Andy Fairweather Low

Welsh singer and guitarist (born 1948)

Fairweather Low was born in Ystrad Mynach, Wales, to working class parents. The family, including his two brothers, lived in an "unheated council house" on an estate; his father, a road sweeper, was unable to afford a car. Fairweather Low's first opportunity to play guitar came when he took a Saturday job at a music shop in Cardiff. He achieved fame as a founding member of the pop group Amen Corner in the late 1960s. They had four successive top ten hits on the UK Singles Chart, including the number one single "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" in 1969. In the description of AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann, the band's overnight success and Fairweather Low's teen idol looks "put his attractive face on the bedroom walls of teenage girls all over Britain". After twelve months, Fairweather Low left to pursue a solo career. He released four albums up to 1980 on A&M and Warner Bros. and Richard and Linda Thompson.

In 1978, Fairweather Low sang backing vocals on the album Who Are You, from The Who, specifically on the tracks "New Song", "Had Enough", "Guitar and Pen", "Love Is Coming Down", and "Who Are You". On the Who's 1982 album It's Hard, he played rhythm guitar on the song "It's Your Turn". Fairweather Low later appeared on Townshend's 1993 album Psychoderelict and the accompanying concert tour. In 1995, Fairweather Low played rhythm guitar on Joe Satriani's self titled CD, along with Nathan East on bass and Manu Katché on drums. One reviewer commented that "this backup band of extremely gifted backup musicians sincerely adds a diverse range of textures and colors, bringing out a much needed live feel to an otherwise bland album of blues oriented jazz rock." For 22 years he was a guitarist for The Bleeding Heart Band, the backing band for Roger Waters. Fairweather Low worked with Waters from his The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour of America in 1985. He contributed to two of Waters' albums – Radio KAOS in 1987 and Amused to Death in 1992. He played guitar and bass on Roger Waters' all star performance of The Wall – Live in Berlin on 21 July 1990, on the 1999–2002 In the Flesh world tour and was playing on Waters' Dark Side of the Moon Live world tour in 2006 His role was picked up by session guitarist Chester Kamen. In 1992, he began working on projects alongside Eric Clapton. Fairweather Low had earlier appeared in Clapton's band in the 1983 ARMS concerts for Ronnie Lane and, while he has continued to do session work for various people, including Dave Edmunds, Fairweather Low has spent most of his time since the early 1990s as a sideman in Clapton's backing band, as well as session work; notably Clapton's Unplugged concerts, as well as on From The Cradle. In the same year, he was present on tours with the 1999 Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris collaboration. In December 1991, he played guitar on George Harrison's Live in Japan tour and album, along with the rest of Clapton's band, In 2011, Fairweather Low joined Clapton for another series of concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. He also performs with Edie Brickell, Steve Gadd, and bassist (and fellow Welshman) Pino Palladino as The Gaddabouts; their eponymous album was released in early 2011, and their second album, Look Out Now!, was released in 2012. Also in 2011, Fairweather Low made a guest appearance on Kate Bush's album 50 Words For Snow, singing on the chorus of the album's only single, "Wild Man". In 2013, he opened Eric Clapton's shows with his band the Lowriders on Clapton's European tour and, later that year, Fairweather Low & the Lowriders released the album, Zone O Tone. In April 2013, he appeared at the Eric Clapton Guitar Festival Crossroads in New York and featured on two tracks of the DVD of the concert. On 13–14 November, he was also part of Eric Clapton's band on the occasion of Clapton's two concerts during the "Baloises Sessions" in Basel, Switzerland, where he was featured singing "Gin House Blues". In November 2015, Fairweather Low made a guest appearance on Kevin Brown's album Grit. Between September 2021 and April 2022, Fairweather Low & the Low Riders undertook an extensive UK tour, billed as 'On The Road Again', playing over 50 dates and ending at the Flowerpot in Derby on 30 April 2022. On 31 December 2022/1 January 2023 he appeared as a guest artist on Jools' Annual Hootenanny show on BBC2 to welcome in the new year. During the coronavirus lockdown, Low recorded a new solo album, Flang Dang, at Rockfield Studios, on which he played every instrument except the drums. The album was released in February 2023 under The Last Music Company label.