Eric Burdon

Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the original lineup of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is currently the lead vocalist of the present day lineup of Eric Burdon & the Animals. Burdon is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice and is known for his intense stage performances.

In 2008, he was ranked 57th in Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time".

Eric Burdon was born in 1941 in Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. His father, Matt, was originally from Tyneside. His mother, René, was originally from Ireland and had moved to Scotland before settling in Newcastle in the 1930s. He had a younger sister, Irene. Burdon's middle name, Victor, resulted from a reward of £25 offered by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne to mothers who gave their newly born children suitably patriotic names.

Burdon was born to a working class family. Burdon describes his early school years as a "dark nightmare" that "should've been penned by Charles Dickens". Due to the river pollution and humidity in Newcastle he suffered asthma attacks daily. During primary school, he was "stuck at the rear of the classroom of around 40 to 50 kids and received constant harassment from kids and teachers alike." He goes on to say his primary school was "jammed between a slaughterhouse and a shipyard on the banks of the Tyne. Some teachers were sadistic – others pretended not to notice – and sexual molestation and regular corporal punishment with a leather strap was the order of the day."

At secondary school, a teacher by the name of Bertie Brown was responsible for getting him into Newcastle College of Art and Industrial Design (now part of Northumbria University) and changing his life forever. It was while studying graphics and photography at the college that he first met John Steel, the original drummer for the Animals. He also met a lot of other "young rebels" who shared his interest in jazz, folk, and movies.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.