Bio.
"Aubrey Lovejoy is right up there among the true greats of British Country Music. He was definitely alongside the likes of Raymond Froggatt, Stu Stevens and Poacher as one of the names first on the list of any promoter who, back in the 1970s and 1980s, put on a top quality British country music show of festival."
Stuart Cameron
Managing Director, Hotdisc
Write up by Pete Smith
Aubrey Lovejoy is one of Britain’s all-time great country balladeers. During his career, particularly during the early part, he was dubbed “Britain’s Charley Pride” something I could not understand. Aubrey is not black though he was born in India but of British parents. Maybe that was the link. The title though was and is totally unfair for Aubrey is “Britain’s Aubrey Lovejoy”. He does not need to ride on the back of any American star; he is a world talent in his own right.
Lovejoy has a beautiful warm baritone (similar to Pride’s?) that evokes just the right emotion whatever subject or mood the song presents and this is especially true of his current album “Silence In The Wind” (Mosrite). But before we look at the album in a little detail let us remind ourselves of Aubrey’s journey in country music. He came to England in 1961 where he completed his education. He was involved in a nasty motorcycle accident when he was sixteen and during his year-long hospitalisation he became interested in country music.
It was a visit to the Wembley Festival (oh how I miss those events) that convinced him he had to be a country singer. With the support and financial help of his parents Aubrey spent two years at the London School of Singing before embarking upon a solo career. In 1975 he began constructing a band that would eventually become the respected Tennessee Rain. In 1980, he made his first appearance onstage at Wembley with the Roxon Roadshow.
Extensive tours of the UK and Europe followed headlining his own shows and supporting American stars such as Tammy Wynette, George Hamilton 1V, Tex Williams, Marvin Rainwater and many more. Lovejoy was the first British artist to make the American country charts and has long been associated with the noted producer/guitarist Mark Moseley (I remember bringing Mark and his band to the Rotherham Arts Centre some years ago).
Mark, naturally, produced “Silence In The Wind” a collection of 13 superb old and new songs spiced with wonderful covers of country classics. Included are two Ronnie Milsap hits, “Why Don’t You Spend The Night” and “Almost Like A Song”, john Schweers tender “A Rose For Today”, the Johnny Rodriguez smash “Pass Me By” and, inevitable I suppose, Charley Pride’s “All I Have to Offer You Is Me”. Two Mark Moseley co-writes are also included; “Watchin’ Robin Like A Hawk” (with a contribution from the lovely Liverpudlian Marie Lester) and “He’s Getting All I Ever Wanted”.
"The Advertiser” (UK) – 4 March 2011
(With additional information added 2014)
Aubrey started singing from the early age of seven in India where he was born of British parents. He liked Rock-and-roll music and was mainly influenced by Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley who was his idol and still is.
Aubrey came to England in 1961 and spent his next few years completing schooling. At the age of sixteen he met with an unfortunate motor cycle accident and was hospitalised for the next year. During that period his only pastime was listening to the wireless. Country music was played quite frequently and he found himself being more and more influenced in that direction and realised the music he was singing in India came from the same roots.
He went to the very first Wembley Festival of Country Music which convinced him that he wanted this to be a great part of his future career. He enrolled at the London School of Singing and after two years training emerged as a professional and accomplished solo artist. Both Aubrey's parents offered continued encouragement and financial support, which helped enable him to forge a successful career in Country music.
Aubrey started as a solo artist in clubs and in cabarets and was instantly acclaimed as Britain's answer to Charley Pride by his audiences, although at that stage he had never heard of Charley Pride, his main influences were Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty.
It was in 1975 he formed his own band and after numerous changes in his band members he achieved an outfit that came up to his exacting expectations known as "Tennessee Rain". Aubrey's professionalism achieved him much acclaim and soon he was travelling the length and breadth of the UK. This acclaim soon spread beyond the Uk, and he became a sought after country artist playing all over Europe with other American artists.
Aubrey has performed on the same bill with such country music greats as Hoyt Axton, and Tammy Wynette and has backed many other acts such as Tex Williams, George Hamilton IV and Marvin Rainwater. He eventually met Charley Pride who said he had heard of him and was pleased to meet as he put it 'his protege'.
He also had the pleasure of meeting Connie Smith, Little Jimmy Dickens when he was in Nashville Tennessee recording his first album "Haunting Ole Memory" produced by Mark Moseley.
His debut single California Blues written in the late 1920s by Jimmy Rodgers was released in America and received a good chart response reaching number 16 in the Independent charts.
Aubrey was the first British country artist to have achieved chart status in America, on his debut and on an Independent Label - Mosrite Records in the late 90's. In August 2009 Aubrey revisited Nashville to record his latest CD - "Silence in the wind", which was, again, produced by Mark Moseley and some of Nashville's top musicians. During his stay he had the pleasure of meeting Vince Gill, Mel Tillis and Jimmy C Newman.