The Animals

Formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1962 around Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Hilton Valentine, Chas Chandler and John Steel, The Animals initially established themselves as an English rhythm and blues and blues-rock quintet with a taut sound, marked by Burdon’s rough voice and Price’s prominent organ. In the context of the British Invasion, The Animals moved between rock, electric blues and traditional repertoire, releasing songs such as “The House of the Rising Sun”—a cover that turns a folk ballad into a dark, nervous piece—alongside “I’m Crying”, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.” Their early albums, including The Animals (1964), Animal Tracks (1965) and Animalism (1966), reflect this balance between incisive singles and more R&B-oriented material. After the departures of Alan Price and later John Steel, the original lineup dissolved and Eric Burdon continued as Eric Burdon and the Animals, adopting a more psychedelic and progressive direction on Winds of Change (1967), The Twain Shall Meet (1968), Every One of Us (1968) and Love Is (1968). The Animals later reformed on several occasions, notably for Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted (1977) and Ark (1983), while the name persisted through various incarnations linked to the band’s history.