Ollie Halsall

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Ollie Halsall
Ollie Halsall playing at Hyde Park, 1974
Background information
Birth name	Peter John Halsall
Also known as	Ollie
Born	(1949-03-14)14 March 1949, Southport, England
Died	29 May 1992(1992-05-29) (aged 43), Madrid, Spain
Genres	Pop, Rock music
Instruments	Guitar, Vibraphone
Years active	1966–1992
Labels	Virgin, Epic
Associated acts	Timebox, Patto, The Rutles, Boxer, Kevin Ayers , Cinemaspop
Website	olliehalsall.co.uk
Notable instruments
Guitar, Vibraphone

Peter John 'Ollie' Halsall (14 March 1949 - 29 May 1992) was a left-handed guitarist and is best known for his role in The Rutles, the bands Patto, Timebox and Boxer, and for his contribution to the music of Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of the few players of the vibraphone in rock music. He was known as Ollie because of his distinctive way of pronouncing his surname with a dropped 'h'. The Ollie Halsall Archive was established in 1985, with the aim of documenting and promoting the work of a unique musician.^[1]

Career

Ollie may not have been the best guitarist in the world, but he was certainly among the top two. John Halsey, 1997^{[citation needed]}

Halsall (ex Pete and the Pawnees, The Gunslingers, The Music Students, all 1964, The Rhythm and Blues Incorporated, 1965), came to London in October 1966 to play vibraphone with the pop rock outfit Timebox (which included bassist Clive Griffiths and keyboardist 'Professor' Chris Holmes. Halsall took up guitar, they enlisted Mike Patto on vocals and drummer 'Admiral' John Halsey.

In 1970, following the departure of Holmes, Timebox evolved into the band Patto. They played a blend of progressive Jazz rock featuring Halsall's guitar work.

In 1973, Halsall left to join Jon Hiseman's Tempest. After less than a year, he quit and did numerous sessions including a track for Kevin Ayers which this led to a permanent position in Ayers' band The Soporifics.

In 1975, Patto staged a brief reunion comprising just three benefit gigs. The reuniting of Halsall and Patto sparked the formation of Boxer during 1975. Boxer never reached its true potential, as Mike Patto died in 1979 during the mid term of their contractual obligations to the Virgin record label and are best remembered for their debut album Below The Belt and its controversial sleeve design.

Probably^{[citation needed]} the best known recording of Halsall is his work on the album The Rutles (1978), on which he plays many of the instruments and provides backing and lead vocals, most notably on the tracks "Doubleback Alley", "With a Girl Like You" and "Get Up and Go". Eric Idle was cast in his place in the accompanying film and Halsall only featured as a very minor cameo role as Leppo, the fifth Rutle who became lost in Hamburg.

During 1976 Halsall had rejoined Ayers with whom he stayed for the next sixteen years. In the 1980s he was part of a Spanish Techno Pop band created by producer Julian Ruiz called Cinemaspop. They released two Albums 'Cinemaspop' (1983), just a collection of Techno Pop covers of classical movie tunes, and 'A Clockwork Orange' in 1984 including some compositions by Halsall, besides a bizarre electronic version of Troggs's Wild Thing. In 1989, he replaced ill Enrique Sierra of Radio Futura, another Spanish rock band.

A finished solo album remains unreleased - produced by Robert Fripp.

Halsall died from a heroin overdose on 29 May 1992 at 13 Calle de la Amargura, Madrid, Spain.

Discography

with Mike Patto

• 1967-69 The Deram Anthology (as Timebox)
• 1970 Patto (as Patto)
• 1971 Hold Your Fire (as Patto)
• 1972 Roll Em, Smoke Em, Put Another Line Out (as Patto)
• 1975 Below the Belt (as Boxer)
• 1979 Bloodletting (as Boxer)

with Kevin Ayers

• 1974 The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories
• 1974 June 1, 1974 (with Nico, John Cale and Brian Eno)
• 1975 Sweet Deceiver
• 1976 Yes We Have No Mañanas (So Get Your Mañanas Today)
• 1978 Rainbow Takeaway
• 1980 That's What You Get Babe
• 1983 Diamond Jack and the Queen of Pain
• 1984 Deià...Vu
• 1986 As Close As You Think
• 1988 Falling Up
• 1992 Still Life with Guitar

with Cinemaspop

• 1983 Cinemaspop
• 1984 A Clockwork Orange (La Naranja Mecánica)

Other Albums

• 1973 Living in Fear (as Tempest)
• 1996 The Rutles Archaeology (with The Rutles)
• 2007 Under the Blossom (Tempest Anthology)

References

1. ^ The Ollie Halsall Archive

External links

• The Ollie Halsall Archive
• pattofan