Leo Lyons
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Leo David William Lyons (born 30 November 1943) is an English musician, who was most known as the bassist of the
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
band
Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British blues rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Bi ...
.


Biography

Leo Lyons was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in November 1943 and became a professional musician at the age of 16. In 1962, along with band-mate Alvin Lee, his band The Jaybirds performed at
The Star Club is an influential Japanese punk rock band that was formed in Nagoya in 1977 and has been based in Tokyo since 1987. The band has had a long career with numerous lineup changes, all centered on vocalist Hikage. Biography The Star Club was the ...
in Hamburg, Germany. Lyons was also hired to play in the club's house band, along with
Tony Sheridan Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...
. Simultaneously, he performed at the Top Ten Club with featured guitarist
Albert Lee Albert William Lee (born 21 December 1943) is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also m ...
. (not to be confused with Alvin Lee) In 1963, The Jaybirds returned to England, securing their first recording contract with legendary record producer
Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio a ...
. From 1963 to 1966, Lyons both played in and managed The Jaybirds. Simultaneously, Lyons worked as a
session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
, toured with pop acts of the day, appeared in a play in London's West End, and played a residency in an exclusive London nightclub with British jazz guitarist Denny Wright. In 1967, The Jaybirds changed their name to
Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British blues rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Bi ...
. The band established residency at London's famous Marquee Club, and published a debut album on Deram Records. The hard-working band built a large following in Europe. After Fillmore West founder Bill Graham heard a copy of the band's first album, he immediately sent a letter offering to book Ten Years After on an extended tour in the United States. As part of Ten Years After, Lyons was one of the first rock performers at the
Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...
. In August 1969, the band's encore performance of "I’m Going Home" was captured on film at The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, exposing their jazz, blues, and rock amalgam to larger audiences of moviegoers through the
concert film A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Ea ...
. From 1969 to 1975, the group toured consistently. Lyons estimates the band performed for more than 75,000 new fans each week. In 1975, Lyons worked in record production at
Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...
as a studio manager for the Wessex Studios in London. Building on these experiences, Lyons built two commercial studios. As a producer, Lyons worked with a broad variety of musicians, including UFO, Waysted,
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
,
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
and Linda Thompson, and many others. During the 1990s, Lyons released two albums with his band, Kick. Lyons also worked as a staff writer for Nashville publishers Hayes Street Music, moving to Nashville in 1998. In 2003, Ten Years After reformed, and Lyons toured with the group for the next decade. In 2010, with TYA guitarist/singer Joe Gooch, he formed Hundred Seventy Split. At the end of 2013, Lyons and Gooch resigned from Ten Years After. Lyons continued releasing albums as part of Hundred Seventy Split. The group is actively touring, and they perform TYA songs along with original material. Lyons is married with two adult sons. As of 2019, Lyons resides in
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, Wales.


References


External links

*
Leo Lyons Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Leo 1943 births Living people 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English musicians English rock bass guitarists British male bass guitarists English record producers English male songwriters English rock musicians English blues guitarists Blues rock musicians British blues (genre) musicians British rhythm and blues boom musicians People from Mansfield Musicians from Nottinghamshire Ten Years After members Decca Records artists Deram Records artists Columbia Records artists Chrysalis Records artists EMI Records artists 20th-century bass guitarists 21st-century British guitarists 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians