Clive Gregson

Clive Gregson

Clive Gregson
Background information
Birth name Clive James Gregson
Born (1955-01-04) January 4, 1955
Origin Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, England
Genres Folk music, folk-rock, pop music
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments Guitar, mandolin, keyboards, vocals
Years active 1975–Present
Labels Stiff Records
Cooking Vinyl
Special Delivery
Associated acts Any Trouble
Gregson & Collister
Richard Thompson Band
Nanci Griffith
Eddi Reader
Boo Hewerdine
Plainsong
3 Boxes
Website www.clivegregson.com

Clive James Gregson (born 4 January 1955, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, England[1]) is an English singer/songwriter, musician and record producer. He has toured in bands, provided backup for well-known musicians, and written songs that have been covered by Kim Carnes, Norma Waterson and Nanci Griffith. He is featured in Hugh Gregory's 2002 book "1,000 Great Guitarists".[2]

Background

Clive Gregson was born and raised in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. His earliest musical influence was The Beatles in the early 1960s. It was around this time that he received his first guitar as a present from his parents, using the proceeds from the sale of his older brother's unwanted drum kit.[3]

Clive played in a band at school but played his first professional gig with Any Trouble, the band he formed in Crewe, England, with college friends, around 1975.[3]

Going professional after Any Trouble signed a recording contract, Clive has continued as a working musician ever since, forming folk-rock duo Gregson & Collister after the band’s demise, then going solo.

In 1993 Clive relocated from the UK to Nashville, USA. In 2003 his career suffered a hiatus of several months after he broke his arm and shoulder in a fall from a ladder.[1] He made a full recovery and continues to record and tour extensively in countries including the UK and Japan from his base in the USA, having moved to Houston, Texas, in the early 21st century.

Clive cites a wide range of musical influences and tastes and has stated that his all-time favourite record is Nick Drake's Pink Moon.[3]

Career

Any Trouble

Main article: Any Trouble

Clive Gregson's professional music career started as he took the role of lead-singer of Any Trouble, the band he had co-founded in the mid 1970s, assuming the role of lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist, after co-founder Tom Jackson left. Having recorded and released Clive's composition Yesterday's Love as an indie single in 1979 Any Trouble began to receive airplay courtesy of BBC Radio 1 DJs John Peel, Andy Peebles and others in the UK. This led to interest from major record labels including WEA, Chrysalis, EMI and Stiff. They selected Stiff "because they were our kind of people".[4]

Any Trouble released three albums on Stiff, including a live album, initially for promotion only, and a further two on EMI America; all were well-received critically, and were accompanied by singles and extensive touring. Despite featuring regularly on radio playlists Any Trouble's popularity wasn't reflected in record sales and they disbanded in 1984. They re-formed briefly in 2007 to record a new album Life In Reverse, released again through the re-constituted Stiff Records in the UK, playing a headline gig to support it at the Jazz Cafe, London, England.

In November 2013 the band re-formed for a one-off gig at the 229 Club, London, England, in support of the release of the 3-CD set The Complete Stiff Recordings 1980-1981[5]

In 2014 they reconvened to record a new album Present Tense, playing a short tour in December 2014, which included Band on the Wall, Manchester, England on 2 December 2014.[6] plus dates in Newcastle, England, Birmingham, England, the 229 Club, London, England, and the Purple Weekend Festival, in León, Spain. Present Tense is planned for release in summer 2015.

Richard Thompson Band

Whilst still working with Any Trouble Clive was introduced to one of his musical heroes Richard Thompson at the wedding of John Wood, who had produced Any Trouble's debut album and worked on a number of records with Thompson.[3] The meeting led to Clive singing backing vocals on the Richard and Linda Thompson album Shoot Out the Lights. This was to be the start of a long association with Richard Thompson during which they recorded and toured together extensively. Clive also introduced Christine Collister to Thompson, resulting in her also joining the Richard Thompson Band.

Gregson & Collister

In 1984, shortly after the release of Any Trouble's fifth album Wrong End of the Race, Clive saw vocalist Christine Collister perform at Poynton Folk Club, Cheshire, England. After the demise of Any Trouble Clive decided to record a solo album (Strange Persuasions) and invited Collister to sing on it. Shortly after this Richard Thompson asked Clive to sing on his new album Across A Crowded Room; at Clive's suggestion Collister was also enlisted for vocal duties, leading to her joining the Richard Thompson Band.[3]

Gregson and Collister's musical partnership proved popular and productive, producing five albums and earning them the attribution "the state of the art in British folk-rock" by Rolling Stone Magazine.[7] Their albums, whose original songs were all written by Clive, included the low-fi live duo record Home And Away (recorded on a 4-track Portastudio cassette recorder[8]), Mischief, featuring a band including Martin Hughes from Any Trouble, A Change In The Weather, and covers album Love Is A Strange Hotel.

By 1992 Gregson and Collister decided to go their separate ways after recording a fifth and final album The Last Word; the supporting tour proved to be their most successful. A CD compilation celebrating Gregson & Collister's career, The Best Of Clive Gregson & Christine Collister, was released by Gregson & Collister Recordings through Gott Discs in 2006.

Solo again

Demand for Clive Gregson's services as a record producer and session musician grew throughout the 1990s. He released his second solo project, Welcome To The Workhouse in 1990 and by October 1992 was performing as a solo artist again. As of January 2015 Clive Gregson had released on CD ten solo albums and one solo Best of collection, plus two digital-only releases: the original recordings for his I Love This Town album, and a stand-alone collection of songs recorded by Clive for the Any Trouble Life In Reverse album but not included thereupon.

In addition to Richard Thompson he has collaborated with many other artists including Nanci Griffith (1996 - 2007), Eddi Reader and Boo Hewerdine, founder member of The Bible (1993 & 1999) and Plainsong (1997). The Gregson, Hewerdine & Reader trio made recordings for an album, although only three songs were released, as a CD EP, including Clive's Who's Your Jailer Now?

In 2007 Clive was musical director for the Dennis Locorriere "Hits and History Tour", which features on the Hits and History Tour Live DVD. Since 2010 Clive has become a regular opening act for Jools Holland.

Clive's reputation as a songwriter has led to his songs being recorded by artists including Nanci Griffith (I Love This Town), Kim Carnes (Touch And Go), Fairport Convention (Home Is Where The Heart Is), Claire Martin (Could This Be The One), Norma Waterson (Fred Astaire) and Smokie (Northern Soul). Clive's I Love This Town was recorded as a duet by Nanci Griffith and Jimmy Buffett in 2006, becoming a radio hit in the UK and USA.

Clive Gregson has shared his guitar expertise at the adult music camps "California Coast Music Camp" and "Puget Sound Guitar Workshop" in Washington State over several summers when time has allowed.[9][10]

3 Boxes

In 2011 Clive Gregson joined forces with fellow guitar virtuosi Mark Griffiths and Andy Roberts to form '3 Boxes', an instrumental guitar trio, to play a series of gigs and record an album of their own original material. The three had worked together in the group Plainsong in 1999.

In 2013 3 Boxes released their only album to date Strings Attached, including only material written by the three members, all instrumentals for three acoustic guitars recorded live in the studio by producer John Wood.

Discography

Any Trouble

Albums

Singles

Clive Gregson

Albums

Singles

Gregson & Collister

Albums

Singles

Gregson, Hewerdine, Reader

Singles

Plainsong

Albums

Singles

3 Boxes

Albums

References

  1. 1 2 "Clive Gregson artist profile". Compass Records.
  2. ↑ Gregory, Hugh (February 2002). 1,000 Great Guitarists. Backbeat Books. p. 164. ISBN 9780879304164.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Clive Gregson - The Triste Interview (October 1999)". Triste Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Goggins, Patrick. "Interview with Clive Gregson (September 2014)". Dispatches from Coconut Grove. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Clive Gregson biography". Clive Gregson. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Just announced: Any Trouble, 2nd December.". Band on the Wall. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Quotes about Clive". Clive Gregson. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Clive Gregson And Christine Collister - Home And Away". Discogs. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "CCMC Teachers". California Coast Music Camp. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Puget Sound Guitar Workshop Teacher Information". Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. Retrieved 12 January 2015.

External links

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