This is a resolutely 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 isles. But I will 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 Compilation Albums
Various Artists "BRITISH COUNTRY HARVEST" (White Rabbit Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Steve White & Kevin Phillipson)
A set of early '80s indie twang, recorded at White Trax Studios, located in Banbury, Oxfordshire, and at Broom Studio, in nearby Watford. The artists include folks such as Blazing Saddles, Bromford Country, Buckboard, Chris Dale, Pete Harding, Maria O'Brien & Flicka, The Rendells, Lynne Turner, Van De Hooge Country Curative, and Dave Vernon ... Other than a stray single or two, most of these folks only seem to have recorded on this album, with Dave Vernon being the exception: he put out a full album of original material in 1985, though it's worth noting that the song he contributes here, "I'll Never Find Another You," was not also included on that LP.
Various Artists "BRITAIN'S THIRD COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL" (Allegro Records, 1968) (LP)
A late-'Sixties series showcasing a number of otherwise obscure British twangsters, as well as a few who had national profiles. I'm not sure if the country festival of the album's title was a real event, though I assume it was... This volume includes artists such as the duo of Pete Stanley and Brian Golbey, Billy Harris, The Morriss Boys String Band, The Muskrats, David Plane, The Rhythm Ranchers, steel guitarist Pete Willsher, and singer Houston Wells. Most of these were already (or soon became) established recording artists, and released numerous other albums under their own names.
Various Artists "FOURTH FOLK VOICE COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL" (Saga Records, 1969) (LP)
The liner notes proclaim this album to have been "recorded 'live' at Islington Town Hall," and it may have been a continuation of the compilation series on Allegro records, with some artists in common with the third volume (see above) and a similar mix of country and bluegrass performers. The set features tracks by Brian Chalker, The Cumberland Echoes, The Down County Boys, Little Ginny, Marty & Christine, the Morriss Boys String Band, Dave Plane, the duo of Jack Fletcher and Mike Bullin. Perhaps most noteworthy was The Pinewood Valley Boys, which notably included bassist Dave Pegg, who had recently departed from the Ian Campbell Folk Group, and was about to join the folk-rock powerhouse Fairport Convention. How's that for a little Brit-twang back story!?
Various Artists "THE HILLSIDERS PRESENT: GOODBYE SCOTTIE ROAD" (Stile Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Ian Grant)
One of the UK's preeminent country bands of the 1960s and '70s, The Hillsiders took on an elder twangsman role as the "hosts" of this compilation album, despite having hit a rough patch of their own after founding member Kenny Johnson left the group in 1975. I don't quite understand the premise of this album, but I dig the country voices. According to Wikipedia Scottie Road was an Irish-dominated neighborhood in Liverpool built up around the old byway Scotland Road, which historically had been the stagecoach line heading up into Scotland. The area was a vibrant urban hub throughout the 1800s, but fell into decline in later years, with much of the original housing was demolished in waves of urban redevelopment, beginning in the 1930s and peaking after World War Two, wiping out the older houses and subsuming the old road into a new, modern highway system. The odd bit about this album, as best I understand it, was that in the 'Seventies a local newspaper started a cartoon feature about a fictional band called Scottie Road, and would insert real musicians (such as The Hillsiders) as characters in the cartoon strip, which eventually led to the creation of a "real" band, which plays one song on this album, "Return To Scottie Road." The new lineup of The Hillsiders contributes three songs, and several other Liverpool country bands add two tracks each, including tunes by Countryside, Rory Kain, The Miller Brothers and The Saddlers. I'm not sure if these groups had much of a career outside of their Stile Records debuts, but this is a nice bookend to the Hillsiders story, which kicked off with a similar set of Liverpudlian twang, over a decade earlier.
Various Artists "IPSWICH COUNTRY AND WESTERN MUSIC CLUB" (1986) (LP)
A real obscurity here, with music by various British twangsters associated with Suffolk, England's country auteur Jock "Slim" Albins, and his group the Sundowners, who are included on this album. A mix of heartsongs, honkytonk and would-be countrypolitan, from some earnest Brits who gave country music the same sort of sincere devotion as others would give to Morris dancing and folk-trad.
Various Artists "IRELAND'S COUNTRY QUEENS" (Homespun Records, 1983) (LP)
With Philomena Begley, Ann Breen, Margo, and others...
Various Artists "LIVERPOOL GOES COUNTRY" (Decca/Rex Records, 1965) (LP)
(Produced by Spencer Lloyd Mason)
Yes, please. I would love a copy of this record. Even amid the continuing, escalating excitement of Beatlemania and the British Invasion, the UK's country music scene was alive and well, even in the Fab Four's old hometown. A pity they couldn't squeeze the Beatles' cover of "Act Naturally" onto this compilation, but there was plenty of twang to be heard Merseyside, as this album shows... The label's lineup included Phil Brady, The Delmonts, Carl Goldie, The Hillsiders, and Tom O'Connor, as well as Hank Walters, who the liner notes claim was "probably" the first country singer from Liverpool. Some of these artists were pretty obscure -- as far as I can tell, The Delmonts only recorded a couple of singles, and this LP was possibly the only record of Carl Goldie's Country Sounds. Tom O'Connor was primarily known as a television personality and as a comedian specializing in Liverpudlian humor and was a popular TV host throughout the 1970s and '80s. Phil Brady and The Hillsiders, however, were fully committed country acts whose careers lasted well past their 'Sixties origins: Phil Brady & The Rangers released about a half-dozen albums, while The Hillsiders made roughly twice that number, including full albums with the group backing American country stars Bobby Bare (in 1967) and George Hamilton IV (in 1971). Also worth noting in the predominance of of performers with Irish backgrounds... It was Liverpool, after all!
Various Artists "A NIGHT AT THE ROSEBANK" (Grampian Records, 19--?) (LP)
Various Artists "UK NEW COUNTRY, v.1" (Barge Records, 19--?) (LP)
A sampler with Ben Rees, Stroller Harvey, Iona & Andy and White Line Fever...
Various Artists "UP COUNTRY: FROM THE RADIO 2 BROADCASTS" (BBC Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Harding & Dennis O'Keeffe)
Country and folk material originally broadcast on the Beeb... The artists include The Down County Boys, The Lorne Gibson Trio, The Roger James Group, and a band called Redwood. This material was later repackaged on a double LP released in France, and oddly shoehorned in with an album's worth of music by The Glaser Brothers, who were from America. All of these artists released singes or LPs beyond these sessions... Both the Lorne Gibson and Roger James started as British Invasion-era pop bands and might have only cut a few singles; the Lorne Gibson band also included producer-guitarist Steve Vaughan, who played with a number of other country-friendly acts.
