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Bio:
Alan Dee, real name Alan Donaldson, fronted a number of groups during the 1960s
and 1970s including The Belmont Quintet (playing sax), The Chessmen
(1964-66, their most innovative period), Alan Dee & The Light (1966-68) and
Watchtower (1968-7?). These later bands were quite poppy.
After leaving The Chessmen, he formed Alan Dee & The Light
a more progressive outfit than The Chessmen. with Eddie Shaw on bass and
Derek Boston on drums.
The music of The Light was reputedly influenced by Dylan and Motown,
with slight psychedelic leanings -- similar to Brian Auger and the
Trinity perhaps? Recordings were made but the band failed to secure
label interest. These recordings have never been released. The band split in March 1968.
Dee & bassist Shaw returned with a new band Watchtower, a sax / organ-led band.
They began with bluesy, heavier material but drifted into lighter, poppier,
more accessible fare as the club scene in Dublin (and Ireland) changed at
the turn of the decade. No recordings that I know of. Honor Heffernan
joined on vocals in the early 1970s. The band split.
Eddie Shaw was later in Ned Spoone.
In 1973, journalist Pat Egan reported that Dee was working with Mattie Kelligan and lead guitarist
Sammy Whiteside (ex Taxi) on a new project.
He wrote a musical in the mid 1970s called "Adam & Eve" which was staged
in Dublin in 1976 with Colm CT Wilkinson (ex The Action)
in the role as devil. A song from this musical was released as a single on the
Ram label in 1974.
Help!: We need your help to complete this entry. If you can tell us more about this band then please do! We welcome any corrections, missing details, connections to other bands, where are they now, etc. We also need photos, scans, copies of releases or live or demo recordings, and any other memorabilia gathering dust in the attic.