Robin Mark Le Mesurier Halliley (22 March 1953 – 22 December 2021) was a British guitarist, known for his long collaborations withRod Stewart[1] andJohnny Hallyday,[2] as well as for the wide-ranging nature of his musical performance, including membership of such bands asThe Wombles.[3]
Le Mesurier was the son of two of Britain's best-loved comedy actors,Hattie Jacques andJohn Le Mesurier. Le Mesurier gained a strong following during and after his appearance on Living TV's reality showRehab (2009), in which he opened up about his battle withalcoholism.[4]
Le Mesurier was educated atSussex House School, where he described himself as being "completely out of place", and then Westminster City grammar school. This was also an unhappy experience and Le Mesurier would be teased about his famous mother. As a teenager he was offered a place at theRoyal College of Music but turned it down.[5]
In his prime, Le Mesurier was a fan ofThe Faces and of guitar starsEric Clapton,Jimi Hendrix,John Lee Hooker,Muddy Waters, andJeff Beck. His first official band was The Reign (whose first single was written by theYardbirds membersKeith Relf andJim McCarty). The band lasted until 1973, then Le Mesurier became the guitarist ofThe Wombles,Mike Batt's novelty pop band that played his music for the British children's TV showThe Wombles.
At the beginning of his collaboration with Rod Stewart, Le Mesurier was mainly a guitar technician andsession musician. In 1976 he signed with a record company with which Rod Stewart was associated. He toured the United States withAir Supply in 1977 as the opening act forRod Stewart. After a period with Lion, eventually renamed The Difference, he was invited in 1980 to join the Rod Stewart group.
In 1994, he recorded two tracks on French singerJohnny Hallyday's first English-language recordRough Town. He became Hallyday's musical director, besides founding the group Farm Dogs withBernie Taupin andJim Cregan.
In September 2015, Le Mesurier joined Rod Stewart andRolling StoneRonnie Wood for theFaces reunion.[6]
Le Mesurier appeared in a double episode in the TV seriesSport Crime playing himself.The plot is about a campaign in which rock stars voluntarily submit to anti-doping rules the same as sportsmen.
Sport Crime is the first ever series based on sports investigation. ShowrunnerDaniela Scalia states that the main character "Dabs is a former rugbyman who is a rock fanatic, having Rolling Stones, Faces, Rod and Bowie as main life references. Hence the connection, Luca (Dabs) is the ultimate Rod encyclopedia, from Brentford to the Faces reunion… (which include Robin)”.[7][8][9]
Le Mesurier died of lung cancer on 22 December 2021, at the age of 68.[10]
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