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 the Letter "H"
Mel Hague "Old Gravel Boots" (Look Records, 1978) (LP)
Mel Hague "Live" (Look Records, 1979) (LP)
Mel Hague "Winners" (Look Records, 19--?) (LP)
Gary Hall & The Stormkeepers "Garage Heart" (Run River Records, 1989) (LP)
Joe E. Hamilton "Sing Me A Good Old Country Song" (Homespun Records, 19--?) (LP)
Joe E. Hamilton "Joe E. Hamilton" (Homespun Records, 1981-?) (LP)
Joe E. Hamilton & High Chapperal "Mocking Bird Hill" (ARA Records, 1983-?) (LP)
Roger & Jackie Hamilton "Storms Never Last" (Arjay Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Geoff Griffith & Dawn Leader)
Harmony And Slyde "Always Wanted: Harmony And Slyde" (Look Records, 1975) (LP)
Jim Hart "A Tribute To Jim Reeves" (Sound Alike Music, 1974) (LP)
This "soundalike" album was one of many issued -- apparently on 8-track only -- by a fly-by-night label in Los Angeles... Most of Sound Alike's releases seem to have been recorded by struggling musicians in Southern California, but this one claims to have been recorded in London, England... And, somewhere in the back of my mind I seem to recall a similar Jim Reeves imitator from that neck of the woods, which makes me think that maybe this came out on vinyl sometime earlier. Not sure about that. It's a theory, though.
P. J. Harvey "The Two Sides Of P.J." (Star Records, 19--?) (LP)
Uh, no. It's not that PJ Harvey, the 1990s alt-rocker, but rather a British fella -- Irish, really, methinks -- with a band that included Martin Mulhare on lead guitar and steel, Geraldine O'Neill (vocals), John O'Neill (accordion and drums), Tommy O'Neill (rhythm guitar), and Matty O'Connolly (bass and tin whistle). Irish, right? The "two sides" of the title are sentimental ballads, which populate Side One, and country stuff on Side Two, with a heavy tilt towards classics by Johnny Cash. Alas, there is very little info on the album itself, so it's possible this was from the Irish Republic and not the UK, but I really don't know. Also, no release date , though it looks pretty 1970s, though possibly early '80s, given the Irish cultural timewarp and all...
Reg Haynes & The Outfit "Phoney World" (DTS Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Coomber)
Although all cover songs, mainly of mid- and early-Seventies vintage, this record has a very hip, modern look, and a cool album title. Alas, no info about the band members or about Reg Haynes himself, just that the sessions were recorded at DTS Studios in Kent. The title track is a John Corneal composition...
Felicity Haze "Felicity Haze" (1978) (LP)
(Produced by David Lord)
Hazzard County "Hazzard County" (1981) (LP)
Kelvin Henderson "Kelvin Henderson's Country Band" (Westwood Records, 1974) (LP)
Kelvin Henderson "Slow Movin Outlaw" (Windmill Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Gordon Smith)
In the album title, English country-folk singer Kelvin Henderson claims allegiance to the outlaw movement, but he concentrates his fire on more sedate, countrypolitian hits of the day, early '70s stuff like "Games People Play," "Jeannie's Afraid Of The Dark" and "Help Me Make It Through The Night."
Kelvin Henderson "Black Magic Gun" (Checkmate Records, 1977) (LP)
Kelvin Henderson "Headlites" (Country Roads, 1981) (LP)
Basil Henriques "Sounds Of Sunset With Basil Henriques" (Tara Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Hughes)
Kind of an oddball early offering from the Dublin-based Tara Records label, which became known as the home of Ireland's finest trad-folk artists, folks such as Clannad, Plantxty, and the like. Here instead we find a country-flavored offering from Basil Henriques (aka Basil Hendrix) an English-born steel guitarist who was better known for his easy-listening renditions of Hawaiian hapa haole tunes. While not strictly a country record, about half of the tunes are country classics -- stuff like "Faded Love," "Help Me Make It Through The Night," "Rose Garden," and "San Antonio Rose," interspersed with a bit of Polynesian exotica ("South Sea Island Magic"), pop standards ("Body And Soul") and Celtic trad ("Castle Of Dromore"). The musicians seem mainly drawn from the ranks of the Irish folk revival, including Eamonn Campbell on banjo and mandolin, guitarist Des Moore, Brendan O'Reilly playing banjo on one tune, and producer Jerry Hughs chiming in on dobro and guitar.
Bennie Hess "...Sings Jimmie Rodgers" (Spade Records, 1976) (LP)
Hickory Lake "Easy Come Easy Go" (Champ Records, 1981) (LP)
Hickory Lake "The End Is Not In Sight" (Eastwood Records, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Graham & Hickory Lake)
An English twangband from Essex, mostly covering county hits, though with a few dips into singer-songwriter material and a bit of the blues. The group included guitarist Roger Brown, Gerry Hale (fiddle), Ray Kedge (dobro and steel guitar), Andy Richards (drums), Lindsey St John (bass), and Vic Woodhouse on rhythm guitar -- they all take turns singing lead, except for Mr. Hale, who seems to have been content with sawing away at his bow... No originals here, though certainly a great admiration for American roots music. Plus, the title track is an Amazing Rhythm Aces cover, which scores them extra points in my book.
Hickory Stick "Leaving In The Morning" (SRT Productions, 1980) (LP)
A pretty stripped-down performance from the northern duo of singer-guitarist Tony Nicholson and bass player Dave Smith (with help from Dave Farmer on drums). The set is almost all covers, with the exception of one original song, the title track, "Leaving In The Morning," which was composed by Tony Nicholson and Kevin Moss. This appears to have been their only album, though they also made a 7" EP the year before, released on on Humber Records, in Grimsby, near Hull. So perhaps these fellas were Lincolnshire lads?
The Hillsiders -- see artist profile
Ho Down "Beautiful Woman" (Look Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Whiteley)
Hogshead "Rockin' In The Country" (Roller Coaster Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Richie Bull)
Homer "Hallelujia - We're Ready" (Homer Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sach & Homer)
Homer Country Band "Hallelujja We're Ready" (Homer Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sach)
Jack Holland "The Eyes Of A Dreamer" (Boot Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Griff & Lee Hazen)
An English singer originally from Norfolk, UK, Jack Holland counted himself as a Nashviller by the time this disc came out... Album producer Ray Griff plays piano and organ, with Jack Holland on lead guitar and Russ Hicks playing dobro and steel... Griff also contributes all but one of the songs on this album, other than "I'll Pick Her Up," which was co-written by Jack Holland and Chuck Priest.
Jan Holly "Country Girl" (Avenue Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Gordon Smith & Joe Brown)
An early-1970s offering from the ambitious but short-lived English label, Avenue Records... Ginger-haired Jan Holly had worked in a variety of bands prior to recording this album -- all with colorful, American-sounding names like the Moonshiners, the Southerns and the Virginians -- and was working in a duo with US expat Sherry Jackson, though I don't think Jackson appears on this album. In all honesty, this is a pretty lackluster album, with the Donna Fargo-esque Holly backed by a Brit band that couldn't quite seem able to figure out how to shed their rock roots and find a real country groove. They were technically proficient, but just not genuinely rootsy enough, so they clearly sound like folks who are going through the motions. Still, it's not a bad record, just not very exciting.
Jan Holly "Sitting On Top Of The World" (Horatio Nelson Records, 19--?) (LP)
The Homer Band "Hallelujia We're Ready" (Homer Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sach & The Homer Band)
Honky tonk country from a four-piece band including veteran UK twangster Dave Paisley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, along with Robbie Burgess (drums), John Carpenter (bass), and Allen Murray (keyboards). This was recorded at a studio in Kent, and while it was the first LP released by the band, they had previously released a cassette-only release called Homer Country and a single, "Slip Away," which is not included here.
Gordon Huntley "Sleepwalk: The Romantic Sound Of Gordon Huntley" (EMI Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Peter R. Vince)
A richly realized though quite lush easy-listening set from pedal steel guitarist Gordon Huntley (1930-1988) who did quite a bit of session work in the 'Sixties and 'Seventies, notably playing with Matthews Southern Comfort and various country artists.
Bill Hurren "For Folks Like You" (BCMC Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Arthur Coe & Neil Coppendale)
Bill Hurren "Bourbon For Breakfast" (Dude Records, 1980-?) (LP)
(Produced by John Edmed)
I think this was the second album by singer Bill Hurren, who was backed by some folks who worked on other projects on the short-lived Dude Records label, producer/multi-instrumentalist John Ehmed (who plays lead guitar, dobro and pedal steel) as well as Nigel Smith on bass and piano, and drummer Tim Relf, whose Sounds Country Band cut the next album on the label's roster. Hurren penned two originals for this set, "Pavement Princess" and the title track, "Bourbon For Breakfast." He also shows admirable musical roots with covers of a bunch of outlaw-ish American artists, including Hoyt Axton's "Della And The Dealer," Waylon Jennings ("Good Ole Boys"), Billy Joe Shaver ("Ride Me Down Easy"), John Stewart's "July You're A Woman" and a couple from Shel Silverstein, by way of Bobby Bare (including, unfortunately, the dopey "Marie Laveau.") This seems to have been Mr. Hurren's magnum opus, though he did emerge again ad decade's end to release a similarly rootsy, eclectic album, Reflections, which thus far has only come out on cassette.
Bill Hurren "Reflections" (Self-Released, 1989) (cassette)
(Produced by Terry Pitson & Trevor Pitson)
Mike Hurst "In My Time" (Capitol Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by John James Stewart)
A prolific and legendary pop/rock producer, Mike Hurst started out as a member of The Springfields pop trio, then moved into a career behind the soundboard, initially helming sessions for Decca/Deram, where he notably championed Cat Stevens, as well as glam pioneer Marc Bolan, and others. Hurst also continued working as a performer, with occasional dips into relatively rootsy material, as on this "folk rock" set, and later on "Supersession" project below.
Mike Hurst/Various Artists "The Country Supersession" (Sundown Records, 1988) (LP)
Although this has the look of a compilation record, I think it's more properly viewed as a Mike Hurst album, albeit with backing by a slew of highly-regarded members of the UK pop elite, including keyboardist Rod Argent (of the Zombies), steel player B. J. Cole, and a bunch of other guys Hurst had worked with over the years. Just how "country" it is, is up to interpretation, though it's probably still worth a nod here.
