LEO LYONS BIOGRAPHY

 Leo Lyons at the Texas pop Festival- Photo by Bill "Melba Toast" Petty

                Born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in November 1943, Leo became a professional musician at the age of 16 and as a founding member of the band Ten Year After has been an on-stage eyewitness to some of the most pivotal moments in Rock and Roll history. In 1962 with his band The Jaybirds along with guitarist Alvin Lee he performed at The Star Club, Hamburg, Germany where only a week earlier The Beatles had polished up their act. Leo was hired to play in the club’s house band with Tony Sheridan and yet still found time to guest at the Top Ten Club with guitarist Albert Lee. 

          Like The Beatles, The Jaybirds returned home to England, made the move from their hometown to London and secured their first recording contract with legendary record producer Joe Meek.

          From 1963 to 1966, as well as playing and managing The Jaybirds, Leo worked as a session musician, toured as a sideman with pop acts of the day, appeared in a play in London’s West End and played a residency with poll winning British Jazz Guitarist Denny Wright

          In 1967 with a name change to Ten Years After, a residency at London’s famous Marquee Club and a debut album out on Deram Records, the band were soon to build up a huge following in Europe.  Fillmore West and Fillmore East founder Bill Graham heard a copy of the band’s first album and immediately sent a letter offering to book Ten Years After into his historic venues in San Francisco and New York. They were also one of the first rock groups to be part of the Newport Jazz Festival. At Newport and on tour TYA performed with Nina Simone, Roland Kirk, Miles Davis and other jazz legends barnstorming across the US.

        In August of the same year their now legendary encore “ I’m Goin’ Home” was captured on film at The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, exposing their jazz blues rock amalgam to an even larger audience of movie goers who were blown away by the intensity of the band’s performance when the academy award winning documentary was released. Their ten-minute appearance in the film is an acknowledged highlight and established Ten Years After a place in rock history. The band’s albums are still available and all have reached Gold or Platinum status.

      Between 1968 and 1975 constant touring playing shows like The Miami Pop Festival, The Isle of Wight Festival, The Toronto Peace Festival, The Texas Pop Festival and all other important musical events brought the bands music to a Global Audience. Leo estimates that the band performed to in excess of 75,000 new fans a week. Almost four million people a year not counting those who saw the band in the film ‘Woodstock’.    

        Leo always had a passion for the recording process and it was a logical step to go into record production.  In 1975 Chrysalis Records hired him as studio manager to re-equip and run Wessex Studios in London. He was later to go on and build two commercial studios of his own. He has produced records for UFO, Magnum, Waysted, Procol Harem, Frankie Miller, Richard and Linda Thompson, Brigette St John, John Martin, Kevin Coyne, Sassafras, MotorHead, Hatfield and The North, The Bogie Boys, The Winkies, Chris Farlowe, Chevy and many more. Other projects include stage musicals, cartoon soundtracks, film and music videos. He also released two CDs with his own band Kick and his songs have been used in television and film.

       After years of being of a workaholic Leo turned down all offers, retired, and with his wife Sally, bought a farm in the Cotswolds and settled down to enjoy family life with their two young sons. Music was too much in his blood for him to be completely inactive and he continued song writing and recording in his home studio on the farm. Time moved on and his two sons Tom and Harry grew up and went to college.

      Leo’s songs came to the attention of Nashville publishers Hayes Street Music who signed him as a staff writer and after several years of commuting from the United Kingdom he made the move to Nashville.

      In 1997 Ten Years After got back together after an invitation to play in Brazil. The reception from the Brazilian audiences was incredible and the band carried on performing for enthusiastic crowds on major festivals across Europe.

    On August 14^th 1998, Ten Years After made a triumphant return to play the Woodstock Festival at Bethel, New York on the original sight of the first Woodstock Festival some 29 years earlier. The concert ‘A Day in the Garden’ was broadcast live to the World on the Internet. Info seek reported that 57 million people logged on during the festival.   Since then aside from writing and producing, Leo has toured Europe and America with Ten Years After, been guest bassist on CDs by Savoy Brown and Leslie West and in 2000 toured extensively with The Scott Holt Band.

       Leo’s interests outside music include the paranormal, alternative medicine, martial arts and all new technology. He is a vegetarian, married with two grown up sons and currently resides in Nashville where he is active as a songwriter, musician and record producer/engineer.