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Wes McGhee

About Me


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Visit Wes's website . His albums are available to buy online at the site, including his most recent one, the highly acclaimed 'Blue Blue Night.'

Wes McGhee http://www.bebo.com/WesMcGhee

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Wes is currently working on a flamenco based instrumental CD (working title “Jondo”).
He recently went to Spain for a flamenco fix, and is pictured here in Moron de la Frontera visiting the street named after one of his guitar heros DIEGO DEL GASTOR. If you want to know more about Diego we recommend the book 'A Way Of Life' by Donn Pohren. Well worth a read!!

'Thanks For The Chicken!' (Wes's hugely popular live performance from 1984 in Austin, Texas) has been re-released on CD and is available to buy at his website - Special Collectors' Edition: Includes full-colour, fold-out, 12-page inlay, featuring liner notes by Wes McGhee plus rare photographs.
"Britain's best country-rock guitarist and songwriter..." (Maverick Country Music Magazine)
"...['Monterrey' is] the greatest border song ever written."(3rd Coast Music)
'Night Ride To Birmingham' by Terry Clarke (produced by Wes McGhee) Read more about the making of this album. 'Smaller Circles' by Roxy Gordon (produced by Wes McGhee)
'Ten Dollar Gun' by Freddie Steady's Wild Country
(produced by Wes McGhee)

'two kinds of fool' by Barty
(produced by Wes McGhee)
If you really do judge a man by the company he keeps, you have to take Wes McGhee very seriously indeed. Ask around in Austin, Texas and they’ll tell you he’s the real thing - a great songwriter, musician and entertainer whose talents are undisputed, whether as band leader, guest musician or solo artist. Given that they know a bit about music in Texas, that marks Wes McGhee as special.
A Wes McGhee show is likely to include pretty well every major branch of “roots” music you can name - from blues, Tex-Mex, rock ‘n’ roll and pure honkytonk to powerful, evocative and lyrical songs in the best singer-songwriter tradition - all seamlessly meshed together by a great band, some of whom have been with Wes for over twenty years.
Since the late '70s, Wes has spent much of his time commuting between his English home and Texas, recording a string of beautifully crafted eclectic albums, producing both himself and friends on both sides of the Atlantic and achieving an almost legendary status among connoisseurs of such music styles around the world.
For those of you who do not know, some background information might be useful:
Wes McGhee was born in Leicestershire, England, began playing guitar with a local band when he was only 13 years old, graduated to playing in German rock clubs by the age of 18 and secured his first major record deal - with a division of Pye Records - three years later. His determination to marry psychedelic rock with country music did not endear him to the company, however, and he spent seven frustrating years locked into a contract while no records were being released.
During this time Wes put together the first version of what became his long-time backing band and recorded his first album (Long Nights and Banjo Music) once he was free from his old deal. Having developed an aversion to big record companies, he formed his own Terrapin Records label and subsequently released four other albums during the next six years.
Responding to positive reviews for that first album in the United States, in 1978 Wes visited America for the first time, eventually arriving in Texas for a planned two-week stay which lasted eight months and developed into a twenty-year association.
During these years Wes worked with and for many Texas legends, including Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Alvin Crow. In November 1984 he became the first non-Texan to be awarded a Songwriter's Recognition Night by the Austin Chronicle at Austin's famous Soap Creek Saloon, where he also recorded his seminal live album, Thanks for the Chicken. He was also the first non-US national to be signed to America's leading contemporary songwriters' publishing company, Bug Music.
Wes's overflowing CV includes spells as a record producer (for Freddie Krc, Ponty Bone, Texan poet Roxy Gordon, singer-songwriter Terry Clarke and Irish singer Joe Giltrap) and as a guitar-playing guest on albums by the likes of American singer-songwriters Kimmie Rhodes, Richard Dobson, Randy (RC) Banks, Heather Myles and Billy Swan, as well as those by Kate St John, former Long Ryder lead Sid Griffin, Ponty Bone, The Shakin' Apostles and The Coal Porters.
Add to those the award-winning music score he wrote for the Children's Film Foundation movie, "Big Wheels and Sailor"; the haunting Arabic-inspired soundtrack he composed for "Voices In Exile", the highly praised Channel 4 TV documentary first screened in 1998; and a seven month spell in 2001 at the National Theatre in Nicholas Hytner's outstanding production of Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale"; and you get some idea of his versatility and eagerness to explore new musical avenues.
Recent highlights include a three month European tour with Heather Myles in 2003; 2005 summer UK tour with The Unholy Trinity (Wes, Terry Clarke and Tampa's Ronny Elliott); Sid Griffin's Birthday Gig at the New Players Theatre; accoustic gig with Heather at the Forum, opening for Dwight Yoakam; and highly acclaimed band gigs at Oxford Street's 100 Club in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, Wes played with Wanda Jackson at The Luminaire in London (see this blog entry for a review of this gig). At the end of 2006, the members of 'Vince & The Viletones' put aside their personal differences, in the spirit of goodwill, to play a rockin' Christmas gig. During 2007, Wes toured with Freddie Steady and the end of 2007 saw Wes play a very successful, sold out, intimate acoustic gig at the Green Note .
Watch this space!
Since the Terrapin/TRP label was put to rest in the early nineties, Wes's recordings have appeared on a variety of labels. However, 2005 sees the relaunch of Terrapin Music, now with its own 24 track digital facility, Glebe Studio, and Wes's recordings (and those of others on the label), including his latest CD 'Blue Blue Night' (2005) are back on the shelves and available at his website .

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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 02/10/2007
Band Website: http://www.wesmcghee.com
Band Members:


'Monterrey'

'Whiskey Is My Driver'

'Soy Extranjero'

Influences: GUITARISTS: Hank Marvin, Duane Eddy, Scotty Moore, Cliff Gallup, Vince Black, James Burton, Steve Cropper, Jerry Reed, Andres Segovia, Ramon Montoya, Nino Ricardo, Diego Del Gastor, Paco De Lucia, Manolo Sanlucar, Juan Habichuela, Tomatito, Pepe Habichuela, Ry Cooder, Nino Josele, Paco Cepero...

BANDS: The Shadows, The Band, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, William Brown and the Outlaws, Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ruben Ramos and the Texas Revolution, Little Joe y la Familiar, Lovin' Spoonful...

MISC. MUSICIANS: Joe Zawinal (keyboards), Munir Bashir (oud), Flaco Jiminez (accordian), Steve Jordan (accordian), Ponty Bone (accordian), Jimmy Day (steel guitar), B.J. Cole (steel guitar), Allicia de Larrocha (piano), Theolonius Monk (piano), Miles Davis & Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Charlie Parker (sax), Ravi Shankir (sitar), John Coltrane (sax), David Zettner...

SONGWRITERS: Jerome Kern, George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson, Butch Hancock, Townes Van Zandt, R.C. Banks, Jackson Browne, Roger Miller...

THE ROCKERS: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran...

THE COUNTRY FOLK: Johnny Cash, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Milton Brown, Jerry Jeff Walker...

THE BLUES: T-Bone Walker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Blind Willie McTell, Albert King, B.B. King, Ray Charles...

PLUS: Lonnie Mack, The Everly Brothers, Doug Sahm, Joe Gracey, Joe Ely, The Gonzos, Bob Marley, Mike Nesmith, J.J. Cale, Taj Mahal, Delbert McLinton, Dexter Gordon, Lydia Mendoza, Charlie Rich, Sam Cooke...

THE FLAMENCOS: Diego del Gastor, Manuel Agujetas, Juan Breva, Pepe de la Matrona, Manuel Caracol, Manuel Villeja, Fosforito, Sordera, La Paquera de Jerez, Jose Menese-y otra, Camaron, Tomas Pavon, Enrique Morente, Chano Lobato, Pericon de Cadiz, Duquende, Terremoto, Chocolate, El Nino Gloria, Esperanza Fernandez, Fernanda y Bernarda de Utrera, Juan Talega, Manuel Torres, La Nina de la Peines, Antonio Chacon, La Nina de la Puebla, Jose Cepero, Porrina de Baddajoz, Capullo de Jerez...

ALL DANCING: Fred Astaire, Antonio Gades, Farruquito, Sara Baras...

POETS AND PLAYWRIGHTS: Homer, Shakespeare, Euripides, Aristophanes, Sophocles, Dylan Thomas, Federico Garcia Lorca, Samuel Beckett, Roxy Gordon...

PAINTERS: Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Miro...

THINKERS: Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, Aristotle, Hobbs, Rousseau, Locke...

WRITERS: Miguel de Cervantes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Robert Graves, Robert Fisk...

TRUE GENIUS!: Spike Milligan, Peter Cook, Tony Hancock...
Sounds Like: ...Me!
Mail Glebe Studio
Record Label: Terrapin Music
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Show With Wanda Jackson - 19 June 2009

(The 18 June show has been cancelled).Wes and The London Party-Timers will be playing a show with Wanda Jackson in June: WANDA JACKSON & The London Party-Timers THE DODGE BROTHERS + DJ HEALER SELECT...
Posted by on Sun, 17 May 2009 09:27:00 GMT

Twitter

Follow Wes on Twitter: Wes McGhee.
Posted by on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:14:00 GMT

JONDO DELUXE - New Band Project

New Band ProjectThere are given, longstanding and generally accepted theories on the twentieth century development of American music, uppermost being the arrival with the slave trade of African rhythm...
Posted by on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:14:00 GMT

News - 'Ten Dollar Gun' Tour

There was a time, not so long ago, when I thought Id never see Texas again, but when Freddie Steady asked me to produce his 'Ten Dollar Gun CD at Glebe and then invited me over to Austin to play on ...
Posted by on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:11:00 GMT

Wes in NME Today

Wes in NME today - lotsa stuff!
Posted by on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:44:00 GMT

Houston Press Article - from Freddie Steady's Blog

From Freddie Steady's blog:Freddie KrcBy Chris GrayPublished on January 21, 2009 at 9:13amFoggy London town seems like the last place on Earth to inspire a country album. A polyglot postmodern road ma...
Posted by on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 09:59:00 GMT

Blue Blue Night - Buy It Now!!

To buy Wes's latest CD, the highly acclaimed 'Blue Blue Night,' via PayPal or major credit/debit cards, click on the button below!
Posted by on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:21:00 GMT

Produced by Wes - Check Them Out!

'Night Ride To Birmingham' by Terry Clarke (produced by Wes McGhee)Read more about the making of this album.'Smaller Circles' by Roxy Gordon(produced by Wes McGhee)'Ten Dollar Gun' by Freddie Steady...
Posted by on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:34:00 GMT

VINCE & THE VILETONES!!

YES FOLKS!!It's that glorious time of year again when we all eat and drink too much, but most important of all, the infamous Vince & The Viletones give you a special HAPPY HOLIDAYS! treat with one...
Posted by on Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:06:00 GMT

Footage from Austin

Some footage from a couple of gigs in Austin over the last couple of weeks.From Momo's, the acoustic night hosted by Freddie Steady, featuring Wes, Ponty Bone and BJ Cole:'The Ghost of Dale Watkins' (...
Posted by on Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:07:00 GMT