ORGANFAX - Key Persons
Chris Powell has firmly established himself as one of the UK's premier ‘entertainment organists' as well as a truly international ambassador in the field of electronic and theatre organ music. Born in Manchester in 1971, he emigrated to New Zealand with his parents when just 2 years old. Returning to England at the age of 5, his education and formative years while growing up in Lancashire saw him pursue his love of music with piano and organ studies culminating in a string of engagements for both local concerts and dances from the age of 14 onwards. By the time he was 18, he had successfully auditioned to join the team of organists playing for dancing at the Tower Ballroom Blackpool and began to be recognised for his musical talents leading to a succession of invitations to perform at electronic and pipe organ venues.
Following his experience at Blackpool, Chris widened his talents to include work as a demonstrator for several manufacturers including Farfisa, Orla and more recently Roland with whom he is now associated on a freelance basis and as such tours with their state of the art AT-900C Atelier instrument.
1994 saw as invitation to return to New Zealand for a month long concert tour on pipes and electronics which lead to an exciting invitation to spend all of 1996 as a Resident Organist at the ‘Baycourt Theatre' in Tauranga. This was a unique and exciting experience; he undertook all manner of concerts, functions and dances while playing the Theatre's 10 rank Wurlitzer as well as accompanying the Operetta - ‘The Merry Widow' on this much loved vintage instrument to capacity crowds.
Since then, he has gone on to become one of the most popular performers in the UK and intersperses his regular annual diary of engagements in Britain with frequent overseas concert tours with have included Holland, Australia and the US as well as NZ in recent years. Chris was also interviewed and filmed in action for a documentary on cinema nostalgia which screened in NZ in 2002. 2021 sees his 17th tour of NZ and 10th of Australia. December 28th saw him marry fellow artiste Joanne Naulls and the couple are now well settled in the Lincolnshire town of Gainsborough. Both were recently invited to become trustees at the London Musical Museum in Brentford which is home to the ex Regal, Kingston Wurlitzer and involved in an exciting programme of presentations and concerts. The pair are also highly involved in the promotion of keyboard events with Joanne secretary and Chris Chairman on the Gainsborough organ and keyboard club along with the running of concerts in Scunthorpe and assisting the Lincoln Electronic Organ Society where Chris has been President since 2002. Joanne and Chris were recently appointed Trustees of the Music Museum at Kew Bridge/Brentford in London to assist with the promotion of electronic organ and keyboard music alongside the superb ex Regal, Kingston Wurlitzer.
He has a catalogue of acclaimed CD and DVD recordings to his credit on both pipes and electronics. He has also produced a huge array of software - with registrations available for Roland Atelier, Korg and also Yamaha.
Since winning a holiday camp talent competition at the age of ten, David had a yearning to become a professional organist. With this aim in mind he began performing local charity concerts, and soon found that his services were in great demand.
Born 1st June 1965 in Neath, South Wales, Ian won a talent contest produced by Swansea City Council at the age of ten. He made his first live performance on Independent Local Radio in 1977 and followed this in 1978 by appearing twice on BBC 1 Television (Nationwide) Young Entertainers when he was voted heat winner by the studio audience.
The same year he performed his first concert for an organ society in the capital of the principality of Wales, since when he has become a very popular performer on the UK organ circuit.
Ian has always been associated with electronic organ-keyboard festivals since the first one at Pontin's Barton Hall in 1980 and the subsequent mega events at Pontin's Tower Beach at Prestatyn, North Wales, where around 2,000 enthusiasts enjoyed weeklong holidays in the summer months of August/September.
In the early 1980's Ian played the 'Spring in Spain' Pontinental Holidays, which was organised by one a former keyboard magazine - bringing sunshine and music together.
In 1987 Ian joined with Richard Bower to form the Keyklix duo, and since then they have delighted audiences throughout the country with their unique brand of music. In 1989 they made their first broadcast by BBC Radio 2 from the Morecambe Organ Festival produced by the Association of Organ Enthusiasts featuring Keyklix 'live' on stage.
In 1996 Ian was appointed the musical director on the HTV's show - "Friday Night Live' with his Casual Affair cabaret show band, which provided the music for the Welsh talent contestants. It was, in a way, an early form of the X-Factor except that a panel of television celebrities were the judges. Included on the panel of the final show was Hughie Green who had vast experience of talent with his "opportunity Knocks' shows some years earlier.
In the 2000 years Ian has been proud to be associated with all the major organ-keyboard festival events in the UK. in 2008 he appeared the first ever Rhine keyboard cruise with Richard Bower and Daniel Watt.
When electronic manufactures stopped making portable electronic organs, Ian changed his set to to keyboards in organ configuration. His present set-up includes two Ketron Keyboards with a Roland pedal, which, he claims, produces a sound that cannot be equalled with any other single instrument currently in production. Occasionally he uses a Hammond XB1 keyboard as a supplementary instrument to produce some breath taking effects.
In 2010 Ian's X-Factor feature will be included in the Sand Bay Keyboard Cabaret weekend - making it different to all other events.