John Steel (drummer) Jones and Art Blakey. They switched from jazz to embrace the new rock 'n' roll explosion. In March 1959, Steel met Alan Price at a church hop in Byker, Newcastle, and with Hilton Valentine (guitar) and Chas Chandler (bass) formed a band; by 1960 the Alan Price Combo had acquired a reputation in Newcastle. Burdon joined in 1962 from a band called the Pagans, and the Animals were born. Steel went on to play and record with them until February 1966. His last charted single with the group was "Inside Looking Out". Subsequently, Steel returned to Newcastle and became a
Alan Price the Randy Newman song "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear", reached No. 4 in the chart as did his self-penned song, "The House That Jack Built". "Don't Stop the Carnival" followed in 1968 and rose to No. 13 in the UK singles charts. Price went on to host shows such as the musical "Price To Play" in the late 1960s, which featured Price performing and introducing the music of guests such as Fleetwood Mac and Jimi Hendrix. His second album, "A Price on His Head" (1967), featured seven songs by Randy Newman, who was virtually unknown at that time.