This is an incomplete, non-definitive guide to British (and Irish) country music, or at least the small sliver of it visible to me, here in the distant American colonies. There have been an awful lot of UK (and Irish) twangbands, dating back many decades, and many remain quite obscure, even on the fair isles. But I'll keep banging away and tracking down as many artists as I can find. As always, any helpful comments, corrections and suggestions are welcome.
This page covers the Letter "J"
JD & Dallas "Keep It Country" (Igus Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Pete Shipton)
An all-female Scottish country band led by vocalist Jan Douglas, along with Elaine Graham on rhythm guitar, drummer Ena McCallum and Fiona Todd playing bass... They were joined by a mixed compliment of male and female side musicians, including Duncan Findlay (guitar and mandolin), Angela Preston (fiddle), Dave Pringle (synthesizer), Robin Rankin (piano), Dougie Stevenson (pedal steel) and a gal simply named Blossom singing backup. No indication where the band were from provided in the liner notes, but from the matching outfits and slick-looking album cover, I'd guess they gave a pretty shot at making it in show business. There are a couple of oldies medleys, one on each album side, though most of the tracks are regular country tunes, including covers of contemporary '70s/early '80s hits such as "Queen Of The Silver Dollar," "Texas (When I Die)" and yet another cover of Mickey Newberry's ever-dreary "American Trilogy." As far as I can tell this was the band's only album, and I wasn't able to find out much in the way of biographical information.
The Frank Jennings Syndicate "Me And My Guitar" (Columbia Records, 197-?) (LP)
The Frank Jennings Syndicate "Heaven Is My Woman's Love" (One Up Records, 197-?) (LP)
The Frank Jennings Syndicate "Ponderosa Country" (One Up Records, 197-?) (LP)
Frank Jennings "Country Collection" (Champ Records, 1979-?) (LP)
(Produced by Richard De Sylva)
Tom Jennings & The Nashville Session Band "No. 1" (T.J. Productions, 1984) (LP)
Not to be confused with Waylon's brother Tommy, Irish pop singer Tom Jennings has been leading his hard-working wedding band for decades, dating back to the late 'Sixties. Though he also sings rock and soul, here Jennings concentrates pretty strictly on country stuff, covering hits like "Thirty-Nine And Holding," "Is Anybody Going To San Antone," "Margaritaville," and "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight." I'm not sure where Jennings grew up, but he seems to have been based in London for most of his career... And, by the way, I believe you can still book his band if you go to his website, and pick a date!
Jess And The Gingerbread "Country Roots" (Tank Records, 1976) (LP)
Jess "Until It's Time" (Tank Records, 1977) (LP)
Kenny Johnson & Northwind "Lakeside Highway" (North West Gramophone, 1976) (LP)
Sarah Jory "Sarah's Steel Line" (Crow Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by P. Richardson)
A child prodigy from Berkshire, United Kingdom, steel player Sarah Jory started her professional career when she was only nine years old, playing live on the BBC backed by the English country-rock group Poacher, who back her on this album. She soon joined the lineup of Colorado Country, and established UK twangband from the 1970s, and went on to start her own band and later worked in the road bands of stars such as Van Morrison and Eric Clapton.
Sarah Jory "Sarah On Steel" (Sarah Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Sarah Jory & John O'Boyle)
Sarah Jory "Cross Country" (Sarah Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Sarah Jory & Nick Smith)
Sarah Jory "The Way To Survive" (Sarah Records, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by Sarah Jory & Colin Bainbridge)
