Lew Lewis
Encyclopedia
Lew Lewis is a "Little Walter
-influenced" harmonica player and vocalist who was a member of Eddie and the Hot Rods before forming his own bands, and guesting on albums by The Stranglers
, The Clash
and others.
who taught Lewis to play harmonica. Lewis' first performances were as a member of the Southside Jug Band on Canvey Island, which included future Dr Feelgood members Brilleaux and John B Sparks, together with Chris White. Guitarist Dave Higgs joined and they renamed themselves the Fix.
Higgs later invited Lewis to become a member of Eddie & the Hot Rods
, where Lewis performed on their first two singles "Writing on the Wall" and "Wooly Bully" he was known as a wild frontman, but left "after falling out with the management".
He then released a solo single for Stiff Records
, their fifth single "Boogie On The Street" / "Caravan Man", backed by a thinly disguised Dr Feelgood; the B side of the single later appearing on Hits Greatest Stiffs
. Briefly moving to United Artists Records
he released "Out for a Lark" / "Watch Yourself", which could credit Brilleaux and Sparks, as they were on UA. He returned to Stiff for his next single "Lucky Seven" / "Night Talk" (1978) his most successful single, which led to his appearing on Top of the Pops
and which was covered by Dr Feelgood on their album Sneakin' Suspicion
and also appears in the film Oil City Confidential.
His album Save the Wail (1979) produced by Paul Riley
, featured Buzz Barwell (ex Dr. Feelgood) and Bob Clouter (Ex Mickey Jupp
's The Orioles) on drums, Rick Taylor and Pete Zear on guitars and Johnny Squirrel on bass, collectively known as Lew Lewis Reformer, they were, stylistically, "between pub rock and blues-rock". They toured Europe, being particularly popular in France and appeared on Musikladen
in 1979. Also in 1979 Lewis, Dr Feelgood and Jools Holland
performing as "The Oil City Sheiks" issued a single "Don't Take but a Few Minutes" / "Blues Jam"
Lewis was also a guest on several albums, including The Stranglers
' Black and White
(1978), Jean-Jacques Burnel
's Euroman Cometh
(1979), The Clash
's Sandinista!
(1980), Kirsty MacColl
’s Desperate Character
(1981), Sniff 'n' the Tears
Ride Blue Divide (1982) and Wilko Johnson
's Bottle Up and Go! (1983).
In 1987 Lewis was given a seven year jail sentence for armed robbery, after holding up a post office with a fake pistol, stealing £5,000 and trying to escape on a shopping bike.
On his release he issued a single "Shame, Shame, Shame" whilst Boogie on the Street Again!, a live album recorded in June 1977 and July 1979, was released in Japan in 1999.
The 2002 CD reissue of Save the Wail also includes the Stiff singles "Boogie On The Street" and "1-30, 2-30, 3-35" as well as live recordings from 1977 and 1979.
Despite his prison sentence, Lewis had undiagnosed "bipolar and psychotic episodes", and a drug addiction. In November 2009 he announced that having had "mental health issues" and "a breakdown", and been in and out of hospital "for the past eight years", he was finally drug free, and only taking prescribed medication.
Lewis performed with a new band Spooky Blues, but as of December 2010 he was performing as the Lew Lewis band, with Dave Deville (guitar and backing vocals) and Emma May (bass and backing vocals), but was looking for a new drummer to perform on their forthcoming European tours and a Japanese tour in March 2011.
As Lew Lewis and his Band
As Lew Lewis Reformer
As Lew Lewis
As The Oil City Sheiks
Little Walter
Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
-influenced" harmonica player and vocalist who was a member of Eddie and the Hot Rods before forming his own bands, and guesting on albums by The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
and others.
Career
Lewis was brought up in the same Canvey Island street as Lee BrilleauxLee Brilleaux
Lee Brilleaux was an English rhythm-and-blues singer and musician with the British band Dr Feelgood....
who taught Lewis to play harmonica. Lewis' first performances were as a member of the Southside Jug Band on Canvey Island, which included future Dr Feelgood members Brilleaux and John B Sparks, together with Chris White. Guitarist Dave Higgs joined and they renamed themselves the Fix.
Higgs later invited Lewis to become a member of Eddie & the Hot Rods
Eddie & the Hot Rods
Eddie and the Hot Rods are a pub rock band from Essex founded in 1975. They are best known for their 1977 UK top ten hit "Do Anything You Wanna Do", released under the name The Rods...
, where Lewis performed on their first two singles "Writing on the Wall" and "Wooly Bully" he was known as a wild frontman, but left "after falling out with the management".
He then released a solo single for Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
, their fifth single "Boogie On The Street" / "Caravan Man", backed by a thinly disguised Dr Feelgood; the B side of the single later appearing on Hits Greatest Stiffs
Hits Greatest Stiffs
Hits Greatest Stiffs is a various artists compilation album, drawn from ten of the first eleven Stiff Records singles, BUY 1 – BUY 11.The tracks follow the numerical order of the singles, but feature mostly the b sides, although several singles were originally issued as double a-sides...
. Briefly moving to United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
he released "Out for a Lark" / "Watch Yourself", which could credit Brilleaux and Sparks, as they were on UA. He returned to Stiff for his next single "Lucky Seven" / "Night Talk" (1978) his most successful single, which led to his appearing on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
and which was covered by Dr Feelgood on their album Sneakin' Suspicion
Sneakin' Suspicion
Sneakin' Suspicion was the fourth album by Dr. Feelgood, and was released in 1977. During recording of Sneakin' Suspicion, the band were dealt a potentially fatal blow with the departure of guitarist, co-writer and focal point, Wilko....
and also appears in the film Oil City Confidential.
His album Save the Wail (1979) produced by Paul Riley
Paul Riley (musician)
Paul Riley is an English bassist, singer and record producer. He was a member of Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and Roogalator in the 1970s.-Biography:...
, featured Buzz Barwell (ex Dr. Feelgood) and Bob Clouter (Ex Mickey Jupp
Mickey Jupp
Michael 'Mickey' Jupp is an English musician and songwriter, mainly associated with the Southend music scene....
's The Orioles) on drums, Rick Taylor and Pete Zear on guitars and Johnny Squirrel on bass, collectively known as Lew Lewis Reformer, they were, stylistically, "between pub rock and blues-rock". They toured Europe, being particularly popular in France and appeared on Musikladen
Musikladen
Der Musikladen was a West German music television programme that ran from December 13, 1972 to November 29, 1984. The show continued the 1960s Beat-Club under a new name, and in turn was replaced by Extratour.-History:...
in 1979. Also in 1979 Lewis, Dr Feelgood and Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
performing as "The Oil City Sheiks" issued a single "Don't Take but a Few Minutes" / "Blues Jam"
Lewis was also a guest on several albums, including The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
' Black and White
Black and White (The Stranglers album)
Black and White is The Stranglers third studio album and was recorded within 18 months of their debut Rattus Norvegicus. Produced by Martin Rushent and engineered by Alan Winstanley, the album is divided into the Black side and White side, each nominally characterised by the style and mood of the...
(1978), Jean-Jacques Burnel
Jean-Jacques Burnel
J. J. Burnel , is a Franco-English musician producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist with the British rock band The Stranglers.-Life and career:...
's Euroman Cometh
Euroman Cometh
Euroman Cometh is the 1979 debut solo album by The Stranglers' bassist J. J. Burnel.Guest musicians were Peter Howells of The Drones , track 9 featured Brian James of The Damned , Lew Lewis and Carey Fortune of Chelsea...
(1979), The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's Sandinista!
Sandinista!
Sandinista! is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side...
(1980), Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...
’s Desperate Character
Desperate Character
Desperate Character is the first solo album of British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, released in 1981. Re-released in March 1985 as Kirsty MacColl, with three tracks replaced with other songs...
(1981), Sniff 'n' the Tears
Sniff 'n' the Tears
Sniff 'n' the Tears is a British rock band best known for their 1978 song "Driver's Seat", a hit in many countries . The exception was the UK itself where a problem with EMI's pressing plant meant that the single was not available following the band's appearance on Top of the Pops and it peaked...
Ride Blue Divide (1982) and Wilko Johnson
Wilko Johnson
Wilko Johnson is an English guitarist and songwriter, particularly associated with the UK rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s.-Career:...
's Bottle Up and Go! (1983).
In 1987 Lewis was given a seven year jail sentence for armed robbery, after holding up a post office with a fake pistol, stealing £5,000 and trying to escape on a shopping bike.
On his release he issued a single "Shame, Shame, Shame" whilst Boogie on the Street Again!, a live album recorded in June 1977 and July 1979, was released in Japan in 1999.
The 2002 CD reissue of Save the Wail also includes the Stiff singles "Boogie On The Street" and "1-30, 2-30, 3-35" as well as live recordings from 1977 and 1979.
Despite his prison sentence, Lewis had undiagnosed "bipolar and psychotic episodes", and a drug addiction. In November 2009 he announced that having had "mental health issues" and "a breakdown", and been in and out of hospital "for the past eight years", he was finally drug free, and only taking prescribed medication.
Lewis performed with a new band Spooky Blues, but as of December 2010 he was performing as the Lew Lewis band, with Dave Deville (guitar and backing vocals) and Emma May (bass and backing vocals), but was looking for a new drummer to perform on their forthcoming European tours and a Japanese tour in March 2011.
Discography
With Eddie and the Hot Rods- "Writing on the Wall" / "Cruisin' (in the Lincoln)" (1976)
- "Wooly Bully" / "Horseplay (Weary of the Schmaltz)" (1976)
As Lew Lewis and his Band
- "Boogie On The Street" / "Caravan Man" (1976) Stiff (BUY 5)
- "Out for a Lark" / "Watch Yourself" (1977) United Artists
As Lew Lewis Reformer
- "Lucky Seven" / "Night Talk" (1978) Stiff (LEW1)
- "Win Or Lose" / "Photo-Finish" (1979) Stiff (BUY 48)
- Save the Wail (1979) Stiff (SEEZ 16) Re-released with Bomus Tracks 2002 Hux 033
- "1-30, 2-30, 3-35" / "The Mood I'm In" (1980) Stiff (BUY 68)
As Lew Lewis
- Boogie on the Street Again! (1999) CD (Vinyl Japan 82)
- "Shame, Shame, Shame" (1987)
As The Oil City Sheiks
- "Don't Take but a Few Minutes" / "Blues Jam" (1979)
Compilations
- Hits Greatest StiffsHits Greatest StiffsHits Greatest Stiffs is a various artists compilation album, drawn from ten of the first eleven Stiff Records singles, BUY 1 – BUY 11.The tracks follow the numerical order of the singles, but feature mostly the b sides, although several singles were originally issued as double a-sides...
(1977) Stiff - Last Compilation Stiff
- Motorway Casette Stiff - unclear if ever issued
- Live and Rare - Eddie and the Hot Rods (1993) Receiver
- Best of Sniff 'n' the Tears - Sniff 'n' the Tears (2000) Chiswick
- Do Anything You Wanna Do - Eddie and the Hot Rods (2000) Spectrum
- Stiff, Stiffer, Stiffest: A Stiff Records Collection (2001)
- The UA Singles '77-'79 - The Stranglers (2001) EMI