Arthur Brown

Arthur Brown.

Arthur Brown (June 24, 1942) is a British rock singer, most famous for his hit song Fire (1968), with the iconic opening yell: "I'm the God of Hell Fire and I bring you: FIRE!". The song and his theatrical performances played an important pioneering role in the development of heavy metal and shock rock.

Frank Zappa

Arthur Brown and Frank Zappa, 1970s.

On 20 May 1968, Arthur Brown performed during the Miami Pop Festival, where Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix and John Lee Hooker were also playing. Brown remembered: "(...) I had the chance to be on stage with John Lee Hooker and of course Frank, who always loved the blues. I remember him when The Mothers were supported by Howlin' Wolf, he came out and said to the audience: "This is a travesty! We should be supporting this man". He loved his music so much. So, for me it was great to be on stage with Frank and John Lee Hooker." During the same event, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Arthur Brown and Zappa's The Mothers performed together at the Castaways Hotel in Miami, Florida.

Brown was once an opening act for Frank Zappa.

Interviewed by Ray Rasho (2014), Brown said: "Frank was an amazing fellow … more especially because he never took any drugs. He really didn’t have to, but surrounded himself with people that did. (All laughing) He’d shut the studio door and record what they’d say, then put it on the record. (All laughing) I spent some time with Frank and we did play together at one point. At the Miami Pop Festival, and Frank and I went down to a Go-Go place where the dancers were dancing on the tables. We had quite a wild time then. He was into theater; he was into politics … yea, extraordinary. But it’s just reminded me, there was a time when John Lee Hooker and Jimi Hendrix was on the festival and so we ended up with a jam with Hendrix, me, John Lee Hooker, and it might have been that Frank joined in on that jam. It was just an amazing event … I’m standing there saying 'Good God,’ I’m singing with John Lee Hooker, particularly being one of my greatest influences."

Interviewed by Peter Makowski (Louder Sound, 21 December 2024), Brown remembered: "I used to go and visit Frank. We played quite a few concerts together, and I think the theatrical side of our show got transmitted to bands he had on his label, like Alice Cooper. I remember one time after the Miami film festival we went down to this bar where there were all these small round tables. At some point during the evening these young ladies would get up on them and start to do their go-go dancing. I thought: "That’s a bit sexist, just having the girls doing it," and decided to get up on one of the tables and started to dance while undressing. There were a lot of straight people in the room who didn’t quite dig this. Frank looked up at me and said, with a mock stern voice: "Arthur, control yourself." We then made our excuses and left. I believe Frank was thinking about standing for president just before he died. A perceptive fellow who didn’t jump into any camp whatsoever."

During the concert in Montreux, Switzerland (1971), when fire broke out, Howard Kaylan joked "Arthur Brown in person!", before they realized the situation was serious and everybody was calmly told to leave for the exit (this exchange can also be heard on Swiss Cheese/Fire! (BTB)).

Francesca Fisher namedrops Arthur Brown in Uncle Meat (The Film), during Uncle Meat Film Excerpt: "Arthur Brown, and his fire and his head . . . Oh, man, I've never got so hot as long, I've ever got so hot until I started to, to use the chicken head to measure it with it."

In 1991, Arthur Brown and Jimmy Carl Black recorded the album Brown Black & Blue (1991).

External links

• Wikipedia:Arthur Brown (musician)