Well, according to Sir George Martin, who manned the controls for Leek’s 1988 debut, Say Something, he’s “one of the most talented artists I have ever produced.” And given that Martin has produced the Beatles, Cheap Trick, America, Kenny Rogers, Jeff Beck, and even Peter Sellers, he’s in a position to know what he’s talking about.
I just stumbled upon Leek’s album in a local used CD shop, and, when I spotted Martin’s name (and, okay, the decidedly inexpensive price), I snapped it up immediately. As soon as I put it in, I was instantly reminded of the white-boy soul of Mick Hucknall, of Simply Red…but I still didn’t know who the hell Andy Leek was.
Heading to the ‘net to Google Leek’s name, I quickly found out – courtesy of his very own website – that he was the former keyboardist for Dexy’s Midnight Runners (at least on their single, “Geno”), was a founding member of the Blue Ox Babes (generally considered the primary inspiration for Dexy’s Too-Rye-Ay album), had a top-40 single of his own in the UK (with the awfully cheesy title of “Move On In Your Maserati”), then wrote one for Frida (late of ABBA) as well. He’s since put out a few other releases under his own name, including the single “All Around the World,” which was a top 5 hit in Germany.
These days, Leek keeps busy with his “party band,” the Blue Angels, who apparently work the charity ball / Christmas party / corporate party circuit…and quite successfully, it would seem. (Sez Jools Holland, they’re “a cert for any cool party!”) I dropped him a line, just to let him know that, even 18 years down the line from the release of Say Something, people are still discovering and enjoying his music.
He responded thusly:
“Thanx, Will, that’s a real boost to me. I am building a new website on andyleek.com which will feature more albums, so once you’ve got into Say Something, check that out, too. There is also planned an album of remixes of the George Martin recordings, starting with the title track. I gave up for about 10 years, but thanks to encouraging mails like yours, I am starting to promote my music again. Cheers, Andy Leek.”
