Charlie Landsborough

Charles Alexander Landsborough (born 26 October 1941) is a British country and folk musician and singer-songwriter.[1] He started singing professionally in the 1970s, although his major success did not come until 1994 with his song "What Colour is the Wind". He is one of the UK's top country acts and is also popular in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Charlie Landsborough
Birth nameCharles Alexander Landsborough
Born (1941-10-26) 26 October 1941
Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales
OriginBirkenhead, Cheshire, England
GenresFolk, country
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1994–present

Life

Born in Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales,[1] Landsborough was the youngest of 11 children. Soon after he was born, his mother (Aggie) moved the family back to Birkenhead after the World War II bombing raids. He was reared by the docklands of Birkenhead near the dumps, railway lines, coal wharf and oil factories.[2]

He left school early and worked intermittently as an apprentice telephone engineer, on the railways, and in the flour mills before joining the army. He left after four years, in the early 1960s, and joined a group, The Chicago Sect, in Dortmund, Germany. Returning to England, he married, played in local bands, and worked in a variety of jobs before becoming a teacher[1] at Portland Primary School on Laird street, Birkenhead.

While working as a teacher, he wrote songs and continued to perform on a semi-professional basis, with limited success. However, in 1994 his song "What Colour is the Wind", which tells the story of a young blind child’s attempts to envision the world, began to be played in Ireland after a TV appearance on RTÉ's Kenny Live show.[1] The song was used as the title track of one of Landsborough's albums.[1]

Following the album's success in Ireland, Landsborough appeared on several TV shows in the UK. Since then, he has released ten additional albums, including originals, greatest hits and double CDs of previous releases. Overall, sales of his albums have exceeded 700,000 units. He also has had two number ones singles in the Irish pop chart, and several of his albums have topped the British country charts. In 1996, he converted to Catholicism.[3]

One of his most successful releases, Still Can't Say Goodbye was recorded in Nashville in 1999 and resulted in Landsborough winning the BMCA Best Male Vocalist (2000) for the third year in succession, and the Southern Country Award for best album. He has performed at most major concert halls and theatres in the UK, including the London Palladium. He also toured Australia and New Zealand in 2001.[4]

His songs have been recorded by Foster and Allen ("I Will Love You All My Life"), Roly Daniels ("Part of Me"), and George Hamilton IV ("Heaven Knows").[1]

Discography

Albums
  • Songs from the Heart (1992)
  • What Colour Is the Wind (1994)
  • With You in Mind (1996)
  • Further Down the Road (1997)
  • Still Can't Say Goodbye (1998)
  • Once in a While (2001)
  • Movin' On (2002)[1]
  • Smile (2003)
  • Reflections
  • The Lighter Side (Comedy Album)
  • The Greatest Gift: An Album of Christmas Classics (2004)
  • My Heart Would Know (2005)
  • Heart and Soul (2006)
  • Under Blue Skies (2008) – No. 73 (UK)
  • Storyteller
  • Nothing Lasts Forever (September 2009)
  • Love, in a Song (2011)
  • Destination
  • Silhouette (2013)
  • Here, There and Everywhere

Compilations
  • The Very Best of Charlie Landsborough (1998)
  • The Collection (2000)
  • Classic Doubles (2002)
  • A Portrait of Charlie Landsborough: The Ultimate Collection (2005) (2 CDs)
  • The Very Best of Charlie Landsborough (2011) (2 CDs)
  • Ultimate Storyteller (2014) (Box Set)
  • Charlie Live: From Liverpool Philharmonic

Singles
Year Song Album
1982 "Thank You Lord" Non-album singles
1983 "I Will Love You All My Life"
1995 "What Colour Is the Wind" What Colour Is the Wind
2000 "One True Love" Still Can't Say Goodbye
2001 "Half the Ghost of a Chance" Heart and Soul
"Saviour's Song"
"My Most Wonderful Time"
2002 "I'm a Lucky Man"
"I Don't Know"
"Who Is This Man"
"It's About Loving You"
"Song for the Dragonfly"
2004 "Twenty-Four Hours Times Two" My Heart Would Know
"My Heart Would Know"
"I Am Red"
"I Know What It Is to Be Loved"
"The Closest Thing to My Heart"
"Going My Own Sweet Way"
"Moate"
"He Still Holds You"
"Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again"
"Like a Stone"
"I'll Be Missing You"
2008 "Long Way Down" Under Blue Skies
"Some Mother's Son"
"Speed of the Sound of Loneliness"

DVDs
  • Charlie Landsborough – A Special Performance
  • An Evening with Charlie Landsborough / Shine Your Light – Double DVD Collection

Team
  • Jamie Landsborough - Tour Manager
  • Ken Davies - Manager
  • Tony Ariss - Keyboards, Vocals
  • Shane O'Borne Guitar, Vocals
  • Phil Mcdonough - Guitar, Vocals
  • Smithy - Merchandise

Awards
Year Awarding Body Award
1990 British Country Music Awards Single of the Year - How Do You Do Those Things
BBC Radio 2 - Prestigious Award Record of the Week - Heaven Knows
1992 British Country Music Awards Top Solo Performer of the Year
1994 BBC East Midlands North Country Music Song of the Year - What Colour is the Wind
Country Music Round Up International Awards Favourite Album - What Colour is the Wind
Most Popular Male Vocalist
1995 UK Country Awards Best Album by a British Act (Recorded Anywhere) - What Colour is the Wind
Best Single - What Colour is the Wind
Best Song by a British Songwriter - What Colour is the Wind
1996 The Great British Country Music Awards Best British Male Vocalist
The Irish Record Music Association International Country Album of the Year - With You in Mind
UK Country Radio Awards Best Single - Forever Friend
Best Song - Forever Friend
Most Nominations
Best Single - Further Down the Road
Scottish Country Music Awards Most Popular Male Artist
Most Popular British Album - What Colour is the Wind
Most Popular British Song - Forever Friend
1997 The Great British Country Music Awards Best British Male Vocalist
1998 BBC Radio Merseyside Scouseology Award Best Music - Top Personality
The Great British Country Music Awards Best British Male Vocalist
UK Country Radio Awards Best Single - Further Down the Road
Most Nominations
2000 The Great British Country Music Awards Best British Male Vocalist
Best British Album - Still Can't Say Goodbye
UK Country Music Radio Awards Best Album - Still Can't Say Goodbye

Professional comments
  • "The greatest response ever on the show".Pat Kenny - Kenny Live RTÉ TV
  • "The biggest reaction for any artist on our last series".BBC TV Pebble Mill
  • "If you like warmth, honesty and credibility in a performer you'll love Charlie Landsborough".Gerry Kelly - Kelly Ulster TV.
  • "Incredible talent and unique style, deserves to be a major success".Sean Murphy - London Weekend TV
  • "Charlie's like good wine, he matures quietly over a long period of time, when the cork was popped it was well worth the wait".Gerry Anderson - BBC TV
  • "A brand new album of brand new songs, all written and performed by a quiet, unassuming gentle man who could very well be Britain's next country-folk superstar, internationally!".George Hamilton IV
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References
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 302. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
  2. "Charlie Landsborough". Charlielanssborough.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  3. "Songwriter joins Catholic Church". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  4. "Saturday Night Country". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
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