Alan Shacklock
Alan Albert Shacklock is an English musician, composer, arranger and recording producer, who lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee. His 1972 song "The Mexican" as performed by Babe Ruth is considered influential in the early development of b-boying and hip-hop culture.
Life and career
Alan Shacklock was born in London and began playing guitar as a child. His first band was The Juniors, which included the Rolling Stones' guitarist Mick Taylor and Jethro Tull bassist John Glascock. He then joined Chris Farlowe's Thunderbirds. Shacklock later completed classical guitar and lute studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating with a master's degree in music.Well-noted for never being seen without a hat, in 1969 Shacklock played in a band called the Gods, and in 1971 formed the band Babe Ruth. He worked as the group's songwriter and producer from 1971 to 1975, and then left to work as a solo songwriter and record producer. He has received four Grammy Award nominations, and has produced a number of silver, gold and platinum recordings for artists, including Mike Oldfield, Bonnie Tyler, Jeff Beck, Meat Loaf, the Alarm, the Look, Roger Daltrey, JoBoxers and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Shacklock has also produced music for films, including Quicksilver, Doc Hollywood and Buddy's Song. He composed original scores for the BBC/PBS wildlife documentaries Puffins and One Man's Island for The Natural World. The scores were performed by the London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, and premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London. In 1994, Shacklock also composed the original score for the FIFA World Cup. With Sir George Martin, he was a founder of the British Record Producers Guild.
The band Babe Ruth reunited in 2006 and produced a new album of songs, Que Pasa, written by Shacklock, followed by concert dates in 2010.