Alan Parsons - from the knobs to the stardom 💫

 

Alan Parsons was born on December 20, 1948. During school he studied piano and flute, and as a boy he began playing in various bands, both as a bass player and as a guitarist. 

Passionate about electronics, after finishing school Alan found work at a branch of EMI. A big fan of the Beatles, eager to realize his dream of meeting them, and above all to understand how it was possible to make an album like "Sgt. Pepper's", he decided to try to get a job at the prestigious "Abbey Road Studios". No sooner said than done: after submitting the application, within ten days he obtained an unexpected transfer right there. At Abbey Road he began to learn all the secrets of a recording studio, starting to meet different artists belonging to various musical genres. 

One day he was sent to "Apple Studios" for a repair, and arrived there just when the Beatles were recording the album "Let It Be". He thought he had reached the pinnacle of his expectations, but he still didn't know that shortly after his involvement with them would increase significantly, starting a fruitful collaboration, both with the band and with Paul and George in their solo careers. In the following years he began to work with an incredible number of artists, not only as a tape operator, technician, or sound engineer, but also as a musician. Now in the loop and having begun to demonstrate his high qualities as a sound engineer, 

Alan soon got a job for the band that would consecrate him for the first time as a sound engineer: Pink Floyd. After being an assistant for some sessions of "Ummagumma" (1969) and having mixed the album "Atom Heart Mother" (1970), he was called back in 1973 as chief engineer for an album that would enter the history of music: "The Dark Side Of The Moon". The success of the album was amazing, and Alan also obtained a nomination for a Grammy Award as best sound engineer. At this point Parsons begins to receive offers not only as an engineer, but also as a producer. He is now an important name. In 1974 he meets Eric Woolfson, a Scottish musician, composer and producer, who becomes his manager.

 The two decide together to create an "anomalous" musical group, with the orchestra always present (conducted by Andrew Powell) and with the other musicians and singers as session-men. 1975 is a fundamental year for Alan, because the "Alan Parsons project" is born. And the rest is history.