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 Letters "X," "Y" and "Z"
Frank Yonco & The Everglades "The World Of Country Music" (Decca Records, 19--?) (LP)
Recorded live at the Nashville Room in London...
Frank Yonco/Various Artists "The Frank Yonco Show" (Country Music Productions, 19--?) (LP)
Frank Yonco/Various Artists "The Frank Yonco Show" (Lucky Records, 1970) (LP)
The Jonny Young Four "Country Pride" (Philips, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Craig Baguley)
This band from Medway formed in the 1950s, originally as a skiffle group called Johnny Young and the Youngsters... Although they were fairly popular, the group disbanded over various personnel issues, and lead singer Jonny Young started anew, shifting towards country-tinged, Byrds-ish, pop-rock and pop-folk, with a new lineup he called the Jonny Young Four. They had recorded a few singles for RCA when a tragic auto accident killed bassist Bob Gibbs in 1969. After regrouping once again the JY4 really "went country" and won the 1972 "International Country Music Award" at a song competition sponsored by Billboard and the Record Mirror -- the band would go on to win the same prize in '73 and '74, establishing themselves as nationally-known country artists. Along the way, they switched labels and cut this full album, which may have been their only LP. Lead singer Jonny Young is joined by Dave Crane on lead guitar, bassist Dave Coomber and drummer Luce Langridge, who sings on more comedic numbers, such as "P-R-I-S-O-N" and "I'll Just Wait Around." Producer Craig Baguley wrote one of the album's originals, a song called "Kenny Price," in honor of Hee Haw performer Kenny Price. Other tracks include "You'll Never Walk Alone," "You're Just More A Woman" and "Country Pride." I'm not sure what became of the band later on... Young played on a few later sessions, including a gospel recording with George Hamilton IV sometime in the early '80s, but mostly he seesm to have faded from the spotlight sometime during the '70s.
The Zavaronis "(Hilda And Victor)" (Galaxy Records, 197--?) (LP)
Country and pop standards from the husband-wife duo of Hilda and Victor Zavaroni, who hailed from the Scottish island of Bute, off the coast near Glasgow. They cover country stuff by folks like Merle Haggard and Buddy Killen, but also pop oldies by Gus Kahn and Albert Von Tilzer, so this isn't exactly an unbridled twangfest. They sure look adorable, though!
Zebedee "Well Sprung" (Hampshire Sound Service, 1977) (LP)
Not a lot of info about this English band... The eye-catcher here is a tribute song called "Sorry, Johnny Cash," though they had a pretty diverse repertoire which also included a little bit of Hank Williams ("Jambalaya") and a whole bunch of rock and pop oldies, stuff like "Telstar," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Only Have Eyes For You," and even a cover of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin' At Me." The band included Rick Page (lead guitar), Chris Patterson (bass), Stuart Thomas (keyboards), and Gordon Williams on drums... Sadly, I'm still waiting for my local Record Hut to fulfill the import order I placed back in 1978...
