The Bowles Brothers Band
Encyclopedia
The Bowles Brothers Band was a British
group
from the 1970s, featuring Brian Bowles
- guitar
, vocals; Sue Jones-Davies
- vocals; Richard Lee
- bass; Julian Smedley - guitar, violin, and vocals. They were also variously known as The Bowles Brothers and The Bowles Bros. They released one album
on the Decca
label
, entitled, Roger Buys a Fridge.
music show So It Goes
as the Sex Pistols
, who were themselves were making their infamous debut television appearance. Both bands were yet to be signed to a recording contract
.
The following year, they appeared alongside John Cleese
, Peter Cook
, Peter Ustinov
and Julie Covington
in the charity concert for Amnesty International
titled 'The Mermaid Frolics'. They were also the support act to the American
singer, Don McLean
.
and as Judith Escariot in Monty Python's Life of Brian
. She is now Mayor of Aberystwyth
. Brian Bowles is now a voice specialist on such franchises as the Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings film
s, and voice actor in shows such as Monkey Dust
. Julian Smedley worked with Vivian Stanshall
, as well as appearing in the film Sir Henry at Rawlinson's End. He now lives in Berkeley, California
and works as a jazz
violin
ist and record producer
. Both he and Richard Lee have also worked with fellow ex-Bonzo Dog Band member Neil Innes
. Lee later joined Telephone Bill and the Smooth Operators.
Extracts from "An Evening Without Sir Bernard Miles
" The Amnesty International
Gala Benefit Concert 1977. The Bowles Brothers band contributed to five live tracks on this album.
** Alongside Julie Covington
and Pete Atkin
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...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
from the 1970s, featuring Brian Bowles
Brian Bowles
Brian David Bowles is an American mixed martial artist. He is the former World Extreme Cagefighting Bantamweight Champion. He holds a notable victory over former long time WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres...
- guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals; Sue Jones-Davies
Sue Jones-Davies
Sue Jones-Davies is a Welsh actress and singer, who appeared as Judith in the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian. Mayor of Aberystwyth from 2008–2009, she now serves as town councillor.-Early life and education:Sue Jones-Davies was born in Wales...
- vocals; Richard Lee
Richard Lee
Richard Lee may refer to:*Richard Lee , herald and Clarenceux King of Arms in the reign of Elizabeth I of England*Sir Richard Lee , British military engineer...
- bass; Julian Smedley - guitar, violin, and vocals. They were also variously known as The Bowles Brothers and The Bowles Bros. They released one album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
on the Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, entitled, Roger Buys a Fridge.
Career
In 1976, they appeared on the same edition of the Granada TelevisionGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
music show So It Goes
So It Goes (TV series)
So It Goes was a British TV music show presented by Tony Wilson on Granada Television between 1976 and 1977. It is most famous for showcasing the then burgeoning Punk rock movement...
as the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, who were themselves were making their infamous debut television appearance. Both bands were yet to be signed to a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
.
The following year, they appeared alongside John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
, Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
and Julie Covington
Julie Covington
Julie Covington is an English singer and actress, best known for recording the original version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina".-Career:...
in the charity concert for Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
titled 'The Mermaid Frolics'. They were also the support act to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, Don McLean
Don McLean
Donald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
.
Where are they now?
Jones-Davies went on to appear in Rock FolliesRock Follies
Rock Follies, and its sequel, Rock Follies of '77, was a comedy musical drama shown on British television in the mid 1970s. The storyline, over 12 episodes and two series, followed the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the "Little Ladies" as they struggled for recognition and...
and as Judith Escariot in Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
. She is now Mayor of Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
. Brian Bowles is now a voice specialist on such franchises as the Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, and voice actor in shows such as Monkey Dust
Monkey Dust
Monkey Dust is a British satirical cartoon, notorious for its dark humour and handling of taboo topics such as murder, suicide and paedophilia. There were three series broadcast on BBC Three between 2003 and 2005...
. Julian Smedley worked with Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall was an English singer-songwriter, painter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his surreal exploration of the British upper classes in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, and for narrating Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.-The great...
, as well as appearing in the film Sir Henry at Rawlinson's End. He now lives in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and works as a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. Both he and Richard Lee have also worked with fellow ex-Bonzo Dog Band member Neil Innes
Neil Innes
Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
. Lee later joined Telephone Bill and the Smooth Operators.
Albums
- Roger Buys a Fridge (1978) - Decca RecordsDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
(Decca TXS127)- 01 - "Charlie's Nuts"
- 02 - "Fito"
- 03 - "Dashed With Tabasco"
- 04 - "Outside Runner"
- 05 - "Just One of Those Things"
- 06 - "Roger the Dodger"
- 07 - "A Game of Chess"
- 08 - "Beguine Again"
- 09 - "Disparate Dan"
- The Mermaid Frolics (1977) - Polydor RecordsPolydor RecordsPolydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
(Polydor 2384101)
Extracts from "An Evening Without Sir Bernard Miles
Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
" The Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
Gala Benefit Concert 1977. The Bowles Brothers band contributed to five live tracks on this album.
-
- "Charlie's Nuts"
- "Nagasaki"
- "The Original Honky Tonk Night Train Blues" **
- "After You've Gone" **
- "At The Hop" **
** Alongside Julie Covington
Julie Covington
Julie Covington is an English singer and actress, best known for recording the original version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina".-Career:...
and Pete Atkin
Pete Atkin
Pete Atkin is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series This Sceptred Isle.-Early life:...
Singles
- "Just One of Those Things" / "Dashed with Tabasco" (1978) (Decca F13750)
- "Hawaiian Cowboy" / "Lay it Back" (1979) (Decca F13823)