Gallagher and Lyle were a Scottish musical duo, comprising singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. Their style consisted mainly of pop, soft and

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

oriented songs. Their first recognition came in 1968, when they were signed by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

to write for

Apple Records Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists inclu ...

' artists. They were founding members of the band

McGuinness Flint McGuinness Flint was a rock band formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness (musician), Tom McGuinness, a bassist and guitarist with Manfred Mann, and Hughie Flint, former drummer with John Mayall; plus vocalist and keyboard player Dennis Coulson, and mu ...

and wrote the 1970 UK chart hit " When I'm Dead and Gone". In 1972, they formed the duo Gallagher and Lyle, whose fifth album '' Breakaway'' charted well, the title track being a cover hit for

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...

in 1975, and it included the hit songs "Heart on My Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay with You".

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

took their song " Stay Young" to No. 1 on the US Country charts. The duo split in 1980, but re-formed in 2010 and worked together on an intermittent basis, mainly as a live act, until 2018. Gallagher and Lyle have worked, jointly and individually, on records with, among others,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who was the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Small Faces (1965–69) and Faces (band), Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces in 1965 afte ...

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell,

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...

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and Jim Diamond. Artists who have released Gallagher and Lyle songs include

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

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and Joe Brown.

Career

They joined forces in 1959, initially as members of a local

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

-based band, The Bluefrets. They began writing original material for the band, while Gallagher also co-wrote "Mr Heartbreak's Here Instead" for Dean Ford and the Gaylords (later to become

Marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

). The duo issued a one-off single, "Trees" b/w "In The Crowd" under the name 'Gallagher-Lyle' on UK

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

56093 in 1967. They also backed singer James Galt, a friend of theirs from Largs, on two singles for

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

that are now highly prized by

northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

collectors: "Comes The Dawn"/"My Own Way" and "With My Baby"/"A Most Unusual Feeling". The first of these was composed by Gallagher, Lyle and Galt, while the second was written by, firstly, Lyle alone and secondly by Gallagher and Lyle. They were then signed by

where they wrote for one of the label's most successful artists aside from The Beatles and Beatles-related acts, Mary Hopkin. Songs for Hopkin included "Sparrow", "The Fields of St. Etienne", "International", "Heritage" and "Jefferson". In 1970 Gallagher and Lyle were amongst the founders of

, writing nine of the 11 songs on the group's debut album, including the UK Singles Chart Top 5 hits " When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues", both of which were produced by

Glyn Johns Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English recording engineer and record producer. He has worked with many of the most famous rock recording acts from both the UK and abroad, such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, ...

. They recorded a second album with McGuinness Flint, ''Happy Birthday Ruthy Baby'', again writing most of the songs, before leaving to form the duo Gallagher and Lyle in 1972. Their first album as a duo, ''Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle'', was produced by Glyn Johns and released on Capitol; they then signed to

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

. They were to record three more albums with Johns, ''Willie and the Lapdog'', ''Seeds'' and ''The Last Cowboy''. Their fifth album '' Breakaway'' utilised US producer David Kershenbaum and it was with this release, in 1976, that they charted again, with the hits "Heart on My Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay With You", both of which reached Number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and also charted in the US. Their mellow sound was only briefly in vogue and elusive further success (another minor hit in the UK was "Every Little Teardrop") prompted their split in 1980, by which time three more albums had been issued: '' Love On The Airwaves'' (which went silver in the UK), '' Showdown'' and ''Lonesome No More''. The last of these was issued on Mercury; a further album recorded for that label, ''Living On The Breadline'', has never been released. The duo's original version of "A Heart In New York", which was to have been included on that set, appeared on 1991's compilation album ''Heart On My Sleeve – The Very Best of Gallagher and Lyle''. Gallagher and Lyle sang and performed as members of

and The Slim Chance Band on the hit single "

How Come How Come may refer to: * How Come (D12 song), "How Come" (D12 song), a 2004 song by D12 * How Come (Ronnie Lane song), "How Come" (Ronnie Lane song), a 1973 song by Ronnie Lane * How Come (The Sports song), "How Come" (The Sports song), a 1981 song ...

" and the ensuing album '' Anymore for Anymore'', and they have worked, jointly and individually, on records with Mary Hopkin,

, Joe Egan, Andy Fairweather Low,

Gary Brooker Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum. Early life Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...

, Dennis Coulson, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Champion Jack Dupree, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell,

and Jim Diamond. Other artists who have recorded Gallagher and Lyle songs include:

Colin Blunstone Colin Edward Michael Blunstone (born 24 June 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band the Zombies, which rel ...

, Donavon Frankenreiter,

, Fury in the Slaughterhouse, Joe Brown, Judith Durham,

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

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Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on ''Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and th ...

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

, The Fureys,

Lemon Jelly Lemon Jelly are a British electronic music duo from London that formed in 1998 and went on hiatus starting in 2008. Since its inception, the band members have always been Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. Lemon Jelly has been nominated for awards ...

, and Jim Capaldi.

Reunion

The seeds for a reunion were sown in 2007 when both Gallagher and Lyle, as session musicians, appeared on an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Chris Tassone; this was recorded at London's

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

. In April 2009, the two Scots attended the opening of the Largs Heritage Centre. The following year, the duo re-formed. In October 2010 the pair staged two charity concerts in Largs in aid of Haylie House, a residential care home in the town. This was followed in June 2011 by 'The Big Gig', an all-star charity concert at Glasgow's Barrowland nightclub, in which they performed alongside

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

, Jim Diamond and

Marti Pellow Marti Pellow (born Mark McLachlan; 23 March 1965) is a Scottish singer. He was the lead singer of the pop group Wet Wet Wet for 28 years: from their formation in 1982 until their split in 1997, and again from their reformation in 2004 to his d ...

. In September of that year, the duo appeared at the outdoor MOARE Festival in Faversham, Kent, which was headlined by former Average White Band stalwart Hamish Stuart. 2012 saw Gallagher and Lyle undertake their first tour since 1979, consisting of 9 dates at 8 Scottish venues. Their two dates at The Green Hotel in Kinross, a large golf resort, earned them the Mundell Music Award for Best UK Performance of the year, to add to their Tartan Clef Award for Lifetime Achievement, which they had received in November 2010. The soundtrack to the 2012 documentary film "We Went To War", directed by Michael Grigsby and relating the stories of three

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veterans, features the song "I Was A Soldier", which was written and performed by Gallagher and Lyle. In March 2016, Gallagher and Lyle performed together at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters' Festival. In November 2016, the duo returned to The Green Hotel in Kinross for four concerts. The summer of 2017 saw the duo perform as part of the 'Byre at The Botanics' season in St Andrews, and also at the Belladrum Festival in Inverness and the Albany Theatre in Greenock. In March 2018, the duo returned to Belfast to perform once more at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters' Festival. On 13 March 2018, it was announced on Facebook that Benny Gallagher's and the duo's fan pages were to be closed down; the duo has been inactive since then.

Stage musical

"Caledonia USA", a musical based on the songs of Gallagher and Lyle, was staged in

in April 2016. Originally titled "When I'm Dead and Gone", it was subsequently retitled after a new song written specially for the show by Gallagher and Lyle.

References in popular culture

" When I'm Dead and Gone" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1999 British comedy-drama film '' East is East''. British chick-lit author Lisa Jewell's 2010 novel ''After The Party'' makes reference to "I Wanna Stay With You". The late British broadcaster

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English radio Disc Jockey, DJ and television entertainer, known for his zany comedic style. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the m ...

staged a visual interpretation of "Heart on My Sleeve" on his BBC TV show in the early 1980s. The

Variety Club of Great Britain Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...

has used "Heart on My Sleeve" to promote its Gold Heart Appeal. British Electronic music duo

sampled "I Wanna Stay With You" on the track "'75 aka Stay With You", which is on their third studio album '64-'95.

Duo discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Live albums

Charted singles

A: Reissued in 1973 on A&M; titled ''Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle'' in some countries.
B: Includes previously unreleased "A Heart in New York", which was recorded for Mercury.
C: Recorded by the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

.
D: Recorded for

Radio Clyde Radio Clyde is a group of two Independent Local Radio stations serving Glasgow and West Central Scotland. Radio Clyde is owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK, Bauer, based at studios in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire and forms part of Baue ...

in 1974. NOTE: All the duo's original studio albums for A&M and Mercury, excluding the eponymous debut, were reissued on CD in 2004 by River Records. (The River reissues suffered from less than ideal sound quality with reduced highs. Although these were legal reissues, it is not known if they had access to the original master tapes or not.) Universal Music Japan reissued the duo's first four albums as limited edition CDs (with excellent sound), including the debut, with bonus tracks in 2016, thus making the rare A&M B-sides "Joie De Vivre" and "All I Wanna Do" available on CD along with both sides of the duo's

single, "Trees" and "In The Crowd". Tracks still to be released on CD are the B-sides "Golden Boy", "Sunny Side Up" and "Take the Money and Run", as well as 1980's non-album A-side "Living On The Breadline".

Miscellaneous discography

With
McGuinness Flint McGuinness Flint was a rock band formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness (musician), Tom McGuinness, a bassist and guitarist with Manfred Mann, and Hughie Flint, former drummer with John Mayall; plus vocalist and keyboard player Dennis Coulson, and mu ...

*''McGuinness Flint'' (1970, Capitol) *''Happy Birthday, Ruthy Baby'' (1971, Capitol) *''McGuinness Flint: The Capitol Years'' (

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

) (1996, Capitol; includes some non-album tracks) *''McGuinness Flint in Session at the BBC'' (2009, BBC; includes some tracks by the post-Gallagher and Lyle line-up)

With
Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who was the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Small Faces (1965–69) and Faces (band), Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces in 1965 afte ...
's Slim Chance

*''Anymore For Anymore'' (1974, GM; reissued in 1998 on See For Miles with the additions of non-album tracks "How Come" and "Done This One Before") Compilations featuring rare early tracks: *''Footsteps to Fame, Vol.2'' (1991, Repertoire) *''Soul For Sale'' (1998, Sequel) *''Ripples, Volume 8'' (2002, Sanctuary) *''An Apple A Day'' (2006, RPM) *''Fairytales Can Come True'' (2007, Psychic Circle) *''Treacle Toffee World'' (2008, RPM)

Graham Lyle

*''Something Beautiful Remains'' (2003, Hypertension) NOTE: Lyle's solo single "Marley"/"Down The Subway" (1983, Red Bus) and the Lyle-Livsey Band's one-off single "Taking Off"/"Taking Off (Instrumental)" (1984, Dolphin; Ireland only) have never appeared on any CD.

Lyle McGuinness Band

*''Acting On Impulse'' (1983, Cool King/Polydor) *''Elise, Elise'' (1997, Diamond Recordings; reissue of ''Acting On Impulse'' with additional non-album tracks, plus previously unreleased Gallagher/Lyle composition "Fighting For The Cause")

References

External links

*
Bennygallagher.comMyspace.com/bennygallagherMyspace.com/onsongrecords
* ttp://www.bennygallagher.com Benny Gallagher own sitebr>Interview with Graham Lyle in International Songwriters Association's "Songwriter Magazine"
{{Authority control 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish male singer-songwriters Scottish musical duos Scottish multi-instrumentalists Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1980 Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Musical groups disestablished in 2018 Scottish folk rock groups Scottish soft rock music groups Grammy Award winners People from Largs British male musical duos British rock music duos A&M Records artists 21st-century Scottish male singers