Eric Woolfson
The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was

The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was is a collection of 10 previously unrecorded Project songs by the songwriter/lyricist of the Alan Parsons Project, Eric Woolfson - the voice behind 'Eye In The Sky,' 'Don't Answer Me' and 'Time.' These songs were written while Eric and Alan were actively creating the Alan Parsons Project recordings that would go on to achieve 45 million in album sales, 9 Grammy Nominations, over 50 Gold and Platinum Disc awards, nine Top 10 Hits worldwide and over 2 million radio plays in the U.S. alone. Those accomplishments are an amazing feat for a band that never toured or performed live to promote their work. The Alan Parsons Project was one of the recording industry's most interesting collaborations. Parsons was an inspired and skilled engineer/producer and Woolfson found him to be a perfect vehicle for his talents as a songwriter/lyricist.

The songs of The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was were constructed from different pieces recorded at different times in different places. However, the final mixes were completed by Austin Ince in Abbey Road Studios (where Woolfson and Parsons met in 1974.) For instance, "Rumor Goin' Round" was included as a bonus track on the APP expanded edition album Stereotomy as a rough mix without a vocal. The backing track was recorded during the Stereotomy session at Mayfair Studios in the early '80s and Eric completed the lyrics and recorded the vocals recently in London. A version of "Any Other Day" was included on the APP expanded edition album Eye In the Sky, but the song was abandoned at an early stage. Only later were the guitar parts, lead/backing vocals, and sampled instruments added. It is a triumph to be enjoyed on its own terms.

In the early 1960s Andrew Oldham signed Eric Woolfson as a songwriter for his record label called Immediate. During the following years, Woolfson wrote songs for such artists as Marianne Faithfull, Frank Ifield, Jo Dassin, The Tremeloes, Marmalade and Dave Berry. His songs were recorded by over one hundred artists both in Europe and America. During the '60s he signed to Southern Music and worked alongside two then unknown writers, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. In the early '70s Eric turned his hand to management and was instantly successful. His first two signings were Carl Douglas (whose record Kung Fu Fighting was one of the biggest selling hits of the time) and engineer/record producer Alan Parsons.