Some teachers were sadistic – others pretended not to notice – and sexual molestation and regular corporal punishment with a leather strap was the order of the day.

"[12] At secondary school, a teacher by the name of Bertie Brown was responsible for getting him into Newcastle College of Art and Industrial Design (now part of Northumbria University) and changing his life forever.

As the fumes set my brain alight and I slid to the kitchen floor, she reached to the counter and grabbed an egg, which she cracked into the pit of my belly.

According to Burdon, Lennon, finding the story hilarious, replied, "Go on, go get it, Eggman", incorporating the incident into his song in tribute to the unique experience.

[18] Along with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Hollies, the Dave Clark Five, and the Kinks, the group introduced contemporary British music and fashion to American audiences.

[23] Then followed a more psychedelic incarnation of the group that featured future Family member John Weider and was sometimes called Eric Burdon and the New Animals.

[24] This group's hits included the ballad "San Franciscan Nights", the grunge–heavy metal-pioneering "When I Was Young", "Monterey", the anti-Vietnam anthem "Sky Pilot", "White Houses" and the progressive cover of "Ring of Fire".

A world tour followed, and the concert at Wembley Arena, London, recorded on 31 December 1983, was released in 1984 as Greatest Hits Live (Rip It to Shreds).

In June 2003, he formed another Eric Burdon and the Animals, with keyboardist Martin Gerschwitz, bassist Dave Meros, guitarist Dean Restum, and drummer Bernie Pershey.

In April 1970, the resulting studio album was titled Eric Burdon Declares "War" which produced the singles "Spill the Wine" and "Tobacco Road".

The concert coincided with a major reissue campaign by Rhino Records (UK), which released all the War albums including Eric Burdon Declares "War" and The Black-Man's Burdon.The version of the band that performed alongside Burdon in 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall was not the original band but a reformed one led by the only original member, keyboardist Lonnie Jordan.

In August 1971, he recorded the studio album Guilty!, which featured the blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon and Ike White of the San Quentin Prison Band.

On 28 August 1982, the "Eric Burdon Band" including Red Young (keyboards) performed at the Rockpalast Open Air Concert at the Lorelei, Germany.

[32] In March 1979, he played a concert in Cologne and changed the band's name to Eric Burdon's Fire Department,[33] whose line-up included backing vocalist Jackie Carter of Silver Convention, Bertram Engel of Udo Lindenberg's "Panik Orchester" and Jean-Jaques Kravetz.

"Eric Burdon's Fire Department" toured Europe with this line-up and Paul Millns and Louisiana Red made special appearances in Spain and Italy.

They created a new Eric Burdon Band whose line-up included Louisiana Red, Tony Braunagle, John Sterling and Snuffy Walden.

In September 1981, the final scenes of Comeback were shot in the Berlin Metropole and Burdon and his band continued to tour through Australia and North America.

In 1988, he put together a band with 15 musicians including Andrew Giddings – keyboards, Steve Stroud – bass, Adrian Sheppard – drums, Jamie Moses – guitar and four backing vocalists to record the studio album I Used to Be an Animal in Malibu, in the United States.

Later in 1990, he had a small line-up of an Eric Burdon Band featuring Jimmy Zavala (saxophone and harmonica), Dave Meros (bass guitar), Jeff Naideau (keyboards), Thom Mooney (drums) and John Sterling (guitar) before he began a tour with the Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and they appeared at a concert from Ventura Beach, California, which was released as a DVD on 20 June 2008.

They also performed at the Lugano Festival and in 2007 he toured as the headlining act of the "Hippiefest" line-up, produced and hosted by Country Joe McDonald.

The line-up included Larry Wilkins, Dean Restum (guitar), Dave Meros (bass) and Mark Craney (drums).

In 1995, Burdon made a guest appearance with Bon Jovi, singing "It's My Life"/"We Gotta Get out of This Place" medley at the Hall of Fame.

In 2003 he made a guest appearance on the album Joyous in the City of Fools by the Greek rock band Pyx Lax, singing lead vocals on "Someone Wrote 'Save me' On a Wall".

In 2001, his second critically acclaimed memoir, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, written with author and filmmaker J. Marshall Craig, was released in the US, followed by editions in Greece, Germany and Australia; it covers the British Invasion, moving to Los Angeles and Palm Springs, and various anecdotes about Rock and Roll stardom.

[36] In 2004, in his studio album My Secret Life, besides presenting the song composed in partnership with the Brazilian rocker Marcelo Nova "Black & White World", Eric Burdon shed to the English and re-recorded two songs of Marcelo Nova: "A Garota da Motocicleta" turned "Motorcycle Girl" while "Coração Satânico" became "Devil's Slide".

On 22 January 2009 he first performed with his new band, including keyboardist Red Young, guitarist Rick Hirsch, bassist Jack Bryant and drummer Ed Friedland.

The band included Red Young (keyboards), Billy Watts (guitar), Terry Wilson (bass), Brannen Temple (drums) and Georgia Dagaki (cretan lyra).

On 29 September 2021, Burdon performed on the Greek TV show Mousiko kouti[38] hosted by Nikos Portokaloglou and Rena Morfi.

Director Michelangelo Antonioni wanted to use him as a musician in a club scene, but Burdon turned the role down because he had acted in films before in which he sang songs.

In 2007, he performed the traditional "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" in the drama festival film The Blue Hour and in a documentary about Joshua Tree, called Nowhere Now (2008).