Warren Cann

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Warren Cann, 2009.

Warren Reginald Cann (born 20 May 1950 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)[1] is a Canadian drummer, drum machine programmer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the British new wave band Ultravox, for which he was one of the main songwriters.

Biography

Early life

The son of two British immigrants, he began to be interested in electronics while he was at school.[2] After playing in bands in Vancouver, he came to Britain in 1972,[2] where he found a more creative environment. He established himself in London, where he formed his first band, along with Huw Lloyd-Langton, future Hawkwind member, on guitar and Rob Rawlinson, later in Overnight Angels, on bass.

Ultravox and other contemporary works

Main article: Ultravox

Shortly thereafter, Cann contacted

Tiger Lily with bassist Chris Cross and guitarist Stevie Shears
. The band recorded sole single "Ain't Misbehavin'", which was released in 1975 and used as a main theme to the namesake softcore porno film. In 1976, Tiger Lily changed its name to Ultravox!, and later in 1978 to Ultravox.

Cann played on the first albums released by Island Records,

Ha! Ha! Ha! (both 1977) and Systems of Romance (1978). After a tour of United States and Canada the band fragmented because of the departure of vocalist John Foxx and guitarist Robin Simon. Ultravox replaced them with singer/guitarist Midge Ure
in Summer 1979.

Ure-led Ultravox signed to Chrysalis in 1980 and went on to have a commercial success worldwide. Cann, having a primary role as a songwriter along with Currie, contributed lyrics to 2/3 of the first Ure-led album "Vienna", sang backing vocals, co-lead and lead on some Ultravox songs: "Mr. X" (1980), "Paths and Angles" (1981), "We Came to Dance" (1982) and "Break Your Back" (1983).

He remained active outside the band during Ultravox success. In 1982 he played acoustic and electronic percussion for

Eddie & Sunshine, Brian Robertson from Thin Lizzy
etc.). It remains unreleased.

In September 1984 Cann and Zimmer performed as guests (on drums and keyboards, respectively) on a concert by the Spanish band

Duffo
, "Gonna Send the Boys Around", and took part in the Doctor Who charity single "Doctor in Distress".

Cann was ousted from the band in 1986, after disagreements arose with other band members who started to consider him a problem for the progress of the band. Cann wanted a fully programmed percussion sound while the others preferred a "back-to-basics" approach. In his autobiography, Midge Ure later commented that in retrospect he considered the firing unjust, unwarranted, and a result of misplaced tensions,[3] describing Cann's dismissal as "cutting the band's jugular vein".

Following his departure from Ultravox Cann recorded a solo demo which was turned down by Chrysalis Records. He did session work for other artists, including 7000 Danses by Indochine, appeared on several television shows with Kim Wilde and produced demos for aspiring bands. He joined a band called The Sons of Valentino, and then played guitar and keyboards with The Huw Lloyd-Langton Group. He later moved to Los Angeles to pursue a future in film scoring.[4] Cann made the music to Deadly Currency (1998),[5] as well as writing for music technology magazines such as Sound on Sound. While his adventures in Los Angeles were undeniably interesting and occasionally exciting, he decided to walk away from the music and entertainment businesses.

Cann rejoined Ultravox over two decades later in 2008, which reunited the classic lineup last seen at Live Aid in 1985. In April 2009 the band toured with "Return to Eden".[6] In May 2012 the first studio album in 28 years by this lineup was released with the title Brilliant.

Technical innovations

Cann and his technicians were among the first to modify commercially available rhythm units or

Hiroshima Mon Amour", from the album Ha!-Ha!-Ha!. When Ultravox were recording Vienna, Cann's electronic ventures would become important for the Ultravox sound. The acquisition of a Roland CR-78 proved something of a headache for Cann, as he saw great sonic potential in it, but it had limited pattern programmability. In the process of adding some much needed practical customisations to the CR-78, Cann became somewhat persona non grata at the Roland headquarters in the UK. This did not stop Cann from carrying out his plans, and the result proved to be a key factor in the overall sound of their signature hit song "Vienna
".

The initial reaction to the usage of drum machines led to bewilderment among the audience, who wondered what Cann was doing during some songs. Among claims that he was doing nothing, he decided to equip his drum machines with clear

perspex cases instead of wood panels, and mount a variety of LEDs
inside them as a feature Cann himself described as "absolutely useless, but very impressive looking on a darkened stage; now it would be obvious I was actually doing something." (From Jonas Wårstad's interview at Discog)

In addition to his drum machine work, Cann designed several modifications for bass player

MIDI was officially introduced in 1983. According to Midge Ure's autobiography, when the Minimoog broke down on tour, Ultravox borrowed one from The Cars
, but it didn't help as it lacked the proprietary modifications.

Playing style

In the spring of 1978, when Ultravox released the

crescendos, especially on the snare drum
. While these two techniques are easily accomplished by electronic instruments today, around 1979–1982 they were virtually impossible. In essence, it could fool the listeners to believe they were hearing a drum machine, only to prove them wrong through out-performing the rather rudimentary sequencing possibilities of the time. From a technical perspective, Cann preferred a
traditional grip. On the Quartet album and subsequent tour (1982), Cann employed several sets of Simmons SDS-V electronic percussion pads, even to the point where he had an extra kit consisting of the hexagonal Simmons pads, which he played standing up. This way of playing was relatively unique[citation needed] and Cann seemed to be using this setup for one song only, namely "The Song (We Go)" from Quartet
.

Legacy

Speaking in 1986, Rush drummer Neil Peart named Cann as one of the drummers who had influenced and inspired him.[7]

References

  1. ^ [1] Personal File : Warren Cann : April 1997
    Date of birth: 20 May 1950
    Place of birth: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
  2. ^ a b [2] [dead link]
  3. ^ If I Was... The Autobiography, by Midge Ure, Virgin Books
  4. ^ Warren Cann Interview The Electricity Club
  5. ^ "Deadly Currency". IMDb. 20 June 1999.
  6. ^ "Ultravox.org.uk – News". Ultravox.org.uk. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Neil Peart's 1980s influences". Andrewolson.com. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
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