Louis Clark

Louis Clark (born 27 February 1947 in Kempston, near Bedford, Bedfordshire, England) is a British musical arranger and keyboard player. He trained at Leeds College of Music.[1]

For other people named Louis Clark, see Louis Clark (disambiguation).

Louis Clark
Clark in 2017
Background information
Born (1947-02-27) 27 February 1947
OriginKempston, Bedfordshire, England
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsKeyboards
Years active1974-present
Associated actsElectric Light Orchestra, ELO Part II, The Orchestra, Renaissance, Annie Haslam, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Froggatt

Electric Light Orchestra
Clark in 2018 at the soundcheck of The Orchestra

Clark was the conductor and arranger of the orchestra and choir hired to back Electric Light Orchestra's sound, introduced on their album Eldorado in 1974. He assisted Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy in writing the string arrangements for the studio albums Eldorado, Face the Music, A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery and Xanadu. He later played synthesizers for ELO during their Time tour. In 1983 he returned to arranging and conducting the strings on the Secret Messages album, and in 1986 he played keyboards again with the band on their small number of live dates.

Later he also joined the tour for ELO Part II in celebration of the band's 25th Anniversary. He continues to work with ELO successor group The Orchestra.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

In 1977 he arranged the music of Renaissance for their Albert Hall concert with the RPO.
In the early eighties he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on a series of records under the title Hooked on Classics.
In 1985 he again worked with Renaissance singer Annie Haslam and the band's lyricist Betty Thatcher with the RPO to produce the album "Still Life".

In 1982 he released the album "The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays the Queen Collection", recorded by the Solid Rock Foundation.

In 1983 he released the album "The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Beatles Collection", recorded by the Solid Rock Foundation, at the 20th Concerto. Anniversary of The Beatles, having as guest artists Joan Collins, Elena Duran, Honor Hefferman and Roy Wood.

English Pops Orchestra

In 2011 Louis Clark was made president of the English Pops Orchestra, and returned to performing Hooked on Classics 'LIVE' with the EPO using many of the players that recorded the original albums.

Other associated acts

Besides ELO, Louis Clark has worked as an arranger for many other rock and pop artists:

Among others are UB40, Jon Spencer, Iris Williams and more recently Air Supply.

Discography

Sourced from Louis Clark's official website - all albums performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra unless otherwise stated.

  • (per-spek-tiv) n. (Jet 218, 1979)
  • Hooked on Classics (K-Tel One 1146, 1981)
  • The Queen Collection (EMI TV33, 1982 and MFP 41 5673 1, 1982)
  • Hooked on Classics 2 (K-Tel One 1173, 1983), later releases were subtitled "Can't Stop the Classics"
  • Hooked on Classics 3 (K-Tel One 1226, 1983), later releases were subtitled "Journey Through the Classics"
  • The Beatles 20th Anniversary Concert (Spartan SRFC1001, 1983)
  • Best of Hooked on Classics (K-Tel One 2266, 1984)
  • Great Hits from Hooked on Classics (Pickwick SHM3158, 1985)
  • Still Life (Spartan LCTV1, 1985) featuring vocals by Annie Haslam and lyrics by Betty Thatcher
  • Favourite Classics (Spartan SLCLP2, 1986)
  • Hooked on Classics Collection (K-Tel 5107, 1986)
  • The Very Best of Hooked on Classics (Pickwick PWKS 4017, 1986)
    • Later release: (K-Tel EMC2006, 1992)
  • Abbaphonic (Disky AC202, 1987 and Disky DLP2007, 1987)
    • Later released as Classic Abba (Icon ICONCD002, 1992), The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Abba (Disky DCD 5246, 1992; Emporio EMPRCD585, 1995; Disky INS 855362, 1999), The Music of ABBA (Hallmark 301372, 1995)
  • Beatlephonic (Disky DLP2015, 1987)
    • Later released as The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra plays The Beatles (Disky DCD5255, 1992; Disky INS 855372, 1999)
  • Hooked on Rhythm & Classics (Telstar 2344, 1988)
    • Later re-released with an extra track as The Classics in Rhythm (Arista ARCD-8588, 1989), and as Hooked on Rhythm and Classics (Pickwick PWKS 4223, 1994)
  • Hooked on Classics: The Ultimate Performance (K-Tel OCE2432, 1989)
  • Legends (Union LP1, 1989)
  • Seriously Orchestral Hits of Philadelphia Phil Collins (EDL 2555-1, 1990; Virgin RPOMC1, 1991; EDL 2555-2, 1993)
  • Hooked on Hooked on Classics (Music Club MCTC003, 1991)
  • Hooked on Classics X-tra Collection Vol 1 (ELAP 4718, 1991)
  • Hooked on Classics X-tra Collection Vol 2 (ELAP 4719, 1991)
  • The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Queen (Disky DCD 5256, 1992)
  • The Two Sides of Louis Clark: Rock Legends and Favourite Classics (Westmore Music CDWM108, 1993)
  • Instrumental Classics (K-Tel ECD 3025, 1994)
    • Also released as Hooked on Instrumental Classics (K-Tel 6133-2, 1994), albeit in a different track order and with an extra track.
  • The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Pop Legends (Disky DCD 5381, 1994)
  • More Hooked on Classics (Music Club MCCD 369, 1998)

Compilations:

  • Open Space: The Classic Chillout Album (Columbia 504690-2, 2001)
  • The New Classic Chillout Album: From Dusk Til Dawn (Sony STVCD148, 2002)

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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