Roger Swallow (born 23 February 1946 in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, England) is an English producer, musician and songwriter. He was a member of

The Albion Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the mo ...

and worked with many artistes in the late 1960s/early 1970s as a session and touring drummer/percussionist.

Early career

Starting his music career in

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

in Northampton, his early music projects brought him to London where he worked in children's television for the BBC and toured England playing for theatrical companies, before working for the Beatles'

Apple Publishing Apple Corps Limited (informally known as Apple) is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in London in January 1968 by the members of the Beatles to replace their earlier company (Beatles Ltd.) and to form a conglomerate. Its name (pro ...

on Baker Street in the late 1960s and forming Smile with Denis Couldry (also featuring musicians

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

and Mark Griffiths), recording for Decca Records.

Session and touring musician

As a session and touring drummer/percussionist in the late 1960s/early 1970s Swallow worked with such bands & artists as Harsh Reality,

Plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...

and

Matthews Southern Comfort Matthews Southern Comfort (MSC) was originally a British country rock/folk rock band, formed in 1970 by former Fairport Convention singer Ian (later Iain) Matthews. The original line-up consisted of Matthews, lead guitarist Mark Griffiths (who ...

(both with

Iain Matthews Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, 16 June 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthe ...

), Al Stewart,

Neil Innes Neil James Innes (; 9 December 1944 – 29 December 2019) was an English writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the pioneering comedy rock group Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the M ...

Principal Edwards Magic Theatre Principal Edwards Magic Theatre was an English performance art collective in the United Kingdom made up of about 14 musicians, poets, dancers, and sound and lighting technicians. It existed between 1968 and 1971, after which core members forme ...

, and many singer songwriters of that era, but is perhaps best known in the British traditional arena with collaborations with

Albion Country Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the mo ...

, Richard Thompson, Martin Carthy, John Kirkpatrick, Musica Resavarta,

Robin Williamson Robin Duncan Harry Williamson (born 24 November 1943) is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and storyteller who was a founding member of The Incredible String Band. Career Williamson lived in the Fairmilehead area of Edinbu ...

Norma Waterson Norma Christine Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included ...

. After relocating from London to Los Angeles in the mid 1970s he began a parallel career in business management and real estate development but his credits as a percussionist also included such artists as Leon Russell and

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two ...

and others.

Business pursuits

Later, as a lyricist/songwriter, Swallow has had solo recordings and chart successes writing for other artistes in the UK and Europe. Longtime collaborator and friend, producer Stephen Hague, a colleague from the Polar Bear days, is also co-owner with Swallow in London's famous Manna vegetarian restaurant. They also collaborate in their 'Blue Panda' enterprises, including real estate, recording studio, publishing, management & music production. His current projects are sheRifff, a collaboration of Los Angeles

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musicians and vocalists for soundtracks, etc., and ongoing recordings with bFas. As a business professional, through swlo inc, Swallow has developed and managed real estate projects in California, Hawaii, and Florida. Most notably the boutique Hotel Metropole on Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles, which he has developed with the Miller family of Los Angeles (no relation to Judd). He has four decades of experience with

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

, including collaborative efforts with Florida's musician-laureate Jack Tamul, a renowned electronic synthesist, and then in one of the first pop music onstage electronic percussion experiments he played with the legendary Los Angeles band, Jules and the Polar Bears, with songwriter/vocalist Jules Shear and producer/keyboardist/programmer

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

. His more current, collaborative projects are with Sound Designer & master EVI ( electronic valve instrument) player Judd Miller, including their ambient group bFas (Blood from a Stone).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swallow, Roger 1946 births Living people British folk rock musicians English rock drummers English record producers English songwriters People from Northampton The Albion Band members