Alistair Griffin

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Alistair Griffin
Griffin performing in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Alistair Richard Griffin
Born	(1977-11-01) 1 November 1977 (age 46)
Origin	Middlesbrough, England
Genres	Pop rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, vocalist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Universal UMTV (2003–2004)

Alistair Richard Griffin (born 1 November 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the

It helped open some doors that would otherwise have been closed to me, but equally closed quite a few which may have something to do with why it has taken me so long to come back from it all. Fame Academy was a bizarre, surreal and wonderful experience. I think it's fair to say it was a bit of a double-edged sword in terms of how it shaped my future musically. It was a good experience and taught me a great deal about the music industry while also giving me the exposure I needed and was desperately failing to obtain going it alone for all the years previously.^[This quote needs a citation]

After Fame Academy

During 2004, Griffin performed live at over 50 gigs up and down the UK and appeared on numerous television programmes, including Top of the Pops and Liquid News. In March of that year, he also competed in the European 'WorldBest' competition in Cannes, singing live with Phil Collins.

The live performances of his own material that he gave throughout that year, singing

In the autumn, he supported Robin Gibb on his 'Magnet' tour of Germany, opening each concert with an acoustic set of his own songs, playing guitar and accompanied on keyboards by long-time friend and fellow musician, Simon Waggott (Waggo), as well as joining Gibb on stage to duet on "My Lover's Prayer". On his return, he released an independent recording of his live performances in Germany, which he showcased at a series of concerts in the North of England.

During 2005, Griffin continued to perform live, both solo and with Riccardi, but split with them later that year. He moved back to York and although there were rumours of a new recording deal, nothing materialized. In November, he assembled a new backing band and performed his first London gig for over a year at

Albion

In April 2006, Griffin announced that he would shortly be forming a new band,^[2] and that he would no longer be pursuing a solo career, but rather be concentrating on working and writing with his new band, that he called Albion. For some time, he performed solo only at charity events and small local venues.

The initial lineup proved unsuccessful, with

At the beginning of 2007, Griffin set up his own recording studio called Oakwood near York. Despite writing and recording many songs together and releasing several free download tracks, Albion split up abruptly in August 2007 for reasons which were not made public. When interviewed, Griffin commented "Things weren’t working out the way we anticipated and it seemed the right time to call it a day".[3]

After Albion

When interviewed shortly after disbanding Albion in August 2007, he confirmed his intention to resume recording and performing as a solo artist, although he has since performed several times at society weddings and other functions as well as at charity concerts, fronting his covers band, Blue Nun.

As well as pursuing various other projects, he wrote and recorded material for his next solo album. He performed several of these brand new songs live with his own (unnamed) backing band in May 2008, during a short tour of smaller venues in the UK supporting recently signed indie band Ivyrise.

In August 2008, he headlined the Truck Stage at the H2008:Beached festival in Scarborough and was also booked to return there for Acoustic Gathering 111 in September. UK tour dates with Ivyrise were announced for September as well as an additional appearance at the Grand Opera House, York.

In December 2008, he made an impromptu appearance with David Smith and The Mojos.

Recordings

In 1999–2000, Griffin recorded several demos of his own compositions which were made available online at Songmanagement.com.^[4] These have never been officially released.

In 2002, he recorded the football anthem "Stand Up" which was included in the compilation album Boro Songs – The Sound of the Riverside.

Several covers he recorded for the Fame Academy programme were released as download-only tracks by the BBC during the course of the show in 2003. These were also included in the compilation albums Fame Academy "Bee Gees Special" and Fame Academy – The Finalists, also released in 2003.

In October 2003, Griffin signed a record deal with

In January 2004, he released his debut album, also titled Bring It On, featuring mainly self-penned songs. This charted at number 12 in the UK Albums Chart. His second single, "You and Me (Tonight)", reached the top 20 but Griffin parted with both his record company and management soon afterwards.

In late 2004, he released an independent solo CD, Live in Germany, featuring live recordings of the acoustic set he performed in Germany while supporting Robin Gibb. This included "Bring it On", "You and Me (Tonight)", "In Your Smile" and "I Have Lived" with a cover of "I Can't Make You Love Me". The limited edition CD was only made available for a short time at his concerts.

At his Christmas concert in December 2006, he released another independently recorded, three track solo CD, Finding Boethius, consisting of one co-written song, "Let Love Speak Its Name", a cover of "Hallelujah" which he regularly sings live, and an acoustic cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

Brand new versions of four of the songs which were originally recorded with his former band Albion, but never released, are included on his most recent solo CD Alistair Griffin (May 2008), again produced independently and only available to buy at live concerts during the Ivyrise tour. These are "Blown Away", "I Have Lived", "Silent Suicide" and "Is It Me".

Unreleased demos of his own compositions are regularly previewed on his official Myspace.^[5]

Griffin's third single "Just Drive" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 38, after being played in full over the BBC's Formula One montage at the end of the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The track was produced with David Watts at the Oakwood Studios, York.^[6] "Just Drive" used to be the title song for Sky Sports' F1 coverage.^[7]

In July 2012, he released his second solo album

Griffin's song "Always, No.1" was played in full over the BBC's F1 montage at the end of the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix and in 2014 was played in a tribute to the F1 driver Jules Bianchi who had an accident months before, in the channel of a Spanish YouTuber called Efeuno (Formula One in English).^[8]

Griffin wrote "The Road", the official song of the 2014 Tour de France which he recorded with Girls Aloud's Kimberley Walsh.^[9]

Recording "Hallelujah Mark Viduka"

In February 2007, Griffin sang at a charity event at the Riverside Stadium, home of Middlesbrough Football Club. After his performance of Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah", he asked the audience if they would like to hear an alternative version, based on Cohen's song, but with new words dedicated to the Boro hero at that time, Australian striker Mark Viduka. Keeping faithfully to Cohen's melody, Griffin's vocals are sung to a simple acoustic backing, forming a contrast to the altered lyrics which reference the particular skills of Viduka and several other popular players in the team, as well as some of their opponents.^[10]

After hearing the song, Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate was so taken with it, he asked Griffin to make a special recording to play at the following day's match. It was played to the crowd at half-time and to the players in the dressing room after the game.

The BBC Sports Review described the song as the "football anthem of the week, year, decade and possibly all time",

Griffin's debut album, Bring It On consisted mainly of songs that he wrote or co-wrote before being signed. During his time in Fame Academy, he also co-wrote several new songs with the students and the songwriters on the show. "Painkiller", (co-written with Greg Fitzgerald and Tom Nichols) along with "A Heart Can't Lie", co-written with fellow student Louise Griffiths, both appeared on his debut album.

He has also written and co-written songs for albums by

In 2012, he wrote "I Wish for You the World" for the Games Maker Choir during the 2012 Summer Olympics.The single was released officially on 16 December 2012 as a UK Christmas single on Decca Records. The proceeds from the single went to the British Olympic Foundation and the British Paralympic Association.^[14] The song was promoted with videos and messages of support from the mayor of London Boris Johnson^[15] and many Olympic athletes, notably rowers Katherine Grainger, Andrew Triggs Hodge and Great Britain Rowers team^[16] and by tenor Alfie Boe. Mayor Johnson said about the song: "This song is a great tribute to the feelings of pride, inspiration and goodwill that spread throughout the country during the 2012 Games. I wish everyone involved the best of luck in their efforts in keeping the Olympic spirit alive."

In 2014 Griffin released his 3rd album From Nowhere. He teamed up with Pledge Music allowing people to pre-order his album along with other bits of merchandise. The album featured 2014 Tour de France single "The Road" along with his soon to be released single "Freefall". People who pre-ordered the album known as "Pledgers" received a digital downloadable version of the album in July before general release in September 2014.

Personal life

Griffin was brought up in

In March 2017, Alistair's private residence was partially demolished after the driver of a stolen Audi A4 careered off the road, following a brief chase by police. Although Griffin himself was not in residence, his child and ex-girlfriend were sleeping upstairs at the time of the incident, though all parties remained unharmed.[18]

Discography

Albums

• Apart from his Four albums, he has also brought out the EP Mogganaut, containing four tracks.

Singles

Featured in

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alistair Griffin.

Reviews

• Middlesbrough Evening Gazette 19.10.04 Gig Review

Other links and information sources

• www.alistairgriffin.com Official Website
• Fame Academy Final, BBC News report.
• Cultural Foundation Interview In depth interview with Pete Bell of the Cultural Foundation, 19 June 2004
• Perfect Songs Music Publisher
• Alistair Griffin at
  IMDb
• Fame Academy Supporters Club
• Press interview, 5 October 2006
• Press report of Charity Event, 23 February 2007
• Southgate serenade stirs Viduka's home thoughts, The Guardian, 26 February 2007
• Hallelujah Mark Viduka, Sydney Morning Herald 27 February 2007
• Fans Flock to Hear Viduka Tribute – Middlesbrough Football Club, 26 February 2007
• Press report, August 2007
• Sky One Premier League Allstars
• 'Just Drive' for Sky Sports F1 | Sky Sports

Media

• Last Dance, unreleased demo,c2000 (QuickTime)
• Kiss and Tell, unreleased demo, c2000 (QuickTime)
• Radio Interview, BBC Radio January 2004 (RealPlayer)
• Aligriffin.com – comprehensive multimedia archive of live performances, 2004–2007, recorded by fans.
• Video clips of live performances Middlesbrough Gazette.
• Alistair Griffin produces tribute song for Middlesbrough star Broadband TV channel (video podcast), 1 March 2007