Charlie Landsborough
Encyclopedia
Charlie Landsborough, is a British
country
and folk
musician and singer-songwriter
. He started singing professionally in the 1970s, and is now one of the UK's top country acts. He is also popular in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
, Wales
, Landsborough was the youngest of 11 children. Soon after he was born, his mother (Aggie) moved the family back to Birkenhead
after the World War II
bombing raids. He was reared by the docklands of Birkenhead
near the dumps, railway lines, coal wharf
and oil factories.
He left school early and worked intermittently as an apprentice telephone engineer, on the railways, and in the flour mills before joining the army. He left after four years, in the early 1960s, and joined a group, The Chicago Sect, in Dortmund
, Germany
. Returning to England, he married, played in local bands, and worked in a variety of jobs before becoming a teacher at Portland Combined School on Laird street, Birkenhead.
While working as a teacher, he wrote songs and continued to perform on a semi-professional basis, with limited success. However, in 1994 his song "What Colour is the Wind", which tells the story of a young blind child’s attempts to envision the world, began to be played in Ireland
, eventually reaching #1 in the Irish charts after a TV appearance on RTE
's Kenny Live
Show. The song was used as the title track of Landsborough's first album.
Following the album's success in Ireland, Landsborough appeared on several TV shows in the UK. Since then, he has released ten additional albums, including originals, greatest hits and double CDs of previous releases. Overall, sales of his albums have exceeded 700,000 units. He also has had two number ones singles in the Irish pop charts, and several of his albums have topped the British country charts.
One of his most successful releases, Still Can't Say Goodbye was recorded in Nashville in 1999 and resulted in Landsborough winning the BMCA Best Male Vocalist (2000) for the third year in succession, and the Southern Country Award for best album. He has performed at most major concert halls and theatres in the UK, including the London Palladium
. He also toured Australia
and New Zealand
in 2001.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
musician and singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. He started singing professionally in the 1970s, and is now one of the UK's top country acts. He is also popular in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Life
Born in WrexhamWrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Landsborough was the youngest of 11 children. Soon after he was born, his mother (Aggie) moved the family back to Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
after the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
bombing raids. He was reared by the docklands of Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
near the dumps, railway lines, coal wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
and oil factories.
He left school early and worked intermittently as an apprentice telephone engineer, on the railways, and in the flour mills before joining the army. He left after four years, in the early 1960s, and joined a group, The Chicago Sect, in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Returning to England, he married, played in local bands, and worked in a variety of jobs before becoming a teacher at Portland Combined School on Laird street, Birkenhead.
While working as a teacher, he wrote songs and continued to perform on a semi-professional basis, with limited success. However, in 1994 his song "What Colour is the Wind", which tells the story of a young blind child’s attempts to envision the world, began to be played in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, eventually reaching #1 in the Irish charts after a TV appearance on RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
's Kenny Live
Kenny Live
Kenny Live is an Irish weekly chat show on RTÉ that was hosted by Pat Kenny. The show debuted in 1988 and aired every Saturday night, except during the summer months, directly after the main evening news...
Show. The song was used as the title track of Landsborough's first album.
Following the album's success in Ireland, Landsborough appeared on several TV shows in the UK. Since then, he has released ten additional albums, including originals, greatest hits and double CDs of previous releases. Overall, sales of his albums have exceeded 700,000 units. He also has had two number ones singles in the Irish pop charts, and several of his albums have topped the British country charts.
One of his most successful releases, Still Can't Say Goodbye was recorded in Nashville in 1999 and resulted in Landsborough winning the BMCA Best Male Vocalist (2000) for the third year in succession, and the Southern Country Award for best album. He has performed at most major concert halls and theatres in the UK, including the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
. He also toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 2001.
Albums
- Nothing Lasts Forever (September 2009)
- Under Blue Skies (2008) #73 (UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
) - The Storyteller
- Heart and Soul
- My Heart Would Know
- The Lighter Side (Comedy Album)
- Reflections
- Smile
- Movin' On
- Once in a While
- Songs from the Heart
- What Colour is the Wind
- Further Down The Road
- With You In Mind
- Still Can't Say Goodbye
- The Greatest Gift (Christmas Album)
Singles
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Half the Ghost of a Chance" | "Heart and Soul" |
| 2001 | "Saviours Song" | "Heart and Soul" |
| 2001 | "My Most Wonderful Time" | "Heart and Soul" |
| 2002 | "I'm A Lucky Man" | "Heart and Soul" |
| 2002 | "I Don't Know" | "Heart and Soul" |
| 2002 | "Who is this Man" | "Heart and Soul" |
| 2002 | "It's About Loving You" | "Heart and Soul" |
| 2002 | "Song for the Dragonfly" | "Heart and Soul" |
| 2004 | "Twenty-Four Hours Times Two" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "My Heart Would Know" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "I Am Red" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "I Know What it is to be Loved" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "The Closest Thing to my Heart" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "Going My Own Sweet Way" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "Moate" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "He Still Holds You" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "Nothing Will Ever Be The Same Again" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "Like A Stone" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2004 | "I'll Be Missing You" | "My Heart Would Know" |
| 2008 | "Long Way Down" | "Under Blue Skies" |
| 2008 | "Some Mothers Son" | "Under Blue Skies" |
| 2008 | "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" | "Under Blue Skies" |
DVDs
- Charlie Landsborough A Special Performance
- An Evening With/Shine Your Light Double DVD Collection
The Team
- Jamie Landsborough - Tour ManagerTour ManagerA tour manager is the person who helps to organize the administration for a schedule of appearances of a musical group or artist at a sequence of venues .-Background:...
- Ken Davies - ManagerTalent managerA talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
- Pete Ware - Record ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Pete Brazil : Lead GuitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, AccordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, HarmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Karl Benson - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Tony Ariss - KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Jason Forrester - KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Gerry Freeman - Drums
- Smithy - Merchandise
- Keith Jones - HairdresserHairdresserHairdresser is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques...
Awards
| Year | Awarding Body | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | British Country Music Awards | Single of the Year - How Do You Do Those Things |
| BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres... - Prestigious Award |
Record of the Week - Heaven Knows | |
| 1992 | British Country Music Awards | Top Solo Performer of the Year |
| 1994 | BBC East Midlands BBC East Midlands BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire, south Nottinghamshire, South Kesteven and Rutland.-Television:... |
North Country Music Song of the Year - What Colour is the Wind |
| Country Music Round Up International Awards | Favourite Album - What Colour is the Wind | |
| Most Popular Male Vocalist | ||
| 1995 | UK Country Awards | Best Album by a British Act (Recorded Anywhere) - What Colour is the Wind |
| Best Single - What Colour is the Wind | ||
| Best Song by a British Songwriter - What Colour is the Wind | ||
| 1996 | The Great British Country Music Awards | Best British Male Vocalist |
| The Irish Record Music Association | International Country Album of the Year - With You in Mind | |
| UK Country Radio Awards | Best Single - Forever Friend | |
| Best Song - Forever Friend | ||
| Most Nominations | ||
| Best Single - Further Down the Road | ||
| Scottish Country Music Awards | Most Popular Male Artist | |
| Most Popular British Album - What Colour is the Wind | ||
| Most Popular British Song - Forever Friend | ||
| 1997 | The Great British Country Music Awards | Best British Male Vocalist |
| 1998 | BBC Radio Merseyside Scouseology Award | Best Music - Top Personality |
| The Great British Country Music Awards | Best British Male Vocalist | |
| UK Country Radio Awards | Best Single - Further Down the Road | |
| Most Nominations | ||
| 2000 | The Great British Country Music Awards | Best British Male Vocalist |
| Best British Album - Still Can't Say Goodbye | ||
| UK Country Music Radio Awards | Best Album - Still Can't Say Goodbye |
Professional comments
- "The greatest response ever on the show".Pat KennyPat KennyPatrick "Pat" Kenny is an Irish broadcaster and former disc jockey and continuity announcer. He is employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is their highest paid presenter. He presents Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday morning between 10:00 and midday...
- Kenny Live RTE TVRTERTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey... - "The biggest reaction for any artist on our last series".BBC TV Pebble Mill
- "If you like warmth, honesty and credibility in a performer you'll love Charlie Landsborough".Gerry KellyGerry Kelly (broadcaster)Gerry Kelly is a broadcaster from Northern Ireland. He is best known for his presenting career at UTV.-Broadcasting career:...
- Kelly Ulster TV. - "Incredible talent and unique style, deserves to be a major success".Sean Murphy - London Weekend TV
- "Charlie's like good wine, he matures quietly over a long period of time, when the cork was popped it was well worth the wait".Gerry AndersonGerry Anderson (broadcaster)Gerald Michael Anderson, known professionally as Gerry Anderson , is a Sony Award-winning radio and television broadcaster from Derry, Northern Ireland who works for BBC Northern Ireland, and is a member of the Radio Academy Hall of fame...
- BBC TV - "A brand new album of brand new songs, all written and performed by a quiet, unassuming gentle man who could very well be Britain's next country-folk superstar, internationally".George Hamilton IVGeorge Hamilton IVGeorge Hege Hamilton IV is an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, later switching to country music in the early 1960s.-Biography:Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina...