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Andy Pratt (born 1947) is an American rock music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In the 1970s, he made a number of experimental records and scored a commercial hit with Avenging Annie.
After words of praise from Rolling Stone magazine ("By reviving the dream of rock as an art and then re-inventing it, Pratt has forever changed the face of rock"), he tried a more commercial approach. Having converted to Christianity and settled in the Netherlands in 1987, he continued to make records and perform at big Christian pop music festivals.
Pratt has released over twenty studio albums as of April 2012.
Andy Pratt was the son of Edwin H. Baker Pratt, a headmaster of Cambridge, Massachusetts day school Browne & Nichols School, which Pratt attended.
Pratt was awarded an B.A. in English Literature in 1968 from Harvard College. In 1969 he released his debut album, Records Are Like Life, which was not a success. Pratt worked with various Boston-area bands and toured Europe.
Using his family wealth he built AEngus Studios.
In 1973, Pratt signed with Columbia Records. He released Andy Pratt in 1973, which achieved modest commercial success. He released a single, Avenging Annie, in 1973, which peaked at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending ten weeks on the chart. This version was used on the soundtrack to the film Velvet Goldmine in 1998.
Columbia dropped Pratt after an American tour. Pratt signed with Atlantic Records. Bee Gees producer Arif Mardin was recruited for a more commercial approach on Resolution. In 1977, after a concert for 7000 people in Boston's City Hall Plaza, Pratt was forced to leave the music industry due to a lack of support.
Pratt converted to Christianity and moved to Europe in 1987. He produced the religious pop album Motives. He performed at festivals and in churches. Not Just for Dancing (recorded with Stephen Hague), Fun in the First World and Heaven & Earth were re-released on a single CD.
Pratt returned to Boston in 2004 and started a new band with Sal Baglio and John Troy.
In 2006, Pratt signed a deal with Ran Song Express Publishing to publish his personal memoirs, Shiver in the Night.
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