Lew Lewis

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Lew Lewis (actually: Lew Davis ; * in Southend , Essex , Great Britain ) is a British rock singer and musician ( harmonica ) from the circle of Dr. Feel good . His harmonica playing was mainly influenced by Little Walter .

Career

Lew Lewis was a member of the Southside Jug Band in 1969 , which also includes various musicians who later worked with Dr. Feelgood were involved. In 1975 he was one of the musicians Barrie Masters gathered in Canvey Island and who became known as Eddie & the Hot Rods . Lewis played harmonica on their first singles . When the band then moved more towards punk rock , he left them to continue to devote himself to blues and pub rock . (Other sources say he was kicked out for constantly misbehaving.)

Win ...

Lewis knew Lee Brilleaux from Dr. Feelgood , who had just invested money in the newly founded label Stiff Records . He advised him to just turn to the Stiff people. It wasn't long before Lewis' first solo single, Boogie on the Street , was recorded in April 1976 in Canvey Island at Feelgood Sound Studios . “Lew Lewis and his Band” was written on the label and the cover - although the band largely consists of Dr. Feelgood musicians.

At concerts and by mail the record even sold so well that Lewis got a contract with United Artists (who signed the Feelgoods). The result was the single "Out for a Lark" , again recorded with Feelgood musicians. Lewis was also in demand as a session musician, playing harmonica on albums by The Stranglers and The Clash .

For the next projects, however, Lewis put together his own band, Lew Lewis Reformer . According to a press release from Stiff Germany, Lewis met his new guitarist Richard Taylor “in a pub when he was frustrated and spat on the guy across the street. It was Richard and he spat back. ”In addition to Lewis and Richard Taylor, Johnny Squirrel on bass and Ian“ Buzz ”Buzzwell on drums were part of the Reformer group . The single "Lucky Seven" was probably Lewis' most famous song; Dr. Feelgood covered him on the album "Sneakin 'Suspicion" . Almost a hit was the next single, Lewis' version of an unreleased Status Quo song called Win Or Lose . On Lew Lewis Reformer's album , "Save the Wail" , these two songs were found between his own compositions and cover versions (including titles by J. Geils Band and Tom Petty ). The guest musician on the LP recordings was Gavin Povey from The Edge on piano. The band went on tour in mid-1979 - together with Rockpile , when their Dave Edmunds was celebrating one of his hits with "Girls Talk" . They even appeared once on the BBC television show Top of the Pops . In 1983 an EP was released with songs that Lewis shared with Wilko Johnson by Dr. Feelgood had recorded.

... or lots

But life wasn't too good for Lewis. He originally worked in road construction and often missed a concert because he was back in his old job. His band mates always had to expect to get a (mostly empty) beer glass on their head. At some point there were no more concerts, no recordings and no band. In 1987 Lewis was sentenced to seven years in prison for participating in a post office robbery using a toy gun.

Discography

Singles

  • 1976: Lew Lewis and His Band - Boogie on the Street / Caravan Man
  • 1977: Lew Lewis - Out for a Lark / (You'd Better) Watch Yourself
  • 1978: Lew Lewis Reformer - Lucky Seven / Night Talk
  • 1979: Lew Lewis Reformer - Win or Lose / Photo-Finish
  • 1979: Lew Lewis - 1-30 2-30 3-35 / The Mood I'm In
  • 1983: The Wilko Johnson and Lew Lewis Band - EP: Caravan / Bottle Up and Go! / I Wanna Be Your Lover / Looked out My Window

album

  • 1979: Lew Lewis Reformer - Save the Wail
    • Page 1: Do Just What You Want / Wait / Win or Lose / High Temperature / Mr Bartender
    • Page 2: Lucky Seven / Hometown Blues / Photo-Finish / Night Talk / Rider
  • 2002: Lew Lewis Reformer - Save the Wail
    • as CD, plus the singles tracks from 1976/1978/1979 and bonus live material

literature

  • Bert Muirhead: Stiff - The Story of a Record Label , Poole / Dorset 1983, ISBN 0-71371-314-3

swell

  1. ↑ “Around this time Lew Lewis was sacked. Prone to letting his enthusiasm get the better of him, he overdid it after one gig supporting The Kursaal Flyers . " J. Buckley / M. Ellingham (ed.): Rock - The Rough Guide, London 1996, p. 281 ( ISBN 1-85828-201-2 )
  2. ↑ Press text on the back of the cover, Stiff-Teldec single "Win or Lose", cat. 6.12562, Teldec Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH, Hamburg 1979
  3. ↑ "... Lew Lewis was jailed for seven years in 1987, due to his part in a PO robbery." MC Strong: The Great Rock Discography, 3rd Ed., Edinburgh / Ffm. 1996, p. 258 ( ISBN 0-86241-604-3 )
personal data
SURNAME Lewis, Lew
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Davis, Lew (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British rock singer and musician
DATE OF BIRTH before 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Southend , Essex , UK