Adrian Keith Baker (born January 18th 1951) is a British singer/songwriter/producer who remains known in the UK for his producing work for various acts and in the US for being a former touring member of The Beach Boys from the eighties to the 2000s.
Starting his music career in the late sixties, he got signed to Epic Records and released in 1975 his first solo album Into A Dream from which he got a hit with a cover of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' "Sherry". He had another success by writing and producing the song "Dance Yourself Dizzy" for the band Liquid Gold which reached the UK charts' Top 10 as well as their next single "Substitute". In the late seventies, he formed the band Gidea Park whose most known songs are medleys dedicated to The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys (on top of constantly covering their songs live). It's probably thanks to these numerous tributes that Mike Love asked him to join The Beach Boys as a touring guitarist and falsetto singer. He had three periods filling that role, starting in the early eighties, continuign in the early nineties and ending from the late nineties to the mid-2000s. Outside of touring, Adrian was a recurring collaborator in Mike Love's solo career, producing a handful of albums (and one bootleg in particular named Baker's Dozen which features material recorded by the two).
He was also a touring member for The Four Seasons and is now part of the band Papa Doo Run Run which specializes in surf rock covers.
Discography
Solo albums
- 1974 - Disco Beat (with Roy Morgan)
- 1975 - Into A Dream
- 1991 - ABCD
- 2004 - Surfers Paradise!
- 2006 - Runaway Tracks
- 2013 - Summer Of Gold
With Gidea Park
- 1981 - Gidea Park (also named California Gold)
- 1987 - Live! In Concert At Sheffield (live album)
Albums produced for Mike Love
- 1996 - Catch a Wave
- 1998 - Salute NASCAR
- 2001 - Summertime Cruisin'
His work provides examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname: Mike Love has referred to Adrian with the honorific title "Sir" due to the fact that he was the only british member of The Beach Boys touring band.
- Ascended Fan: From covering Beach Boys and Four Seasons songs to performing with them live as a touring member.
- Author Appeal: Adrian likes to use a drum machine on songs he produces.
- The Cameo: In the James Bond film "A View to a Kill" from which he covered the song "California Girls" for the opening's soundtrack.
- Christmas Songs: "Everyone Needs Someone At Xmas".
- Cool Key: He received The Key To The City of Hickory in North California.
- Cover Version: Covering "Sherry" by The Four Seasons guaranteed his first hit in the UK.
- A majority of his discography includes covers of various artists, but mostly The Beach Boys.
- Eurovision Song Contest: He wrote and produced two songs for A Song For Europe ("Miss Caroline Newley" with the band M Squad and "Don't Panic" with Liquid Gold) which didn't get selected for the european song contest. "Don't Panic" still charted despite that.
- Face on the Cover: On all of his solo albums.
- Genre Roulette: His career is a mix of pop-rock (Gidea Park), disco (Liquid Gold) and surf rock (his late solo discography).
- Halloween Songs: "Poltergeist".
- I Am the Band: Gidea Park has sometimes been presented with the subtitle "featuring Adrian Baker".
- Jingle: He also wrote and produced radio jingles as a solo artist and later did Sonic advertising music with The Beach Boys.
- Live Album: With Gidea Park: Live! In Concert At Sheffield.
- Location Theme Naming: Gidea Park, named after a neighborhood in Eastern London.
- Long Runner: Still active since he started his career in the late sixties.
- Perpetual Smiler
- Pop-Star Composer: Along with Gidea Park, they covered The Beach Boys' "California Girls" for the opening of A View to a Kill.
- He also produced "Bop Bop On The Beach" (along with Mike Love and Jan and Dean) for the soundtrack of The Karate Kid.
- Record Producer: For his solo career as well as other artists.
- Renaissance Man: Singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and performing artist when it comes to music.
- Self-Backing Vocalist: Thanks to his falsetto voice.
- Shout-Out: To the Beach Boys and The Four Seasons, mostly.
- Silly Love Songs: Recurring on his first album.
- Wild Hair: His hair was constantly fuzzy until the nineties where it got smoother.
