Galliano are a London-based acid jazz group that were originally active between 1988 and 1997. The group was the first signing to Eddie Piller and Gilles Peterson's Acid Jazz record label. The original members were Rob Gallagher (vocals – credited as Roberto Galliano),[1] Constantine Weir (vocals), Michael Snaith (The Vibe Controller) and Crispin Robinson (percussion).
Other important members included Valerie Etienne, who participated in the recording of all their albums, along with other musicians such as Mick Talbot on keyboards, Crispin Taylor on drums, Ernie McKone on bass guitar, Mark Vandergucht guitar, and Steve Ameedee, otherwise known as Uncle Big Man (dancer). Ski Oakenfull replaced Mick Talbot on keyboards in 1994. The band split in November 1997 after musical differences over direction of travel, with Crispin Taylor starting a Cliff Richard cover band. The band announced a return in 2023, including a new album and several live gigs.
The group's first single, a reworking of Curtis Mayfield's Freddie's Dead called Frederick Lies Still, was released in June 1988.[2] It was also the first release on the Acid Jazz label. Their second release was on Let the Good Times Roll by The Quiet Boys in 1989.[3] The Quiet Boys was an alias used by acid jazz pioneer Chris Bangs who then went on to produce Galliano.
Galliano's first album release was In Pursuit of the 13th Note in 1991, which was produced by Bangs.[4] Their second album A Joyful Noise Unto the Creator was released in 1992.[5]
Galliano achieved the peak of their success in 1994 with The Plot Thickens which peaked at number eight in the UK Albums Chart.[6] Two UK top 40 singles were released from the album Long Time Gone (a cover of a David Crosby song from the self titled first album by Crosby, Stills & Nash) and Twyford Down. The latter was a comment on the road building protests taking place at the time and the protest at Twyford Down in particular, and they were joined onstage by anti-roads protestors to make appeals to the audience.[7] The album was well received making the NME's list of top 50 albums of the year.[8] Following its release Galliano performed on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in 1994 and returned to play the NME Stage in 1995.[9] [10]
Galliano's fourth and final studio album 4
Galliano broke up in 1997. Gallagher together with Etienne formed Two Banks of Four; Gallagher also performs solo using the names Earl Zinger, William Anderson and together with Alex Patchwork as The Diabolical Liberties.
In early 2023, Galliano announced a return, including a new album and a few live gigs that year.[12] The band played twice at Gilles Peterson's We Out Here Festival in August 2023, playing covers of "Harvest for the World" and "Uptown Top Ranking" alongside their original material.[13]
In May 2024, they released their first single in 28 years, "Circles Going Round The Sun"; in June 2024, they released "Pleasure, Joy & Happiness", a cover of a song by Eddie Chacon.[14] Their next album, Halfway Somewhere, is due for release on 30 August 2024.
| Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [15] [16] | AUS | |||
| In Pursuit of the 13th Note |
| – | 177 | |
| A Joyful Noise Unto The Creator |
| 28 | 152 | |
| The Plot Thickens |
| 8 | 103 | |
4 |
| – | – | |
| Halfway Somewhere |
| – | – | |
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [17] | AUS [18] | NED [19] | ||||
| 1988 | "Frederic Lies Still" | — | — | — | Singles only | |
| 1989 | "Let the Good Times Roll" (The Quiet Boys feat. Galliano) | — | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "Welcome to the Story" | — | — | — | In Pursuit of the 13th Note | |
| 1991 | "Nothing Has Changed" | 88 | — | 78 | ||
| "Power and Glory" | — | — | — | |||
| "Jus' Reach" | — | — | — | A Joyful Noise Unto the Creator | ||
| 1992 | "Skunk Funk" | 41 | — | — | ||
| "Prince of Peace" | 47 | — | 74 | |||
| "Jus' Reach Recycled" | 66 | — | — | |||
| 1994 | "Long Time Gone" | 15 | 126 | — | The Plot Thickens | |
| "Twyford Down" | 37 | — | — | |||
| 1996 | "Ease Your Mind" | 45 | — | — | 4 | |
| "Roofing Tiles" | 81 | — | — | |||
| 2024 | "Circles Going Round The Sun" | — | — | — | Halfway Somewhere | |
| "Pleasure, Joy & Happiness" | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes "did not chart or was not released". | ||||||