In 1973 after a brief stint in college, and a spell in the left-wing rock choir Co-operation, Colbeck signed a record deal with
Charisma Records with the band 'Greep'. After releasing a number of singles, the group disbanded and Colbeck found himself working in fringe theater, London's Albany Theatre, Deptford.
The New Seekers needed a keyboard player and Colbeck landed the gig, playing many live concerts and TV shows in UK and Europe, including the group's famed Drury Lane concert in 1974. During this time he met their lighting director, who coincidentally was also the manager for a band called
Charlie. Hired initially as a session player for the recording of the group's
No Second Chance album at
Trident Studios, London, he was subsequently asked to join the band as a full-time member.
Charlie Colbeck was called upon to replace the Charlie keyboard player Martin Smith and began almost five years of constant touring and music making. He co-produced three Charlie albums:
Lines,
Fight Dirty, and
Here Comes Trouble. He left the band in 1980 amid turmoil. He wrote, "Finally, the touring band line-up of Terry Thomas, John Anderson, Eugene Organ, Steve Gadd, and myself ceased operations once
Arista refused to release
Here Comes Trouble, and our caring, sharing management company immediately cut off all our money in 1980. That's a whole other story but, for the record, our final gig was in 1979 at the Civic Center in
Providence, RI on Monday 29 October, alongside
Foreigner." After Charlie, Colbeck moved to Los Angeles, worked a bit with
Robby Krieger, almost broke into film music ("the industry was just not quite ready for synthesizers at the time"), and was the musical director for
Captain Crash vs The Zzorg Women, Chapters 5 &6, written by Steve Hammond, Dave Pierce, and Rick Jones. Nearly starving, Colbeck was saved when he was picked up by a band named Tropical Madness. Moving back to UK in 1982, Colbeck undertook several tours of the UK and Europe with British pop star
John Miles.
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe In 1989, Colbeck joined
Yes alumni group
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe as second keyboard player and live musical director, and played every date during 1989-1990 tours. He also appeared on two albums,
Symphonic Music of Yes and
Live at Mountain View, the latter also released as the DVD
An Evening of Yes Music Plus. He also appeared on
Watching the Flags, a
Jon Anderson solo record on which he played and co-wrote extensively. He also recorded with
Steve Howe and
Bill Bruford on a number of solo projects.
Steve Hackett Earlier in 1989, Colbeck began what would become a long-term association with
Steve Hackett, appearing on a live-recorded TV show that would become the album and DVD
Time Lapse. Over the next seven years he appeared on 10 or more Steve Hackett albums and countless North and South American tours. In 1996, whilst on stage with Steve Hackett and Chester Thompson along with
John Wetton and
Ian McDonald, Colbeck had a cathartic moment. "I looked around stage and saw a bunch of old men, including (if not especially) me". He made a conscious decision and determined to "get the hell out" of performing onstage and has yet to return. He continues to hold a firm belief that live rock 'n' roll music is a young man's game.
Back to Bach In 1991, Colbeck released a solo album
Back to Bach, [EG/
Virgin] collaborating with concert pianist Jonathan Cohen, plus Steve Hackett,
Milton McDonald,
John Keeble,
Mary Hopkin, and the Irish poet
Brian Keenan. == Writing ==