Arthur Brown (born Arthur Wilton, 24 June 1942, Whitby, Yorkshire) is an English rock and roll singer best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, Kiss and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and Canada, "Fire" in 1968.Brown attended the University of London and the University of Reading and studied philosophy and law, but he gravitated to music instead. Around the turn of late 1966 to early 1967 he was a temporary member of a London-based R&B/Soul/Ska group that was in the process of changing its name from The Ramong Sound and would soon morph into the hit making soul group The Foundations. At this time the group had two lead singers: Arthur Brown and Clem Curtis, who sang lead on the Foundations 1967 hit "Baby, Now That I've Found You". Brown was only a member of the band for about six weeks. By the time the Foundations had been signed to Pye Records Brown had left the group to form his own band.Brown earned a fast reputation for outlandish and often macabre performances, which included the use of a burning metal helmet that led to occasional mishaps, such as a Windsor, England show in which the methanol fueling of the helmet crown poured over his head by accident and caught fire; two bystanders doused the flames by pouring beer on Brown's head, preventing any serious injury. He was also reputed to have stripped naked while performing shows, notably in Italy (for which he was arrested).By 1968, the debut album, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown by the band with the same name, became a surprise hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Produced by The Who's manager Kit Lambert, and executive-produced by Pete Townshend (the album was issued on Track Records, the label begun by Lambert and Chris Stamp, in the UK), it spun off an equally surprising hit single, "Fire". "Fire" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[5] The song saw its infamous opening line "I am the God of Hellfire" sampled in numerous other places, most notably in The Prodigy's 1992 rave anthem "Fire". The album also included a macabre cover of the Screamin' Jay Hawkins oldie "I Put a Spell on You". The band included Vincent Crane on Hammond organ and piano, Drachen Theaker on drums, and Nick Greenwood on bass. Theaker was replaced by Carl Palmer, later of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, during the band's second American tour. Crane and Palmer eventually left to form Atomic Rooster.Arthur Brown Set1966 - The Game is Over (film soundtrack)Crazy World Of Arthur Brown1968 -- The Crazy World of Arthur Brown1969 - Strangelands (released in 1989)1993 - Order From Chaos1997 - Vampire Suite2002 - Tantric LoverKingdom Come1970 - Jam (released in 1994)1971 -- Galactic Zoo Dossier1972 -- Kingdom Come1973 -- JourneySolo1975 -- Dance1977 -- Chisholm in My Bosom1982 -- Requiem1983 -- Speak No Tech2002 - The Legboot Album - Arthur Brown on Tour2007 - Voice of LoveCollaborations1974 - Tales of Mystery and Imagination (with the Alan Parsons Project)1979 - Dune (with Klaus Schulze)1979 - Time Actor (with Richard Wahnfried)1979 -- Faster Than the Speed of Light (with Vincent Crane)1980 - Klaus Schulze Live (with Klaus Schulze)1980 - Brown Black And Blue (with Jimmy Carl Black)1981 -- The Complete Tapes of Atoya (with Craig Leon)2000 - Curly's Airships (with Judge Smith)2007 - Fifteen Years After (with All Living Fear)Compilation albums1976 -- Lost Ears (Kingdom Come)2003 - Fire - The Story Of (Arthur Brown)