Musical Roots

ALAIN CLARK


“Davin, you have to find this song…it’s a great song…you have to find it and get on Roots Radio…we have do something with this guy…find out who he is…” That was a call I got from Michael Budman one early morning. He had just flown back from Italy, where he had seen a music video, a very simple a video. It was a duet, a song about love and appreciation, sung by a son to his father and in return by a father to his son. The song had just debuted in Europe that weekend. Michael had a sneak peak and he knew he was on to something.

I ended up finding the song on MTV Italy. “Father & Friend” by Alain Clark a spirited and emotional ballad in which Clark duets with his father Dane, himself a veteran of many a covers band, playing classics from the likes of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and James Brown. “I’m sure my dad didn’t think he’d start a whole new career at sixty-one. He’s not looking to, he still has his job as an engineer for KLM. I bet he didn’t think he’d be playing in front of 35,000 people,” chuckles Clark Jr. And the single’s success proved to be a particularly proud moment for his mother. “It’s her two guys on stage together, doing their thing.”

The song has found much success overseas and here at home and can be found on Alain’s latest album Live It Out. It can also be found on Roots.com as part of our celebration to Fathers everywhere.

Roots has introduced a new collection of leather bags, appropriately called the Father and Friend Collection. Please visit Roots.com to purchase any of the special new bags for that special father or friend, and also to watch, listen to and purchase the latest from Alain Clark.

With a sound firmly steeped in Motown’s best traditions and a hint of classic sixties soul, it understandable why Alain Clark caught Michael’s attention. He was crowned the hottest new artist from the Netherlands in 2008. It was also the year in which Alain was a mainstay of the Top 10 in his homeland. He progressed from being an unknown support act, opening shows for Amy Winehouse, to becoming an arena-filling star in his own right and collected two of the Netherlands’ most prestigious musical honours in the process.

Alain Clark sums up his latest album, “It’s a very autobiographical record, there’s love and relationships, attempts at bettering the world and an ode to my dad. Fractions of a young man’s life put into 12 songs”

Surely worth the listen

For more info on Alain Clark please visit: http://www.alainclarkuk.com

Listen to Roots Radio and be sure to visit Roots.com to hear the music of Alain Clark