Scott Walker
b. Noel Scott Engel, 9 January 1944, Hamilton, Ohio, USA. After relocating to New York during childhood, this precocious talent initially pursued a career as an actor, and also briefly recorded under the name Scotty Engel. Moving to Hollywood, he worked on sessions with arranger Jack Nitzsche before joining the Routers as a bassist. He next teamed up with singer John Maus as the Dalton Brothers, which gradually evolved into the Walker Brothers with the addition of drummer Gary Leeds. The trio moved to England and found themselves feted as teen-idols, with a string of hits which established them as one of the most successful UK-based groups of the mid-'60s. The group split in May 1967 at a time when Scott was still regarded as a sex symbol and potential solo superstar. Yet, there was something contradictory about the singer's image. Ridden with angst during the Walkers’ teen-idol peak, he was known for his moody reclusiveness, tendency to wear dark glasses and stay in curtain-closed rooms during daylight hours. The classic pop existentialist, Walker was trapped in a system which regarded him as a contradiction. His manager Maurice King encouraged a straightforward showbusiness career involving regular television appearances and even cabaret. Walker, meanwhile, had become a devotee of French composer Jacques Breland included several of his songs on his debut solo album, SCOTT. There is no finer example of the contradiction that Walker faced than the incongruous image of the singer performing My Death on BBC television's chirpy Billy CottonBAND SHOW. 
Walker's solo albums were equally quirky and stylistically diverse, fusing the brutal visions of Brel alongside contemporary MOR standards such as Tony Bennett's When Joanna Loved Me. Walker was also displaying immense talent as a songwriter in his own right with poetic, brooding songs, such as Such A Small Love and Always Coming Back To You. Eschewing young, modern producers, Walker stuck with the lush, orchestral arrangements of Johnny Franz, Reg Guest, Peter Knight and Wally Stott. The resulting concoction was rendered unique by Walker's distinctive, deep, crooning tone and strong vibrato. On the strength of the Walker Brothers’ dedicated audience, Scott's solo albums were chart successes in the UK, but as an artist he remained the great contradiction. Singer songwriter, MOR entertainer, Brel interpreter and television personality, his entire career dramatized a constant clash between pop star trappings and artistic endeavour. Even his similarly titled hit singles emphasized the grand contradiction: Jackie was a racy Brel song that mentioned ‘authentic queers’ and was banned by the BBC; Joanna was pure schmaltz, written by the Tin Pan Alley husband and wife team Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. Scott's uneasiness about his career was emphasized in a number of confusing decisions and record releases. At one point, he reverted to his actual surname Engel and announced that he would no longer be issuing singles. 
While the brilliant SCOTT 4 at last contained solely original material and might have heralded the re-evaluation of Walker as a serious songwriter, the BBC chose that very same period to issue the MOR SCOTT SINGS SONGS FROM HIS TELEVISION SERIES. Undervalued and apparently uncertain about his direction, Walker's muse grew increasingly weary after the '60s and by 1972 he seemed to bow to popular demand by recording an album of cover versions, THE MOVIEGOER. A shift towards country music followed before Scott reunited with Maus and Leeds for a series of Walker Brothers albums. Thereafter, Scott retreated from the music business returning only for the critically acclaimed CLIMATE OF HUNTER in 1984. His enigmatic career, remarkable voice and intense songwriting have inspired a wealth of performers including Julian Cope(who compiled a Walker album), Marc Almond (who provided sleeve notes for a compilation) and a number of deep, crooning vocalists, who have attempted to recapture that unique Scott vibrato. It was reported in 1992 that Walker had signed a major recording contract.