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)
Johnny Young "Next Stop On The Line" (Marina Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by John Edmed)
This appears to have been a UK-produced "library" album, prefab genre music made available to media producers who might need to drop a little twang into one of the projects... or some jazz, or blues, or classical... You get the idea. Unusually for the genre, most of the tracks are covers of actual country classics, tunes by Don Gibson, Marty Robbins, Hank Williams, and the like. The first track, though, Next Stop On The Line," was co-written by Tony Kelly and Pete Willsher, a songwriting team who worked together on a long string of projects for several well-known library music labels. It's likely that the "Johnny Young" credited on this album was entirely fictional; it's also vaguely possible that he was the same guy as Jonny Young of the Jonny Young Four, a modestly popular UK country-rocker (and former skiffle musician) who was briefly in the spotlight during the early 1970s, but faded soon thereafter. (See below.) I honestly couldn't tell you, one way or the other.
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. It's an interesting mix of styles, and more boldly contemporary than many British country albums of the era; indeed, there's a mildly psychedelic pop undertone, vaguely reminiscent of Lee Hazelwood's stuff from the 'Sixties. 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 seems 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...
Bill Zorn & The Arizona Smoke Revue "Bill Zorn & The Arizona Smoke Revue" (Avada Records, 1980) (LP)
Banjo picker and guitarist Bill Zorn and his brother Pete were folk scene chameleons who started their own college band in Arizona, The Win'jammers, moving from there into several high-profile groups, notably an early 'Seventies lineup of the New Christy Minstrels, as well as The Kingston Trio, and many years later an oldies-show edition of The Limelighters. In between all that was the Arizona Smoke Revue, an eclectic, rootsy band founded by Bill Zorn that recorded three albums, and which later included his brother Pete. Both of the Zorns also found success in the UK and joined some of the established top bands in the British folk-rock world, Bill Zorn performing with the Albion Band, and Pete Zorn joining both Albion and Steeleye Span, as well as a long stint working with Richard Thompson.
(Bill Zorn And) The Arizona Smoke Revue "A Thundering On The Horizon" (Rola Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Knightley, Tom Leader, John Verity & Pete Zorn)
On the band's second album, Bill Zorn was joined by brother Pete on bass, along with several British folkies, including Phil Beer (bass, fiddle and guitar), Paul Downes (guitar and mandolin), Dave Mattacks (drums), and guitarist Gene Vogel.
(Bill Zorn And) The Arizona Smoke Revue "New Album" (Rola Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by John Acook)
