# Alan Clare

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**Alan George Clare** (born **Alan George Jaycock**; 31 May 1921 – 29 November 1993) was a British [jazz](/source/Jazz) pianist and composer.[1]

## Family

Singer Bloom Rose Houtman married Alan Clare in 1947. Alan and Bloom lived for most of their marriage in [Holland Park](/source/Holland_Park), [London](/source/London), at 86A Holland Park, where *the Holland Park Set* would meet up to rehearse for *[The Telegoons](/source/The_Goon_Show)*.

## Career

Clare was born in London and began playing the piano as a young child.[1] After leaving school at the age of 14, he played in local nightclubs.[1] In the early 1940s he played in small bands led by Stephen Miller and Roy Marsh, then with [Stephane Grappelli](/source/Stephane_Grappelli); he then had a residency and briefly performed with pianist [George Shearing](/source/George_Shearing) and [Sid Phillips](/source/Sid_Phillips_(musician)).[1] His musical career was interrupted by military service, which ended in 1946.[1]

Alan was an original member of *the Holland Park Set* in London that included, [Peter Sellers](/source/Peter_Sellers), [Spike Milligan](/source/Spike_Milligan), [Stéphane Grappelli](/source/St%C3%A9phane_Grappelli), [Harry Secombe](/source/Harry_Secombe) etc.[2] They would regularly meet up at Alan's basement apartment in Holland Park to rehearse for *The Telegoons*.

For the next two years, Clare's main job was with in Sid Millward's Nitwits, after which he was again with Grappelli for two years.[1] During the period of his 1950–56 residency at the Studio Club in London, Clare also played with Grischa Farfel, [Kenny Baker](/source/Kenny_Baker_(trumpeter)), [Harry Parry](/source/Harry_Parry) and Harry Hayes.[1] In the remainder of the 1950s and much of the following decade, he worked at several London clubs.[1] He also appeared on television in the 1960s and 1970s, alongside comedian [Spike Milligan](/source/Spike_Milligan).[1] In 1961, he composed the music for the feature film, *[Seven Keys](/source/Seven_Keys_(film))*. Clare reunited with Grappelli in the early 1970s and had club residencies into the early 1990s, although illness curtailed his appearances.[1] Clare died in London on 29 November 1993.[1]

Another close friend of Clare's was the American singer and entertainer [Adelaide Hall](/source/Adelaide_Hall). Clare was Hall's pianist at live performances for many years. Alan Clare died 22 days after Adelaide Hall's death, the latter of which occurred on 7 November 1993.

## Albums

- *Holland Park*

## Further reading

- *Alan and Bloom Clare, the Goons, Stephane Grappelli and Other Stories*[3]
- *I Can Hear The Music: The Life of Gene DiNovi*[4]

## References

1. Chilton, John (2004). [*Who's Who of British Jazz*](https://archive.org/details/whoswhobritishja00chil). 2nd ed. Continuum. p. [73](https://archive.org/details/whoswhobritishja00chil/page/n81). ISBN 978-0-8264-7234-2.

1. ["MUSES WITH MILLIGAN "POETRY AND JAZZ""](https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200158363/). *Loc.gov*. Retrieved 26 July 2020.

1. ["Robert Farnon Society - Alan and Bloom Clare, the Goons, Stephane Grappelli and Other Stories"](https://www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk/index.php/jim/the-special-articles/188-alan-and-bloom-clare-the-goons-stephane-grappelli-and-other-stories). *Robertfarnonsociety.org.uk*. Retrieved 26 July 2020.

1. ["I Can Hear The Music: The Life of Gene DiNovi - Chapter Twenty-Four - Wattpad"](https://www.wattpad.com/259593982-i-can-hear-the-music-the-life-of-gene-dinovi). *Wattpad.com*. Retrieved 26 July 2020.

## External links

- [Alan Clare](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163485/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alan Clare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Clare) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Clare?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.