Long-Time Robert Palmer Band Member Alan Mansfield Dies
American renowned musician Alan Mansfield died in Sydney, Australia, on October 16th, 2024. He was 72. Mansfield passed away peacefully with his partner, New-Zealand singer Sharon O'Neill, and family by his side. He had bravely battled cancer and initially won the fight, but succumbed to complications following his treatment.
Born on November 10th, 1951, in Daytona Beach, Florida, Mansfield was a prolific musician and producer with a career spanning decades. He spent twenty years as a member of the Robert Palmer Band - beginning in 1979 for the Secrets tour until Palmer's final US dates in 1999, in support of the album Rhythm & Blues - and simultaneously - from 1983 to 1997 - as keyboardist for the iconic New Zealand rock band Dragon.
Together with Sharon O'Neill, Alan Mansfield co-wrote many songs for Robert Palmer, most notably the US Top 30 hit You're Amazing in 1990 and the single True Love in 1999.
His studio work was equally impressive. He played keyboards extensively on the albums Pride (1983), Don't Explain (1990) and Honey (1994). A multi-instrumentalist, Mansfield also played guitar on one of Robert Palmer's signature songs, 1980's Johnny And Mary from the album Clues, and acoustic piano on Aeroplane, another Palmer favourite featured on Don't Explain and Ridin' High (1992).
With Dragon, Mansfield played on the albums Body and The Beat (1984) and Dreams Of Ordinary Men (1986) which both achieved platinum status in Australia. He also produced the band's biggest hit, Rain, which peaked at No.2 in Australia and No.88 in the US.
According to Sharon O'Neill, one of his career highlights was performing with Robert Palmer and the BBC Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the Ridin' High tour in 1992.
Another highlight was his band Dragon opening for Tina Turner during the European leg of her Break Every Rule tour in 1987.
Alan Mansfield was a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music in the United States. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame as a member of Dragon in 2008 and received a Legacy award with Dragon at the New Zealand Music Hall Of Fame in 2011.
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