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 "L"
Travis Lane "I'm Movin' On" (Tank Records, 197--?) (LP)
Brett Larsen "Silver Wings" (Tank Records, 197--?) (LP)
Tom Lawson "20th Century Drifter" (Emkay Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by David Pringle & Phil Yule)
An admittedly iffy album by Tom Lawson, a country-pop crooner from Edinburgh, Scotland who, well... wasn't the greatest singer ever. Not the worst ever, either, but he definitely had his limitations. The album is divided between country material on Side One, and pop tunes on Side Two... While the country tracks were kind of on the edge, and I was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt, I thought the second half of the album was just dreadful. Mr. Lawson was trying to project a robust, Tom Jones-like manly bravado... and perhaps he succeeded, but I just couldn't hear it over all the bad Neil Diamond and Neil Sedaka covers, a musical style which is not really my cup of tea. Of interest, though, is the backing by studio musicians who included stalwarts of the late 'Seventies Scottish country scene, notably Sydney Devine's steel player, Dougie Stevenson, and one of Stevenson's frequent collaborators, banjo plunker and guitarist Duncan Finlay, along with drummer Harry Barry, bassist Kevin Hughes as well as producer David Pringle, who fills in on keyboards. Also worth noting is backup singer Rhona Louise, who adds some full-throated, bluesy vocals on a couple of the country numbers; she did session work on some other albums with this same group of pickers, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that she was also a member of Sydney Devine's entourage. This album didn't wow me, but it's another small part of the UK twang jigsaw.
Don Leather & Cindy "Leatherbound" (SRT Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Don Leather & Ted Taylor)
Don Leather & Cindy "Moving On" (SRT Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Don Leather & Ted Taylor)
Cliff Ledger "Cliff Ledger's Country Show -- Live" (Outlet Records, 197-?) (LP)
Cliff Ledger "Kentucky In The Morning" (Outlet Records, 1970) (LP)
Albert Lee - see artist discography
Eddie Lee "Making Friends" (Hillside Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Eddie Balaam, Richard Allison & David Allison)
Country covers by an English band from Ipswich, Suffolk... The group included Tony Baker on rhythm guitar, bass player Trevor Branton, Brian Percy on drums, George Schung lead guitar, and Eddie Lee singing lead and playing harmonica. The set list includes older standards (Carter Family, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams) as well as newer tunes such as "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "Is Anybody Going To San Antone."
Legend "Legend" (Neptune Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by George Porter)
A "solo" country set by the otherwise anonymous backing band for old-school Scottish showband singer Sydney Devine... This edition of the group included Owen Knox on lead guitar, John O'Neil (drums), Billy Simpson (bass), and steel player Doug (Dougie) Stevenson, who worked with Devine for many years, and also did a lot of country session work in the 'Seventies and 'Eighties. This set leans pretty heavily on American country hits, but with an intriguing tilt towards more contemporary material by folks such as Tom T. Hall, Shel Silverstein and Jesse Winchester. There's one tune credited as an original by the band, Owen Knox's "Guitar Polka," and several selections from American songwriter Ricci Mareno, which suggests some sort of business connection between Mareno and Sydney Devine... Anyway, these lads gave it a go as a band (with Devine's blessing) but seem to have only recorded this one LP, as well as at least one EP on Neptune Records, which included material not on this album. Perhaps the most prominent member of the band was Dougie Stevenson, who did quite a lot of session work, and recorded some albums of his own, showcasing American-style pedal steel instrumentals.
Lynda Leyton "Unlimited" (SRT Records, 1976) (LP)
Little Ginny "Coming On Nicely" (LP Records, 1978) (LP)
Little Ginny "My Dixie Darling" (Pastafont Records, 1981) (LP)
Little Ginny "Country Gal" (Country Records, 19--?) (LP)
Lost Highway "A Good Road Ahead" (Tank Records, 197-?) (LP)
Aubrey Lovejoy "That's All That Matters To Me" (Rox Records, 1981) (LP)
Ray Lynam & Philomena Begley "The Best Of Ray And Phil" (1975) (LP)
