Thomas Lang (Thomas Jones) is an English,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
-based singer-songwriter, best known for the jazz-tinged song "The Happy Man", which spent three weeks in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in January 1988, peaking at No. 67. He released his debut album, ''Scallywag Jaz'' in 1987. His last album release (to date) was ''The German Alphabet'' released in September 2016. Lang opened for Nina Simone at the royal festival hall and has worked with many of the jazz greatest artists.
His bass player John murphy and Co writer David A Hughes went on to compose many film scores including lock stock and snatch and used him on the movie the Batchelor
Lang toured with his band throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, and built up a loyal following, as well as appearing with
Jools Holland
Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...
's band on the TV show ''The Happening'' in 1990, and several residencies at the world-famous London jazz venue,
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie may refer to:
*Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name
* "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe
*"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load''
*Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...
's. Lang still plays live in the UK and occasionally further afield.
He was one of the consortium who successfully battled to save Liverpool's Parr Street Recording Studios (a studio known for its work with
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
, Doves, Embrace, Elbow and
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show ''Sam and his Magic Ball'', which he saw ...
).
On 25 August 2006, Lang duetted with fellow Liverpool singer Jennifer John on the anthemic "
You'll Never Walk Alone
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and enco ...
" at Liverpool's Matthew Street Music Festival.
He returned to the recording studio in Liverpool at the end of October 2006 and started recording new songs. The first tracks to be recorded were "Scared" and "I Believe".
In March 2014, Lang released the live album ''Torch'', which was recorded on 16 April 2011 at the Rodewald Suite, in
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall is a concert hall in Hope Street, Liverpool, Hope Street, in Liverpool, England. It is the home of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society and is recorded in the National Heritage Lis ...
.
Lang released his 10th album in 2016 “the German Alphabet” and is currently working on a new project soon to be heard.
Discography
Albums
*1987: ''Scallywag Jaz'' -
UK No. 92
*1988: ''Fingers & Thumbs'' (North America release of ''Scallywag Jaz'')
*1990: ''Little Moscow''
*1991: ''The Lost Letter Z''
*1991: ''Lang Tokyo 1991'' (Live album)
*1994: ''Covers''
*1996: ''Versions''
*2014: ''Torch'' (Live album)
*2016: ''The German Alphabet''
*2017: ''The Scallywag Jaz 2 CD 30 Years Anniversary''
;Compilations
*1993: ''Outside Over There - A Retrospective''
*1998: ''Scallywag Jaz And More - The Best Of...''
;Soundtracks
*1993: ''Leon The Pig Farmer''
*1999: ''The Bachelor''
Singles
*1987: "The Happy Man" written by Martin Anderson
*1987: "Me & Mrs Jones" be Billy Paul
*1987: "Boys Prefer" by Thomas Lang
*1988: "The Happy Man" (New Version)-
UK No. 67
by Anderson/Lang
*1990: "Refugees from Little Moscow"
*1990: "The Longest Song"
*1991: "I Will" by T Jones
*1992: "Feels So Right"
*1992: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Benjamin, Ott and Marcus
*1994: "Love TKO" (Promo)
*1996: "Use Me" by T Lang
*2011: "August Day" by T Lang and S Steven
References
External links
Official Thomas Lang website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Thomas
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
English male singer-songwriters
English singer-songwriters
Sophisti-pop musicians