Vincent Crane

Vincent Rodney Cheesman (21 May 1943 – 14 February 1989), known professionally as Vincent Crane, was an English keyboardist, best known as the organist for the Crazy World of Arthur Brown (he was a co-writer of that group's 1968 hit single "Fire") and subsequently for Atomic Rooster.

Born Vincent Rodney Cheesman in Reading, Berkshire, he taught himself boogie woogie piano as a teenager before attending Trinity College of Music between 1961 and 1964. Influenced by Graham Bond, he took up the Hammond organ. In late 1966 he formed the Vincent Crane Combo, which comprised bass player Binky McKenzie, sax player John Claydon and drummer Gordon Hadler. In 1967 he teamed up with Arthur Brown in the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Their debut album The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (1968) contained the song "Fire", co-written by Crane, which was a chart-topping hit single in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, featuring Crane's organ and brass arrangements.

During their first tour of the United States in 1968, Crane had a nervous breakdown and returned to the United Kingdom where he spent some months in the mental hospital at Banstead. Crane rejoined the band but on a subsequent tour of the United States, the band disintegrated in June 1969 when Arthur Brown temporarily disappeared to a commune and Crane and drummer Carl Palmer left to form Atomic Rooster, playing their first concert at the Lyceum in London on 29 August, headlining over Deep Purple. Atomic Rooster enjoyed success in 1971 with two hit singles, "Tomorrow Night" (written by Crane) and "Devil's Answer". Crane was the one constant member of the band through their many different lineups, and wrote a slim majority of their material.

Atomic Rooster published their first eponymous album in 1970, and then drummer Carl Palmer left to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer that same year.

Crane lived with bipolar disorder from at least 1968 onwards, periodically necessitating treatment at both out- and inpatient mental health treatment facilities.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.