Arthur Brown (born Arthur Wilton Brown on 24 June 1942) is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, and Kiss, among others, and for his number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and Canada, "Fire" in 1968. The song went to number two in the USA. Brown earned a reputation for outlandish performances, which included the use of a burning metal helmet, that led to occasional mishaps, such as fuel pouring over his head by accident and catching fire; happily two bystanders doused the flames by pouring beer on Brown’s head, preventing any serious injury.
Arthur Brown was an enigmatic figure, always on the edge of greatness, but when his band broke up in 1969 he was unable to recover professionally and never duplicated the success of "Fire". He still performs haphazardly, and as recently as 2011 was still lighting his head on fire.
I'm not sure I'd want to hear his hit record a lot, but Fire deserves more airplay than it gets...
