Geraint Watkins is a rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and accordion

Accordion

The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

ist backing artistes

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 such as; Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe

Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...

, Dave Edmunds

Dave Edmunds

David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...

, Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

, Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler

Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...

, Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

, Roy St. John and Shakin' Stevens

Shakin' Stevens

Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...

. He has also issued a number of album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s under his own name, the latest being In A Bad Mood.

Career

After time in the early 1970s at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 Art College, he returned to Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 and played with Red Beans And Rice and Juice On The Loose. The band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

, Red Beans And Rice, attracted attention and moved to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to further their career. When they disbanded Watkins played solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 performances in London's pubs

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 and with various bands, such as the Cable Layers, Klondike Pete and the Huskies, the band of Southend

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...

's, Micky Jupp

Mickey Jupp

Michael 'Mickey' Jupp is an English musician and songwriter, mainly associated with the Southend music scene....

 on the 'Be Stiff Route 78' tour. He went on to record

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 an album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, Geraint Watkins & The Dominators (1979), produced

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 by Andy Fairweather-Low

Andy Fairweather-Low

Andrew Fairweather Low is a Welsh guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. He was a founding member of 1960s British pop band, Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.-Early career:Fairweather Low first found fame as a...

. Session

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

 work followed: recording and/or performing with Dr. Feelgood

Dr. Feelgood (band)

Dr. Feelgood are a British pub rock band formed in 1971. The band's name derives from a slang term for heroin or for a doctor who is willing to overprescribe drugs. It is also a reference to a 1962 record by the American blues pianist and singer Willie Perryman called "Dr Feel-Good", which...

, Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher

William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948  – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...

, Andy Fairweather-Low, The Fabulous Thunderbirds

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...

, The Blues Band

The Blues Band

The Blues Band is a British blues band formed in 1979 by Paul Jones, former lead vocalist and harmonica player with Manfred Mann, and vocalist/slide guitarist Dave Kelly, who had previously played with the John Dummer Blues Band, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker...

, Box Of Frogs

Box of Frogs

Box of Frogs was a band formed in 1983 by former members of The Yardbirds, who released their first album in 1984. The core group comprised Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith, and Jim McCarty...

, The Stray Cats, Carl Perkins

Carl Perkins

Carl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...

 and Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

 amongst others.

The 1980s and beyond found Watkins playing accordion and piano with The Balham Alligators, a band that has helped to keep the music of Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 alive in London's pubs, of which he is a founding member. Throughout the 1980s he also was a mainstay in Dave Edmunds

Dave Edmunds

David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...

's band, both recording and touring with him. He contributed vocals, piano and accordion to Klondike Pete and the Huskies' 1981 album "Some of the Fellers" and appears, as Lightning Wanson G, on their 2010 album "Who Axed You". In recent years Watkins has found time to work with Bill Wyman

Bill Wyman

Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...

's Rhythm Kings; contributing to Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe

Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...

 albums, The Impossible Bird

The Impossible Bird

The Impossible Bird is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Produced by Lowe and Neil Brockbank, it was released in the UK in 1994 on Demon Records and elsewhere by Upstart Records.-Tracks listing:#"Soulful Wind" - 3:01...

(1994), Dig My Mood

Dig My Mood

Dig My Mood is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Produced by Lowe and Neil Brockbank, it was released in the UK in 1998 by Demon Records and elsewhere by Upstart Records.-Track listing:All songs by Nick Lowe unless otherwise noted....

(1998), The Convincer

The Convincer

The Convincer is a 2001 studio album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Produced by Lowe and Neil Brockbank, it was released in Europe by Proper Records and by Yep Roc Records in the USA.-Track listing:...

(2001), Untouched Takeaway

Untouched Takeaway

Untouched Takeaway is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. A live recording produced by Lowe and Neil Brockbank, it was released in 2004 by Yep Roc Records...

(2004) and At My Age

At My Age

At My Age is an album by Nick Lowe released in June 2007 by . It was recorded in London and produced by Nick Lowe and Neil Brockbank.- Track listing :All tracks composed by Nick Lowe; except where indicated#"A Better Man"#"Long Limbed Girl"...

(2007); and to Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

 albums, Back on Top (1999), Down the Road (2002), Pay the Devil

Pay the Devil

Pay the Devil is the thirty-second album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, featuring twelve cover versions of American country and western tunes and three original compositions...

(2006) and Keep It Simple

Keep It Simple

Keep It Simple is the thirty-third solo studio album recorded by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on March 17, 2008 by Exile Productions Ltd./Polydor in the U.K.. and on the Lost Highway Records label on April 1, 2008, in the U.S....

(2008).

As well as an early vinyl LP

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 with The Dominators, Watkins has released three solo albums Watkins - Bold As Love (1997), Dial W For Watkins (2004) and In A Bad Mood (2008). Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...

 said of Dial W For Watkins, "It's slight on the surface – the love songs are sweet and short, there are lots of ragged edges and lots of jokes – but that's its appeal: it's warm, friendly, engaging music, perfect for a relaxing evening at home with old friends."
Kerry Doole of Exclaim!

Exclaim!

Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...

called it "an unassuming but delightful effort."
Jason MacNeil of PopMatters

PopMatters

PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

 suggested that Watkins' proficiency in a multitude of music genres "is what makes this album so bloody special."

Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

contributor Paul Sexton wrote that In a Bad Mood "diplays Watkins' love for vintage R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 but also has more surprising sorties into chanson

Chanson

A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...

 and cajun

Cajun music

Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin...

."
Sexton ranked it as the number one album of 2008 on his year-end list; Billboard deputy global editor Tom Ferguson listed the album at number two.

In 2009, Watkins toured with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings as keyboard and accordion player and singer. He toured with Peter Green & Friends as a keyboard player the following year. Watkins also toured with, and opened for, Nick Lowe, as a keyboardist.

Geraint Watkins & the Dominators

Track listing

1. "Man Smart Woman Smarter"
2. "Casting My Spell"
3. "In The Night"
4. "Grow Too Old"
5. "Blue Moon of Kentucky"
6. "Gotta Find My Baby"
7. "Paralysed"
8. "Nobody"
9. "Deep In The Heart of Texas"
10. "Don't You Just Know It"
11. "If Walls Could Talk"
12. "My Baby Left Me"
13. "Cakewalk Into Town"

Personnel

• Geraint Watkins - vocals, piano, organ, electric piano, accordion, percussion
• Andy Fairweather-Low - drums, bass, vocals, moog bass, percussion, acoustic guitar
• Mickey Gee
  Mickey Gee
  Michael Richard 'Mickey' Gee was a rock and roll guitarist who played alongside some of the most prominent Welsh musicians of the last forty years.He died on 21 January 2009 in Cardiff from emphysema.-Career:...
  
   - guitar, vocals, backing vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar
• John David - bass, vocals, percussion, backing vocals
• Dave Charles
  Dave Charles
  Dave Charles, also known as David Charles is a British drummer, recording engineer & record producer. He often appears under both names on the same album, e.g. Help Yourself's The Return of Ken Whaley, where Dave Charles is credited with drums and vocals and David Charles as producer.Charles'...
  
   - drums, backing vocals
• Steve Gregory
  Steve Gregory
  Steve Gregory is an English jazz saxophonist and composer. He plays tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone as well as the flute.Steve Gregory was born in the UK. At St. Paul's School he learned guitar and piano and played clarinet in the school orchestra. He turned down a place at the...
  
   - saxophones, backing vocals
• Buddy Beadle - saxophones, backing vocals
• Henry Spinetti
  Henry Spinetti
  Henry Spinetti is a Welsh-born session drummer whose playing has featured on a large number of prominent rock and pop albums. He is the younger brother of the actor, Victor Spinetti.-Career:...
  
   - drums, backing vocals

Production credits

• A Booga Rooga production - Andy Fairweather-Low
• Engineered by Dave Charles
  Dave Charles
  Dave Charles, also known as David Charles is a British drummer, recording engineer & record producer. He often appears under both names on the same album, e.g. Help Yourself's The Return of Ken Whaley, where Dave Charles is credited with drums and vocals and David Charles as producer.Charles'...
  
  
• Recorded at the Old Mill Rockfield also at Rockfield Studios
  Rockfield Studios
  Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
  
  
• Mixed at Rockfield Studios

Bold as Love

Track listing

1. "My Happy Day"
2. "I Love Being In Love"
3. "It's A Wonderful Life"
4. "Don't Stop"
5. "Sweetheart"
6. "Don't Knock It"
7. "Honey Honey"
8. "It's Over"
9. "It's A Beautiful Day"
10. "Oobee Doobee Eyes"
11. "Big Bad Dog"
12. "Mr Blue"
13. "It's A Wonderful Life (again)"

Personnel

• Geraint Watkins - vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano
• Nick Lowe
  Nick Lowe
  Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
  
   - bass guitar, acoustic guitar - track 11
• Robert Trehern - drums
• Nick Pentelow - horns
• Bob Loveday - violin - track 3
• Steve Donnelly - acoustic guitar - tracks 3-4
• Peter Glenister - additional guitar - track 4

Production credits

• Produced by Neil Brockbank, Bobby Irwin
• Recorded at The Bonaparte Rooms - Twickenham, RAK studios and Balham
• Mixed at The Bonaparte Rooms and Alaska Studios

The Official Bootleg

Track listing

1. "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"
2. "Old Shep"
3. "Georgia"
4. "The Jealous Kind"
5. "Chicken Shack"
6. "Mess Around"
7. "Flip Flop And Fly"
8. "Ain't Nobody's Business"
9. "Carless Love"
10. "Stardust"

Personnel

• Geraint Watkins - piano, vocals

The Bootleg after the Bootleg

Track listing

1. "Heroes And Villains"
2. "Ruby"
3. "Secret Love"
4. "Love Letters"
5. "Happy Day"
6. "Wonderful Live"
7. "Nature Boy"
8. "Yesterday"
9. "Who's Kissing Her Now" (1st version)
10. "Stardust" (new version)
11. "Carless Love" (new version)
12. "Who's Kissing Her Now" (2nd version)
13. "Georgia" (new 1st version)"
14. "Yo Yo"
15. "You've Changed"
16. "Balham High Road"
17. "Mess Around"
18. "Old Shep"
19. "Pennies From Heaven"
20. "Diddy Wah Diddy"
21. "Nobody Here But Us Chickens" (new version)
22. "Georgia" (new 2nd version)

Personnel

• Geraint Watkins - piano, vocals

Dial 'W' for Watkins

Track listing

1. "Two Rocks"
2. "Turn That Chicken Down"
3. "Be My Love"
4. "Blessed With Happiness"
5. "The Whole Night Through"
6. "Cold War"
7. "Heroes And Villains"
8. "Soldier of Love"
9. "I Will"
10. "I'm Just Crazy About You"
11. "Bring Me The Head of My So Called Lover"
12. "Heaven"
13. "Only A Rose"
14. "Go West"

Production Credits

• Produced by Neil Brockbank & Warent Atkins

Personnel

• Geraint Watkins - vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano
• Nick Lowe - bass guitar, vocals
• Steve Donnelly - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar
• Robert Trehern - drums, drum loops, vocals
• Neil Brockbank - organ, bass guitar
• Matt Radford - upright bass
• Sterling Roswell
  Sterling Roswell
  Sterling Roswell is a British musician, and best known as being a former member of Spacemen 3. Real name: Stewart Roswell.-Career:...
  
  - percussion

In a Bad Mood

Track listing

1. "Easy To Say (Bon Temps Rouler)"
2. "Champion"
3. "Unto You"
4. "Fools Like Me"
5. "Champion"
6. "My Love"
7. "Bourgeoise"
8. "History"
9. "Jenni"
10. "Heart of the City"
11. "Catch On"
12. "At Last"

Production Credits

• Produced by Neil Brockbank & Geraint Watkins

Personnel

• Geraint Watkins - Vocals, Guitar, Organ, Piano
• Nick Lowe - Rhythm guitar
• Steve Donnelly - Lead guitar
• Robert Trehern - Drums
• Matt Radford - Vertical bass
• Johnny Scott - Rythmn guitar
• Matt Holland - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
• Andy Wood - Trombone
• Trevor Myers - Euphonium, Trombone
• Martin Winning - Clarinet
• Katherine Johnstone - Backing vocals