Leigh Ashton (born 11 April 1956 in Manchester, England) is a South African singer, songwriter, pianist, performer and recording artist from Johannesburg, South Africa. Ashton was born in Manchester, England, on 11 April 1956 and moved to South Africa at the age of three.
Ashton was signed to David Gresham Productions as a singer songwriter at 19. His first single "Love Me" was released in November 1975. Ashton worked with some of the best musicians in the country at the time including Trevor Rabin, Julian Laxton and Allan Goldswain.[1] The following year he performed at the very successful "Colosseum Mighty Music Machine" alongside local household names such as Bobby Angel, Bruce Millar, Richard Loring and Sonya Herholdt[2] but he still had yet to achieve his own recognition. In 1977 "Tanya", one of his own songs, reached no 12 on the official SA charts based on sales – competing with ABBA and Leo Sayer.[3] "Tanya" was released on Pye Records later that year in England and Europe.[4] A series of newspaper articles, TV videos, pin up photos and radio interviews followed and he released his third single "Day after Day" another self penned song.[5]
Ashton was later offered a recording contract with GRC part of Gallo on the worldwide CBS label and after liaising and negotiating with both companies changed to GRC to work with Hilton Rosenthal who was producing Juluka at the time. His 4th and 5th singles, "That Girl" and "Christmas Song", were well received by fans and the record industry, but due to an unfortunate misunderstanding between the record companies, arguments ensued and both companies left the singles with no marketing or moral support.[6] Tanya, Teenage Lover, Day After Day, That Girl and Auld Lang Syne are on YouTube. The Stockley Sisters later released a version of "That Boy" in 1977.
Between 1978 and 1984, Ashton concentrated on songwriting and wrote his best songs during this period, including Snowflakes in A Major, Mother, The Park Hobo (which is considered his classic), Give and Take, Nightmare, The Foxtrot, Doubt in My Mind, When You Need a Friend, The Iceman and Keeping It Simple. Keeping It Simple is also the proposed name of his full-length album, containing the previously mentioned songs. The title plays on the fact that most of the songs are written to be played without a full band.
Ashton has been a member of SAMRO for 40 years. He has never been dependent on his music to earn a living and prefers to perform for pleasure. He still performs regularly at various venues around Johannesburg, South Africa.
Singles
"Love Me" – 1975 "Tanya" – 1977 (Reached no 12 on the South African Charts) "Day After Day" – 1977 "That Girl" – 1978 "Christmas Song" – 1978
References
^[The Sunday Express, 28 August 1977, Better Living Supplement, pg 11]
leigh, ashton, british, historian, director, victoria, albert, museum, museum, director, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, biography, living, person. For the British art historian and director of the Victoria and Albert Museum see Leigh Ashton museum director This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Leigh Ashton news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view Please discuss further on the talk page December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Leigh Ashton born 11 April 1956 in Manchester England is a South African singer songwriter pianist performer and recording artist from Johannesburg South Africa Ashton was born in Manchester England on 11 April 1956 and moved to South Africa at the age of three Leigh AshtonBackground informationBirth nameStanford Howard Leigh AshtonBorn 1956 04 11 11 April 1956 age 66 GenresPop Pop rockOccupation s Singer songwriterInstrument s Vocals pianoYears active1975 presentLabelsNitty Gritty Records Plum CBSCareer Edit Leigh standing with his records Ashton was signed to David Gresham Productions as a singer songwriter at 19 His first single Love Me was released in November 1975 Ashton worked with some of the best musicians in the country at the time including Trevor Rabin Julian Laxton and Allan Goldswain 1 The following year he performed at the very successful Colosseum Mighty Music Machine alongside local household names such as Bobby Angel Bruce Millar Richard Loring and Sonya Herholdt 2 but he still had yet to achieve his own recognition In 1977 Tanya one of his own songs reached no 12 on the official SA charts based on sales competing with ABBA and Leo Sayer 3 Tanya was released on Pye Records later that year in England and Europe 4 A series of newspaper articles TV videos pin up photos and radio interviews followed and he released his third single Day after Day another self penned song 5 Ashton was later offered a recording contract with GRC part of Gallo on the worldwide CBS label and after liaising and negotiating with both companies changed to GRC to work with Hilton Rosenthal who was producing Juluka at the time His 4th and 5th singles That Girl and Christmas Song were well received by fans and the record industry but due to an unfortunate misunderstanding between the record companies arguments ensued and both companies left the singles with no marketing or moral support 6 Tanya Teenage Lover Day After Day That Girl and Auld Lang Syne are on YouTube The Stockley Sisters later released a version of That Boy in 1977 Between 1978 and 1984 Ashton concentrated on songwriting and wrote his best songs during this period including Snowflakes in A Major Mother The Park Hobo which is considered his classic Give and Take Nightmare The Foxtrot Doubt in My Mind When You Need a Friend The Iceman and Keeping It Simple Keeping It Simple is also the proposed name of his full length album containing the previously mentioned songs The title plays on the fact that most of the songs are written to be played without a full band Ashton has been a member of SAMRO for 40 years He has never been dependent on his music to earn a living and prefers to perform for pleasure He still performs regularly at various venues around Johannesburg South Africa Singles Edit Love Me 1975 Tanya 1977 Reached no 12 on the South African Charts Day After Day 1977 That Girl 1978 Christmas Song 1978References Edit The Sunday Express 28 August 1977 Better Living Supplement pg 11 The Star Tonight Friday 18 June 1976 pg 13 The Official South African Hit Parade 3 10 17 and 24 June 1977 The Star Tonight Fri 17 June 1977 Pg 3 The Star Tonight Tuesday 19 April 1977 Pg 2 Charmaine Magazine May 1978 Pg 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leigh Ashton amp oldid 1053268657, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
