Andrew Latimer is an English musician and composer. He is a founding member of the progressive rock bandCamel and the only member who has been with the band since their formation in 1971. Best known as a guitarist and singer, Latimer is a flautist and keyboardist as well.
Career
Along with partner Susan Hoover, Latimer relocated to America where they established a music production company named Camel Productions to release Camel's new studio albums: Dust and Dreams, Harbour of Tears, Rajaz and A Nod and a Wink as well as a host of "Official Bootlegs" on CD. The band went on the road in 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2003. They released their first full concert DVD in 1997 titled Coming of Age which began a series of subsequent DVD releases. In mid-2006, Latimer and Hoover returned to the UK and established Camel Productions UK Ltd. In May 2007, Hoover announced through the Camel Productions website and newsletter that Latimer had suffered from a progressive blood disorder polycythaemia vera since 1992, which had unexpectedly progressed to myelofibrosis. In November 2007, he underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and began a long road to full recovery. In October 2013, Latimer took Camel back to centre stage. To celebrate the occasion, Camel played The Snow Goose in its entirety for the first set and dedicated it to the co-founding band members Andy Ward, Peter Bardens and Doug Ferguson. Additionally, Camel had re-recorded the album earlier in the year. The re-recording remains remarkably faithful to the original, but includes some minor rearrangements and some extended sections. A live DVD, titled In From The Cold, was recorded at the Barbican Centre London. The Snow Goose tour had been a complete sellout and the band was asked to continue in early 2014. However, the second half of the tour featured Ton Scherpenzeel as keyboardist Guy Leblanc had become seriously ill, subsequently passing away on 27 April 2015. Despite being troubled by arthritis is his hands and knees, Latimer took Camel back on the road in 2015. In 2016 they toured Japan with new keyboardist Pete Jones and in 2018 Camel toured extensively featuring their most popular recording Moonmadness. The 2018 tour culminated with the band's return to The Royal Albert Hall to a sellout crowd. The performance was video recorded for anticipated release on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Equipment
Latimer's preferred guitar is a Gibson Les Paul, but he is also known for playing Fender Stratocasters and other guitars. From the 1990s onward, he also played a Burny Super Grade, an 1980s copy of the Gibson Les Paul Model. The amplifiers he uses include Fender, Vox and Marshall.
