Roy Hill was a British musician who released his solo album in 1978, as well as three singles, all on the Arista record label.
Roy, in his mid-twenties, shot to prominence in 1977 when he won a Melody Maker music contest and gave up his day job to give the rock lifestyle his best shot. The demos that convinced Arista to sign him onto their label roster were recorded on a rented mono tape deck. Donald Clarke in his book The Rise and Fall of Popular Music recalls, 'There were demo tapes by Roy Hill that sounded good enough to release; tough, spare, inexorable urban laments full of sexual and social grief.' Roy was living in the sleepy Spa town of Cheltenham at the time, having moved from Ledbury where he'd learnt to play the electric guitar from scratch and gigged in local pubs, clubs and dances with friends Brian Morris, Chris Smith and Jim Wilkins in bands called The Upways and The Crestas.
(read more on the Andy Brouwer website)
Links to Peel[]
Peel impressed by Roy Hill, invited the singer to do two sessions for his programmes with his band, The Roy Hill Band. After 1979, Roy Hill seemed to be largely forgotten by Peel, according to available tracklistings on this site.
Sessions[]
THE ROY HILL BAND John Peel 2nd April 1979
1. Recorded: 1978-06-20. First Broadcast: 27 June 1978. Repeated: 18 July 1978, 08 November 1978
- It Can Take A Lifetime / Melody Avenue / I Like I Like I Like / More / It's Only My Life
2. Recorded: 1979-04-02. First Broadcast: 09 April 1979. Repeated: 02 May 1979
- Baby Don't Pretend / Small Adventurer / The Loser / TV Detective
Other Shows Played[]
- 09 May 1978: George's Bar (7") Arista
- 31 October 1978: I Like, I Like, I Like (7”) Arista
- 02 November 1978: I Like I Like I Like (7”) Arista
- 07 November 1978: I Like I Like I Like (7”) Arista