Rockapaedia Obituaries
Chas Chandler
Band: The Animals
Chas Chandler died aged fifty-eight on 17th July 19
96 at Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle, U.K. of an aortic aneurysm only days after performing his final solo show. Chas Chandler's former home at 37 Second Avenue, Heaton is remembered with a black plaque placed on the wall by Newcastle City Council, which reads: "Chas Chandler Lived in this house 1938–1964."
Chas Chandler was born Bryan James Chandler in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. on 18th December 1938.
After leaving school, he worked as a turner in the Tyneside shipyards. Having originally learned to play the guitar, he became the bass player with The Alan Price Trio in 1962.
After Eric Burdon joined the band, the Alan Price Trio was renamed The Animals. Chas Chandler's bass lines were rarely given critical attention but some, including the opening riff of the group's 1965 hit "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" subsequently received praise. Chas Chandler was also the most prominent of the group's backing vocalists and did occasional songwriting with Burdon. In 1966, despite commercial success, Chas Chandler became disillusioned with the lack of money.
After The Animals underwent personnel changes in 1966, Chas Chandler turned to becoming a talent scout, artist manager, and record producer. During his final tour with The Animals, Chas Chandler saw a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix play in a New York City nightclub. At the time Hendrix was performing under the name "Jimmy James". In September, Chas Chandler convinced James to accompany him to Britain. In Britain Chas Chandler recruited bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell as the other members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Chas Chandler was a key figure in Hendrix's rise to critical and commercial success and provided the young musician with living accommodations and financed the Experience's first single "Hey Joe", before they had a recording contract. He was also instrumental in introducing Hendrix to Eric Clapton. It was through this introduction that Hendrix was given the opportunity to play with Clapton and Cream on stage. It was Chas Chandler's idea for Hendrix to set his guitar on fire, which made national news when this idea was used at a concert at the Finsbury Astoria Theatre and subsequently at the Monterey Pop festival. Hendrix's sound engineer Eddie Kramer later recalled that Chas Chandler was very hands on with the first two Hendrix albums, adding that "he was his mentor and I think it was very necessary." ]
By 1968, Chas Chandler had become fed up with the recording sessions for Hendrix's album Electric Ladyland, claiming they were self-indulgent. He left management services in the hands of Jeffery during the following year. Chas Chandler then managed and produced the British rock band Slade for twelve years, during which they achieved six number one chart hits in the UK.
Chas Chandler bought IBC Studios which he renamed Portland Recording Studios, after the studio address of 35 Portland Place, London and ran it for four years until he sold it to Don Arden. Chas Chandler also ran a series of record labels from the studios including Barn Records and Six of the Best. He formed a music publishing agency, as well as a production company and management companies. He also had a brief stint in which he produced the Philadelphia-based rock group Horsepower founded by Michael James Kennedy and Gary Marshall Marucci..
In 1977, Chas Chandler played and recorded with The Animals during a brief reunion and he joined them again for a further revival in 1983, at which point he sold his business interests, in order to concentrate on being a musician. During the early 1990s, he helped finance the development of Newcastle Arena, a ten-thousand seat sports and entertainment venue that opened in 1995.
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song: 'We Gotta Get Outa This Place' by
The Animals
with Chas Chandler on bass guitar.