Paddy McAloon

Patrick Joseph McAloon (born 7 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and a founder of the band Prefab Sprout.

Early life McAloon was born and grew up in Witton Gilbert in County Durham, England. He was trained to be a Catholic priest before deciding on a career in music.

Career Prefab Sprout enjoyed success in the 1980s and early 1990s and peaked commercially with "The King of Rock 'N' Roll", which was a top ten single in the UK singles chart.

In a 1991 interview with Rolling Stone during the Jordan: The Comeback world tour, McAloon said he had never seen a positive royalty cheque for his work with Prefab Sprout.

McAloon released the spoken word/instrumental album I Trawl the Megahertz (UK No. 54), under his own name, in 2003 on the EMI subsidiary company Liberty Records. After losing his eyesight — now somewhat restored — he listened to CB radio and call-in talk shows and found inspiration for the album.

In a 2013 interview, McAloon stated: That record [I Trawl The Megahertz] was so important to me. I was disappointed—extremely—that the Guardian never even reviewed it. That stayed with me. I kept waiting week after week: "Come on, if you're thinking they don't make records like they used to, if you're looking for personal vision, something unusual—I'm your guy!" But it never came.

In 2006, Prefab Sprout's Steve McQueen album was remastered by Thomas Dolby, and was then released in 2007 as a double-CD package. The second CD featured acoustic versions of songs from the original album that were recorded in 2006.

On 7 September 2009, Prefab Sprout released the album Let's Change the World with Music, based on a demo recording from 1992. McAloon is responsible for playing all of the instruments on the album.

Personal life As of September 2013, McAloon resides in his native County Durham with his wife and three daughters. He suffers from a detached retina and tinnitus,