Gorrie was born and raised in Perth, Australia, and started playing the bass at just 10 years old. His professional career began when he was just a teenager and started his own band called The Vikings. In the 1960s, he moved to London and played for various English rock bands, including Forever More, a progressive rock band.
After appearing in many movie soundtracks throughout the early 1970s, Gorrie and another Forever More band member, Owen "Onnie" McIntyre, formed the Average White Band in 1972. Others eventually joined, including Malcolm "Molly" Duncan, Michael Rosen, Roger Ball and Robbie McIntosh. Though their debut album, Show Your Hand, did not sell well at first, they eventually became a successful funk/R&B group, topping international record charts with their second studio album, AWB, thanks to their single "Pick Up the Pieces."
Alan Gorrie of the Average White Band during An Evening of Jazz at Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre on August 07, 2021 in Mableton, Georgia.Paras Griffin/Getty Images
"Absolutely no way could we have seen past five or 10 years, in fact, 10 years was a stretch for any band back in those days. Especially when you were doing something that was off the beaten track in terms of what UK music was all about in 1972 when we started forming the band," he told interviewer Kevin Cooper. "We were actually bucking the trend with soul music and RnB when Britain was firmly in the grip of the likes of David Bowie, Hard Rock and Prog Rock."
In 1989, AWB reunited and created Aftershock, which was released that same year. They continued touring throughout the 1990s, and released three more albums: Soul Tattoo, Living Colour and Inside Out from 1997 to 2018. They eventually stopped touring in 2023, celebrating 50 years as a band with their fans on their Let's Go Round Again One Last Time Tour.
AWB eventually disbanded for good in 2024, and their final concert was made into a film titled Final Note, which was released in 2025.
Onnie McIntyre, Robbie McIntosh, Hamish Stuart, Malcolm Duncan, Roger Ball and Alan Gorrie pose for a photo in someone's house.Michael Putland/Getty Images
"It’s very gruelling touring," he told The Courier ahead of the Perth show in 2024. "It doesn’t leave you much time for a family life and other niceties, so that’s why we decided to be honest and upfront about it and make it a farewell tour so everybody can see us for a last time."
"I’m going to stop touring so that I can hopefully get my head back into songwriting, painting, which I love doing, and other pursuits, including my family, who have been denied my input for half a century," he continued. "I’ve been getting into [painting] again and want to pursue it much more than I’ve been able to, so I’m looking forward to doing more."
Robbie McIntosh, Roger Ball, Onnie McIntyre, Malcolm Duncan, Alan Gorrie and Hamish Stuart pose for a photo.Michael Putland/Getty Images
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