Mike Lambert – Original Acoustic Folk/rock music, from central Anglesey. Remember? The Escorts, Chile, White Savage, Hammer, Factice. Low Profile or Day for Alice. (website)
Lampshades - Prestatyn based rock band formed Dec99 feat : Carl Hogan (ex Utopia, Flashbax) (bass,voc), Richard Potter (gtr,voc) (ex Up In Arms), Eddie Kendall (gtr), Chris Walker (drms). Did one gig at Costigans in Rhyl with Carpet Jan 2000 split same month.
Lantern - Llandudno band (2002-09), feat; Jam (bass), Ben Chamberlain (gtr), Taff (keys,voc) & Jonny Harding-Smith (gtr) (brother of Dave Casino), Jason Dicken (drms) (ex Dive, Whitewash) who replaced Chris Heath (May05) who moved to Manchester. Made live debut supporting Casino at The Marine, Old Colwyn & played the MASE show Oct02. Rel 7 track live EP Long Walk Back To Venus. Orig vocalist was Kate, also Amy Renshaw (voc) was with them at some point. Rel CD (Oct04) ‘Uniquely Uniform’ rec’d airplay off Neil Crud on BBC Radio Wales & link2wales radio, rel Sin EP (May05), then 2nd LP ‘It’s Amazing What You’ll Agree To When You’re On Fire’ (2007). Taff left 2009. Band fizzled out and Jonny’s side project Zebedy came to the fore.
Lardarse – band in formation stage (2001) feat ex-Grids vocalist Doggy
Last Approach – Bodorgan heavy rock band (c2010), feat; Tony (drms), Bryn (gtr,voc), Steve (gtr,voc), James (bass,voc). Rel debut LP ‘Above The Sonic’ (2010).
Last Chance - Big in Aberystwyth 1989 – 1992. Reformed briefly 1999. feat; Dave Roberts (gtr) of Bangor (also in Cyffro).
Last Rights – Llandudno band (1979), feat; Sully (bass) (ex Harvest Moon, Steppin’ Stones), Rob Downes (gtr) (later Then Jericho), Doug Downes (drms) (later Big Waves, Picture Palace), Ronnie Watts (voc). Gigged throughout that year.
Late In July – Acoustic solo project from Ruthin based Brazilian singer/songwriter/guitarist Luiz Stockler of Hoodwink. A mix of emo, punk and folk music, now uses his own name
Lateral Arc – Wrexham based indie label, signed The Benjamins.
L’Avenger – mid-80s band feat; (we think) Steve Pablo Jones (formerly of Harvest Moon)
Lawrence – label run by Betws-y-Coed based John Lawrence, co-founder & ex-guitarist of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Has released CDs by Gabrielle 25, Turnstone, Daniel Amor.
Chris Leach – singer-songwriter from Colwyn Bay based in Manchester (c2006). Ex member of Aneurism and Red Shift / Sansara. (website)
Leading To Zenith – Bangor ‘hero music’ band (c2007). More info req’d
Leaving Isaac’s Shop – Wrexham based band (2004), took part in Stiwt Battle of Bands competition. More info req’d
Leaping Cat – record label, formed 2006 in Prestatyn. Rel comp LP ‘First Waves’ (Feb07) feat; Ethergy, Reads, Kites. (website)
Legendary Cheesy Snack Brothers – different name for Prestatyn’s One On The Clapometer
Legends For A Day – Rhyl band (formed Jul04), feat; Ste Kitching (voc,gtr), Andy Jones (bass) (ex Micrographia), Joe Booker (drms,keys,voc) (ex Elapse, Gintis, Modern Tradition, later Secretaire, Telefair). Played debut at Bar Blu 11.8.04 having rehearsed for 2 weeks and lasted about a month.
L’Homme de Papier – solo project 2007 (Colwyn Bay) by Hector (ex Jacobi) (website)
Lemmy – Motorhead bassist/vocalist & original bassist with Hawkwind. Ian Kilmister, Lemmy lived in Conwy & is alleged to have been a member of The Henchmen motorcycle club & played in local late 60s bands DeeJays, Sundowners, Sapphires. Legend has it that he used to work at the Hotpoint factory in Llandudno Junction but was sacked for having his hair too long before he joined Hawkwind from whom he was expelled “for taking the wrong drugs”. Motorhead’s original name was Bastard – the name change came about because no promoter would touch them
Lemonade – Corwen based student fanzine by Mark Williams of Shine, Whip Me & Go Moo-moo fame & ex member of The Rejected (Mark also compiled a comp tape Sprat & Mackerel feat, his own band Emily & Plant Bach Ofnus, Datblygu..
Lemon Meringue Gang – After the demise of 4Q, Neil Crud & Robin Reliant experimented with other styles of music with the hope of making a lot of money. In tandem with the early Sons Of Selina output was the dance orientated Lemon Meringue Gang (formed Sep87). The first output was a comical rap tune called Dance Around Your Handbag which pair naively copied onto cheap computer cassettes & took around the record companies in London, only managing to get the tea lady at Go Discs to listen to it. A demo tape, Get Down to The Rhythm of the Handbag Sound was recorded & featured Wild House (which was a Dub Federation track with samples of Martin Wilding‘s guitar playing). Headphones; a Neil Crud penned song sang by Elvis (formerly of Boogie Run). Happy Song (a New Order inspired slab of genius by Robin) & Ride On Tea Time a comic send up of Black Box’s Ride On Time featuring Robin & Martin that was mentioned in a book on the 100 Best Selling Singles of All Time. The project fizzled out with the advent of the Sons Of Selina.
Lemon Sole - Pre Pocket Venus / Supermania pub band. Very basic covers stuff but a good laugh. Chris Yates (voc), Chris Bainbridge (bass), Naldo Algieri (gtr), Martin Roberts (gtr), Spencer Pixton (drms)
Julian Lennon – son of ex-Beatle John Lennon (born in L’pool 8.4.63). After John & Cynthia divorced in the late 60s, Julian was brought up by his mother, Cynthia at the family home in Llandyrnog, where she ran a restaurant called Oliver’s on Well St. Julian attended Ruthin school and became a boarder when Cynthia went to Ireland for a year to write a book.
Leon – Wrexham based band (Jul00). The band was formed (Jan88) as a writing vehicle for its three founder members Mike Jones (voc), Carl Crocombe (gtr) & Phil Jones (bass). As three ex school friends they had similar influences in most modern rock from AC/DC to Oasis, from Blur to The Ramones. Without a drummer the band recorded their first EP “Fall Away” by multi instrumentalist Carl getting onto the drum stool & the resulting EP was featured on Guy Shaharr`s BBC Radio Lancashire show “Breakthrough” & local commercial radio. The band gigged around the North Wales area until the end of 98, & were approached to see if they would consider becoming a Stereophonic tribute band as the bands covers sounded very close. The band declined as cover material was only used to pad out the set. 1999 brought the addition of Chris Wright as full time drummer & all round bonkers bloke to the band. He fitted in immediately (especially with Phil “Tomcat” Jones-so nicknamed for his love of wandering to different towns to get drunk on his own. You`ve probably spoken to him in a drunken state by a bar somewhere-we don’t worry about him though, leave a saucer of cider by the door & he`ll find his own way back). The bands song writing showed its more maturing style with the”Love comes & goes EP”. Local radio described them in an interview as “Welsh rock meets The Beatles meets Vaudeville”. Buoyed by their initial success they played local festivals then decided to recruit a second guitarist & in the December Ian Edwards was recruited impressing the band with his playing ability & song writing. Work immediately started on new material with three new tracks in the first two weeks! & with this the band decided to start work on an album to promote on the internet.
Leo’s Hide – Wrexham indie band (formed Oct11), feat; Joseph Leo, Chris Harvey, Peter Adams, Sion Roberts. More info req’d
Les Enfants – Colwyn Bay punk band (1978-79), feat; Mervyn Cross (gtr), Keith Birch (voc) (later of Stone Cold), Bob Jones (drms) and Chris Davies (bass). Formed in Llandrillo Tech, Mervyn came from the Bay and the rest of from Llandudno. Keith says, ‘We were part of that wave of kids who took Deep Purple off the record player and replaced it with White Riot.’ Played numerous gigs in N.Wales incl, Dixieland, Riverboat and Little Theatre in Rhyl. Only claim to fame for Les Enfants was to share a gig in the Sun Inn in Rhyl with Big In Japan” which featured Budgie (later of Siouxsie & The Banshees) and a yet undiscovered Holly Johnson on bass. Band broke up in early 1979 and Keith went to Manchester to try and get into the scene there, but ended up becoming a Buzzcocks roadie and an electronics engineer instead. Chris is married and living in New Jersey and Mervyn is believed to be still local and doing a lot of home recording plus helping along local young musicians. Anyone know what happened to Bob?
Letys Seicadelig – Denbigh indie band (1987-90), feat; Iwan Griffiths (drms) (also Terry Waite ar Asid), Edward Jones (gtr), Claire Robinson (bass), Sion Owen (voc). Iwan says, ‘We played approx 30 Gigs around Wales, most of those supporting U Thant, with whom we became good friends. Highlight was headlining the bill at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff in 1998 of 12 up and coming bands. We made 2 videos For the programme Fideo 9.’
LetGo – Wrexham indie-garage band (formed Dec02), feat; Mark (voc,bass), Ian (gtr,voc), Fil (gtr), Bog (drms). (website)
Leucine – (pic) Rhyl post hardcore band (c2007), feat; Adam Edwards (gtr), Jonny Whyler (gtr), Andy Farrell (drms) (all ex NineHourDrive) and Tom RC (voc,bass). Rehearse at ‘The Hut’
Leuven – Light rock and dance music (Feb04) project based in Prestatyn feat; Becca Jones (voc) and Carl Hogan (ex Scramble Joe) (voc). All music written by Carl Hogan. Album being rec Feb04 and incl: Eddie James (gtr/voc), Gavin Jones (keys/bass), Tom Williams (FX/smpls), David Williams (drms)
Le Venger – Rhyl / Prestatyn based band formed Nov84. Feat. Steve Jones (bass) (ex Harvest Moon), Brian Betts (gtr), Julie Williams (keys,voc), Jon Farrington (drms) (ex Cover). Steve’s creations of ELP type prog rock 7min marathons, Featured on S4C’s Rock Solid, Rec a track for Music for Life 1985. [Various Welsh bands to raise money for Live Aid.] Played around N. Wales inc, Bangor Uni to 1500 people. Poppy’s nightclub 750 people and worst was at the Ffordd Las club in Rhyl to 14 people. Made it into CBS records A&R dept. before being told the music had to change to compete with current trends, Steve said No, Left without a contract, band split early 1986 due to musical differences. Jon Farrington left to join Rhyl One To One.
Elfyn Lewis - artist born in Porthmadog. His distinctive large-scale, abstract canvases appear in a number of public and private collections. Founder of the artist group Quincunx, who are at the forefront of Welsh contemporary art. His work has appeared on record covers for numerous Welsh bands inc Big Leaves and Catatonia. His work has been widely exhibited throughout the UK and overseas. (website)
Lightning Rwsters – orig name for 1960s band Y Mellt. More info req’d.
Live From The Foxes – Prestatyn based fanzine from late 70’s, edited by Mark ‘Muss’ Jones (then manager of The Vaj & now involved with Nwales Newspapers. Title comes from a reference to Prestatyn’s Cross Foxes Hotel, & mixed local stuff with existential poetry, feminist stuff & included the quote “____ ____ is forming a new band which he says will be Joy Division influenced – with any luck the bastard’ll hang himself”. Typical photocopied zine of the period with an off-putting puke green cover that lasted no more than 3 issues up to Feb81. More info req’d.
Livewires – young Deeside indie band (formed 2006), feat; Jay Ratcliffe (voc,gtr), Ashley Milner (bass) and Rob Seery (drms). Rob’s brother Sean is in Part of The Queue with whom the band made their live debut at John Summers High School. (website)
Llanfair PG – oddly enough a psychedelic rock band formed in 1993 from St Petersburg in Russia!
Y Lloches / The Den - Home of Merlin Music & Spank Records. A 24 track studio running Tascam DA88 & Pro Tools, in a secret location high in the hills near Moel Fammau
Llwybr Cyhoeddus - seminal Welsh pop funk band (formed 1984) from Penmaenmawr, orig feat. Hefin Huws (voc), Mark Thatcher (bass) (later of A Few Good Men, Route 66, Grams, Deadline), Stef Querci (drms) (later A Few Good Men), Gari Edwards (gtr), Ken Jones (keys,gtr). Highlight being winning Song for Wales in 1986 with the monster Welsh hit Dawns y Dail. In 1986 Tony Parisella (ex Harvest Moon, Argon) replaced Mark (in ’86) on bass & debuted on Roc a Rol Te for S4C. Bizarrely, when he joined, Hefin the singer swapped to drums.This probably lost them some appeal as Hefin was a well known Welsh musician (Maffia Mr Huws etc) but they still did plenty of TV , gigs etc. 2nd line up for two years before splitting and the band morphed into Jina was Gari Edwards (voc), Tony Parisella (bass), Hefin Huws (drms) (later to drum for Anhrefn), Huw Smith (also Mwg, Mojo, Jina ,Celt), Ken Jones (also Mwg, Mojo, Jina). Hefin eventually left and was replace by his brother Gareth (also Jina, Tynal Tywyll, Gwacamoli). They released one single – Dawns Y Dail/Yn Y Oriel which I believe Ken has a few thousand copies of in his garage. Mark lives in Ruthin and sells IT for a living (since 85, when he was still in the band) & now plays in covers bands in Wrexham/Chester area
Llwybr Llaethog – Welsh language hip hop outfit formed 1984 from Blaenau Ffestiniog. Founding members John Griffiths & Kevs Ford. 1st 2 singles Dull Di Drais & Tour De France appeared on Anhrefn Records, 1986 & ’87. 6 tracks that inserted rap, hip hop, dub reggae, sampling & cut’n'paste directly into a thousand year old culture. Rec 2 sessions for John Peel show on Radio 1 (1990) & various videos & live appearances on Welsh TV all through the 90′s. The duo were joined on bass by gentle giant ex-policeman & fellow Blaenau resident Ben Bentham by the time they released the LP Da! Toured with the Super Furry Animals in 1996 & played with the Cookie Crew in 1988 plus the odd festival. After releasing 4 LPs by 1998 they returned to being a duo , relocated to Cardiff & set up a home studio & opened it to the new generation of Welsh bands. They produced albums with 2 of the brightest young bands Anweledig & Tystion & started recording new tracks as Llwybr Llaethog. An album of new material called Stwff was rel (Dec03?). John could also be found all over the city DJ’ing under the moniker Seven Inch Johnny (a name that came about because of his refusal to play anything but 7″ Jamaican imports). Rel LP ‘Mega Tidy’ (Rasal 11.7.05), ‘Chwaneg’ (Neud Nid Deud Recs 5.10.09).
L98 – hardcore punk band from Colwyn Bay (formed 2003). Feat; Andy Jones (voc,gtr), Rob Coles (bass), Martin King (drms). Orig feat; Jack Dubbely (voc). Rel 19 track CD ‘Live At The Dudley’ (2003). Rec demo at Cumi Pants’ studio, Llandudno (Jan05). (review)
Loaded Dice – Rhyl-based blues band c1988-90 formed by Lancastrian exile Chris Stringer (later Sub Contractors). Feat Sully on drums who also acted as a self-contained support act by reciting obscene poetry prior to the band’s set. Band reemerged in 2008 with totally new line up (same band?) feat; Sonie (voc,bass), Chris Leeds (gtr), Adam Griffiths (gtr), Dave Bradley (bass), Rich Watts (drms). Rel LP ‘Sex,Drugs and Atonement’ (2008) and a single Another Kick at Old Lovers (23.11.09). (website)
Load of Mischief – legendary biker’s pub in Rhyl, now the legendary punk’s pub The Dudley Arms. It was rumoured that you could any part of any motorcycle through contacts at the pub!
Logic of Impossibility - ‘cross-over’ band, based in Felinheli (2003), feat; Ali Roberts (voc,violin) (ex Hamish McDoodle, KKKK, Glovebox), Twig (voc) (ex Papa Lazaroo, Tarantism, Band With No Name), Duncan Black (gtr) (ex Papa Lazaroo, Mucus, Skink, Skinflick), Stellios (gtr,didgrdoo), Danny Cutler (bass) (ex Papa Lazaroo, Midnight Snack), The Major (drms) (ex Hatework).
Lonesome Boys - rockabilly Deeside band formed 1995. Originally as 4 piece – 2 from Wales, Johnny Lonesome (drms) & Keith Curtis (gtr), & two from Chesterfield, Dave Greaves (dbl bass)& Dick (left in ’96). 1st tape ‘Having a rockin time‘ feat Hank Williams & Elvis tunes as well as self penned Rocker Style & Cruisin Around. Travelling to Deeside took its toll on Dave & he left to form Tennesse Trio. He was replaced by Carl Gunther (ex Rockin Gomez) from Rhyl. (2001) – released LP Angels From Hell. Dramatically split-up on stage after a drunken brawl with each other at Bar Blu, Rhyl 30.04.03
Long Awaited – Bangor bluesy-rock-indie band (formed 2003), have played gigs with Duncan Black, Kobe (website)
Long Shot – prev name for Anglesey band Beyond The State (changed name Apr11)
Longstay - Named used by Carl Hogan (ex Flashbax, Utopia, Lampshades, later Scramble Joe) & Gavin Lawton (ex Carbonari, later of Scramble Joe) for a series of summer acoustic gigs 2002
Looney Tunes - long running dance night organised by Andy Pierce (aka Andy Dreads) (now of Footprint, ex Midnight Snack). More info req’d.
Loosefish – Bangor band (formed late93), feat; Colin Owen (gtr), Dave Jones (voc) and Anton Hobbs (bass) (all ex Wanted) and drummer to countless local bands, Jason Edmunds. Rec home demo ‘Ways of Escape’. Meanwhile, bereft of a rhythm guitarist (and unaware that their singer was about to leg it too!) ‘Wanted’ auditioned Simon Darvell – a music student at Bangor Uni – as a possible replacement. Simon failed the audition, but struck a chord with Dave. Unfortunately they didn’t swap details. However, it turned out that Simon had a ridiculously memorable phone number and on a whim Dave gave him a call and said ‘We’ve got a track that we’d like you to play on. Would you be interested?’ A late night visit to Colin’s ensued, and Simon added a short guitar solo to ‘Feed The Mouth That Bites’ after a cup of tea and a chat. The band was complete! Rehearsals and more recording followed, ‘Ways of Escape’ was released and by May 1994 the band were ready for their first gig, ironically supporting Wanted. The gig, at Tafarn-y-Rhyd, Llangoed (07.05.94) was a resounding success and many more followed, until late 1994 when Colin realised his work/family/band balance was unsustainable and decided he had to quit. Shortly after this Jason also left the band due to increased commitments from some of the other bands he was in. The End. // Er… not quite. Undeterred, Dave quickly found a new drummer in Ian Cuniff rec ‘Propoganda’ e.p. in the cold back room of a pub in Abergwyngregyn. Not long after this Anton decided an overdue phd thesis was more important than two bands and drove his battered Austin Maestro into the sunset. Simon’s course at the Uni was drawing to an end and Ian was in great demand from other bands, so it seemed that Loosefish would soon join the annals of history. The End. // Er… still not quite. Cue the return of Jason on the drums and new recruit Lee Hughes on bass! Despite the fact that Simon now lived in London the band still managed to gig quite regularly until 1997 (playing at least once as a 6 piece, with Kevin Robinson (gtr)r and Tom Kincaid (keys)) and rel ‘Never Say Why’ EP. The last song the band recorded was an experimental track called ‘Mantra’ that inc a Roland TR-707 drum machine, tape loops, an Ensoniq Mirage 8-bit sampler, some BBC archive sound effects and a heavy nod to the powers of random. The End. // Except… With the 20th anniversary of the bands inception fast approaching, new things seem to be brewing. (fb)
Loving Cup – (2000-present) Connahs Quay based alt. country rock band, feat; nucleus of Jarred Livesey (voc,gtr,hrmn), Andrew Vickers (gtr), Gareth Catterall (gtr,keys), currently: Nescobar Manuel Delmonte Delmar (bass) (also Redhouse, sometimes Bastard Squad) and Neil Roberts (ex-Lapel). Ex members incl Dan Curtis (drms) (ex-26 Feet), Darren Hughes (bass), Pete Reaney (hrmnia) (ex-Foghorn Leghorn, Superbad) and Si Thomas (drms) (ex-Nidd and Friends, Bastard Squad). Rel eponymous LP (Blue Rhythm Recs) followed by LP ‘Goofer Dust’. Rec session for Adam Walton‘s BBC Radio Wales show (aired 15.02.04), also supported Atomic Kitten! Band were apparently last act to record at the John Peel approved Sylem studios as rec by Dr Gez. Rec 3rd LP in summer 09. (myspace) (website)
Low Profile – Cemaes Bay disco-rock band (1986-90), feat; Mike Lambert (voc,gtr), Huw Peters (keys), Howel Lloyd (drms), Darren ‘Dari’ Roberts (bass). Rel 7″ Dig For Dirt, & tape Prophet. More info req’d.
Lucid – band (formed Jan04), feat; Mark Ward (voc), Nile Greenall (bass), Gav Lawton (gtr) (ex Carbonari, Dred, Lucid, Jinxed, now Torn Asunder), Tom Ball (drms). (Split Mar04)
Lucy Was a Decoy – Conwy band (c2011), feat; Rico (bass) (ex Ugly Fashion), Hef (voc,bass), Perry (drms) (facebook)
Luke – Denbigh based band of 1970s feat; Keith Carruthers (voc) (later of Company HQ), Kim Ellis (drms), Haydn Royles (gtr), Alan Hanner Goron (gtr), Brian ‘Buzz’ Griffiths (bass). Prev called First Grade Juice. Split in 1978 but reformed for a one-off gig at Pudstock (2006)
Lumpheap – Denbigh band (formed 2005), rec an EP and changed name to Delta 9
Lunacy - rock nights held at George Bar, Bangor 1999-2000. They were quite legendary and helped cultivate the then minor goth scene, that was growing at that time and has flourished (too much maybe) since. The driving force behind the Lunacy events was a local girl Miss Luna (that’s her showbiz name) Who was a member of Backward 11 & once did backing vocals for Skinflick. Lunacy staged lots of heavy metal stuff-incl Entity, Fubar & Monkey
Rash
Lunatic Magnets - North Wales project (c2001) likened to Nine Inch Nails, basically one man band, Ian Jones. CD available on his own Red Buttons label, had interest from Cheeky records home of Faithless. See now Downbeat Sinatra, Sleepyhead (website)
Lungs – Bangor based contemporary band (1987-88) feat; Alan Holmes (gtr) (ex Third Spain, later Fflaps, Groceries, Ectogram), Maeyc Hewitt (drms) (ex Lungs, later Nixon & Jarvis, Ectogram), Tim Parry (bass). Reformed temporarily for a handful of gigs in Bangor during 1992. A CD-R compilation “Bloody Hell, it’s The Lungs” is available from Central Slate.
Lust And Found – Wrexham based (c2006) soloist called Ross – reknowned for his extremely witty delivery with a Billy Bragg style.
Lustmord – Los Angeles based artist, orig from Bethesda (real name Brian Williams). Has released several dark ambient industrial LPs. Joined SPK in 1982. Has also contributed to over 40 Hollywood film soundtracks (website)
Lynx – rock band (from Rhyl?) of early 80s. More info req’d
