Andy Fairweather Low - Keeping On Rocking Quiz

Answer: Wales

Andy Fairweather Low was born in the Glamorgan mining town of Ystrad Mynach in 1948, before moving to Cardiff. He came from a working class background and grew up on a council estate. He was always keen on music but did not have any practical experience until he started working in a music shop in Cardiff - hired by Dave Edmunds, who would also become one of the best guitarists and singers to come out of Wales.

"It was there that I first picked up a guitar. I just couldn't stop. It was like a candy store. I got to play and borrow loads of different guitars," Fairweather Low later told 'guitar.com'.

By 1965 he was with Amen Corner and moved around a lot. He also got to rub shoulders with some of the rock greats of the 1960s - including Jimi Hendrix, for whom he sang backing vocals on a record.

Answer: Amen Corner

Amen Corner were a band that was received much as The Beatles had been half a decade before - with wailing, fainting, young girls in the audience. Fairweather Low was the handsome frontman who got their pulses racing, even if he did sing in a higher key than he was to use in the years that followed.

Amen Corner, had their first top 30 hit with "Gin House Blues" in 1967. "The World of Broken Hearts" hit number 24 that same year. In 1967 came the number five "Bend Me, Shape Me" and the number six "High In The Sky". In 1969 "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" hit the top spot, while "Hello Susie" reached number four.

Fairweather Low was aged just 16 when he knew what he wanted to do with his life: "My life changed for good on February 28, 1964, when I saw the Rolling Stones play at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. From that moment on I wanted to leave school and play in a rock band," he said in an interview with "The Sunday Times" in 2019.

But the Amen Corner management was a mess. The band got paid for performing, but no royalties. Eventually the band members had to pay off a load of debts and the only way they could get out of the contract was to break up.

Answer: (If Paradise is) Half As Nice

Later recalling those heady days, AFL said: "We toured with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move, The Nice, you know? We were on the same bill. One night at The Speakeasy, Jimi got up and played bass with us. He wanted to play 'I Can't Turn Me Loose', so he took the bass over and we played it. Another time, at about 2.30 in the morning, he asked if he could play guitar... so he got up and played the guitar."

Later on, while in New York, he got a call to sing on a recording by Hendrix of "Stone Free". "I went down there and lo and behold Roger Chapman [Family] was there as well, so both of us were in there - two distinct voices, can I say? So we were both singing backing vocals on a re-cut of 'Stone Free' and it was really good."

Answer: Natural Sinner

"I'm a natural sinner, born a sinner's son
Evil's been my motto, distrust everyone
I'm a natural sinner, born a sinner's son
Evil's been my motto, distrust everyone..."

In 1970, "Natural Sinner" spent 12 weeks on the UK charts, reaching number six. This was an early song written by Andy Fairweather Low. In the main Amen Corner releases had been covers.

"Natural Sinner" was covered by Elton John on the LP "Reg Dwight's Piano Goes Pop". It was released in 1994, but described as "a 20-track CD compilation of early material...". The LP seems to date from about 1969 or 70, before the Elton John phenomenon.

Answer: Reggae Tune

In September 1974, "Reggae Tune" reached number 10 on the UK charts. It was taken from his first solo album, "Spider Jiving".

In December 1975, "Wide Eyed and Legless" reached number six. It had featured on AFL's second album "La Booga Rooga". The album was produced by the legendary producer/engineer Glyn Johns, who had worked with anybody who was anybody on the music scene, includingThe Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Steve Miller Band, and the Eagles.

That was the start of three LPs with A&M records who had heard some demos AFL had cut at the Rockfield Studios of Dave Edmunds.

"For the first album, 'Spider Jiving', I went to San Francisco for three happy months, but it only took 12 days to record from beginning to end. We ended up doing nine days of recording the backing tracks in San Francisco and then three days in Nashville with some fabulous musicians, including the Memphis Horns, who had played with Otis," AFL later recalled.

Answer: Eric Clapton

AFL became an essential sideman for some of Britain's best bands and solo singers, both as guitarists and vocals. As well as Clapton, he worked with The Who, Roger Waters, Dave Edmunds, George Harrison, and Emmylou Harris.

He toured and recorded widely with Clapton, including the seminal MTV "Unplugged" concert.

Answer: Willie and the Poor Boys

Former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman put together the group for a concert in London to raise funds for medical treatment for Ronnie Lane. Lane had been the bassist with the Small Faces, the Faces and his own band Slim Chance, but was later diagnosed with a form of Multiple Sclerosis.

The core of the band for the album "Willie and the Poor Boys" was Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Andy Fairweather-Low, Mickey Gee and Geraint Watkins. Jimmy Page, Paul Rogers and Chris Rea also sang and played. A studio album "Willie and the Poor Boys" reached number 10 on the Billboard 200 in 1985. A second live album followed.

After leaving the Stones, Wyman played consistently with an ever-changing line up in Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. Once again, AFL was a regular contributor.

AFL was also part of The Gaddabouts, a combo fronted by Texas songbird Edie Brickell. The Gaddabouts took their name from drummer Steve Gadd. The four members were Brickell, Gadd, AFL and Pino Palladino. They released two LPs in 2011 and 2012, with all songs written by Brickell.

Answer: Rocky

George Harrison and John Lennon both owned Fender Stratocasters with Sonic Blue finishes that had been bought for them for the 1965 album "Help!". Harrison later painted the guitar in day glo colours and gave it the name "Rocky".

In a televised clip quoted by 'Guitar World' magazine, Harrison said: "During '67, everybody started painting everything," Harrison says, "and I decided to paint it. I got some Day-Glo paint, which was quite a new invention in them days, and just sat up late one night and did it."

Others on the bill for The Concert for George at The Royal Albert Hall in London in 2002 included Jeff Lynne, Eric Clapton, Joe Brown, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.

In 1991, AFL played with Harrison's own band in his double album "Live In Japan" and also on his tour of Japan.

Answer: Berlin

The concert in July 1990 marked the fall of the Berlin Wall, which had occurred eight months before. A live album and a video were produced.

Others on that stellar line-up included The Band, Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, Sir James Galway, Bryan Adams, Jerry Hall, Marianne Faithful, and Paul Carrack.

AFL worked with Waters on and off for some 20 years.

Answer: Joe Cocker

"So sing a hymn for my soul
Stand by me as I grow old
I'm just trying to climb up nine hills in seven short days
Sing a hymn for my soul..."

The album "Hymn For My Soul" reached number nine in the UK in 2007. Joe Cocker was the singer who took the Lennon/McCartney song "With A Little Help From My Friends" and made it his own. It was a UK number nine single in 1968.

"Hymn For My Soul" featured on the LP "Sweet Soulful Music" released by Andy Fairweather Low and the Low Riders in 2006. It was produced, once again, by Glyn Johns.