Andy Leek
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| Andy Leek | |
|---|---|
| Origin | The Midlands, England |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1978-2009 |
| Labels | Birds Nest, Parlophone Records, Beggars Banquet Records, Fascination Records, Atlantic Records, Polydor Records |
| Associated acts | Dexys Midnight Runners, The Blue Ox Babes, Wailing Cocks |
| Notable instruments | |
| Piano, Organ | |
Andy Leek (1964- ) is an English musician, noted for his work with Dexys Midnight Runners.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Andy began his musical career while still at school fronting progressive punk band The Wailing Cocks. The band attracted a modicum of publicity via two singles on independent label Birds Best, recording two sessions for John Peel's Radio 1 show, Kid Jensen Live and on Radio 2's In Concert Live. At the age of 16, along with ex-Wailing Cocks drummer Andy "Stoker" Growcott, Leek then joined Dexys Midnight Runners in late 1979, playing on early recordings such as the hit single "Geno" and other tracks on their debut album Searching For The Young Soul Rebels. While the band were at No. 1 in the charts with this track, Andy left due to internal conflicts.
Two earlier songs Andy had recorded with the Wailing Cocks were then licensed to Beggars Banquet Records for release as a double-A-sided solo single: "Move On (In Your Maserati)" / "Ruben Decides". In early 1981, Andy teamed up with fellow ex-Dexys member Kevin "Al" Archer in his new band The Blue Ox Babes but this new venture fell apart in 1982 and Leek moved to Glasgow. On the strength of a demo tape of new songs, Beggars Banquet paid for an album's worth of new material but this lay dormant until their belated release as Midnight Music on Andy's own Undiscovered Classics label in 2009. The title track, "Midnight Music", appeared to describe Leek's opinion of his erstwhile band colleague in Dexys, Kevin Rowland. Another song from these sessions, "Twist In The Dark", was recorded by Frida from Abba for her 1984 solo album Shine, via a recommendation from Leek's friend Kirsty MacColl. Frida's version was also issued as a single in France.
For the rest of the 1980s, Leek pursued his own career as a musician, as well as writing a musical interpretation of a Dylan Thomas poem which was recorded and released by Tom Jones, and acting alongside Billie Whitelaw as an aspiring songwriter in the Tony Klinger-produced 1985 movie Promo-Man. A short-lived deal with indie label Fascination in 1984 led to two singles credited to Andee Leek: "Soul Darling", with Specials producer Dave Jordan, and a version of Abba's "Dancing Queen" produced by Tony Visconti. Both were added to the Midnight Music CD, alongside his debut single.
Atlantic Records signed Andy and enlisted George Martin to produce his 1988 album, Say Something. It was recorded in Martin's A.I.R. Studios with such musicians as Steve Howe of Yes, Clem Clempson, Luis Jardim on percussion, Alan Murphy of Level 42 on guitar, Peter-John Vettese (keyboards, from Jethro Tull), and veteran bassist Mo Foster. As a single, the title track reached number 1 in The Lebanon during the war in Beirut. And in 2007, Lebanese DJ/Producer DJ Beavis remixed "Say Something" [1].
Andy has since recorded two further albums, Eternity Beckons (including the single "All Around The World", which proved popular in Germany) and the self-produced Sacrifice And Bliss (which yielded the single "Forgotten People", attracting interest in Spain). Neither enjoyed a proper release although Eternity Beckons was briefly available on a small Spanish label, Ouver Records. After a period studying musical composition at Cardiff University, Andy formed his own "party band" Andy Leek & The Blue Angels, who have now played over a thousand shows [2], mostly at weddings. [3] Leek has also appeared on various TV shows: The James Whale Show, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Later with Jools Holland and Children In Need.
Currently, Leek is remixing the album Say Something for re-release later this year and is recording songs for a new solo album.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
- Move On (In Your Maserati) (Beggars Banquet, 1980)
- Soul Darling (Fascination, 1984)
- Dancing Queen (Fascination, 1984)
- Say Something (Atlantic, 1988)
- Please Please (Atlantic, 1988)
- Holdin' Onto You (Atlantic, 1988)
- All Around the World (Polydor, 1996)
- Forgotten People (Gotham, 1999)
[edit] Albums
- Say Something (Atlantic, 1988)
- Eternity Beckons (Spanish-only release, Ouver, circa 1997)
- Sacrifice and Bliss (unissued, 2000)
- Midnight Music (Undiscovered Classics, 2009; recorded 1979-1982)
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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