“King and Dalgleish have earned their place in the role call of great country duettists” – UNCUT
For what began like a something of a side project for Michael Weston King & Lou Dalgleish, a labour of love, a homage to the classic country duets of the 60’s and 70’s, My Darling Clementine has grown and grown, and to some degree, has even overtaken the solo careers of it’s two main protagonists.
In a twelve year period they have released six critically acclaimed albums, a DVD collection, and played over 800 shows right across the world. The numerous accolades and awards they have won has placed the band at the forefront of the ever burgeoning Americana scene.
The 2011 debut “How Do You Plead?” was produced by Neil Brockbank (Nick Lowe) and featured some of London’s finest musicians from the 70’s pub rock era. Released in 2011, it was immediately acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic. Country Music People called it; “The greatest British country record ever made”.
Such praise led to a US record deal and invitations to appear at the Americana Music Association in Nashville and at SXSW in Austin in 2013.
The follow-up, “The Reconciliation” produced by Colin Elliot (Richard Hawley) and featuring guest appearances from Kinky Freidman and The Brodsky Quartet only enhanced the bands growing reputation and received a similar critical response with the New York Daily News choosing it as their ‘album of the month’, while US taste-makers Popmatters put it in their Top 10 Country Albums of 2013.
Their next move was a slight departure as they collaborated with best selling crime writer, and avowed country music fan, Mark Billingham, on the story and song project “The Other Half.” Billingham wrote a dark, nourish tale of murder, lust and revenge around eight of King & Dalgleish songs. The Other Half became an album, an audio book, and a stage show and featured contributions from actor David Morrissey and legendary singer songwriter Graham Parker.
After touring the show with Mark for 18 months, including a successful run at The Edinburgh Festival, Michael and Lou returned to the studio, and re-united with Neil Brockbank for what would be their 4th album, and sadly Neils’ last. He passed away in 2017. “Still Testifying” was a further step away from classic country to embrace gospel and country soul. It was widely acclaimed, with many writers praising the new direction. UnCut wrote: “Where gospel, country and Southern soul happily collide. It’s terrific”, while No Depression said: “Sublime country soul. The King and Queen of UK Country are back and they have headed south”.
In 2019, and a few months before the Covid pandemic shut down all touring, Lou and Michael entered into another collaboration, this time with keyboard genius Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello & The Attractions / The Imposters). The three came together to record Country Darkness, a collection of songs written by Elvis Costello, reinterpreted for duet.
Initially released as a series of vinyl EP’s between Autumn 2019 and summer 2020, it came out as a full album in November 2020, charting in both the UK and European Americana charts. It garnered much press from media and Costello fans alike, many of who became ardent MDC fans too.
American Songwriter said “Costello’s songs, King and Dalgleish’s voices, Nieve’s keys… it’s a perfect fit” with Americana-UK praising the re-interpretation, “Their vocal delivery takes ownership of these songs”
From 2021 – 2023, they toured incessantly, incorporating the Costello songs into their live set, They now enter 2024 preparing for another busy year. A new album of all new King & Dalgleish songs is being recorded, with tours of the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Ireland and American already in the diary.