Gallagher and Lyle

Gallagher and Lyle
Gallagher & Lyle at The Albany Theatre in Greenock on 28 July 2017
Gallagher & Lyle at The Albany Theatre in Greenock on 28 July 2017
Background information
OriginLargs, Scotland
GenresPop rock, folk rock, country rock, blues rock, soft rock, blue-eyed soul, Celtic rock
Years active1972 (1972)–1980 (1980), 2010 (2010)–2018 (2018)
LabelsA&M, Mercury
Past membersBenny Gallagher
Graham Lyle

Gallagher and Lyle were a Scottish musical duo, comprising singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. Their style consisted mainly of pop, soft and folk rock oriented songs.

Their first recognition came in 1968, when they were signed by the Beatles to write for Apple Records' artists. They were founding members of the band McGuinness Flint and wrote the 1970 UK chart hit "When I'm Dead and Gone".

In 1972, they formed the duo Gallagher and Lyle, whose fifth album Breakaway charted well, the title track being a cover hit for Art Garfunkel in 1975, and it included the hit songs "Heart on My Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay with You". Don Williams took their song "Stay Young" to No. 1 on the US Country charts.

The duo split in 1980, but re-formed in 2010 and worked together on an intermittent basis, mainly as a live act, until 2018.

Gallagher and Lyle have worked, jointly and individually, on records with, among others, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention and Jim Diamond. Artists who have released Gallagher and Lyle songs include Bryan Ferry, Ringo Starr, Elkie Brooks, Fairport Convention, Art Garfunkel and Joe Brown.