Chas Chandler

Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 — 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager of several successful music acts. Born in the Heaton district of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he began his career playing bass guitar in a trio with Alan Price. After vocalist Eric Burdon, joined them, the group was renamed The Animals and became one of the most successful R&B bands of the 1960s. Chandler's most famous bass lines are the opening foundation riffs of their 1965 hits "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and "It's My Life". Chandler was also the most prominent of the group's backing vocalists and did occasional songwriting with Burdon. After the group split up in late 1966, Chandler reinvented himself, becoming manager of Jimi Hendrix and recruiting other musicians to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience. He also produced their first two albums. Chandler was also instrumental in introducing Hendrix to Eric Clapton. It was through this introduction that Hendrix got a chance to play with Clapton and Cream on stage. Chandler then went on to manage and produce the English rock band Slade for twelve years, as well as Nick Drake. During this time, Chandler bought and ran IBC Studios for four years and launched Barn Records. He later helped develop Newcastle Arena, a ten-thousand seat sports and entertainment venue that opened in 1995. Chandler had one son, Steffan, from his first marriage. He later married Madeleine Stringer, the 1977 Miss United Kingdom and the sixth runner-up at Miss World 1977, and they had a son and two daughters together. Chandler died of a heart condition in Newcastle in 1996, days after performing his final solo show. The character Francis "Chas" Chandler from the comic book Hellblazer is named after him. Chandler's former home in Heaton is to be remembered with a black plaque placed on the wall.^[1]

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