Benny Gallagher
- Soundtrack
For sheer quality and distinction you need look no further than the career of Benny Gallagher. One half of hit makers and blue chip songwriters Gallagher & Lyle; he began his songwriting career as a staff writer with the Beatles Music Publishing Co. Apple writing for Apple Records biggest artist and lifelong friend, Mary Hopkin.
Benny has always considered his "formative" days at Apple, and, especially, the constant encouragement of Paul McCartney, as one of the most important factors in his development as a songwriter. In 1970, it was his and Graham Lyle's astute composing abilities that propelled McGuinness Flint to the top of the charts with their hit songs "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues".
Then came the duo's own string of successes - the richly romantic "Heart on my Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay With You". Their Breakaway album was a huge success with even more accolades to follow when it's title track was recorded by none other than, Art Garfunkel for his biggest selling solo Album.
On record he has worked with: Paul McCartney - Eric Clapton - Gary Brooker -Georgie Fame - Pete Townsend - Ronnie Lane - Ronnie Wood - Georgie Fame - Mary Hopkin - Elkie Brooks - Ralph McTell - Sandy Denny - Fairport Convention, as well as Blues legends Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (who wrote "That's Alright Mama" for Elvis Presley), and Champion Jack Dupree.
Over the last few years, in between song-writing visits to Nashville, and composing soundtracks for film and television he has toured Australia, the Middle and Far East, Europe, and the U.K. as bassist and vocalist with The Manfreds, and performed at The Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival with Don Schlitz, Nanci Griffiths, and Pat Alger, played an "In the Round Concert" with Beth Nielsen- Chapman, Ricky Ross and Charlie Dore to celebrate the opening of the new BBC Scotland Headquarters in Glasgow, performed at SXSW in Austin, Byron Bay Blues Festival, Canterbury Folk Festival in N.Z - a special guest appearance with Dougie MacLean at his 2015 Perthshire Amber Festival, and legendary Jazz Guitarist Martin Taylor in his string of sell-out shows at the London Jazz Festival, along with, 3 Gallagher and Lyle Charity Concerts and 9 G & L Concerts in 2010.
More recently, over the past few months, he and Graham Lyle performed as the "top ticket" at Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival in March 2016, to an absolutely astonishing response from the audience, and, again - in April - at the World Premiere launch of Caledonia-USA - The Gallagher and Lyle Musical, in their hometown of Largs, where the show played 5 performances in 4 days, and, both the duo, and the cas,t received standing ovations on all of the 5 shows!
It is a testament to the enduring quality of Benny Gallagher song-writing that:
1. Simon & Garfunkel and Garth Brooks both performed "A Heart in New York " in their Concerts in Central Park to audiences of approx. 500,000 and 750,000
2. Don Williams had a No.1 Country Hit with "Stay Young" which generated well in excess of 1,000,000 airplays on US Radio.
3. The hugely popular UK cult dance band Lemonjelly recorded and released a version of "I Wanna Stay With You'"
4. Gallagher and Lyle were recipients of The Tartan Clef Lifetime Achievement Award 2010.
5. The songs composed by Benny and Graham Lyle for Apple Record's biggest solo artist and lifelong friend Mary Hopkin are featured on:
'Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records' The First Commercial Multi-Artist Compilation in Apple's History
A selection of artists that have recorded and released Benny Gallagher songs: Art Garfunkel - Bryan Ferry - Colin Blunstone - Don Williams - Donovan Frankereiter - Elkie Brooks - Fairport Convention - Garth Brooks - Joe Brown - Judith Durham - Little Anthony and the Imperials - Mary Hopkin - Phil Everly - Ricky Nelson - Ringo Starr - Rita Coolidge - Simon and Garfunkel - Status Quo - The Fureys and Davey Arthur - Tompall and The Glaser Bros. - LemonJelly and Jim Capaldi to name but a few.....
Benny has always considered his "formative" days at Apple, and, especially, the constant encouragement of Paul McCartney, as one of the most important factors in his development as a songwriter. In 1970, it was his and Graham Lyle's astute composing abilities that propelled McGuinness Flint to the top of the charts with their hit songs "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues".
Then came the duo's own string of successes - the richly romantic "Heart on my Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay With You". Their Breakaway album was a huge success with even more accolades to follow when it's title track was recorded by none other than, Art Garfunkel for his biggest selling solo Album.
On record he has worked with: Paul McCartney - Eric Clapton - Gary Brooker -Georgie Fame - Pete Townsend - Ronnie Lane - Ronnie Wood - Georgie Fame - Mary Hopkin - Elkie Brooks - Ralph McTell - Sandy Denny - Fairport Convention, as well as Blues legends Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (who wrote "That's Alright Mama" for Elvis Presley), and Champion Jack Dupree.
Over the last few years, in between song-writing visits to Nashville, and composing soundtracks for film and television he has toured Australia, the Middle and Far East, Europe, and the U.K. as bassist and vocalist with The Manfreds, and performed at The Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival with Don Schlitz, Nanci Griffiths, and Pat Alger, played an "In the Round Concert" with Beth Nielsen- Chapman, Ricky Ross and Charlie Dore to celebrate the opening of the new BBC Scotland Headquarters in Glasgow, performed at SXSW in Austin, Byron Bay Blues Festival, Canterbury Folk Festival in N.Z - a special guest appearance with Dougie MacLean at his 2015 Perthshire Amber Festival, and legendary Jazz Guitarist Martin Taylor in his string of sell-out shows at the London Jazz Festival, along with, 3 Gallagher and Lyle Charity Concerts and 9 G & L Concerts in 2010.
More recently, over the past few months, he and Graham Lyle performed as the "top ticket" at Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival in March 2016, to an absolutely astonishing response from the audience, and, again - in April - at the World Premiere launch of Caledonia-USA - The Gallagher and Lyle Musical, in their hometown of Largs, where the show played 5 performances in 4 days, and, both the duo, and the cas,t received standing ovations on all of the 5 shows!
It is a testament to the enduring quality of Benny Gallagher song-writing that:
1. Simon & Garfunkel and Garth Brooks both performed "A Heart in New York " in their Concerts in Central Park to audiences of approx. 500,000 and 750,000
2. Don Williams had a No.1 Country Hit with "Stay Young" which generated well in excess of 1,000,000 airplays on US Radio.
3. The hugely popular UK cult dance band Lemonjelly recorded and released a version of "I Wanna Stay With You'"
4. Gallagher and Lyle were recipients of The Tartan Clef Lifetime Achievement Award 2010.
5. The songs composed by Benny and Graham Lyle for Apple Record's biggest solo artist and lifelong friend Mary Hopkin are featured on:
'Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records' The First Commercial Multi-Artist Compilation in Apple's History
A selection of artists that have recorded and released Benny Gallagher songs: Art Garfunkel - Bryan Ferry - Colin Blunstone - Don Williams - Donovan Frankereiter - Elkie Brooks - Fairport Convention - Garth Brooks - Joe Brown - Judith Durham - Little Anthony and the Imperials - Mary Hopkin - Phil Everly - Ricky Nelson - Ringo Starr - Rita Coolidge - Simon and Garfunkel - Status Quo - The Fureys and Davey Arthur - Tompall and The Glaser Bros. - LemonJelly and Jim Capaldi to name but a few.....
