Louis Clark (27 February 1947 – 13 February 2021) was an English music arranger and keyboard player. He trained at Leeds College of Music. He is best known for his work with Electric Light Orchestra and Hooked on Classics. Clark started out as a bass guitarist for Birmingham band The Buccaneers, who later became Monopoly and eventually The Raymond Froggatt Band.

Electric Light Orchestra

Clark was the conductor and arranger of the orchestra and choir hired to back Electric Light Orchestra's sound, introduced on their album Eldorado in 1974. He assisted Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy in writing the string arrangements for the studio albums Eldorado, Face the Music, A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery and Xanadu. He later played synthesizers for ELO during their Time tour. In 1983 he returned to arranging and conducting the strings on the Secret Messages album, and in 1986 he played keyboards again with the band on their small number of live dates. Clark was likewise an affiliate of the ELO spinoff band ELO Part II for much of its lifespan, contributing string arrangements to both of the group's studio albums during the 1990s and participating in its live performances on numerous occasions. Upon Part II's rebranding as The Orchestra in 2000, Clark (now a full-time member) remained with the group, his involvement continuing until his death in 2021.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

In 1977, Clark arranged the music of Renaissance for their Albert Hall concert with the RPO. In the early 1980s, he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on a series of records under the title Hooked on Classics. In 1985, he again worked with Renaissance singer Annie Haslam and the band's lyricist Betty Thatcher with the RPO to produce the album "Still Life". In 1982, he released the album "The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays the Queen Collection", recorded by the Solid Rock Foundation. In 1983, he released the album "The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Beatles Collection", recorded by the Solid Rock Foundation, at the 20th Concerto Anniversary of The Beatles, having as guest artists Joan Collins, Elena Duran, Honor Hefferman and Roy Wood.

English Pops Orchestra

In 2011 Louis Clark was made president of the English Pops Orchestra, and returned to performing Hooked on Classics 'LIVE' with the EPO using many of the players that recorded the original albums.

Library music for television, commercials and radio

From the late 70's and through the 80's Clark composed library music for the production company Bruton Music. Some of the music was, and sometimes still is, used for television, TV commercials (Cadbury's Flake, Nescafe) and radio (jingles for LBC). In 1980 he arranged the strings for the songs in the film The Apple, a musical that was critically derided as one of the worst films ever made but has since gained cult status.

Death

Louis Clark died on 13 February 2021 in Elyria, Ohio, fourteen days short from his 74th birthday. His death at the age of 73 was announced by his wife, Gloria, on his Facebook page. No cause of death was revealed, but he had been ill for months and had suffered from kidney issues. In her post announcing his death, his wife Gloria wrote, "He passed very peacefully surrounded by love. This morning he watched Premier League soccer and listened to The Beatles, two things he loved. This afternoon I told him I loved him, he said I love you too, and we kissed. He was gone five minutes later. We love this man forever and always. He was a good man, loved by many and will be greatly missed by all. We want to thank family, friends and fans who have always loved and supported him."

Other associated acts

Besides ELO, Louis Clark worked as an arranger for many other rock and pop artists: With Roy Orbison With Ozzy Osbourne With Roy Wood With Kelly Groucutt With America With Kiki Dee With Carl Wayne With Juan Martin With Asia With Mike Berry With Simone With Renaissance With City Boy Among others are UB40, Jon Spencer, Iris Williams and more recently Air Supply.

Discography

Sourced from Louis Clark's official website - all albums performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra unless otherwise stated. Compilations: