LITTLEMEN are firm favourites on the west country music scene and continue to develop; still crafted in Wiltshire and striving to put that smile on your face or tear in your eye. Fans of Littlemens live show will know that there was always an invisible, non performing, fifth member of the band, Nick Allen, who wrote most of the songs. Now, doing what many thought inevitable, he has taken on the role that will see him perform on stage, lead singer of the band.
Joining Nick from the original line up will be Rob Brian on Drums and new members Guy Townley on Lead Guitar, Mark Griffin on Rhythm Guitar and Tyler Spicer on Bass. The band will often be augmented with various guest musicians and vocalists. Together they will enhance Littlemens original musicality, with an increasing emphasis on guitar-based Americana. The versatility and virtuosity in the band has encouraged the players to expand in to other genres, all equally at home with the classic Littlemen sound. It is an exciting time for Littlemen.
The new line up is as follows:
Nick Allen Long-time writer for the band and now lead singer; Nick is well known in the music industry, where he has been active for the last 35 years. Owner of recording and rehearsal studios, he has managed several bands including Innes Sibun Blues Band, Rhythmites, Homelands and Littlemen; toured with Blur, Innes Sibun, Rhythmites, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Zones. His musical influences include Ryan Adams, Joan Armatrading, Jackson Brown, Bob Dylan, Deep purple, David Grey, Mark Knopfler, Terry Reid and Bruce Springsteen.
Rob Brian A drummer of international repute, Rob has been playing for 30 years. Performing with many diverse artists such as: Loreena McKennitt, Laura Pausini, Siouxsie Sioux, Goldfrapp, Simple Minds, Peter Gabriel, Michel Polnareff, Andy Partridge & Colin Moulding, Miles Kane, Hugh Cornwell, Jason Rebello and Herbie Flowers. Rob is endorsed by DW Drums and performs drum clinics around the world at drum shows and music universities. He has been interviewed and written drum related articles for the world-famous magazine Modern Drummer, and the UK drum magazines Rhythm & Drummer. Rob is also a founding member of Sky2Fox, another of the exciting projects coming out of the NAM recording studio.
Guy Townley Lead guitarist and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire. Guy is already well known, taking the lead in the Jimi Hendrix tribute band Axis All Areas. Although he also plays in many other bands, he does much more to contribute to music locally; he is a qualified music teacher. Whether it is inspiring a local teenager to attain the Duke of Edinburgh award or realising an aging rockers dream of playing guitar, he can help.
Mark Griffin Rhythm Guitar, perhaps better known as a drummer in various local bands, playing a mix of genres from Punk to Folk and Rock and Electronica! Mark also plays many other instruments. The natural process of bands recording demos for gigs, steered Mark into the recording and production side of music; he has been recording as Omen Audio for nearly 15 years. Knowing Nick on the music scene, as well as some of the New Littlemen, Mark was keen to come on board to record, engineer and play with the band.
Tyler Spicer Bass guitar, he may be a new name to you, he is definitely an exciting new talent for Littlemen. A UK session bassist with roots in the country and jazz scenes. Tyler has most recently been touring and recording with UK Country Artist of the Year 2019 award winner, Danny McMahon, amongst others. Tylers ability has opened new possibilities for theLittlemen sound.
In March 2020, Littlemen released the album “It’sA Beautiful Thing” via their own Littlemen Recordings imprint. The record sees the UK roots-rockers come togetherwith a new-look line-up to unfurl 10 tracks of accomplished musicianship and timeless songwriting of the highestcalibre.
Though long established as firm favourites on the West Countrymusicscene, from tuning to the classic country-rock sound of the LITTLEMENs latest you could quite easily be forgiven for thinking youve intercepted a broadcast intended to accompany those cruising down the dusty highways of the Western USA. So authentic is their widescreen Americana, new album Its A Beautiful Thing could almost have been sealed in a time capsule in the mid-seventies, only to be unearthed these decades later as a forgotten classic testifying to a bygone and beautiful era.
Littlemen are supported by the team at Country Music Social Media and their song “Christmas Is Coming” is included on their “Christmas Edition” compilation album
