Since his long overdue return to the stage and the recent release of his OnStage "live" CD all of us here at OnSong have been working tirelessly towards our goal of making sure that the entire backlog of one of the UK's foremost Songwriters new compositions would be available to the general public.
Derek Wilson
MD
OnSong Records
www.myspace.com/onsongrecords
An excerpt from the Album liner notes:
At the edge of the wave
For 40 years and more, Benny Gallagher has been writing, composing, arranging and performing timeless classics. Small wonder then that, with Graham Lyle, he was one of the first songwriters to be signed by Apple Publishing. Success as an artist quickly followed when the legendary McGuinness Flint stormed the charts with When I'm Dead And Gone and Malt and Barley Blues.
Then came seven more albums and world tours with the majestic Gallagher & Lyle - by which time Benny’s reputation was cemented as one of the UK’s foremost songwriters of his generation. Just a small smattering of those to have covered his songs are Art Garfunkel; Bryan Ferry; Colin Blunstone; Don Williams; Donovan Frankereiter; Elkie Brooks; Fairport Convention; Garth Brooks; Jim Capaldi; Joe Brown; Judith Durham; Little Anthony and the Imperials; Mary Hopkin; Phil Everly; Ricky Nelson; Ringo Starr; Rita Coolidge; Simon and Garfunkel; Status Quo;The Fureys & Davey Arthur; and LemonJelly....
But, heck, this is no back catalogue album. It is an album of all new gems, replete with wish-I’d written-that hook lines, exhibiting the work of a master craftsman right at the top of his game. In this collection, there are intricate tales of life and love; the Caribbean Island of Montserrat; glimpses of Benny’s beloved New York City, including tales of the Roseland Ballroom and Brooklyn Dodgers’ baseball legends Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays; Robert Louis Stevenson; rock 'n' roller Ronnie Lane; the shipyards on the River Clyde; the pursuit and realisation of dreams - and various other aspects of that elusive thing we call the human condition. Bob Wood
Benny began his songwriting career as a staff writer with the Beatles Music Publishing Co.- Apple - writing songs for his lifelong friend and Apple Records biggest solo recording artist Mary Hopkin - he has always considered those "formative" days at Apple, and, especially, the constant encouragement of Paul McCartney, as one of the most important factors in his development as a songwriter.
1970 saw his band McGuinness Flint storm the charts with G&L hit songs When I'm Dead and Gone and Malt and Barley Blues.
Then came a string of highly acclaimed Gallagher and Lyle Albums - a brief interlude to record the hit single How Come and the Album Anymore for Anymore with Ronnie Lane and the Slim Chance Band - eventually culminating in the hugely successful Breakaway album containing the richly romantic hit singles Heart on my Sleeve and I Wanna Stay With You - his work went on to receive the ultimate acknowledgement and an introduction to an even wider audience when Art Garfunkel recorded the iconic song Breakaway.
It is a testament to the enduring quality of his song-writing that:
1. Simon & Garfunkel performed A Heart in New York in their Concert in Central Park to an audience of approx. 500,000.
2. Garth Brooks also chose to perform A Heart in New York in his Concert in Central Park to an audience of approx. 750,000.
3. Don Williams took the classic Stay Young to No.1 in the Country Charts generating well in excess of 1,000,000 airplays on US Radio.
On record he has worked with: Paul McCartney - Eric Clapton - Pete Townsend - Ronnie Lane - Ronnie Wood - Gary Brooker - Georgie Fame - Mary Hopkin - Elkie Brooks - Ralph McTell - Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention, as well as Blues legends Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (composer of That's Alright Mama for Elvis Presley) and Champion Jack Dupree.
Benny spent two years as founding Director and seven years as Chairman of P@MRA - The Performing Artists Media Rights Association administering the right to equitable remuneration for U.K. Performers.
During his time at P@MRA Benny was able to achieve a long term ambition by visiting Japan to successfully negotiate and later conclude a deal with Geidankyo (The Japanese equivalent of P@MRA) which now provides all U.K. performers with Equitable Remuneration from Japan - for the very first time!
Under Benny's stewardship, between1996–2002, P@MRA distributed over £20m to UK Performers as Equitable Remuneration for the use of their recordings.
In 2001 he was deemed a “Companion of LIPA” the world renowned Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and presented with this Award by co-founders Mark Featherstone-Witty and Paul McCartney, alongside fellow Companions Singer-Songwriter Joan Armatrading and “Architect of Punk” Malcolm MacLaren.
On March 1st 2005, as a guest of Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip, he attended a Celebration of British Music at Buckingham Palace along with: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Peter Gabriel, Sir George Martin, Roger Daltrey, Status Quo, Joan Armatrading, Richard Thompson, Eddi Reader, Martin Taylor, Jamie Cullum, Courtney Pine, Charlotte Church…
I love the new tracks, be great to see you live again, have still got my copies of Breakway and Seeds which you singed for me at the Tron theatre which are on my shelve in my house.
Hey Benny, finally got BBC airplay with "Bombardier's Moon". Just thought I'd share it with you. Hope all is well with you and yours. Looking forward to our next pint of Guinness in Belfast.
Benny :-) Hope you are doing fine and Staying Young as ever. Our new track 'A Country Mile' reminded me of those wonderful concerts and melodic tunes of the glorious 70's. Hope you agree and wishing you great times always. Steve
Hi, Benny Enjoyed watching your new "Dream On" Docu-video - thanks for putting it up! All good wishes for you and your great inspirational music! Kelvin
Hey, just to let you know we have uploaded tracks from Ali's new solo album Flying High to his myspace, come by and let us know what you think or if you want to pre order you can get it on his myspace page.
Ali will be on tour in the UK from June 19th – July 4th come and see him and his new band live – they are tearing it up, round the country with a great party vibe!
Hello From the Far East japan. I met you at the Mary Hopkin Show held in Osaka Expo 1970! Did you attend Mary's concert with your friendship or hoped to do sights in Kyoto and Expo'70 Osaka? For me the gorgeous show is the best treasure concert, that is my first attended live concert. WATCH MY CREATED VIDEO WHERE YOU ARE THERE WITH MY EVERLASTING SWEETHEART MARY! Regards and Take Care! Tommy Tomoya Kuramochi
Hello - it was both a pleasure and a privilege to sing a few songs for you at Twickenham - look forward to seeing you again at Radcliffe Centre, Buckingham very soon! Linda x
Thanks for coming to sing and play for us, Benny. Everyone agreed it was a thoroughly memorable evening. Great songs one and all (both old and new!) but interwoven with wonderful stories and anecdotes too!
