Most definitely not to be confused with the other well-known Allen Klein of the '60s (the one who managed the Rolling Stones and later the Beatles), Alan Klein was a British musician and composer (born June 29, 1940, in Clerkenwell, London) who first came to notice in 1963 as the lead composer for the soundtrack to What a Crazy World. While he would gain a modicum of attention for his cult album Well at Least It's British -- an album that explored British musical traditions as opposed to American-based blues and country, as was the standard for the most popular English groups of the day -- upon its release in 1964, it was during the re-emergence of "British-ness" in rock in the mid-'90s (i.e., Brit-pop) with such artists as Damon Albarn of Blur and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp that the work of Klein once again came into vogue. During his own time, Klein shifted his attention from performance to songwriting and back again, save for a brief stint as vocalist for the New Vaudeville Band in 1966. Klein did release further singles in the latter half of the 1960s, including a version of the Beatles' "Honey Pie," and a number of singles that appeared on Decca in 1970. RPM Records reissued the Well at Least It's British album on CD in expanded form during 2008, with a pair of Joe Meek-produced singles and some odds and ends serving as bonus tracks. ~ Chris True, Rovi
