Graham Hamilton Lyle (born 11 March 1944, in

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Between 1970 and 1997, he co-wrote 18 British Top 40 hits, 9 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries, 4 US

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

No.1s and 1 US

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

No.1, as well as 3 Australian chart-toppers. His songwriting collaborators have included

Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born 17 July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo (band), Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many ot ...

, Albert Hammond, Troy Seals, Jim Diamond and his long-time performing partner, Benny Gallagher. His most famous composition is

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

's 1984 US chart-topper and international smash, " What's Love Got to Do with It?", which reached No.1 in the US, Canada and Australia and won him the Song of the Year

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. He is also well known in Britain, Continental Europe and the Commonwealth as a member of Gallagher and Lyle,

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

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 band Slim Chance.

With Benny Gallagher (1965–1980)

Lyle and Benny Gallagher initially teamed up in 1959 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, and teamed up again in a band based in Saltcoats called the Tulsans with lead singer James (Drew) Galt, Dennis Donald (keyboards), Eric Brown on guitar, Benny Gallagher (bass) and Graham Lyle (drums). The Tulsans released two singles in 1965 under the name James Galt for Pye that are now 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" and "With My Baby". Benny and Graham later moved to London in the mid 60s. A rare one-off single, "Trees", was issued 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, under the name Gallagher-Lyle. In 1968, Gallagher and Lyle were signed by

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 ...

, where they wrote for musicians such as Mary Hopkin ("Sparrow", "The Fields of St. Etienne", "International", "Heritage", and "Jefferson"). In 1970, the two Scots became original members of the British band

, writing nine of the 11 songs on the group's eponymous debut album, including the British hit singles " When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues", which reached No.2 and No.5 respectively in Britain. The pair recorded a second album, ''Happy Birthday Ruthy Baby'', with McGuinness Flint—again writing most of the songs—before leaving to form the duo Gallagher and Lyle in 1972. As a duo, Gallagher and Lyle recorded a total of eight albums: ''Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle'', ''Willie and the Lapdog'', ''Seeds'', ''The Last Cowboy'', '' Breakaway'', '' Love on the Airwaves'', ''Showdown'' and ''Lonesome No More''. All these were issued on A&M except for the last, which was released on Mercury. The most successful of these was 1976's gold-selling '' Breakaway'', which was produced by David Kershenbaum and yielded the British Top 10 hits "I Wanna Stay With You" and "Heart on My Sleeve", both of which also charted in the US. "Heart on My Sleeve" was subsequently covered by

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 ...

, Judith Durham and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

. Two other songs from this album were successful in the US:

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 ...

's cover of "Breakaway", topped the

chart, and

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 " Stay Young" to No. 1 on the

record chart,Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 31. which saw the song receive in excess of one million airplays on American radio. The duo also penned and performed "A Heart in New York", which was later performed by both

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and

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in their concerts in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

, New York City, to audiences of 500,000 and 750,000, respectively. The pair's original recording of "A Heart in New York" eventually appeared on 1991's compilation album ''Heart on My Sleeve – The Very Best of Gallagher and Lyle''. As session musicians, Gallagher and Lyle also backed numerous big names on disc, including

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 ...

, 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 ...

and

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. The pair also had a stint in former Faces member

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 ...

band Slim Chance during 1973/74. Gallagher and Lyle split in 1980.

Post-Gallagher and Lyle (1981–2009)

In 1981, Graham Lyle formed his own publishing company, Goodsingle Publishing (later to become goodsingle.com), chiefly to administer his own copyrights, and began writing for other artists. His earliest post-Gallagher & Lyle compositions included the singles "Our Love" for

Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1945) is an English Rock music, rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe (band), Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest su ...

and "Listen to the Night" for Climax Blues Band. Graham's songs were subsequently recorded by some of the biggest names in music including

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

, Anita Baker,

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

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, Tom Jones,

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, Hall & Oates,

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, Crystal Gayle, Jim Diamond,

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, Wet Wet Wet, Paul Young, Bucks Fizz,

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, and Warren G, but it is for his work with

that Lyle is best known. Lyle and

won the Song of the Year Grammy for " What's Love Got to Do with It?" and an Ivor Novello award for another of

's major international hits, " We Don't Need Another Hero", which was recorded for the soundtrack of '' Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome''. Tina would prove to be Lyle's biggest money-spinning act; he would co-write another 3 US

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

entries and 6 more British Top 40 hits for her, including 1989's British No.8 hit "I Don't Wanna Lose You" in collaboration with Albert Hammond. Another high earner for the Lyle-Britten partnership was " Just Good Friends", which was recorded by

on his multi-million selling album " Bad" in 1987. Jim Diamond scored a British and Australian No.1 in 1984 with "

I Should Have Known Better "I Should Have Known Better" is a song by English rock band the Beatles composed by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and originally issued on '' A Hard Day's Night'', their soundtrack for the film of the same name released on 10 Ju ...

", which he wrote with Lyle. Wet Wet Wet's " If I Never See You Again", co-written by Lyle and Britten, reached No.3 in the UK in 1997. Between 1986 and 1988, Lyle co-authored 3 US

chart-toppers: " Maybe Your Baby's Got the Blues" for

, " Straight to the Heart" for Crystal Gayle, and " Joe Knows How to Live" for Eddy Raven. Lyle's recordings after 1980 were rare, but included an album with Tom McGuinness, credited to the Lyle McGuinness Band: ''Acting on Impulse'' (1983), as well as a solo portfolio album, ''Something Beautiful Remains'' (2003). A solo single, "Marley", was issued on Red Bus in the UK in 1983, while "Taking Off" – a TV advertising jingle, co-written with prolific session keyboardist Billy Livsey and credited to the Lyle-Livsey Band – was released on the Dolphin label in 1984, but only in Eire, where it became a Top 20 hit. In 1997, Lyle co-wrote and produced 2 British Top 20 hits for Conner Reeves: "My Father's Son" (No.12) and "Earthbound" (No.14). The former song was covered by

. More recently, Lyle performed his composition "One Woman" at the United Nations in New York (www.un.org/webcast/) on 24 February 2011 to launch their "U.N.Woman" project.

Reunion with Benny Gallagher (2009–2018)

The seeds for a reunion with Benny Gallagher were sown in 2007 when he and Lyle, as session musicians, appeared on an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Chris Tassone; this was recorded at London's Abbey Road studios. In April 2009, soon after Lyle's official retirement, 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. The following month, they received the Tartan Clef for Lifetime Achievement at a ceremony in Glasgow. In June 2011 they performed alongside Midge Ure, 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 ...

as part of 'The Big Gig', an all-star charity concert at Glasgow's Barrowland nightclub. 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. 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. The duo have been inactive since then, following the announcement on Facebook on 13 March 2018 that Benny Gallagher's and the duo's fan pages were to be closed down.

Stage musical

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

Hit singles as a songwriter

'' *" When I'm Dead and Gone": UK#2, US#47 (1970) *"Malt and Barley Blues": UK#5 (1971) '' Gallagher and Lyle'' *"I Wanna Stay With You" by Gallagher and Lyle: UK#6, US#49 (1976) *"Heart on My Sleeve": UK#6, US#67;

's version reached US#86 (1976) *" Breakaway": UK#35;

's version reached US#39 and US AC#1 (1976) *"Every Little Teardrop": UK#32 (1977) '' Jim Diamond'' *"

": UK#1, AUS#1 (1984) ''

'' *" What's Love Got to Do with It?": US#1, UK#3, AUS#1 (1984) *" We Don't Need Another Hero": UK#3, US#2, AUS#1 (1985) *" Typical Male": US#2, UK#33 (1986) *" Two People": US#30, UK#43 (1986) *" What You Get Is What You See": US#13, UK#30 (1987) *" I Don't Wanna Lose You": UK#8 (1989) *" Way of the World": UK#13 (1991) *" I Want You Near Me": UK#22 (1992) *" Something Beautiful Remains": UK#27 (1996) '' Wet Wet Wet'' *" If I Never See You Again": UK#3 (1997) '' Conner Reeves'' *"My Father's Son": UK#12 (1997) *"Earthbound": UK#14 (1997) '' US Country No.1s'' *" Stay Young" by

: US Hot Country#1 (1983) *" Straight to the Heart" by Crystal Gayle: US Hot Country#1 (1986) *" Maybe Your Baby's Got the Blues" by

: US Hot Country#1 (1987) *" Joe Knows How to Live" by Eddy Raven: US Hot Country#1 (1988)

Discography

See Gallagher and Lyle.

References

External links

*
Video interviews and 'fly on the wall' feature with Graham Lyle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyle, Graham 1944 births Living people Scottish male songwriters 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish male singer-songwriters Scottish singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners Scottish multi-instrumentalists Scottish rock guitarists Scottish pop guitarists Scottish male guitarists Fingerstyle guitarists British mandolinists British slide guitarists Scottish banjoists Scottish baritones People from Largs People from Bellshill McGuinness Flint members British male songwriters British male singer-songwriters