Ian Prowse & Amsterdam

Ian Prowse is a musician, singer, songwriter who wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s the frontman of Amsterdam and previously of indie cult band Pele. Thankfully for his fans across the world, it’s all the same thing.

Raised on the rallying cry of protest songs, influenced by the Celtic sounds that make Liverpool so unique it was no surprise, at the start of the 90s, when the rest of Britain was swaggering along to the baggy sound of The Stone Roses, Ian put together a band that marched to their own beat. The result was Pele, a five piece alternative rock ‘n’ pop band with an infusion of Celtic sounds, and a live show that became stuff of legend. The band split in 1996.

Three years later Ian formed Amsterdam, it was to take another 5 years until they were signed to an independent label. Amsterdam saw some success with their first single ‘The Journey’ but it’s their song ‘Does This Train Stop on Merseyside?’ that cemented Ian’s place in the hearts of many people. Radio 1 DJ John Peel was reduced to tears every time he put it on, openly crying live on air because of its connection with Liverpool, the city he loved. Irish legend Christy Moore then took the song on in 2009 making it the centrepiece of his album ‘Listen’.

After releasing a best of album ‘Does This Train Stop on Merseyside: The Very Best of Ian Prowse’ and two more solo albums ‘Who Loves Ya Baby’ and ‘Companeros’, Ian then spent his time remastering and re-releasing his first two classic Pele albums ‘Fireworks’ and ‘Sport of Kings’ to celebrate their 25th anniversaries. In between these shows, Ian and producer Tony Kiley worked on ‘Here I Lie’, an album of songs that tackle life, love, loss, death and Liverpool.