Flatiron Recordings announces an October 6 release date and label debut for Movin’ On. Produced by Leo Lyons the legendary Ten Years After bassist, “Hundred Seventy Split’ is a power blues trio featuring Leo Lyons – bass, Joe Gooch – guitar/vocals and Damon Sawyer -drums.
“Movin’On is my first record released worldwide on Flatiron Recordings and as such is a milestone in my career,” says Leo Lyons about the new disc. “Studio time was booked for March, 2020 and when Covid hit, the project was delayed for over two years. I felt a hole in my heart from not being able to play music. Those two years of enforced isolation had a devastating effect on many people, their health, their jobs and their mental state.
“In late 2022, we were able to start recording,” Lyons adds. “For me, personally, it felt like coming out of a bad period for the world with the hope for something better. Hence the record’s title, Movin’On.
“Joe, Damon and I agreed there were to be no limitations other than our own musical abilities. The blues can make you mad, sad, happy, or lost in love. Whatever we felt at the time was how the record would play out.
“At times, the record is retrospective, with songs ‘The Road Back Home’ ‘Walking in the Devil’s Shoes’ and ‘Time To Kill.” There are out and rockers like ‘Mad Bad and Dangerous’ and ‘Sounded Like a Train.’ ‘It’s So Easy to Slide’ and Meet Me at the Bottom’ have a swing/blues feel that we enjoy playing and is always popular on gigs. ‘Black River’ and ‘Deep Beneath That Muddy Water’ are a kind of swampy blues. ‘The Heart of a Hurricane’ is a story song. When Tony Crooks and I wrote it {with the help of a bottle of red wine or two} we imagined a movie.”
“I find it hard to be objective about a record once it’s finished. I try not to listen to anything I’ve done for at least three or four years; by which time I’d do things differently.”
Leo Lyons played a major part in the formation of classic rock band Ten Years After and was there for all their monumental performances, including the iconic one of the song, “I’m Going Home,” filmed at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. His musical career began in 1960 when he and guitarist/singer Alvin Lee first started playing together in the band that with changing personnel was to become Ten Years After.
After many years of playing in Ten Years After, Lyons felt that TYA had fallen into a rut and got lost as to where they were going. Since the early eighties, he’s recorded nine “solo” records: two with his band, Kick, and seven with Hundred Seventy Split. He doesn’t like to call them solo records; rather he calls them collaborations with the people he works with. The albums first released on his own label, Corner House Records, were re-licensed last year to Repertoire Records. So far none have been available in the States except as imports.
About Hundred Seventy Split, Lyons offers, “I’ve had the pleasure of working with the same talented group of people for over eleven years. Thanks to Joe Gooch for his great vocals and brilliant guitar work and Damon Sawyer for his amazing drum grooves. This project was recorded and mixed by ace engineer Ed Truckell, who is also our live sound man. Thanks also to our tour manager Adam Whitmore.
About the recording:
“Studio time was booked in late 2022 into 2023, recording a few days at a time; not ideal but we had to fit in around everyone’s availability. The plan was to play as live as possible with minimal overdubs. We recorded at Crescent Studio, Swindon, UK. The facility is operated by recording engineer /producer/Damon Sawyer who also happens to be Hundred Seventy Split’s drummer.”
The Writing Process
“Most writer collaborations were between Joe Gooch, Fred Koller and me. Fred’s been a good friend and songwriting buddy for over twenty-five years, since the time when I lived in Nashville working as a staff songwriter for publishers Hayes Street Music. I’d often start a song idea with Fred and finish it with Joe. Both Fred and I are lyric writers and it’s often like filling in a crossword. It’s a race as to who comes up with the next line. Joe’s forte is vocal melody and his guitar virtuosity. I often start a song with a bass riff in mind. Two songs were co-written with friends Tony Crooks and Andy Nye, who were in my band, The Kick, many years ago.’
The Songs (with notes by Leo Lyons)
1. Walking in the Devil’s Shoes (Lyons/Gooch)
A nod to the legend of Robert Johnson at the Crossroads whilst telling the tale a musician who gives up everything to pursue a musical dream. Music’s a strong drug.
2. It’s So Easy to Slide (Lyons/Koller)
First written on Dobro by Fred and me for a female country artist. Joe and I worked it up as a swing blues, which is more in the band’s style.
3. The Heart of a Hurricane (Lyons/Crooks)
Tony and I wrote this song with movie images in mind. Joe heard it and chose to record it.
4 Black River (Lyons/Gooch Koller)
It struck me as almost Gothic blues.
5. Mad Bad and Dangerous (Lyons/Crooks/Nye)
I wanted a song with the same driving groove as TYA’s ‘I’m Going Home’ It’s all about the struggles in life. We added Hammond organ played by Bob Hadrell.
6. The Road Back Home. (Lyons/Gooch)
Looking back on life. Part of my dark blues period.
7 Meet Me at the Bottom (Koller/Gooch/Lyons.)
An acoustic blues swing number. I love playing this stuff.
8. Sounded Like a Train (Lyons/Gooch/Koller.)
Fred’s take on the Nashville hurricane. A good rocker to play live.
9. Deep Beneath That Muddy Water (Lyons/Gooch/Koller.)
Inspired by Southern blues and that old-time religion.
10. Time To Kill (Koller/ Lyons.)
First written as a country song; I added a bass line to make it more up-tempo.
We all need more time.
About Leo Lyons:
Leo Lyons, born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, in November 1943, 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 in an exclusive London nightclub 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 1969, their now legendary encore, “I’m Going’ Home,” was captured on film at The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, exposing their jazz blues rock amalgam to an even larger audience of moviegoers 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, with constant touring playing shows like The Miami Pop Festival, The Isle of Wight Festival, The Toronto Peace Festival and other important musical events brought the band’s 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 has a passion for the recording process, and alongside his touring commitments, it was a logical step to go into record production. He has worked with Ten Years After, UFO, Magnum, Waysted, Procol Harem, Frankie Miller, Richard and Linda Thompson, Brigitte St John, John Martin, Kevin Coyne, Sassafras, MotorHead, Hatfield and The North, The Bogie Boys, The Winkies, Chris Farlowe, Chevy, Hundred Seventy Split and many more. 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.
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. He’s been a guest bassist on CDs by Savoy Brown and Leslie West. Leo’s songs came to the attention of Nashville publishers Hayes Street Music who signed him as a staff writer and, in 1998, after several years of commuting from the United Kingdom he made the move to Nashville.
In 2003 Ten Years After reformed this time with new guitarist singer Joe Gooch replacing Alvin Lee and for the next ten years, whilst still writing and producing, Leo toured the world with TYA.
In 2010, as a side project to TYA, along with TYA guitarist/singer Joe Gooch, he formed ‘Hundred Seventy Split’ a high-energy Blues/Rock power trio, and released the debut CD ’The World Won’t Stop’ At the end of 2013 Leo and Joe left Ten Years After and in February 2014 released a second CD simply titled, ‘HSS’. The band’s third CD’ The Road’ released in February 2015 reached #1 in the Amazon, Germany top ten new Blues CD charts. The band’s fourth CD ‘Tracks’ CD released in October 2017 reached #5 in the charts. In 2019, to celebrate Ten Years After’s show-stopping performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, ‘Hundred Seventy Split’ released Live ‘Woodstock ’69 a collection of the songs TYA played at that historic festival. In 2022 Hundred Seventy Split released a sixth Album ‘The Story So Far’ on the Repertoire label.
Hundred Seventy Split tour extensively and have built up a strong fan base. They include TYA classic songs alongside new material in their shows. 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 Cardiff, Wales.
