THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,488) Timothy Blue — “Room at the Top of the Stairs”
Here is a gorgeous and whimsical song sung (by Timothy) Blue of Glasgow, written by future Alan Parsons Project co-founder and fellow Glaswegian Eric Woolfson.
David Wells tells us that:
It has been reported in the past that Timothy Blue was a pseudonym for . . . Eric Woolfson. Although Woolfson did pen both sides of this single (the b-side co-written with John Carter), Timothy Blue was actually a singer by the name of Tom Briggs. “At the time I was managed by Rod Buckle of Sonet, who arranged for Eric Woolfson to hear me”, says Briggs, “I then came up with the name Timothy Blue and the two tracks were recorded in Denmark Street.” With sterling accompaniment from various six in-house Spark/Southern session men, the 45 is a convincing slice of late 60’s British lysergic pop . . . .
Liner notes to the CD comp Hello Everyone: Popsike Sparks From Denmark Street 1968-70
The Times tells us of Woolfson’s early years in his obituary:
Eric Woolfson was born in Glasgow . . . . After a brief but somewhat unsuccessful foray into accountancy, he found work as a session pianist in London. During this period he worked with musicians such as Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones . . . . He also arranged a meeting with Andrew Loog Oldham, the Rolling Stones’ record producer. Oldham asked him to play a piece that he had written himself and, after just one song, offered Woolfson a publishing deal with . . . Immediate Records. Oldham placed Woolfson’s work with a number of well-known artists of the day, including Marianne Faithfull and Frank Ifield, as well as using him as a session pianist on many of his independent productions. Songs written by Woolfson found their way into various record producers’ hands, including Mick Jagger’s first attempt as a record producer with the singer Chris Farlowe: Woolfson’s song was consigned to the “B” side but the single, Out of Time, reached No 1 in the UK. Woolfson signed other publishing deals as more and more of his songs were taken up by leading recording artists, both in Europe and America. He signed a deal with Southern Music, where he joined the ranks of composers and lyricists such as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. In the late Sixties and early Seventies Woolfson was an independent record producer for several record companies, and worked with artists including Dave Berry, the Equals and the Tremeloes. Despite his success, he found that earning a living as a songwriter was not easy and decided to try artist management. His first two clients were the singer Carl Douglas, who had just had a hit with Kung Fu Fighting, and a record producer, Alan Parsons, whom he had met at Abbey Road Studios.
https://www.thetimes.com/article/eric-woolfson-co-founder-of-the-alan-parsons-project-jdnl3ppsmnh
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