Richard Barnes (British singer, bassist and actor)

Richard Barnes (9 July 1944 – 19 December 2025) was a British singer and actor who saw limited chart success in the early 1970s. He also worked as an actor. His professional music career started with The Quiet Five in 1964, where he played bass guitar and sang vocals. The group broke up around 1967. Barnes released a solo album on Philips Records in 1970, which was produced by Gerry Bron, and scored two chart hits in the UK Singles Chart that same year. His first hit, "Take to the Mountains" reached number 35 in May 1970, and "Go North" peaked at number 38 in November. In the Dutch charts "Take to the Mountains" reached number 15. Both hits were written by Tony Hazzard. Barnes played Jesus in the original London production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace Theatre in 1972. He continued working as an actor in various television and musical theatre roles, including in the BBC's Count Dracula (1977), Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden (1979), The Winds of War (1983) and the 1990 UK tour of Chess as Freddie Trumper. Barnes died on 19 December 2025, at the age of 81. His death was confirmed in January 2026 by fellow singer Tony Hazzard. A compilation album was released in August 2007 by RPM Records, under the title of Take To The Mountains. It featured tracks recorded by Barnes between 1969 and 1974. The track listing was as follows: "Take to the Mountains" (Hazzard) "Woman, Woman" (Glaser, Payne) "Maria Elena" (Hazzard) "Take My Hand for a While" (Saint Marie) "Your Song" (John, Taupin) "The Way I Feel" (Hazzard) "High Flying Electric Bird" (Brown, Mullen) "London" (McKuen) "I Think I'm Getting Over You" (Cook, Greenaway) "Hard Headed Woman" (Stevens) "Mama" (Hazzard) "It's Getting Better" (Mann, Weil) "Homeward Bound" (Simon) "Live Till You Die" (Rhodes) "Maybe" (Nilsson) "Tomorrow Never Comes" (Ife, Wirtz) "Could We Start Again Please" (Lloyd Webber) "Coldwater Morning" (Diamond) "Wandering" (Taylor) "Go North" (Hazzard) Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List". Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 43. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. "Our Theatre Royal Nottingham". Ourtheatreroyal.org. 14 July 1986. Retrieved 7 May 2020. "Quiet Five". 45-rpm.org.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2014. "Richard Barnes - Richard Barnes (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015. Mark Deming (27 August 2007). "Take to the Mountains - Richard Barnes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 February 2014. "Original London Cast (1972)". Jesuschristsuperstarzone.com. "Richard Barnes Discography". Castalbums.org. "Richard Barnes". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. "Richard Barnes". Aveleyman.com. "Production of Chess | Theatricalia". Theatricalia.com. "Gone to the Mountains: Richard Barnes R.I.P." MBC1955. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026. "Take to the Mountains - Richard Barnes - Share your experience". Cd.ciao.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2014. Richard Barnes, AllMusic Richard Barnes, MusicBrainz Richard Barnes at IMDb