In 1967, he wrote "My Aim is to Please You, Girl", a hit for the Australian band The Executives. In 1968, he wrote "Captain of Your Ship", recorded by Reparata and the Delrons. Although not a hit in the US, it became successful in Britain, and Young traveled to London with the band when they appeared on Top of the Pops. Following the show, he met John Lennon and Ringo Starr, and decided to stay in London.[1] In 1969, he had several UK hits as a writer and record producer for singer Clodagh Rodgers, including "Come Back and Shake Me" and "Goodnight Midnight", and produced singles by The Searchers. He also wrote hits in the US for Mark Lindsay, including "Arizona" and "Silver Bird".[4]
Young also recorded as a singer-songwriter and released two solo albums in a similar style to James Taylor, Clever Dogs Chase The Sun (1971) and Last Stage For Silver World (1973), but with limited success.[1][5] In Britain, Young formed two bands, Fox and Yellow Dog with whom he played, wrote and produced their top ten hits. In 1974 he formed Fox, a band featuring Noosha Fox. The band broke up in 1977. Fox had three top 20 hits in the UK and other European countries, including "Only You Can", "Imagine Me, Imagine You" and "S-S-S-Single Bed". Yellow Dog's biggest hit was "Just One More Night".[4] Young's other bands were Gentlemen Without Weapons (with co-producers Vic Coppersmith-Heaven and Nick Glennie-Smith), 39 Vybes, and Rhythms del Mundo whose albums have gone platinum and gold in many countries.[citation needed]
In the 1980s Young co-founded the rainforest conservation organization, Earth Love Fund, with colleagues Vic Coppersmith-Heaven and Nick Glennie-Smith. He recorded the song "Spirit of the Forest" which was supported by musicians including Chris Rea, Donna Summer, Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, Debbie Harry, Gilberto Gil, and members of Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac. In 1990 he co-founded and organised the charity Earth Love Fund, which released two albums, Earthrise 1 and 2, to fund environmental initiatives around the world, with particular emphasis on rainforest projects.[2] He received the United Nations Global 500 Award for outstanding practical achievements in the protection and improvement of the environment for his work as co-founder and trustee of the Earth Love Fund, which supported and initiated over 200 community based projects in Brazil, Africa, Asia and Australia.[2]
He wrote and co-produced and performed an album Transmissions by Gentlemen Without Weapons on A&M Records. The band used only digital samples of nature for the music. The album was supported by a video produced by Storm Thorgerson, who also designed the album cover.
He produced the series of albums Rhythms del Mundo with musicians from Buena Vista Social Club and featured Coldplay, Radiohead, U2, Arctic Monkeys, Sting, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Dido, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo and other top international artists. This was followed up by the second album Rhythms del Mundo Classics featuring collaborations between top Cuban musicians with The Killers, Amy Winehouse, The Rolling Stones, Jack Johnson and many others; followed up by Rhythms Del Mundo – Revival featuring: Bob Dylan, Green Day, Coldplay and Dizzee Rascal. The most recent production was Rhythms Del Mundo – Africa featuring Coldplay, Beyonce, Eminem, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mumford & Sons and Rokia Traore. The proceeds from the album benefit the environmental non-profit organization Artists Project Earth, which raises awareness and funds for climate change projects and for natural disaster relief efforts.[citation needed]
Death
Young died on his 79th birthday in 2020, in Banbury, England,[6] after suffering from cancer for several years.[2]