
An originator of pub rock and Mill Valley music legend.
While it may not have made headlines in the mainstream media, the passing of Austin de Lone on January 6th saw an outbreak of genuine sadness and reflection on social media from friends and colleagues including Bill Kirchen and Will Birch. A testament to the affection he was held in by other musicians and fans alike is the fact that the famed Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley was able to pull together a tribute concert for January 8th that sold out. This is only fitting for a musician who with his band Eggs Over Easy kick-started the London pub rock phenomenon in 1971, and who subsequently became a sought after session and touring musician playing with artists like Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Loudon Wainwright III, Jesse Colin Young, Bill Kirchen, The Fabulous Thunder Birds, Dan Hicks, Bonnie Raitt, and Boz Scaggs.
Born in Pennsylvania, after attending the New England Conservatory of Music, Harvard, and Berkeley, he formed Eggs Over Easy with New Yorkers Jack O’Hara and Brien Hopkins in 1969. Playing music influenced by The Band they made enough waves in Greenwich Village that Chas Chandler agreed to produce their debut album in London. Business problems meant that though they recorded tracks with Chandler for an album, nothing was released. While in London they had to scratch around for gigs to keep the wolf from the door, and this included getting a four-day-a-week residency at the then jazz pub the Tally Ho in Kentish Town. By this time they were an experienced bar band, with the three core members playing with a merry-go-round of drummers and a vast repertoire of original and cover songs. They drew various local musicians to their gigs at the Tally Ho, including Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, and Graham Parker, so that by the time they returned to America in late 1971 the seeds for the pub rock scene had not only been sown but were sprouting.
Back in America, Eggs Over Easy finally recorded their debut album, “Good ‘N’ Cheap” produced by Link Wray, but despite their influence back in London, it did nothing commercially. Austin de Lone moved into a house in Mill Valley that he lived in with his family for the rest of his life. While Eggs Over Easy limped on until the early ‘80s, releasing a second album that sank without a trace. However, Austin de Lone had found a home base and a network of friends and fellow musicians that sustained his career for the rest of his life. This included British musicians Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello, and an assortment of American musicians like Bill Kirchen, Dan Hicks, and Bonnie Raitt who played music that was an extension of the bar band sound of Eggs Over Easy. In the ‘80s he formed the Moonlighters with Bill Kirchen and their debut album was produced by Nick Lowe. He toured regularly with Bill Kirchen and they recorded a duet album in 2016, “Transatlantica”. He was a member of the Christmas Jug Band with Dan Hicks and Norton Buffalo and came to embody the spirit of the Sweetwater Music Hall with its hallowed stage. He also found time to release two solo records, the first “De Lone At Last” was released on the UK’s Demon Records in 1991, and the second “Soul Blues” was released in 2007, and featured friends like Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner, Bill Kirchen and Elvis Costello.
On a more personal note, he organised annual fundraisers for the Richard de Lone Special Housing Project, named in honour of his son, to raise funds to build a residential facility for sufferers of Prader-Willi Syndrome. In 2007, Elvis Costello played the event at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall backed by Clover and they recreated his debut album, “My Aim Is True”.
Any recording that includes Austin de Lone on vocals or keyboards is always worth a listen, and the music will be in that very sweet spot that mixes soul, blues, country, and rock and roll. It is this hybrid that Austin de Lone brought to London in 1971 with Eggs Over Easy and inadvertently changed music history as they dealt with the business machinations between their manager and label. He kept the flame of the music alive as a stalwart of the Mill Valley music scene, and as a session player and touring musician gave his support to like-minded musicians from both sides of the Atlantic, again making a perfect mix that added something to both traditions. His support for his son is just one example of the more personal side of his character which is glimpsed again by the affection he was held in by his fellow musicians.
Very, very sad news. An hugely underrated genius and the lynchpin of so many bands that litter my record collection. Rush Hour by The Moonlighters, in particular, is a pristine album (on the mighty Demon Records) that does indeed hit “that very sweet spot that mixes soul, blues, country, and rock and roll.” Just beautiful. He may not have got the plaudits but he has always been up there and an integral part of that Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and Bill Kirchen sound.
And … what’s not to like about an album titled Fear of Frying by Eggs Over Easy.
Yes Jonathan, very sad but a musical life well lived. He did make a difference.