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. Well-noted for never being seen without a hat, in 1969 Shacklock played in a band called
the Gods, and in 1971 formed the band
Babe Ruth. He worked as the group's songwriter and producer from 1971 to 1975, 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 (of
the Yardbirds),
Meat Loaf,
the Alarm,
the Look,
Roger Daltrey (of
the Who),
JoBoxers and
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. 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. ==Awards==