This page will contain wikis about Ian Matthews, as they become available.Iain Matthews(Redirected from Ian Matthews)Iain Matthews (known in the 1960s first as Ian MacDonald, and from the late 1960s until 1989 as Ian Matthews) is a British musician and songwriter. Influenced by both rock'n'roll and folk music, he has performed mainly as a solo act, alghouth he was a member of Fairport Convention during the early period where they were heavily influenced by American West Coast folk rock. He later had a solo career and fronted the bands Plainsong and Matthews Southern Comfort. [1] (http://www.richieunterberger.com/matthews.html) Matthews grew up in a working class family in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, where he sang with several minor bands during the British pop music explosion of the mid-1960s. He moved to London in 1966, taking a job in a Carnaby Street shoe store. He recorded a couple of singles there in 1967 with a pop band called Pyramid, before being recruited by Ashley Hutchings as a male vocalist for Fairport Convention, where he duetted first with Judy Dyble, but more famously with Sandy Denny. In 1969, as Fairport's music veered more toward British folk influences, Matthews was booted out. With Thompson, Nicol, and Hutchings from Fairport, plus drummer Gerry Conway (of Fotheringay, and later to join Fairport) and pedal steel player Gordon Huntley, he formed Matthews Southern Comfort, whose sound was rooted in American country music and rockabilly; this was his first significant experience as a songwriter, although the band also covered the likes of Neil Young and Ian and Sylvia. The band went through several different lineups and toured extensively for the next two years, to general critical acclaim but no great commercial success. After solo two albums on Vertigo Records, under the sponsorship of former Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith and surrounded by a who's who of likeminded British semi-folkies (notably another ex-Fairporter, Richard Thompson), he formed Plainsong, who signed to Elektra Records and in 1972 produced In Search of Amelia Earhart, which solidified Matthews' songwriting reputation with the critics, if not with the general public. The album included a cover of Dave McEnery's "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight", plus a song of Matthews' own, "True Story of Amelia Earhart's Last Night" based on the research that suggest that Earhart on her round-the-world flight may have been spying on Japanese bases in the Pacific islands. It also included "Even the Guiding Light", a spiritually positive answer to Thompson’s powerful but bleak "Meet on the Ledge". After Plainsong collapsed due to a bandmate's alcohol problem, and with his career now based in Los Angeles, he released several more albums with ad hoc bands, including one produced by ex-Monkee Michael Nesmith, but none met with commercial success. He bounced from Elektra to CBS Records, to the small Rockburgh label, where he finally scored a hit single in 1978 with a cover of Terence Boylan's "Shake It", and a moderately successful follow-up covering Robert Palmer's "Gimme an Inch". However, the North American rights for his album were held by the small Canadian label Mushroom. Label-owner Shelly Siegel, died suddenly in 1979, leaving the label rudderless. As Matthews' official web site writes, at this point he "had been struggling for nearly 15 years now and was still living hand to mouth, with nothing to show for his efforts but a string of out-of-print albums, and the loyalty of those musicians and fans who shared his vision." [2] (http://www.iainmatthews.com/bio.htm) He moved from Los Angeles to then-inexpensive Seattle, where he teamed up with David Surkamp, formerly of the Seattle band Pavlov's Dog, to form the New Wave band Hi-Fi, whose repertoire included Matthews originals, but also covers of Neil Young's "Mr. Soul" and Prince's "When U Were Mine". Neither this nor a return to solo recording in England turned his luck. He worked for a while in an A&R capacity at Island Music and then new-agey Windham Hill Records. Since 1974, Fairport Convention had been staging the annual Cropredy Festival; since 1979, this annual reunion had been pretty much their only activity as a band, but in the mid-1980s several of them were interested in reviving the band and had done some recording. Matthews was invited to join them to perform, both with them and in other configurations, at the 1986 Cropredy Festival. This led to Walking a Changing Line (1988) on Windham Hill, an unlikely album-length tribute to Jules Shear of Jules and the Polar Bears. It led, however, to hooking up with producer Mark Hallman — a longtime fan — moving to Austin, Texas, and recording several albums for a series of German independent labels. It also led to his first truly solo performances: his previous "solo" outings had always been as a front man for a one-shot band. He also appeared with Andy Roberts at the 1992 Cambridge Folk Festival, which led to the first of what were to be several reformed version of Plainsong. Since that time, Matthews has had a moderately successful career, releasing records on a number of small labels in Germany, the UK, and the U.S., before moving to Amsterdam in 2000, where he continues to be involved in various indy projects and collaborations, including the Sandy Denny tribute band No Grey Faith and yet another revival of Plainsong. DiscographyThe following is a partial discography; a comprehensive discography is available [3] (http://www.iainmatthews.com/disco.htm) on Matthews' personal site.
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The following is a partial discography; a comprehensive discography is available [3] (http://www.iainmatthews.com/disco.htm) on Matthews' personal site. Debelah is reportedly working on a new album. Since that time, Matthews has had a moderately successful career, releasing records on a number of small labels in Germany, the UK, and the U.S., before moving to Amsterdam in 2000, where he continues to be involved in various indy projects and collaborations, including the Sandy Denny tribute band No Grey Faith and yet another revival of Plainsong. One of her songs from the Dance With Me album was featured on the Spyder Games soundtrack, while a new Diane Warren ballad was on the soundtrack for Osmosis Jones. He also appeared with Andy Roberts at the 1992 Cambridge Folk Festival, which led to the first of what were to be several reformed version of Plainsong. She also released a second single called I Remember.. It also led to his first truly solo performances: his previous "solo" outings had always been as a front man for a one-shot band. In Spain it was also released with Spanish lyrics, titled Baila Conmigo. It led, however, to hooking up with producer Mark Hallman — a longtime fan — moving to Austin, Texas, and recording several albums for a series of German independent labels. 8 on the Billboard Singles chart and gaining popularity all over the world. This led to Walking a Changing Line (1988) on Windham Hill, an unlikely album-length tribute to Jules Shear of Jules and the Polar Bears. The album called Dance With Me was released in 2000, and the title track, a tango style song, became a hit, peaking at No. Matthews was invited to join them to perform, both with them and in other configurations, at the 1986 Cropredy Festival. She presented the material to her first label Atlantic, who signed her again (didn't even remembering she was signed to them before). Since 1974, Fairport Convention had been staging the annual Cropredy Festival; since 1979, this annual reunion had been pretty much their only activity as a band, but in the mid-1980s several of them were interested in reviving the band and had done some recording. All the tracks were written by her and her brother. He worked for a while in an A&R capacity at Island Music and then new-agey Windham Hill Records. Debelah had to file for bankruptcy, but she didn't give up and began to work on a new album. Neither this nor a return to solo recording in England turned his luck. A.," "Our Friend Martin" and "Stuart Little".) On the Our Friend Martin soundtrack she sang a new song written by Diane Warren, the other soundtracks featured songs from her It's Not Over album. Soul" and Prince's "When U Were Mine". In 1998 and 1999 Debelah was featured on three soundtrack albums ("Fame L. As Matthews' official web site writes, at this point he "had been struggling for nearly 15 years now and was still living hand to mouth, with nothing to show for his efforts but a string of out-of-print albums, and the loyalty of those musicians and fans who shared his vision." [2] (http://www.iainmatthews.com/bio.htm) He moved from Los Angeles to then-inexpensive Seattle, where he teamed up with David Surkamp, formerly of the Seattle band Pavlov's Dog, to form the New Wave band Hi-Fi, whose repertoire included Matthews originals, but also covers of Neil Young's "Mr. Debelah didn't want to be just another black hip-hop artist, she wanted to do a pop-r&b album that appeals to all races, so she left them. Label-owner Shelly Siegel, died suddenly in 1979, leaving the label rudderless. Motown was bought by Universal, and they wanted Debelah to record an urban album. However, the North American rights for his album were held by the small Canadian label Mushroom. Her songs I Love You and Yesterday were moderate hits. He bounced from Elektra to CBS Records, to the small Rockburgh label, where he finally scored a hit single in 1978 with a cover of Terence Boylan's "Shake It", and a moderately successful follow-up covering Robert Palmer's "Gimme an Inch". Again it wasn't released worldwide, only in Europe and Asia. After Plainsong collapsed due to a bandmate's alcohol problem, and with his career now based in Los Angeles, he released several more albums with ad hoc bands, including one produced by ex-Monkee Michael Nesmith, but none met with commercial success. Half of the tracks were co-written by her and some were co-written by her brother Giloh. It also included "Even the Guiding Light", a spiritually positive answer to Thompson’s powerful but bleak "Meet on the Ledge". She signed to Motown and released her second album titled It's Not Over in 1998. The album included a cover of Dave McEnery's "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight", plus a song of Matthews' own, "True Story of Amelia Earhart's Last Night" based on the research that suggest that Earhart on her round-the-world flight may have been spying on Japanese bases in the Pacific islands. Her label dropped her after the release. After solo two albums on Vertigo Records, under the sponsorship of former Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith and surrounded by a who's who of likeminded British semi-folkies (notably another ex-Fairporter, Richard Thompson), he formed Plainsong, who signed to Elektra Records and in 1972 produced In Search of Amelia Earhart, which solidified Matthews' songwriting reputation with the critics, if not with the general public. This album is her rarest, it wasn't released worldwide, only in the US and Japan, and even there it wasn't really promoted. The band went through several different lineups and toured extensively for the next two years, to general critical acclaim but no great commercial success. At the age of seventeen she signed to Atlantic Records and released her debut album titled Debelah. With Thompson, Nicol, and Hutchings from Fairport, plus drummer Gerry Conway (of Fotheringay, and later to join Fairport) and pedal steel player Gordon Huntley, he formed Matthews Southern Comfort, whose sound was rooted in American country music and rockabilly; this was his first significant experience as a songwriter, although the band also covered the likes of Neil Young and Ian and Sylvia. She majored in Vocal Performance. In 1969, as Fairport's music veered more toward British folk influences, Matthews was booted out. She also learned to sing in many different languages besides English (French, Italian, German, Hindi, and Portuguese.) Later she and her family moved to Arizona where she won beauty pageants at the age of fifteen and organized a gospel choir in her high school. He recorded a couple of singles there in 1967 with a pop band called Pyramid, before being recruited by Ashley Hutchings as a male vocalist for Fairport Convention, where he duetted first with Judy Dyble, but more famously with Sandy Denny. She started taking piano lessons at the age of 3. He moved to London in 1966, taking a job in a Carnaby Street shoe store. Debelah was born to an Indian mother and an African-American father. Matthews grew up in a working class family in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, where he sang with several minor bands during the British pop music explosion of the mid-1960s. Debelah Morgan (born September 29, 1977, Detroit, Michigan) is an American r&b singer and songwriter. He later had a solo career and fronted the bands Plainsong and Matthews Southern Comfort. [1] (http://www.richieunterberger.com/matthews.html). I Remember. Influenced by both rock'n'roll and folk music, he has performed mainly as a solo act, alghouth he was a member of Fairport Convention during the early period where they were heavily influenced by American West Coast folk rock. Dance With Me (8th on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart, 2000). Iain Matthews (known in the 1960s first as Ian MacDonald, and from the late 1960s until 1989 as Ian Matthews) is a British musician and songwriter. Yesterday (79th on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart, 1998). Plainsong, Pangolins (2003) Blue Rose. I Love You (1998). Iain Matthews and Elliot Murphy, La Terre Commune (2001) Blue Rose / rfect Pitch / Eminent. Take It Easy (1994). Iain Matthews and Elliot Murphy, The Official Blue Rose Bootleg (2001) Blue Rose. Dance With Me (Atlantic, 2000). No Grey Faith, Secrets All Told — The Songs of Sandy Denny (2000) Perfect Pitch / Unique Gravity. It's Not Over (Motown, 1998). Iain Matthews, Excerpts from Swine Lake (1998) Blue Rose. Debelah (Atlantic, 1994). Iain Matthews, Skeleton Keys (1992) Line. Ian Matthews, Walking a Changing Line (1986) Windham Hill. Hi-Fi,Moods for Mallards (1982) First American Records; live mini-album. Hi-Fi,Demonstration Record (1982) First American Records; live mini-album. Ian Matthews, Siamese Friends (1979) Rockburgh. Ian Matthews, Stealin' Home (1978) Rockburgh. Ian Matthews, Hit and Run (1977) CBS. Ian Matthews, Go For Broke (1976) CBS. Ian Matthews, Some Days You Eat the Bear...Some Days the Bear Eats You (1974) Elektra. Plainsong, In Search of Amelia Earhart (1972) Elektra. Ian Matthews, Tigers Will Survive (1972) Vertigo. Matthews Southern Comfort, The Essential Collection (1997) Half Moon (a retrospective of 1970s recordings). Matthews Southern Comfort, Later That Same Year (1970) MCA. Matthews Southern Comfort, Second Spring (1970) MCA. Fairport Convention, Heyday(1986) BBC - a release of recordings from 1968/1969. Fairport Convention, What We Did On Our Holidays(1968) Polydor. Fairport Convention, Fairport Convention(1968) Island. Pyramid, "The Summer of Last Year"/"Summer evening" (1967) Deram Records; his first recording. |