Charlie Landsborough

Charlie Landsborough, (born Charles Alexander Landsborough, 26 October 1941) is a British country and folk musician and singer-songwriter. He started singing professionally in the 1970s, although his major success didn't come until 1994 with his song "What Colour is the Wind" and since the hit in 1994 he is now one of the UK's top country acts. He is also popular in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Life

Born in Wrexham, 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.^[1]

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 No. 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.^[2]

Discography

Albums

• Nothing Lasts Forever (September 2009)
• Under Blue Skies (2008) No. 73 (UK)
• 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

DVDs

• Charlie Landsborough A Special Performance
• An Evening With/Shine Your Light Double DVD Collection

The Team

• Jamie Landsborough - Tour Manager
• Ken Davies - Manager
• Pete Ware - Record Producer
• Pete Brazil : Lead Guitar, Accordion, Harmonica, Vocals
• Karl Benson - Bass Guitar, Vocals
• Tony Ariss - Keyboards, Vocals
• Jason Forrester - Keyboards
• Gerry Freeman - Drums
• Smithy - Merchandise
• Keith Jones - Hairdresser

Awards

Professional comments

• "The greatest response ever on the show".Pat Kenny - Kenny Live RTE TV
• "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 Kelly - 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 Anderson - 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 IV

References

External links

• Official website
• Biography