Louis Clark

Louis Clark
Clark in 2008
Clark in 2008
Background information
Born(1947-02-27)27 February 1947
OriginKempston, Bedfordshire, England
Died13 February 2021(2021-02-13) (aged 73)
Elyria, Ohio, U.S.
OccupationMusician
InstrumentKeyboards
Years active1974–2021

Louis Clark (27 February 1947 – 13 February 2021) was an English music arranger and keyboard player. He trained at Leeds College of Music. He is best known for his work with Electric Light Orchestra and Hooked on Classics. Clark started out as a bass guitarist for Birmingham band The Buccaneers, who later became Monopoly and eventually The Raymond Froggatt Band.

Electric Light Orchestra

Clark in 2018 at the soundcheck of The Orchestra

Clark was the conductor and arranger of the orchestra and choir hired to back Electric Light Orchestra's sound, introduced on their album Eldorado in 1974. He assisted Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy in writing the string arrangements for the studio albums Eldorado, Face the Music, A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery and Xanadu. He later played synthesizers for ELO during their Time tour. In 1983 he returned to arranging and conducting the strings on the Secret Messages album, and in 1986 he played keyboards again with the band on their small number of live dates.

Clark was likewise an affiliate of the ELO spinoff band ELO Part II for much of its lifespan, contributing string arrangements to both of the group's studio albums during the 1990s and participating in its live performances as a keyboardist and orchestral conductor. Upon Part II's rebranding as The Orchestra in 2000, Clark (now a full-time member) remained with the group, his involvement continuing until his death in 2021. His son, Louis Clark Jr., continues to perform with The Orchestra into the present day.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

In 1977, Clark arranged the music of Renaissance for their Albert Hall concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and two songs on Annie Haslam's debut solo album Annie in Wonderland.

In the early 1980s, he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on a series of records under the title Hooked on Classics. In 1985, he again worked with Renaissance singer Annie Haslam and the band's lyricist Betty Thatcher with the RPO to produce the album Still Life. In 1982, he released the album The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays the Queen Collection, recorded by the Solid Rock Foundation. In 1983, he released the album The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Beatles Collection, recorded by the Solid Rock Foundation, at the 20th Concerto Anniversary of The Beatles, having as guest artists Joan Collins, Elena Duran, Honor Hefferman and Roy Wood.

English Pops Orchestra

In 2011 Louis Clark was made president of the English Pops Orchestra, and returned to performing Hooked on Classics 'LIVE' with the EPO using many of the players that recorded the original albums.

Library music for television, commercials and radio

From the late 70's and through the 80's Clark composed library music for the production company Bruton Music. Some of the music was, and sometimes still is, used for television, TV commercials (Cadbury's Flake, Nescafe) and radio (jingles for LBC). In 1980 he arranged the strings for the songs in the film The Apple, a musical that was critically derided as one of the worst films ever made but has since gained cult status.

Death

Louis Clark died on 13 February 2021 in Elyria, Ohio, fourteen days short from his 74th birthday. His death at the age of 73 was announced by his wife, Gloria, on his Facebook page. No cause of death was revealed, but he had been ill for months and had suffered from kidney issues. In her post announcing his death, his wife Gloria wrote, "He passed very peacefully surrounded by love. This morning he watched Premier League soccer and listened to The Beatles, two things he loved. This afternoon I told him I loved him, he said I love you too, and we kissed. He was gone five minutes later. We love this man forever and always. He was a good man, loved by many and will be greatly missed by all. We want to thank family, friends and fans who have always loved and supported him."

Other associated acts

Besides ELO and its successor bands, Louis Clark worked as an arranger for many other rock and pop artists:

With Roy Orbison

With Ozzy Osbourne

With Roy Wood

With Kelly Groucutt

With America

With Kiki Dee

With Carl Wayne

With Juan Martin

With Asia

With Mike Berry

With Simone

With Annie Haslam

With Renaissance

With City Boy

Among others are UB40, Jon Spencer, Iris Williams and more recently Air Supply.

Discography

Sourced from Louis Clark's official website – all albums performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra unless otherwise stated.

Compilations:

References

  1. ↑ "The Orchestra Official Website". Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Brodsky, Greg (3 August 2015). "The Same Musician Who Orchestrated ELO Gave Us Hooked on Classics". Bestclassicbands.com. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  3. ↑ "Louis Clark, ELO Arranger and Conductor, Reportedly Dies at 73". Ultimateclassicrock.com. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Face the Music"
  5. 1 2 Sweeting, Adam (25 February 2021). "Louis Clark obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Gloria Bentley Clark (14 February 2021). "(Facebook post)". Facebook. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Louis Clark – Credits at AllMusic
  8. ↑ Marchese, Joe (12 March 2015). "Don't Go Breaking Her Heart: Kiki Dee's Rocket Albums Expanded and Reissued By Edsel". Theseconddisc.com. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  9. 1 2 Lasserre, Vincent (28 September 2017). La saga de Roy Wood – Brumbeat forever. Camion Blanc. ISBN 9782357799899.
  10. 1 2 Van der Kiste, John (21 January 2017). Jeff Lynne: Electric Light Orchestra – Before and After. Fonthill Media.
  11. ↑ Van der Kiste, John (1985). Gramophone. Vol. 63. General Gramophone Publications Limited. p. 420.