Nicknamed The God Of Hellfire after his 1968 UK chart-topping hit single Fire, and equally legendary for his ‘helmet of flame’ stage prop, Arthur Brown has challenged audiences with flamboyant art-rock and a piercing voice for six decades. Now he’s on the way back with a new album.
A new Crazy World Of Arthur Brown album is on the way. You have described it as a “fantastic, experimental piece of work”.
Having decided it should revolve around where I was born [Whitby in Yorkshire], we returned to the north of England. I made the album with my wife Claire. Basically, it’s a quest to discover who we are. The music is represented by the elements. We lit fires inside and outside of the house and recorded the crackling sounds. We also recorded a river that flows nearby. Some of those sounds are played backwards.
The album was also inspired by [18th/19th-century poet] William Blake, who was in constant conversation with all of those forces. The prophet Ezekiel and the Four Riders Of The Apocalypse are all part of it as well.
It sounds fascinating.
This album is my love letter to life. I’m at an age where I am doing a lot of self-contemplation.
Does the album have a title yet?
It does, but for now I’m keeping it under my hat.
When will it be released?
It’s fully recorded but won’t be released until later this year, probably in the summertime.
Have you performed any of the songs from the new album live yet?
So far we have played three tracks. The show begins with one of the new songs, which is the title track of the album. The characters of the Four Riders Of The Apocalypse are played on stage by the band.
Why are you still performing and recording at eighty-three years old?
[Arthur and Claire, who is also in the room, both laugh loudly.] I like to live life adventurously. It’s a lovely way to be alive. I still have the thrill of going on stage. I can’t imagine that ever going away.
Claire: Let me say this on Arthur’s behalf. He lights up whenever he goes on stage. It’s his home. We have realised that these are the final stages of his life, so we are going all-out. The new show is full of costume changes, props and visual content. Everything is set for him to go out and use his gift – which is his voice. And he’s still got that.
When you appeared at the Royal Albert Hall with Hawkwind back in 2023, it was amazing that you could still do all of the high falsetto parts.
[Without warning] Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! [Then up another level] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
That you are able to do that is quite preposterous.
Yes. It’s probably against the laws of nature.
When the album comes out, will you be playing it from start to finish?
We will include four new songs, but later in the year that’s precisely what we will be doing.
Claire: It will be a very different show for Arthur, very cinematic. Very delicately put together. It’s something that nobody should want to miss.
In this late part of your life, are you happy?
Extremely happy. I may last another ten years or even twenty. By then the scientists may have reached a point where none of us die.
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown play live throughout 2026. For dates and tickets, visit the God Of Hellfire website..
