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Benny Gallagher | |
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 Gallagher with SAS Band in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Bernard Joseph Gallagher |
| Born | 10 June 1945 Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Genres | Pop, folk rock, country rock |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, piano accordion, mandolin, ocarina, harmonica |
| Labels | A&M, Mercury, OnSong |
Bernard Joseph "Benny" Gallagher (born 10 June 1945) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, most famous as half of the popular duo Gallagher and Lyle.
The son of Irish parents, Gallagher attended St Michael's Academy, Kilwinning, and then worked as a marine electrician in the shipyards of Glasgow. [1] During this time, he also played bass guitar in local semi-professional beat group The Bluefrets, which featured Graham Lyle on lead guitar. [2]
Gallagher's first published song was "Mr Heartbreak's Here Instead", which he co-wrote with Andrew Galt. This was recorded as a single for EMI-Columbia in 1964 by Dean Ford and the Gaylords, [3] the bulk of which group later became chart-topping outfit Marmalade.
Galt then made two singles for Pye, "Comes The Dawn" and "With My Baby", under the name James Galt; both were co-written and featured backing vocals by Gallagher and Graham Lyle. [4] [5]
In 1966, Gallagher and Lyle – who by now had forged a songwriting partnership – moved to London in search of a publishing deal. Both continued to hold down day jobs, Gallagher as an electrician and Lyle as a shipping clerk, while waiting for their big break. After an abortive contract with Polydor, which yielded one unsuccessful single, the pair joined Apple Corps as staff songwriters and wrote several songs for Mary Hopkin. [6]
Gallagher and Lyle first hit the chart as performers in late 1970 as the leading lights of McGuinness Flint, a blues-rock band formed by ex-Manfred Mann guitarist Tom McGuinness. This band made two well-received albums and scored two Top 5 singles in Britain with "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues", before Gallagher and Lyle left to work as a duo. Gallagher was credited as Bernard Gallagher on sheet music copies of early songs such as these, but later shortened his forename to avoid confusion with golfer Bernard Gallacher.[ citation needed ]
Between 1972 and 1975, Gallagher and Lyle made four albums for A&M: Gallagher and Lyle, Willie and the Lap Dog, Seeds and The Last Cowboy, all of which were produced by Glyn Johns, and met with favourable reviews. [6] Gallagher and Lyle also enjoyed a brief stint as members of Ronnie Lane's band Slim Chance, recording the album Anymore For Anymore with him and backing him on several TV appearances, including a slot on Top of the Pops to promote his hit single "How Come".[ citation needed ]
It was not until 1976, however, that the duo hit the big time after teaming up with US producer David Kershenbaum on their gold-selling fifth album Breakaway . This set spawned two British Top 10 singles, "I Wanna Stay With You" and "Heart on My Sleeve", [7] both of which also charted in the US; the latter song was covered successfully by Bryan Ferry. The album included "Stay Young", which Don Williams took to No. 1 on the US C&W chart, while Art Garfunkel enjoyed a US Adult Contemporary No. 1 with the title song, "Breakaway". [6]
The duo's next album, Love on the Airwaves , likewise produced by Kershenbaum, went silver in the UK but yielded only one minor hit single, "Every Little Teardrop" which peaked at #32. [8] Their final two albums, Showdown and Lonesome No More – the last of these issued on Mercury – failed to chart. They provided backing vocals on Elkie Brooks' minor hit cover of their song "The Runaway" [9] in 1979, but this was their final chart appearance. Gallagher and Lyle split in 1980, leaving behind an unreleased ninth album, Living on the Breadline. A song recorded for this set, "A Heart in New York", was covered by Art Garfunkel for his album Scissors Cut and became a major US Adult Contemporary hit for him in 1981. [10]
Gallagher kept a low profile for much of the 1980s, but re-emerged in 1992 as bassist with The Manfreds, a reconvention of 1960s Manfred Mann members and associates. He remained a member until 1999, touring all over the world with the band and appearing on a live album released in 1998. During his tenure in the band, he co-founded and served as chairman of the royalties campaigning body PAMRA, which was set up to ensure that musicians received a fair share of royalties from recordings and performances. [11]
After a spell with Dr Hook as bassist during 1999 and 2000, [12] [13] Gallagher embarked on a solo career as a singer-songwriter, touring the folk club and festival circuits. He also held workshops all over the British Isles for aspiring songwriters.
In 2010, Gallagher reunited with Lyle for two concerts in their former hometown of Largs in aid of Haylie House, a residential care home in the town. [14] The pair subsequently re-formed and performed at two events in 2011: "The Big Gig" at Glasgow's Barrowland nightclub, alongside Marti Pellow, Jim Diamond and Midge Ure, [15] and the MOARE Festival in Faversham, Kent, which was headlined by former Average White Band stalwart Hamish Stuart. [16]
In 2012, the duo undertook a sell-out tour of Scottish venues, [17] under the banner of "The Homecoming Tour"; their 22-song set included all their British chart entries and both their US chart-toppers, as well as "A Heart in New York" and "Willie", in which Gallagher used a harmonica on a harness. [18]
In March 2016, Gallagher and Lyle performed together at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters' Festival. [19] In November 2016, the duo performed for four nights at The Green Hotel in Kinross. [20]
The summer of 2017 saw the duo perform as part of the 'Byre at The Botanics' season in St Andrews, [21] and also at the Belladrum Festival in Inverness [22] and the Albany Theatre in Greenock. [23]
In March 2018, the duo returned to Belfast to perform once more at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters' Festival. [24]
Gallagher has released two solo albums on his own OnSong label: On Stage and At The Edge of the Wave. The latter set includes "Tusitala", a tribute to Robert Louis Stevenson; this song also appeared on the Greentrax CD The Great Tapestry of Scotland. [25]
Caledonia USA, a musical based on the songs of Gallagher and Lyle, was staged in Largs in April 2016. [26] [27] 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. [28]
Gallagher and his wife Diane have four children: Dillon, and Paul (twins) and Julian and Claire (twins). Both Dillon and Julian work in the music industry, the former as a producer and the latter as a songwriter, most notably for 5ive and Kylie Minogue. Benny and Diane Gallagher became great-grandparents in 2013. [29]
Gallagher was made a Companion of LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) by Paul McCartney in 2001 in recognition of his work as a songwriting coach at the college. [11]
On 4 July 2024, Gallagher was presented with an honorary doctorate from The University of the West of Scotland, in a ceremony held at Paisley Abbey. Between 1998 and 2002, he had developed the SMART concept (Scottish Music and Recording Technology) in conjunction with South Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise. This project had led to The University of the West of Scotland (then University of Paisley) inaugurating its BA course in Commercial Music, which has run since 2001 and produced over 1,000 graduates. [30]
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number ones: "The Sound of Silence" (1965) and the two Record of the Year Grammy winners "Mrs. Robinson" (1968) and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970). Other hits include "The Boxer" (1969), "Cecilia" (1970) and the four 1966 releases "Homeward Bound", "I Am a Rock", "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" and "A Hazy Shade of Winter", as well as the 1968 album track "America".
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter known both for his solo work and his collaboration with Art Garfunkel. He and his school friend Garfunkel, whom he met in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel. Their blend of folk and rock, including hits such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "America" and "The Boxer", served as a soundtrack to the counterculture movement. Their final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), is among the bestselling of all time.
Arthur Ira Garfunkel 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 acquainted with Simon through an elementary school play, a production of Alice in Wonderland, and sought a partnership. Their combined presence in music began in the 1950s, and throughout the 1960s the duo of Simon & Garfunkel achieved great chart success with tracks such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "Scarborough Fair", "The Boxer" and "Bridge over Troubled Water". The latter song's title also served as the name of Simon & Garfunkel's final album in 1970. Simon & Garfunkel split for personal reasons, but the pair have occasionally reunited in the years since. Both men experienced success in solo careers in the years following the duo's breakup.
"America" is a song performed by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, which they included on their fourth studio album, Bookends, in 1968. It was produced by the duo and Roy Halee. The song was later issued as the B-side of the single "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her " in 1972 to promote the release of the compilation album Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. After peaking in the charts in July 1972, the song was switched to the A-side of the single and re-entered the charts in November 1972.
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 oriented songs.
Julian Gallagher is a British songwriter and record producer, known for being a member of the music production/songwriting team Biffco. He has co-wrote and produced for many artists including Kylie Minogue on her 2001 album Fever, Gabrielle on her 2007 album Always, as well as co-writing many songs for boy band Five, including the chart-topping singles "Keep On Movin'" and "Let's Dance".
McGuinness Flint was a rock band formed in 1970 by 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 multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle.
"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" is a song by folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon and originally released on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Cash Box called it a "sparkling, spirited lid".
"Homeward Bound" is a song by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, released as a single on January 19, 1966, by Columbia Records. It was written by Paul Simon and produced by Bob Johnston. Simon wrote the song during his time in England, possibly while waiting for a train at Widnes railway station in the northwest of England. Although Widnes railway station is most often cited as the location where it was composed, Simon said in an interview on the Norwegian-Swedish television chat show Skavlan in 2016, that it was actually a railway station in Warrington where he began to compose the song.
"When I'm Dead and Gone" is a song written by Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, released as a single in 1971, on the Capitol label, by McGuinness Flint.
Love on the Airwaves is the sixth studio album by Scottish duo Gallagher and Lyle and was released in 1977.
"My Little Town" is a 1975 song by the American duo Simon & Garfunkel. It was written by Paul Simon, who produced the track along with Art Garfunkel and Phil Ramone. The song was included on the 1975 solo releases from both Simon and Garfunkel (Breakaway). It would not appear on any of the duo's albums until the 1997 anthology box set Old Friends and the 1999 compilation album The Best of Simon and Garfunkel. It was the first single release credited to the duo since the 1972 release of "America", released in conjunction with Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits.
Scissors Cut is the fifth solo studio album by Art Garfunkel. It was released in August 1981 on Columbia Records; it was his second album to miss the US Billboard top 40 and his second album to contain no US top 40 singles. In the month following its release, Garfunkel reunited with former partner Paul Simon for their famous 1981 Concert in Central Park.
The Art Garfunkel Album is the first compilation album by Art Garfunkel, released in 1984. It contained thirteen of his greatest hits from the first eleven years of his solo career as well as new single, "Sometimes When I'm Dreaming".
Garfunkel is the second compilation album by Art Garfunkel, released in 1988. The album features some of Garfunkel's hit songs. The album also contains the 1974 non-album single A-Side "Second Avenue". The album failed to chart.
Breakaway is the fifth studio album by Scottish duo Gallagher and Lyle. The title track became a hit for Art Garfunkel, and "I Wanna Stay with You" was a U.S. Pop (#49) hit, U.S. AC (#27) hit and it reached number 6 in United Kingdom. A second hit from the album, "Heart on My Sleeve," also charted in both Canada and the U.S., reaching the Top 20 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart, number six in the United Kingdom and number 2 in the Irish charts.
"Break Away" is a song written by Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle and first recorded by Art Garfunkel for his 1975 album Breakaway. Gallagher and Lyle released their own version on their 1976 album, also titled Breakaway.
The Shires are a British country music duo composed of singer-songwriters Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes. Earle sings harmony vocals, plays piano and guitar, and Rhodes is lead singer. The duo formed in 2013 and released their debut album Brave in 2015, becoming the first UK country act to chart in the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. The group's second album, My Universe, became the fastest-selling UK country album in history when it was released in October 2016.
Graham Hamilton Lyle is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer.
Gerard Crosbie, professionally known as Gerry Cinnamon, is a Scottish singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist.
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