Alan Shacklock


Alan Shacklock is an English musician, composer, arranger and recording producer, who lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee. His 1972 song "The Mexican" 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.
In 1969, Shacklock played in a band called The Gods, and in 1971 formed the British band Babe Ruth. He worked as the groups's songwriter and producer from 1971–75, 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 written by Shacklock, followed by concert dates in 2010.

Awards

Alan Shacklock received EMI's Songwriter of the Year award for the #1 hit "True Believers" released in 1995 by Christian artist Phil Keaggy.