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Lisle
Smile with Lisle
Bronco - 1974
Mike Milner
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Lisle was the name of a trio of young men from Simcoe County, just to the north of Toronto, who came to prominence in the early 1970s. Bill Chambers was the guitarist and lead singer, Brian Matthias played bass and Danny Stephens was the drummer, with Matthias and Stephens also helping out with vocals.
Chambers took me back to the band's origins, around 1967, when the guys were rehearsing in his parents' basement. After some time, they finally managed to get their first booking. But now that they actually had a gig, they needed a name and none of the fellows could agree on anything. So Stephens, who had set the job up, told the venue the name of the group was the Lisle Electric Company. When the boys arrived to perform, however, the sign at the hall entrance indicated the band performing that night were the Lisle. They were later told that the original name was too long to fit on the marquee, so the venue just used the first two words. Although they intended to come up with something better, they never did and eventually dropped the article. And so Lisle it was.
Over the next three years Lisle stayed close to home, continuing to perform, honing their musical skills and getting established. In 1970 the boys decided to hit the road and started playing on the circuit throughout Ontario, performing from Sarnia to Timmins to Renfrew. It was around this time that the original bassist quit and Brian Matthias joined. "Danny [Stephens] met this kid in Orillia that played bass and could sing," Chambers explained. "He was just what we needed, full of enthusiasm, fun, just full of life. Brian has an incredible musical aptitude. In a matter of three weeks he learned our repertoire and we hit the road again. That was the summer of 1971."
Lisle were playing six nights a week on the road and were really starting to gel. In the spring of 1972 the group made the acquaintance of Bud Crosgrey, who was starting the Bronco record label. Bud wanted to record the band, so he offered them a contract. The next step was to decide what material to record in the studio. Chambers remembers his Aunt Irma suggested they learn 'Goin' Away', a single from the American band the Fireballs, and that ended up being their first single.
The session took place at Captain Audio, in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood, with Crosgrey as producer and Jim Morgan as the sound engineer. The date of the recording just happened to be Chambers' birthday, the fifth of July. It speaks to how tight the band were that during that one single session they laid down two tracks: 'Goin' Away' and 'You're Why Baby'.
Over the next little while, between gigs and other obligations, Lisle were able to record enough material to release their only album, Smile with Lisle. The bulk of Smile... is given over to covers of relatively current songs. In addition to the previously mentioned tracks, it also included their most successful single, 'Shelley Made Me Smile', a version of a 1972 b-side by a singer named Little Joe. 'Shelley Made Me Smile' climbed to #16 on the CHUM radio chart in April 1974 and could often be heard on Southern Ontario radio. It has even made it onto a number of compilations over the years.
Chambers left Lisle in 1974, although the group would continue with other members for a few more years . Throughout the band's tenure, he credits Stephens as being the driving force propelling them forward. Chambers has kept his hand in music and still performs. And the three have all kept in touch, with a strong bond still existing between them.
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