AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Galliano

Artist:Galliano

Song:Twyford Down

Album:The Plot Thickens

Galliano was part of England's Acid Jazz movement of the 90s. Acid Jazz was a marketing term coined by British DJ Gilles Peterson. The music was a mix of R&B with jazz and hip hop elements. The Brand New Heavies and Incognito were probably the most successful Acid Jazz acts. This was successful in England but Acid Jazz never crossed the pond. I'm sure most of you have never heard the term. Galliano was the first act to sign with Peterson's Talkin' Loud label in 1988. Talkin' Loud was distributed by PolyGram. Galliano was led by DJ Rob Gallagher who renamed himself Roberto Galliano. Gallagher was lead singer. He also rapped. And he wrote most of the songs with former Style Council keyboard player Mick Talbot. Others included Valerie Etienne and Constantine Weir on vocals, Mark Vandergucht on guitar, Ernie McKone on bass, Crispin Taylor on drums and Crispin Robinson on percussion. At first they were more of loose collective than a band. Their first single was a reworking of Curtis Mayfield's Freddie's Dead called Frederick Lies Still in 1988. After a couple more singles, the released the 1991 album In Pursuit of the 13th Note followed by the 1992 album A Joyful Noise Unto the Creator. The 1994 album The Plot Thickens was their most successful. It was also the only album released in the US on Mercury. The first single was a cover of the Crosby Stills and Nash song Long Time Gone. It reached #15 on the British Singles chart. Twyford Down was the second single and it reached #37. The album reached #8 on the British Album chart. So it did OK. Gallagher wrote most of the songs including Twyford Down. You will note the political commentary. Gallagher produced the album with recording engineer Adam Moseley. After the 1996 album :4, Galliano split up. Since then Gallagher has recorded in several bands under different names. He seems to like the name Earl Zinger. Most recently he has released a couple of albums as The Diabolical Liberties. Here's the video for Twyford Down by Galliano.