Farewell Pete Brown - lyricist & poet (25 December 1940 - 19 May 2023)

Beat poet, lyricist and singer Pete Brown has died at the age of 82. Early career collaborations included working with Graham Bond and John McLaughlin. In his mid-twenties Brown had the distinction of being the first poet to read at Morden Tower in Newcastle (Basil Bunting, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg and many others would follow). 

His collaboration as lyricist with Cream and Jack Bruce brought wider public acclaim (I Feel Free, Sunshine of Your Love, White Room). Post-Cream, Brown would continue to work with Jack Bruce, writing the lyrics for the bassist's first solo album Songs for a Tailor (featuring several British jazz musicians). In later years Brown worked with Maggie Bell, Jim Mullen and others. In 2010 he published his autobiography White Rooms and Imaginary Westerns: on the road with Ginsberg, Clapton and Cream (JR Books). Russell