Kris Ife born 16 June 1946

Kris John Ife (16 June 1946 – 8 November 2013) was an English singer and songwriter, who enjoyed modest success in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s. He recorded a version of "Hush", later covered by Deep Purple. 

Born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, Ife's father was based at RAF Halton near Wendover. Ife moved to London and attended St. Clement Danes School in Acton, and it was whilst at school that he formed a skiffle group called the Gravediggers. 

After leaving school he started a group called the Vikings with John Howell and Ray Hailey. The Vikings recorded "Space Walk", produced by Curly Clayton which was not released under their name, but turned up some years later under the name of "Gemini" and with a different producer listed, although the recording was the same. 

In 1964, the Vikings manager, John Smith, amalgamated them with The Quiet Five, taking their lead vocalist Patrick Dane and bassist Richard Barnes, along with the name. Dane left some time later, before the Quiet Five had recorded anything. Despite their name there were six members, John Howell (organ/vocals), Kris Ife (guitar/vocals), Richard Barnes (bass guitar/vocals), Roger McKew (lead guitar), Ray Hailey (drums) and John "Satch" Goswell (saxophone). During their time together the Quiet Five released a handful of singles and managed to get into the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart in 1965 with a song written by Ife, "When the Morning Sun Dries the Dew", and again in 1966 with a cover of the Simon & Garfunkel song "Homeward Bound". 

The Quiet Five played at Windsor Castle at a party for Prince Charles' 18th birthday in December 1966, and subsequently they played on the 'Society Circuit', including the Royal Hunt Ball and the Venice Film Festival. Ife left The Quiet Five in 1967 for a solo career, and it was at this time that he recorded a cover of Joe South's "Hush". The version inspired Deep Purple's 1968 hit cover of the same song. 

                             

In a 2003 Mojo Magazine interview, Ritchie Blackmore admitted that it was Ife's rendition of "Hush" that resulted in the creation of the Deep Purple version. Kris's version of "Hush" was recorded at Lansdowne Studios with Andy White on drums and Alan Hawkshaw on organ. When no hits were forthcoming from MGM, Ife joined Schroeder Music, a Brill Building type of songwriting establishment, where he met Dave Rowberry formerly of The Animals, Chas Mills, lyricist and future First Class member, Billy Davis, singer/songwriters J. Vincent Edwards and Michael Derrick, amongst others. 

Chas Mills formed a partnership with Mark Wirtz and one of their first productions was Ife's recording of "Imagination" originally released by the group The Cherry People. Ife, Vince Edwards and Michael Derrick formed a songwriting partnership under the name 'Miki Anthony' and one of their songs, "Haven't We Had a Good Time", was recorded by Ife, with Mark Wirtz producing. In 1969, Wirtz met a German publisher who offered him cash to produce a series of 'bubble-gum' (similar in style to The Archies) pop tracks for release through Europe and the UK. 

Though Wirtz has been given most of the credit for the resulting recordings, Ife put the band together (called The Matchmakers) with Tat Meager (drums), Roger Flavell (bass), Chas Mills (vocals), Michael Derrick (vocals), Vince Edwards (vocals), and former Quiet Five members Roger McKew (guitar) and Richard Barnes (vocals), along with The Breakaways. This was followed by recordings being released by musicians from The Matchmakers under the name of Judd that included Madeline Bell and Doris Troy on backing vocals. Kris recalled that the tracks were a combination of finished recordings and demos. 

During this period, other band concoctions were created for release as Krimson Kake (a Kris Ife and Samantha Jones duo), The Guards [England], Fickle Finger (released in Germany and Spain as Astronaut Alan And The Planets), Cellophane Mop, Father's Brown and Happy Confusion. In 1971, Ife again began songwriting with Vince Edwards and the pair released singles as the duo Jackson and Jones. 

Kris continued songwriting and, in 1974, began a concept album "The History of America", with the intention of marketing the LP in US schools as a teaching aid of history through the means of pop music, but the project was never finished. Ife then worked in A&R, beginning in 1976, for publishing company Heath Levy. One of the acts he discovered while there was Nick Nicely. More recently, in 2008, Ife recorded a CD with J. Vincent Edwards and Wayne S. Newton in Philadelphia, released under the group name The Beaver Street Hat Band, entitled "Beaver Street". 

Kris Ife passed away at the age of 67, on 8th November 2013 after suffering a massive heart attack. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & 45cat.com)