Who the hell is?

Chris Barron

Spin dizzy: It's summer 1993 and every- one's frugging to the hippie-shakin' sound of Two Princes, the hit single from US retro-rockers The Spin Doctors. They may not be as hip as Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins, and some have grumbled that they sound like a second-rate Steve Miller Band, but the Docs' debut album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, has already passed the two million sales mark, and their Alternative Nation tour is selling out across the US. Central to their appeal is beardy lead singer Chris Barron, a wildly animated hybrid of Ian Anderson, Liam O'Maonlai and Catweazle. Over the next few years, the band will endure tour burnout, bust-ups, waning public interest, and legal battles over copyright infringement. But what really does for The Spin Doctors is when Barron suffers a paralysed vocal cord on the eve of a 1999 world tour and completely loses his voice.

Doctor's orders: This week Chris Barron will be take the stage in Ireland, his voice restored to its former rhythm'n'blues glory. He had been unable to speak for months, let alone sing, and doctors had told him his voice would probably never return. But Barron embarked on a regime of intense physical therapy and a strict diet until his voice began to gradually return. He played a few tentative solo acoustic gigs, then formed a loose jazz-folk-blues collective called The Give Daddy Five, just to get back into the swing of things. Fans of The Spin Doctors will be happy to hear that Chris can sing the band's hits just as well as before, and that he never tires of Two Princes, a song he's performed thousands of times.

Traveller's blues: Barron was conceived on a boat taking his parents from San Francisco to Pearl Harbour, where his father, a Vietnam vet, was stationed. He was born in Honolulu, and the family subsequently moved to the Bronx and then to Australia before finally settling in Princeton, New Jersey. In high school Chris quickly gained a reputation as the class weirdo. He became friends with John Popper, who formed another successful US roots-rock act, Blues Traveler. Barron actually joined an early incarnation of Blues Traveler, but, as he recalls, "I got thrown out for being a pain in the ass". He formed his own band, Dead Alcoholics with Boners, and began writing his own songs, including Jimmy Olsen's Blues and future worldwide hit Two Princes.

Shock doc: If his singing voice hadn't come back, Barron would still find some way to express his creativity. He has co-written and starred in a musical comedy version of Faust, and has composed reams of poetry (you can read them on his website, www.chrisbarron. com). He had a role in Howard Stern's movie, Private Parts, and wrote a song in honour of the firefighters of 9/11, entitled We're All New Yorkers Now. Chris Barron begins an Irish tour tonight in Limerick. See listings, page 18, for details.