Ernie Graham (born Ernest Graham; 14 June 1946 – 27 April 2001) was a Northern Irish singer, guitarist and songwriter, active from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s.

Early life

Ernie Graham was born in Belfast, and was training to be a mechanic, when he joined his first band Tony & the Telstars in 1965, as rhythm guitarist. Allmusic biography of Ernie Graham by Bruce Eder & Steve HueyRetrieved 22 October 2009 When the band split, Graham and two other members moved to England, where Graham met

Henry McCullough Henry Campbell Liken McCullough (21 July 1943 – 14 June 2016) was a Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was best known for his work as a member of Spooky Tooth, The Grease Band and Paul McCartney and Wings. He also perf ...

.Sleevenotes by Nigel Cross to CD re-release of ''Ernie Graham'' his eponymous 1971 album (Hux 032) Graham and McCullough returned to Belfast and formed The People, with George O'Hara, Davey Lutton and Chris Stewart.

Eire Apparent

In 1967 the band moved back to London where they came to the attention of

Michael Jeffery Major General Philip Michael Jeffery, (12 December 1937 – 18 December 2020) was a senior Australian Army officer and vice-regal representative. He was the 28th governor of Western Australia from 1993 to 2000, and the 24th governor-general o ...

and were signed by him and

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...

. In 1968 they changed their name to

Eire Apparent Eire Apparent were a band from Northern Ireland, noted for launching the careers of Henry McCullough and Ernie Graham, and for having Jimi Hendrix play on, and produce, their only album. History Tony and The Telstars The origins of the group ...

and toured with Soft Machine, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. Eire Apparent only recorded one album ''Sunrise'' (1969), which was produced by Hendrix, who also played on the album. Shortly after McCullough left, to tour with

The Grease Band The Grease Band was a British rock band that originally formed as Joe Cocker's backing group. They appeared with Cocker during the 1960s, including his performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. The band's name derived from an inte ...

, Eire Apparent disbanded. Graham moved in with McCullough and recorded four songs with The Grease Band, but these were never issued.

Solo and Help Yourself

Graham was then signed to Liberty Records as a solo artist, by Andrew Lauder. Sharing management with Brinsley Schwarz and

Help Yourself Help is a word meaning to give aid or signal distress. Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * '' ...

, they all toured together as "The Down Home Rhythm Kings" package and lived in the same commune in Northwood. Both bands also backed Graham on his eponymous solo album ''Ernie Graham'' (1971). The album was well received, described as "one of the most hauntingly beautiful" albums of the pub-rock scene, Allmusic review of ''Ernie Graham'' by Bruce EderRetrieved 22 October 2009 and "one of the more distinctive and memorable solo albums of the period", but sold poorly. Graham and 'JoJo' Glemser then joined

, appearing with them at the Glastonbury Festival in 1971 and playing on their second album ''Strange Affair'' (1972), although Graham left the band before the album was released.

Clancy

In 1973, Graham formed pub rock band Clancy, who were initially signed to Island Records, but issued two albums and a single on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. When Clancy broke up in 1976, Graham played with

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave, and tried to go solo, issuing Phil Lynott's "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" as a single in 1978, which was his last release.

Later life and death

In the early 1980s, he tried forming a band with Larry Pratt, who had briefly been a member of Clancy, but when this failed, he gave up being a professional musician, worked on the railways, including as a guard on the

Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...

, and was training to become a counsellor, but his "strong alcohol dependence" caused his health to fail, and he died in London in April 2001.

Discography

;With The People * ''Ireland's Greatest Sounds: Five Top Groups from Belfast's Maritime Club'' – 1966 – Ember Records :(2 tracks – "I'm with You" and "Well...All Right.") * Reissued on ''Belfast Beat Maritime Blues'' – Big Beat ;With Eire Apparent * ''Sunrise'' 1969 ;Solo * ''Ernie Graham'' 1971 Liberty 83485

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

link:(reissued on CD with single as bonus tracks Hux 32 (2002), LP reissued on 4Men With Beards 4m227 2014) * "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" / "Only Time Will Tell" – 1978 single – Stiff ;With Help Yourself * ''Strange Affair'' 1972 United Artists UAS 29287 (reissued on CD 1999) ;With Clancy * ''Everyday'' 1975 * ''Seriously Speaking'' 1975 ;Various artists compilations * ''

All Good Clean Fun ''All Good Clean Fun'' was originally a promotional sampler issued by United Artists Records (UDX 201/2) in 1971. This original release was a double album containing 23 tracks by 20 different artists, with three artists (Morning, The Nitty Gritty ...

'' 1971 ("Don't Want Me Round You") – Only on 1971 vinyl LP, not on 2004 CD re-release * ''Naughty Rhythms: The Best of Pub Rock'' 1996 ("Don't Want Me Round You") * ''Goodbye Nashville, Hello Camden Town'' 2007 ("Sweet Inspiration" and "Baby You're All I Need" – only issued on this release)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Ernie 1946 births 2001 deaths Musicians from Belfast Singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland Guitarists from Northern Ireland 20th-century male singers from Northern Ireland 20th-century guitarists