Brendan Christopher Croker (15 August 1953 – 10 September 2023) was an English musician, who recorded albums under his own name and with an occasional backing band, The Five O'Clock Shadows.

[2] After graduating from Bradford College of Art, Croker had various jobs including dustbin man in Sheffield, railway guard in Leeds, and at the Yorkshire Electricity Board.

[4] The Five O'Clock Shadows were beginning to achieve serious recognition when Croker dissolved the group and moved to Nashville, where he worked with Chet Atkins.

[6] Croker recorded with Eric Clapton, Tanita Tikaram, Mark Knopfler, Kevin Coyne, and Chet Atkins.

In 2001 he recorded an album called "Life is Almost Wonderful" with painter and singer Kevin Coyne, the two having met in a hotel breakfast lounge in Bruges.