A Life Well Lived
Dear Friends and Fellow Campers,
I just wanted to take a moment to say hello and share a little bit of my story with you — especially now that life has slowed down enough for me to reflect and enjoy the ride.
As many of you know, I’m Alan Whitehead, and my life’s been a pretty colourful patchwork of music, business, and more than a few unexpected adventures.
It all started on July 24th, 1945, in Oswestry — a lovely old market town on the Welsh border in Shropshire. Music got hold of me early on, and by 1966 I was already behind the drums with Crispian St. Peters. Not long after, I co-founded The Attack with a brilliant bunch of lads: David O’List, Richard Sherman, Bob Hodges, and Gerry Henderson. We knocked out a few tracks like “Try It” and “Lady Orange Peel” — tunes that still pop up on compilations to this day.
But the real whirlwind hit when I joined Marmalade. At first, I was juggling drumming duties for both The Attack and Marmalade — chaos in the best way! And then came 1968… Our version of Paul McCartney’s “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” went straight to number one. What a time that was! I’ll never forget appearing on Top of the Pops, the only non-Scot in the band, standing there in my bright red coat while the rest of the boys wore kilts!
After leaving Marmalade in the early ’70s, I moved into artist management. I had the privilege of working with talents like Lipps Inc. and the incredible Mel and Kim. Some of you might’ve caught me on Rock ’N’ Roll Cars on Together TV — that was me doing the voiceover and chatting about my love of classic motors.
And yes, I’ve even managed strip clubs — not everyone’s cup of tea, I know, but life takes you to some surprising places. It’s all part of the tapestry that makes up my journey.
On the personal side, well, let’s just say my private life has been just as lively as my professional one! But through it all, music has been the anchor — the one thing that’s been with me every step of the way.
This blog you’re reading came about thanks to a good friend of mine, Graham Lee — an online writer and the owner of Schnuqi.com, who reached out with a simple invitation to collaborate. I said yes, not knowing where it might lead. But over time, what began as a casual project has grown into something truly special.
Graham and I have developed a real friendship built on warmth, trust, mutual respect, and that lovely kind of unspoken understanding you don’t find every day. We seem to share a sense that there’s more to life than just what we can see — that the universe has a way of stitching us all together in quiet, cosmic ways.
Now, I’m happily retired, living out my days in a little slice of paradise in Thailand with my beloved wife Kitty — who I honestly believe is an angel in human form.
So there you have it — a peek into the winding, wonderful road that’s brought me here. Thanks for being part of it. And as always…
Party on, Campers!
With love,
Alan
(The Real Alan Whitehead)