Ian Gomm

Ian Robert Gomm (born 28 March 1947 in Chiswick, West London) is a British singer-songwriter, who was the rhythm guitarist for Brinsley Schwarz from 1970 to 1974. He was named "Best Rhythm Guitarist" by NME in 1971.[1]

Gomm had started in around 1962/1963 in Unit 4. This group evolved out of an outfit formed by Ian Gomm on rhythm and lead guitar and vocals, Martin Davis on bass, and Simon Behar on drums, all of whom were pupils at Ealing County School for Boys. Soon after this formation, Frank Kennington, who was older than the others, joined as lead vocalist, and they became Unit 4. Mick Lieber, who had previously played with Frankie Reid & The Casuals and Clay Alison and the Searchers, joined Unit 4 around July 1964 but the new line-up was short-lived. Around October 1964, Kennington left and moved to Sydney, Australia, precipitating Unit 4's eventual break-up.

In 1975, following his time in Brinsley Schwarz, Gomm and his wife moved to mid-Wales, where he still lives. Reminiscing of playing in Wales with his band, he said, 'All of our four children learnt Welsh at school so perhaps that night at the Dixieland at Colwyn Bay Pier had more of an influence on my life than I knew at the time!’[2] In mid-Wales, he built a recording studio where he worked with musicians such as The Stranglers and Alexis Korner. He also toured with Dire Straits on their Sultans of Swing tour. Gomm's first solo album, Summer Holiday, came out in 1978. The album was re-titled and re-sequenced (with two extra tracks) as Gomm with the Wind. A single from the album, "Hold On" reached No. 18 in the United States and No. 44 in Canada in 1979. "Hold On" has since been featured as bumper music on the radio show "Coast to Coast AM". He also re-released his best-known song from his tenure in Brinsley Schwarz, "Hooked on Love", with "Chicken Run" as the B-side on Stiff in 1979.

In addition, he co-wrote the song "Cruel to Be Kind" with his former Brinsley Schwarz bandmate, Nick Lowe, and Lowe's 1979 recording of the tune reached No. 12 on both the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (becoming Lowe's most successful U.S. solo hit to date) that year. Gomm went on to release the solo albums What a Blow, The Village Voice and Images in the 1980s.[1] He continued to write songs and built a new studio.

The album Crazy for You was released in 1997, and his latest solo album, Rock 'N' Roll Heart, featuring Jeff "Stick" Davis and Pat McInerney, was released in 2002.[1]

Gomm released the 2010 album Only Time Will Tell with the American singer-songwriter Jeb Loy Nichols for the Relaxa Records label. They recorded 14 new tracks together at Gwyn Jones's Bos Studio in Llanerfyl, Mid Wales. Nashville musicians Clive Gregson and Pat McInerney also contributed in between UK touring commitments. It was mixed at The Butcher Shoppe, Nashville, Tennessee, by David Ferguson and mastered at Foxwood Mastering, by Dave Shipley.

Solo discography

Albums
  • 1978: Summer Holiday (Also released, in a slightly altered version, as Gomm With the Wind)
  • 1981: What A Blow
  • 1982: The Village Voice
  • 1986: Images (Also released as Cheap Hearts Hurt and What Makes a Man...)
  • 1997: Crazy For You
  • 2002: Rock 'N' Roll Heart

Live
  • 2002: "24 Hour Service" Recorded live in San Francisco in 1979

With Jeb Loy Nichols
  • 2010: "Only Time Will Tell"

References
  1. Heather Phares (17 March 1947). "Ian Gomm | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  2. "Brinsley Schwarz play The Pier, Colwyn Bay". Link2wales.co.uk. 25 March 1973. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
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