Leo Lyons
| Leo Lyons | |
|---|---|
|
Lyons with Ten Years After at Suwałki Blues Festival, 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | David William Lyons |
| Born |
30 November 1943 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Genres | Blues rock, blues, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Labels | Decca, Deram, Columbia, Chrysalis, EMI |
| Associated acts | The Jaybirds, Ten Years After |
| Website |
www |
David William "Leo" Lyons (born 30 November 1943) is an English musician who was most notably the bassist of the blues rock band Ten Years After.[1]
Biography
David Lyons was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. He first played with lead guitarist Alvin Lee in The Jaybirds. In 1967, there was a name change to Ten Years After. With this group, Lyons played at major rock festivals, including Woodstock on 17 August 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival on 29 August 1970. Ten Years After disbanded in 1976, although they later reformed several times in the 1980s and 1990s with all original members.
In 1975, he was hired as a studio manager by Chrysalis Records to re-equip and run Wessex Studios in London. He then produced UFO from 1974 to 1976. Later, he started two commercial recording studios himself.
Lyons moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in the mid-1990s, and was a staff songwriter for Hayes Street Music. He played in a reformed Ten Years After with new frontman Joe Gooch, and also with Gooch in the new blues rock power trio "Hundred Seventy Split". In Lyons' own words, he loves "playing the old songs that people still want to hear. However, that leaves no room for new material - hence the new project."[2] The band are currently mixing their second studio album, called HSS, with the help of Cyclone Music, whom they have used for all their previous projects.
In January 2014, it was announced that both Gooch and Lyons had left Ten Years After.[3]
Lyons' great uncle was Morgan Kingston, a singer who performed with the New York Metropolitan Opera. Kingston was also from Mansfield and left for New York after 1910. http://forgottenoperasingers.blogspot.com/2012/05/morgan-kingston-wednesbury.html
References
- ↑ Strong, Martin Charles; Peel, John (25 October 2004). The great rock discography. Canongate U.S. pp. 1526–. ISBN 978-1-84195-615-2. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- ↑ Music, Cyclone. "Hundred Seventy Split Set For New Album Release". Retrieved 2013-12-17.
- ↑ "Ten Years After lose frontman and bassist". Classic Rock Magazine. 13 January 2014.