les Paul . He would record a guitar track and then record another guitar along with it and by repeating this process and adding a little bass and percussion; he created a full record production with the help of no other musicians. This new and innovative process of recording was called "overdubbing" and with my love for vocal harmony I saw this style of recording as an adventure for me.
And so, with my two Bang & Oluffson tape recorders, I began to record my own songs, copying from tape to tape, building up vocal harmony backgrounds and rhythm sections with guitars and drums. (The only instrument I did not play was drums.) 

Having turned "professional" at age nineteen, I began touring the UK with a band called "Pebbles" and within the two years of playing together we recorded two records, "Stand Up and Be Counted" and "Good Night Ma" with the celebrity songwriters/producers, Howard / Blakley. 
Although these records were not successful, I have great memories in the making of them.  I was lucky enough to sing and record in the famous studio where the Beatles recorded all of their hits, EMI Studios on Abbey Road. 

 By age twenty-one, having recorded many demo tapes of my songs, my managers Mel Medalie & Eddie Seago presented my songs to various publishing companies.

My first taste of success began when I signed a contract with ATV Music Publishing  that led me to a contract with Magnet Records, who financed  my recording at Pye Studios in London.
In 1975, I was in the process of recording my first album, "Into a Dream."   After a long day of recording I wanted to lighten things up a bit and record something just for fun.

And so, along with drummer  Roy Morgan,  I arranged and recorded all the guitar tracks and vocal parts for  a regae version of the song "Sherry," a Four Seasons' song.  Not knowing how successful this recording would be, my manager jokingly played it to Magnet Records and they loved it!  With an air of reluctance on my part, I was suddenly being presented as a  “pop singer," an artiste under my own name, (Adrian Baker) which didn't sound like a celebrity name to me at that time.

Anyway, how wrong could I have been?  Within two weeks of performing at BBC's "Top of the Pops,”  "Sherry"  reached  Number Ten in the Music Week charts. 
I recorded a follow-up record called "Candy Baby" that made "record of the week" on Radio One, but unfortunately never made it big in the charts.