The new single by singer songwriter Jamie Lonsdale is the patriotic hymn ‘I Vow To Thee My Country’, which will be released on the 7th May to commemorate the Royal British Legion’s Centenary year, with all proceeds of the single being donated to the RBL charity.
Celebrating a century of service, the RBL continues to respond to the changing needs of the Armed Forces community. Jamie and his family have a long history of service in the armed forces, with Jamie himself in the past serving as a Royal Navy officer on board HM Yacht Britannia and it was poignant that ‘I Vow To Thee My Country’ was one of His Royal Highness Prince Philip’s chosen musical pieces, which was played at his recent funeral, which reflected The Duke’s service with the Royal Navy and the importance and affection of the piece to those that have served in the British military forces.
As a descendent of the The Duke of Wellington and Lord Raglan (the British commander in the Crimean War) and a further three great uncles on the battlefield at Waterloo, it was compulsory that Jamie would ‘do his duty’.
The Grenadier Guards was the family’s expectation but, not fancying the idea of spending nights in trenches, Jamie joined the Navy at 18 and trained as an officer at Dartmouth. He served for 5 years, his final commission on board the Royal Yacht Britannia.
But Britannia wasn’t his first link to the Royals. In fact, old-Pangbournian Jamie is a direct descendant of King Edward I. Jamie is a keen historian and has collected many historical family heirlooms over the years including two locks of hair from The Duke of Wellington, dated from 1813 and 1837, which has been passed down the generations. Other significant pieces include Lord Fitzroy Somerset’s (Lord Raglan’s) telescope made in 1810, which was used on the Battlefield of Waterloo. Raglan and Wellington worked side by side for some 40 years. Raglan died in 1855 on active service in the Crimea, his great grandchild Norman Somerset was great friends with The Prince of Wales. Jamie has letters and pictures that the Prince of Wales took of Norman. Norman was killed in action on the battlefield after being shot in the eye. Queen Mary personally wrote to Jamie’s great grandparents to offer sympathies. The fascinating family history has been carefully curated by Jamie over the years and his love of history has armed him with a captivating knowledge of his ancestors.
An in depth look of Jamie’s family history has been described by Jamie himself here –
Jamie has already appeared on BBC Songs of Praise, with a performance of ‘I Vow To Thee My Country’, in a stunning TV debut. The performance can be viewed here –
Jamie’s new single was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, just as Britain emerged from its first lockdown. He was the first artist to work at Abbey Road Studios with a live orchestra, post Lockdown and all under strict government Covid guidelines. All proceeds from the single will go to the Royal British Legion.
“My son Richard presented me with this track. It was an unusual one, a bit of a James Brown vibe, who I always loved. I worked on it till I found the exact right melody, which was not obvious, and the right words to sing that I could relate to. I always have to tell a story, and it all came together very nicely. The lyrics are a little naughty, which my age, I am certainly allowed to be. We made this video in my garage complete with dancing, confetti, and masks wearing muso’s and dancers. I must say it was a little strange looking into all those Suzi’s faces… very surreal. The track and video can be summed up with one word…… FUN!” – Suzi
OUT NOW!
It’s got to be a very special release that has Suzi Quatro announce proudly: “The Devil In Me is the best album in my career to date!” After all, the American rock vocalist would hardly utter such superlatives lightly. Suzi’s enthusiasm for her latest offering has many reasons, twelve of them to be precise. Because The Devil In Me consists of exactly a dozen songs, each of them – from the opening track and title song to the final ‘Motor City Riders’ – a real highlight.
The reasons for Suzi’s remarkable creative explosion: on the one hand the lockdown, which kept her from her usual touring life in spring 2020, and on the other another collaboration with her son Richard Tuckey, which had already worked out extremely well on her predecessor album No Control. Suzi: “Starting spring 2020, almost one hundred of my shows were cancelled and Richard would also have been on tour with his band had not all concerts been cancelled or postponed. So, I said to him: ‘We should make the most of our free time, write new material and allow ourselves to be inspired by the things that are currently going on in the world.’ I already knew that Richard and I make a brilliant team, after all No Control had been a major success and a very special recording for us. Although I would never have thought that we’d be able to surpass it. But everybody who’s heard The Devil In Me and all the people who had worked on the previous album have told us: ‘This album is even stronger!’”
Suzi
The album presents Suzi’s full range of musical diversity plus a number of surprises. From rock tracks such as ‘The Devil In Me’, ‘Get Outta Jail’, ‘Motorcity Riders’ and ‘Hey Queenie’ (“these four songs are typical of me and continue the tradition of my 1973 debut album”) to fairly unusual numbers such as the pub atmosphere-inspired ‘Loves Gone Bad’ with its intimate mood or ‘In The Dark’ which is accompanied by elegant piano and provocative saxophone sounds, Suzi presents herself from a whole range of different aspects. “Richard wanted this album to have a through line, so that you could put any track on, and it just fit… he also said he wanted this album to be as important and ground breaking as my first one. So that is how we approached this project, and that is what we accomplished.”
TRACK LISTING
The Devil In Me * Hey Queenie * Betty Who? * You Can’t Dream It * My Heart And Soul * Get Outta Jail * Do Ya Dance * Isolation Blues * I Sold My Soul * Love’s Gone Bad * In The Dark * Motor City Riders * Bonus (vinyl only): Can I Be Your Girl * Desperado
See Suzi LIVE
2021
17.04. UK-Peterborough – Showground
09.05. DE-Dessau – Anhalt Arena
10.05. DE-Dresden – Kulturpalast
12.05. DE-Wuppertal – Historische Stadthalle
14.05. DE-Mönchengladbach – Red Box
17.05. DE-Berlin – Friedrichstadtpalast
22.05. DE-Siegen/Hilchenbach – KulturPur
23.05. DE-Fulda – Esperantohalle
28.05. DE-Stuttgart – Liederhalle
19.06. ES-Vitoria-Gasteiz – Azkena Rock Festival
26.06. DE-Neuleiningen – Burgsommer
01.08. DE-Seebronn – Rock of Ages Festival
04.08. DE-Monschau – Burg Monschau
05.08. NL-Steenwijkerwold – Dicky Woodstock Festival
(Available for download on all usual digital platforms from 5th March 2021)
Taken from the forthcoming album ‘Ojai’ –
Available for pre-order form 5th March – Released 25th June, 2021
London-born, UK singer songwriter Michael Armstrong, announces the forthcoming release of his 3rd studio album ‘Ojai’, with the release of this stunning new single ‘Matters of Heart’.
Steeped in his influences, and a modern take on the ‘Yacht Rock’ genre, the track has that Californian feel that has spawned some of the finest music of our times. Think Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and Christopher Cross and you’ll be in the right ballpark. And that West Coast sound is no accident, as Michael explains: –
“In 2018 I was invited to join US singer songwriter Ben Folds at a retreat in Ojai, California. I jumped at the chance, being a huge fan of Ben and his music and having never been to that part of America before. It was a truly life changing experience – I literally came home a different person. We spent several days writing new songs, finishing old songs, and generally just having a great time.”
“I fell in love with the quaint town of Ojai and the whole vibe and sound of the West Coast, where so many of my musical heroes made music which stands the test of time.”
‘Matters of Heart’ is the first single to be taken from the forthcoming album and, as evident in the video, is an extremely personal song for Michael, written partly in homage to his parents: –
“My mum and dad have been married for over 50 years and are, and always have been, an inspiration to me. They were children of the baby-boomer period after the 2nd World War and started out with very little. They’re both highly intelligent and incredibly hard-working and forged out a wonderful upbringing for my brother and I, and a fantastic successful life for themselves. It wasn’t always easy, and they had more than their fair share of ups and downs, but they stuck at it, and most importantly, stuck by each other. I would not be who or where I am today had they not been my parents.”
Having previously worked with top record producers Keith Bessey & Warren Bennett on his earlier albums, Michael decided to take on all the production duties alone for this record, which was completed during the lockdown of 2020. But, using the wonders of modern technology, he was still able to continue his tradition of utilising some of the finest musicians in the world to play on the tracks. Once again, US No.1 saxophonist Ed Barker takes the horns, and string arrangements are courtesy of the legendary Simon Lockyer. For the first time on Michael’s recordings, fans are introduced to French guitar maestro, Antoine Saults, recently described by The Who’s Pete Townshend as ‘the future of music’.
‘Ojai’ the Brand-New Album – Released 25th June 2021
July 12, 2026 100 BC Julius Caesar 1854 George Eastman 1895 Oscar Hammerstein II 1927 Frank Windsor 1928 Kathy Staff 1935 Roy Barraclough 1937 Bill Cosby 1943 Christine McVie 1947 Gareth Edwards
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