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John Helliwell

John Helliwell

Acting

Biography

John Anthony Helliwell (born 15 February 1945) is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist, secondary keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional songwriter for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs. Helliwell played with The Alan Bown Set, replacing Dave Green when he joined in January 1966, before joining Supertramp in 1973 along with bassist Dougie Thomson, who convinced Helliwell to make the move. In 2004, Helliwell formed the band Crème Anglaise with Mark Hart, who had joined Supertramp in 1985. This group recorded their eponymous debut album in 2005. In 1987 Helliwell played on Pink Floyd's album A Momentary Lapse of Reason; his name was misspelled as "Halliwell". This was after Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour had played on Supertramp's album Brother Where You Bound. Helliwell also played on French singer Jean-Jacques Goldman's 1985 album Positif, and clarinet on Sara Hickman's 1990 album Shortstop. During a professional lull in the 1990s, Helliwell began studying for a music degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, but he discontinued his studies to join Supertramp on tour when Some Things Never Change was released. In 2004 he contributed saxophone work on the Simon Apple album River to the Sea. Helliwell contributed clarinet to The Pineapple Thief's song "Fend For Yourself" from their Your Wilderness album which was released in 2016. Helliwell fronts the Super Big Tramp Band, which has a jazz big band line-up of trumpets, trombones, saxophones and rhythm section. It plays versions of Supertramp tunes, arranged by members of the band, with no vocals, but with Helliwell as the chief soloist. The band first played in Manchester in June 2013. In 2019 the band played at the Manchester Jazz Festival in May and was scheduled to play in Hull and Hamburg later in the year. In October 2020, Helliwell released Ever Open Door, a CD album of ballads with Helliwell on saxophone and clarinet, with a string quartet and Hammond organ. Source: Article "John Helliwell" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Known For

Midi Première
9.0

Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.

Midi Première

1975Series
Supertramp - BBC in Concert
8.0

Over to London this weekend for a concert by 70′s legends Supertramp, recorded by the BBC as part of their Sight and Sound series on November 17, 1977. Forming in 1969, Supertramp quickly rose in popularity and established themselves as one of the most popular of the crossover Art-Rock/mainstream bands. They became a staple on FM and had a string of huge selling singles and albums. Their popularity began to fade in the 1980′s as musical tastes changed with Art-Rock falling out of favor with New Wave. The band eventually went on extended hiatus and reformed later with personnel changes. But there was a time in the mid-seventies where you couldn’t turn on a radio without hearing at least one, if not several Supertramp songs in one sitting; all of which you knew by heart.

Supertramp - BBC in Concert

1977Movie
Supertramp : Live in Paris '79
7.5

Supertramp’s “Breakfast In America” was the biggest selling album in the world in 1979. It spawned several hit singles and went on to win two Grammy Awards and sell in excess of 20 million copies. Following the album’s release Supertramp embarked on a 10 month world tour which arrived in Paris at the end of November. This show from the Pavillon de Paris was both filmed and recorded. The audio went on to form the basis of the 1980 live album “Paris” but the film was never released. Now for the first time, transferred and restored to full HD from the original 16mm film, this footage is available to Supertramp’s legion of fans worldwide. The sound has been remixed by original sound engineer and co-producer Pete Henderson from the original multi-tracks and can now be heard in 5.1. This is a legendary show by a legendary band performing at their absolute peak and is a must for any Supertramp fan.

Supertramp : Live in Paris '79

2012Movie