Alan A. Freeman

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Australian-born disc jockey, see Alan Freeman.

Alan Albert Freeman, known professionally as Alan A. Freeman (27 September 1920 – 15 March 1985)

Pye Nixa and Pye. He also produced number 1 hits by Lonnie Donegan.[2]

Career

Freeman was born in

Ed Kassner music publishing company as a song plugger, when he inherited some money, and began to go ahead with his project. His friend, pianist Joe Henderson, knew the singer and actress Petula Clark, whose father Leslie was keen to launch her as a recording artist. Henderson introduced Alan to Leslie Clark, who invested some money of his own (or Petula's) in the new label.[8]

The label, Polygon Records, was a brave attempt by Freeman to gain a footing in the British record market, at a time when it was dominated by Decca and EMI (HMV, Columbia and Parlophone). The earliest recordings were actually made for the Australian market as Freeman had a contact there, and he wanted to test the water. By 1950, Polygon was active, and during its lifetime, over 180 78rpm records were made over five years, all of them produced by Freeman, including over 50 titles by Clark.[8]

By 1955, the label had been a small success, gathering a few chart hits (the biggest of which was "

Pye Nixa Records.[9]

Freeman continued to produce records, but shared responsibilities with several others. He also produced "

My Old Man's A Dustman", which were number 1 hits recorded by the skiffle performer Lonnie Donegan.[2] By 1959, the company had dropped the 'Nixa' part and evolved into simply Pye Records. Clark was still recording for Pye, but with little success. Freeman found a song that was to relaunch her British career. The song was "Sailor", written by David West, a pseudonym for Norman Newell. It made number 1 in February 1961.[10]

Freeman also produced recordings of London performances by

ATV's Saturday night talent programme, New Faces.[11]

Personal life and death

Freeman married Shirley Bennett on 22 October 1968, and the couple had two children. They were divorced on 1 January 1985. Freeman died on 15 March 1985 in Carshalton, in Sutton, Greater London, aged 64.[1] He was survived by his sister Pat.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 15; Page: 284. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line].
  2. ^ a b "Producer: Alan Freeman". www.chartwatch.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Alan A. Freeman". IMDb. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  4. ^ General Register Office; United Kingdom; Reference: Volume 1a, Page 906. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line].
  5. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  7. 1939 Register
    ; Reference: Rg 101/831b. 1939 England and Wales Register [database on-line].
  8. ^ a b Thomas, Michael. "Polygon". Michael Thomas' Website. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  9. ^ Stanley, Bob. "Sounds Of The 60s with Tony Blackburn - Pye Records". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Petula Clark: UK Top 10 hits". www.chartwatch.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Alan A Freeman". You're A Star, Superstar. Retrieved 28 March 2021.

External links

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