Lewis Taylor
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Taylor was born in Barnet, North London as a son of divorced jewish parents was already something of a guitar and piano prodigy, when he used the period of convalescence following a serious road accident to develop his musical talents. He spent his early 20s as a greengrocer before being invited to play guitar in a re-formed incarnation of English prog-rock band The Edgar Broughton Band.
While touring with the Edgar Broughton Band, Taylor started experimenting with LSD and heroin. By 1986, Taylor left the Edgar Broughton Band and changed his name to Sheriff Jack, and released two psychedelic LPs for Chime Records, Laugh Yourself Awake (1986) and What Lovely Melodies! (1987) and two mini-LPs, Let's Be Non-Chalant (1986) and Everybody Twist (1987) . After that, Taylor disappeared for almost a decade.
In 1996 he re-remerged on a major label, this time calling himself Lewis Taylor. The self titled "debut" was released on Island Records and featured one-word song titles (Track, Song, How, Right, Damn, Spirit). Island Records signed Taylor on his demo alone, - a first for the label who had never signed an artist under such a circumstances. The album received fantastic reviews and won him quite a few famous supporters such as Elton John, David Bowie, Paul Weller and Jools Holland, but the debut album never sold as well as hoped, mainly due to Island Records uncertainty as to how to promote Taylor's unique blend of classic soul, psychedelia, and rock. Another album, Lewis II was released in 2000, still on Island Records, again to great critical acclaim but with little impact on the record-buying public, and Taylor was dropped from the label.
Three years later in 2002 Taylor released another album Stoned, Pt. 1, this time on his own label "Slow Reality" (an anagram of Lewis Taylor) and a sequel Stoned, Pt. 2 was released in 2004.
Taylor's music is often compared to musicians as diverse as Marvin Gaye, Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett and Radiohead.
Discography Sheriff Jack
- Laugh Yourself Awake (1986)
- Let's Be Non-Chalant (1986)
- What Lovely Melodies! (1987)
- Everybody Twist (1987)
Discography Lewis Taylor
- Lewis Taylor (1996)
- Lewis II (2000)
- Stoned, Pt. 1 (2002)
- Trout Mask Replica (2003)
- Stoned, Pt. 2 (2004)
- LTD Edition (2004)
- The Lost Album (2004)
Links
- Slow Reality Records (http://www.slowreality.com)
- Unofficial Homepage (http://www.lewistaylormusic.com)