Edward Barton

Edward Barton is a Manchester, England, poet, artist and musician, known for his eccentric stage performances and use of home-made instruments. He has had top 30 success as a songwriter with hits including "It's a Fine Day" (Opus III) - the tune of which was then used in Kylie Minogue's hit "Confide in Me" - "Halcyon" (Orbital) and "Happiness" (Pizzaman). He also wrote a trio of hits for Lost Witness - ‘Happiness Happening’, ‘Red Sun Rising’ and ‘7 Colours’.

Biography

He grew up in Libya, the son of an RAF officer, before attending boarding school in Britain. He moved to Manchester in the mid-1970s where he studied History of Art at Manchester University, and was signed by Cherry Red Records in 1982.

He is probably best known for composing the song "It's A Fine Day", originally released on Cherry Red as an a cappella single by Jane in 1983, and later to become a UK chart hit when Opus III covered it in 1992, reaching number 5, whilst also topping the US dance chart. Under the name Owain Barton, he was later credited with co-writing Kylie Minogue's 1994 hit "Confide In Me", which included musical content taken from "It's a Fine Day". Barton later said "I woke up one afternoon and switched on the radio. I thought, "that's a good tune. In fact that's my tune.""

Edward Barton (disambiguation)

Edward Barton is an English poet, artist and musician.

Edward Barton may also refer to:

See also

Edward Barton (politician)

Edward Gustavus Campbell Barton (11 December 1857 – 14 June 1942) was an electrical engineer and a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Early years

Barton was born in Toorak, Victoria, to parents George Elliott Barton, a barrister from Ireland, and his Scottish wife, Jane Crichton (née Campbell). After receiving his schooling in Dunedin, New Zealand, he studied electrical engineering at Otago University and then Karlsruhe University in Germany. After gaining further experience at his profession in Scotland, Barton became superintendent of England's first commercial electric-lighting system in Godalming, Surrey.

He then became a consultant in both New Zealand and Australia where he installed electrical plant for the Phoenix Gold Mines at Gympie in Queensland and also worked for the Australasian Electric Light, Power & Storage Co. In 1886 he was employed to complete lighting installations at Parliament House and the government printing office in Brisbane before resigning in 1888 to go into business with C. F. White. This partnership began supplying electricity to the public from their Edison Lane premises by means of a direct-current generator driven by a steam-engine.

Edward Barton (English diplomat)

Sir Edward Barton (c.1533–1597) was Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, appointed by Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Barton went to Constantinople in 1578, in the pay of the Levant Company, as secretary to the founder of the English embassy in the city, William Harborne and in 1588 was left by Harborne as English agent. By this time he was fluent in Turkish and well respected in the court.

This was a time of war between England and Spain, and Barton was charged with trying to obtain the support of the Ottomans in this struggle, while of course working to defend English commercial interests by for example trying to persuade the Porte to prevent Florence from trading in cloth in Ottoman territory.

In 1596 Barton accompanied Sultan Mehmet III in his campaign against Hungary and was present at the siege of Eger.

During his time in the city there were difficulties with his neighbours, who were offended by the raucous behaviour of guests at Barton's parties.

On 28 February 1598, Barton died of dysentery and his body was ceremonially taken from the English house in Pera to the island of Heybeliada for burial in the cemetery of the Christian church. The Fugger agent in Venice reported that 'the funeral of the late English envoy was carried out with great solemnity and attended by many distinguished gentlemen and representatives of foreign countries'. His grave was later removed to the British Haydarpaşa Cemetery in the district of Üsküdar.