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Nonsense blog dedicated to The Animals | primarily '63-'65 Animals | lots and lots (and lots) of Alan Price | art, gifs, musings, and scans | yes, I think Alan Price and Eric Burdon were very (affectionate) with one another | Other 60s rock stuff (and a lot of Animals) - @hide-your-bugs-away

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A Somewhat Comprehensive Look at Alan Price and Eric Burdon’s Relationship

Please Read This!

The Encounter(s) (1958-59)

In The Beginning (1959-63)

Wild Animals (1963-65)

Animals Photos That Make Me Go “Hmm…” (1964-65)

Setting Out Alone (1965)

Supporting One Another (1965-68)

Rudely Interrupted (1970-83)

Miscellaneous Little Thoughts

Wow, That Was Long. And I’m Gay

Bonus Section: Price to Play: August 12th, 1968 (with guest star Eric Burdon)

Introduction Below Cut

Well, here it is.

To say that I’m excited to finally compile all of this information together into one place would be an understatement… I’ve superseded excitement and now I’m just sitting here with copious amounts of Dr Pepper and Alan’s Metropolitan Man blaring in my ears, surrounded by all of my wonderful Animals memorabilia.

Anyway, what is this? Well, it’s exactly what it says on the tin: a somewhat comprehensive look at Alan Price and Eric Burdon’s relationship. They’re members of an English rock band that emerged from Newcastle in the 60’s -  the Animals - with Alan playing the keyboard for the group and Eric supplying the lead vocals. And their relationship… Well, it’s something alright.

And, in my humble opinion, it’s wildly misinterpreted.

Disappointingly, most information about the Animals shared nowadays are either think-pieces about their most well-known song, “House of the Rising Sun”, or about how much of an absolute fractured mess the group turned out to be. Poor management, several break-ups and reunions and iterations… and, of course, the well-known fact that Alan claimed all of the royalties for “House of the Rising Sun” and has allegedly never shared the money with any of his old bandmates, sowing even more tension between all of the members.

Amongst all of this tension are Alan and Eric themselves. Eric Burdon, the charismatic face of the group and its leader throughout each of its iterations, and Alan Price, the moody ex-keyboardist, who seemingly took the money and ran, forging his own path and solo career. Surely, these two must hate each other... shouldn’t they? After everything Alan did, the circumstances that forcefully bound them together as performers and songwriters for a time, and how diametrically opposed they seemed to be in personality; they were practically in their divorce arc before things even started… right?

…No. Not at all. 

Set aside Eric’s passive-aggressive, yet relatively tame, comments made over the past few years. Set aside Alan’s staunch refusal to talk about things in detail anymore. Set aside the other Animals’ odd takes on the nature of their relationship, usually colored in such a way to make Alan out to be a despicable person.

Because I’d like to talk about some of the things Alan and Eric have done with and for one another that you might not have known.

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Words and Songs by Alan Price...

O Lucky Man | Between Today and Yesterday | Metropolitan Man | Shouts Across the Street | Performing Price | Alan Price

eee an illustration i made celebrating a handful of Alan's albums released in the 1970s...🥹❤️🎹✨️

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funny little Animals (whom i love)... 🐾✨️

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Хэй! (Пишу это на своем родном языке, потому что переводчик обычно допускает ошибки в контексте и боюсь, что вы можете меня не так понять) почти 2 года назад я поуши влюбилась в песню house of the rising sun и решила узнать о группе подробнее; помню, как влюбилась во внешность Эрика (этот парень даже определил мой типаж на низких парней, ха!) и я решила поискать фанатов в разных соцсетях, тогда я наткнулась на ваш аккаунт и он был просто восхитительным. Спустя столько времени я снова вернулась сюда, спасибо за то, что ведете этот фан аккаунт, благодаря нему у меня появилась особенная любовь к этой группе

aa AAA AAAA you have no idea how emotional I am, reading this message you sent me!! 🥺🐾✨️

Honestly, the most meaningful things I could possibly hear is when people tell me that they found my accounts when looking for fan content of the Animals, and not only do they enjoy my artwork/amateur archival work/ramblings... but they also tell me that the work I do inspires them to love and listen to the band even more. 💓🐾✨️ aaAAA the Animals fan community is quite small, among both older and younger crowds, but I am SO grateful for the kind people that I have met over the years, enjoying the content I create for the band!! The Animals truly mean the world to me... inspiring me in immeasurable ways... so I'm very, very glad to know that the work I've done on my accounts has been enjoyed by you and you love the band even more thanks to it!! AAAA!!! MY HEART IS SO FULL!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Also, always wonderful to know someone who adores Eric as much as you do!! He's the perfect frontman for the band... striking, animalistic... 👀🐾✨️

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I do forum RPs, and I have a habit of naming my characters C. A. Price or similar sorts of names. My friend who I often collab with has a habit of naming his characters love-related names such as Valentine. So imagine how I felt when, in a 60s rock group RP, we set up a band with a third player as the frontman while we played the arranging-genius keyboardist and the skilled-but-unflashy guitar/bass player. . . except I was playing the guitarist and he was playing the keyboardist.

In the end, we decided to use Alan Price and Hilton Valentine as our characters' faceclaims for the gag. Amusingly, it's set in 1967 in San Francisco for Summer of Love reasons, so I've just got the mental image of Eric Burdon encountering this group and going "wh" for a second before realizing these are completely different people. . .

aa AAAA AAA FIRST OF ALL.... ANIMALS FANS SPOTTED 🫵🫵🫵🐾✨️ That makes me SO happy, as well as the fact that you have an awesome 60s band roleplay in general... but GOSH THE ALAN AND HILTON FACE CLAIMS AND SIMILARITIES IN PERSONALITY ... I love that SO MUCH!! I'd be curious to know if this group you guys created originated in the UK or was part of the American scene all along; if it's the latter, it's extra hilarious to imagine that they're lowkey just an American version of the Animals, haha. ESPECIALLY if Eric himself seems them... he probably has to do a triple take... no, quadruple take... Especially because Hilton was really getting into hippie stuff around the time and could've very well been in California around that time hanging out. And seeing someone who looks like Alan... well... I'm sure Eric has a lot of thoughts about that... 🫣

...Also, kinda reminds me of a (wholly underdeveloped) AU I have where Alan leaves the Animals in a similar, sudden fashion as he does irl, but this time, he's on the run as well, because he saw Mike Jeffery partake in some shady business dealings and fears for his life (based on Eric's potentially-hyperbolic but honestly not too surprising claims that Jeffery might've had mob connections) 🫣 He ends up escaping to the States with Bob Dylan's crew and becomes a session pianist under a new identity over there... Alan attempts to assimilate into the scene and does get steady work but never quite settles in or feels particularly comfortable, for obvious reasons. Also, no one knows his identity, except for a very particular few... He has some encounters with the Animals and particularly Eric, somehow not getting recognized... though, this all might culminate in another important encounter with Eric during the summer of '67... eeee 😁👍

Anyway, thank you SO MUCH for shooting me this message!! I always love hearing about encounters with the Animals or things that remind you of them, no matter the scenario - it just makes me SO HAPPY to connect with other fans!! Such and underrated group... but the members and their music make an impression, that's for sure!! 🐾✨️

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Eric's got the birthday boy!!

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their dynamic... THEIR DYNAMIC!!! 🎤🎹✨️

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Sunrise | Noctilucent Clouds

Hilton Valentine | Dave Rowberry 🌅✨️🐾

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I know I say this a lot but... a vocalist/keyboardist duo can be soooo special... ✨️🐾

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Happy Birthday to John Steel!!

He's the drummer of the original Animals, born on this day in 1941!! 🥁🐾✨️

Photo is from the January 1965 issue of Teenville!! ...Though, the actual photo is from the Animals' arrival in the United States in September of 1964. Aaa.. AN ANIMAL WITH ANIMAL PLUSHIES...

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Nowhere to Fly

...more Animals and Byrds crossover art because it's fun to depict weighty symbolism... 🐾🪶✨️

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A little belated... but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from my Animal-friends and I!! 🐾✨️

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Happy Birthday to Chas Chandler on the Animals, born on this day in 1938!! 🎸🐾✨️

Incredibly talented bassist and manager... he's got an eye and an ear for making an impact on music history as we know it...

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Halloween silliness with Eric and Alan!! 🎃🐾✨️

Sometimes, you just have to draw your favorites inside of a pumpkin...

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I love your fanart for the Animals! It's been so long since I last saw fan art for them but glad ur keeping them alive <3

aaAAA thank you, thank you, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REACHING OUT AND SAYING THIS, ANON!! Truly! I'm seriously not kidding when I say that seeing this message completely made my day... 💕🐾✨️

It means a whole heck of a lot to know that you enjoy my Animals artwork... I've been a huge fan of the band (especially a certain keyboardist... which I'm sure you've noticed, haha) for over five years now, with me compiling fanart on this blog for a good chunk of that time - I swear, I can't at all help how much they inspire me! Drawing them is how I like to show my appreciation... so knowing that there's folks out there that not only like my art style, but like my take on the band and how I choose to represent them?? A massive compliment.. and I'm just glad to know there's other fans of the Animals out there in general ❤️❤️🐾 The fan community may be small, but I don't mind whatsoever - I'm just here to draw my fractured comfort band and all of the positive/silly interactions between all of the members...

(especially the original keyboardist and lead vocalist...)

Thank you again for the message, Anon!! Believe me, there's a whole lot more art where that came from... 👀✨️🐾

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Flightless...

Gene Clark and Alan Price 🐦‍⬛🐾

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Sometimes, all it takes is an Animal in your life to change things for the better 🐾🎹✨️