Gallagher and Lyle

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Gallagher and Lyle, the Scottish pairing of Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle joined forces in 1959, initially as members of local Largs Band The Bluefrets. They began writing original material for the band and also wrote "Mr Heartbreak's Here Again" for Dean Ford and the Gaylords (later to become Marmalade). Their first recognition came in 1968, when they were signed by The Beatles to write for Apple Records artists such as Mary Hopkin, Sparrow, The Fields of St. Etienne, International, Heritage, and Jefferson.

By 1970, they had joined McGuinness Flint, and penned the folkish UK Top 10 hit singles "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues", both produced by Glyn Johns.

In the wake of the singer-songwriter phenomenon, they formed the duo Gallagher and Lyle in 1972, recording four albums: Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, Willie and the Lapdog, Seeds, and The Last Cowboy again under the auspices of Glyn Johns. But it was not until their fifth album, Breakaway, in 1976, that they charted again, with the hits "Heart on My Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay with You", both of which reached Number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. Art Garfunkel's cover of "Breakaway" was also a hit at the time, and Don Williams took "Stay Young" to No. 1 on the country charts, which saw the song receive in excess of one million airplays on American radio. The duo also penned and performed "A Heart in New York", which was later performed by both Simon and Garfunkel and Garth Brooks in their concerts in Central Park to audiences of 500,000 and 750,000, respectively.

Their mellow sound was only briefly in vogue, and elusive further success (another minor hit in the UK was "Every Little Teardrop") prompted their split in 1979 (see 1979 in music).

Lyle formed a new songwriting partnership with Terry Britten, and their hits included "What's Love Got to Do with It?" and "We Don't Need Another Hero" for Tina Turner. He also recorded an album with Tom McGuinness, credited to Lyle McGuinness: Acting on Impulse (1983).

Gallagher spent nine years as a Founding Director and the first Chairman of the Performing Artists Media Rights Association (PAMRA), which saw £20 million of equitable remuneration paid through to UK performers under his stewardship. He has been deemed a companion of LIPA, Sir Paul McCartney's school of performing arts in Liverpool, and spent a brief spell as bassist and vocalist of The Manfreds, which included five of the original members of Manfred Mann, featuring both lead singers, Paul Jones and Mike D'Abo, in the same band for the first time.

Gallagher and Lyle sang and performed as members of Ronnie Lane and The Slim Chance Band on the hit single "How Come" and the ensuing album, Anymore for Anymore, and they have worked, jointly and individually, on records with Mary Hopkin, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood, Elkie Brooks, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Champion Jack Dupree, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, and Jim Diamond.