Kent singer \ songwriter Billy Levin has been in a number of Country bands over the years. In the mid 80s he was in a band called Drunk and Crazy with brother Tommy. They had a Sunday residency at the Fishing Smack pub in Barking, Essex. The band split when the lead singer and bass player moved to Yarmouth so Billy, Tommy and Wag (the fiddle player) teamed up with Trevor Kelly and Mike Scott Tracy. The band eventually became Trevor Kelly and the Lonestar Flyers.
In 1998, Geoff Eatwell left the popular Kent band Plain Loco and was replaced by Billy Levin. As Billy is a guitarist, this was the first time Plain Loco didn’t have pedal steel guitar in the lineup. In 1999 Plain Loco recorded the CD album Blue Memory; an album still considered to be a milestone in British country music. It is an album of all original songs. Billy Levin contributed five songs including Call me when it’s over and including the title song, three were co-written by Tony Crooks. The album was recorded in Sean Kenny’s studio and featured Karl Brazil on drums; Karl is now in Robbie Williams’ and James Blunt’s band.
In mid-2001 Billy Levin left and Plain Loco became a duo with Steve Jay and Tony Crooks. Billy’s next band was Dartford Crossing, but not being keen on touring they quickly folded. It was, at this time, that Billy Lervin realised he never wanted to work with backing tracks again. He bought a PA and formed his own Billy Levin Band; he told me recently “You can’t beat the buzz playing with a full band”. Over the years the band was also known as the Twangdaddies, a name that wasn’t always popular and is now usually referred to as Billy’s Band. The name come from the lyrics of Brad Paisley’s song Oh Yeah, You’re Gone – ‘Billy’s band is playing at the Canyon club on Friday’.
In 2012 Billy was lead guitarist \ vocalist in the reformed Porridge Country Band with brothers Ed and John Paine and their wives Bev and Sandie who had been playing together since 1975, forming the original Porridge band with Ed Pearson in 1989. The reformed Porridge Band recruited both Roger Humphries and Clive Lawrence. Clive only stayed a short while and was soon replaced by Billy Levin. Billy and Roger Humphries left the band in 2013 with Dave Lane replacing them both on lead guitar. From then on Billy concentrated on fronting his own band which also included Roger Humphries for a while. The current line up is Billy Levin (lead vocals and lead guitar), Steve Crispe (lead guitar and vocals), John Davis (bass and vocals) and Ali Clarke (drums). In the 1980s Steve Crispe has been a member of Roger Humphries band and later Greta and the Strayshots.
Research by Nick Catford.