Leonard was born in Llanelli, South Wales. He formed his first band Lucifer and the Corncrackers in 1962, with Mike Rees (vocals), Geoff Griffiths (drums) and Clive "Wes" Reynolds (bass), whilst still at Llanelli Grammar School, choosing his stage name from "Deke" Rivers, Elvis Presley's role in his second film Loving You. Leonard left school to work for a building contractor, which he left to avoid being fired, so became a full-time musician.
The Corncrackers ran their own club, the "L" Club, featuring themselves and other local musicians, whilst also playing support to acts such as Johnny Kidd & The Pirates and The Hollies at a rival venue. When Rees left they continued as a trio, Keith Hodge then replaced Griffiths, but when Reynolds left to join the South Wales band The Jets, The Corncrackers broke up.
Leonard also joined The Jets, on keyboards, but preferred playing guitar, so reformed The Corncrackers with additional guitarist Brian Breeze, before replacing Vic Oakley as bass player in The Blackjacks, with whom he toured US bases in Europe. On his return, he rejoined The Jets, with Tony "Plum" Hollis on vocals, Martin Ace (bass) and Beau Adams (drums). There were too many Jets on the circuit, so they changed their name to The Smokeless Zone and took residencies in Germany, including Hamburg's Top Ten Club where Tony Sheridan played with them. Adams was replaced by Terry Williams, but after more European residencies, they disbanded.
Breeze left the Corncrackers, so Leonard rejoined, playing London residences and recording demos for EMI & CBS. When Hodge left, Terry Williams joined on drums and Martin Ace as a multi-instrumentalist. The band changed its style to psychedelia and its name to Dream, who, not sure what a "freak-out" was, invented their own with shaving foam and confetti.
In November 1968, Leonard joined The Bystanders, to replace Vic Oakley (again), just as the band changed their musical direction from close harmony pop, to a psychedelic/American west coast style, and their name to Man.
Leonard initially stayed with Man until they were mixing their second album 2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in the Middle, then left to join his wife in Llanelli. He became productivity manager in a piano factory, but quit having supported a wild-cat strike, and was accepted back into the band whilst Man's original bass player and drummer were replaced by Leonard's former Dream colleagues, Martin Ace and Terry Williams, which some saw as a take-over.
When Ace left in 1972, Leonard was fired by Micky Jones and Williams, but was immediately offered a solo record deal by Man's A&R man, Andrew Lauder. He joined Help Yourself to avoid them having to cancel a tour, as Malcolm Morley was ill, but stayed on after Morley rejoined, recording Christmas at the Patti on 19 December 1972, as support to Man.
Leonard recorded his first 'solo' album Iceberg, with Mike Gibbins (Badfinger), Byron Berline (The Flying Burrito Brothers), Tommy Riley, Martin Ace, Beau Adams and all of Help Yourself.
Needing a band to tour and promote the album, he formed the band Iceberg, with former Corncrackers' Brian Breeze (guitar) and Keith Hodge (drums), and ex Help Yourself Paul Burton (bass). The album received good reviews, the single "Hard Way to Live" was on the BBC playlist and was promoted by John Peel, for whom this Iceberg recorded a Peel Session on 14 May 1973.
After touring the album, Martin Ace replaced Burton, and after another tour, Dave Charles replaced Hodge. This line up recorded the Kamikaze album, with help from Dave Edmunds, but the album was seen as "a big disappointment".
They recorded another Peel session on 26 November 1973, before Ace was replaced by Help Yourself's Ken Whaley. They toured supporting Man, during which Micky Jones and Leonard arranged a new Man line-up, so when Man split in December 1973, Leonard disbanded Iceberg.
Leonard rejoined Man in January 1974, bringing Malcolm Morley and Ken Whaley with him. He stayed until Man disbanded in December 1976, playing on all the albums from Rhinos, Winos, and Lunatics to All's Well That Ends Well.
When Man disbanded, Leonard still had a solo record contract, so recorded Before Your Very Eyes, with Martin Ace, Terry Williams and others. Produced by Martin Rushent, the album release was delayed for five years, when EMI took over United Artists.
He briefly played with Sean Tyla (ex Ducks Deluxe) in the Tyla Gang, appearing on their 1977 album Yachtless, then reformed Iceberg, initially with Lincoln Carr (bass) and Terry Williams. A later line up of Richard Treece (ex Help Yourself) (guitar & bass), B.J. Cole (pedal steel guitar) and Reg Isadore (drums) evolved into Leonard, Howard Hughes (piano) and Anthony Stone (drums) who performed another Peel Session on 15 February 1978.
Also in 1978, Leonard, Big George and Pete Thomas helped Larry Wallis record an album, to be called Leather Forever, but the album was shelved, although some tracks were later released on "Pink Fairies and Deviants" compilation albums Hams (Vol 2) and Hogwash.
Leonard briefly moved to the USA in 1981, where he worked on Walter Egan's album The Last Stroll,[13] before rejoining Sean Tyla to form The Force with Micky Groome (bass) and Paul Simmons (drums). After extensive touring, they recorded an eponymous album, The Force but Tyla suffered severe stage fright and left the band, which became another Iceberg.
In 1983 Leonard disbanded Iceberg again, to join the reforming Man, playing with them until 1996, when he suffered a minor stroke. Man played as a trio until he recovered, and rejoined them in 1997.
In 2002 Leonard issued Unfinished Business a CD of demos, rejects and out-takes. Later that year Micky Jones had several operations on a brain tumour, but in 2004, when Jones had recovered enough to rejoin, Leonard decided to leave Man again.
In 2004, Leonard formed another Iceberg, with former Man bassist Will Youatt, guitarist Clive "Snob" Roberts and Bob Richards (who continued drumming with Man). Roberts was diagnosed with lung cancer after their first gig, and died shortly after, being replaced by Brian Breeze, who was in turn replaced by Ray "Taff" Williams (not Ray Williams, the original Man bass player, who died in 1993).
In 2004, Leonard also recorded a solo album Freedom and Chains, the studio time being sponsored by 56 "Angels" who are credited in the sleeve-notes; and in 2005, a collection of Iceberg recordings for 1970s radio shows, including John Peel, was released as Wireless.
As of 2012 Iceberg are still performing, with Will Youatt (bass), Bob Richards (drums) and James Beck (guitar) backing Leonard.
Leonard started his writing career with sleeve notes for the 1970s Man albums. After Man disbanded he wrote articles and reviews for Vox, Studio Week and other music magazines. His first autobiographical book Rhinos, Winos & Lunatics (1996) had limited sales, but his second book Maybe I Should've Stayed in Bed? (2000) received good reviews, prompting a second edition of the first book, which has since been translated into German. In 2003, The Fiction Factory acquired the film rights to both books.
Leonard read extracts from the books for a series of BBC radio programmes It's Crazy Man which won "Best Radio Documentary" at the 2006 Celtic Film and Television Festival[14] and were nominated for a Sony Radio Academy "Special Music Award" in 2006. He has also toured a one-man show, retelling selections of his rock'n'roll anecdotes, interspersed with songs, and has regularly appeared at the Dylan Thomas Literary Weekend in Laugharne.
Leonard has also appeared as panellist, commentator and narrator on several television and radio programmes including: Pub Rock Quiz, Rock Of Ages, Dragons Breath (a history of Welsh rock music), Tales Of The Road and Juke Box Heroes.
His third book The Twang Dynasty – From Memphis to Merthyr, guitarists that rocked the world. was launched at an Iceberg gig on 15 December 2011 although officially published in January 2012.
His fourth book, the third in his autobiographical series, Maximum Darkness: Man on the Road to Nowhere was launched at Micky Jones' 4th Memorial Jam on 13 December 2014, although officially published in January 2015. Also in 2015, a collection magazine articles, Deke Speaks: A collection of musings and diary notes from "The Welsh Connection", was published for Kindle.
Bad Luck
Deke Leonard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here's my intention
The frat boys in the club are lame
Let′s start an altercation
It's just what I'm used to
Just want to fuck shit up
I got my whole damn crew
Come on, what you gon′ do
I kissed a boy and they liked it
Got all the honeys in the club excited
I kissed a boy just to start shit
And homeboy was not about it
I know it′s wrong, but I don't mind
I′m gonna start shit tonight
I kissed a boy just to start shit
Bitches loved it
Nah, you don't even know my name
It doesn′t matter
Don't even front, you got no game
You′re just a sucker
So what now, I clowned you
And I'm stealing your girl too
She wants a secure dude
And that's just not you
I kissed a boy and they liked it
Got all the honeys in the club excited
I kissed a boy just to start shit
And homeboy was not about it
I know it′s wrong, but I don′t mind
I'm gonna start shit tonight
I kissed a boy just to start shit
Bitches loved it
Me and my bros thats how we roll
You′ll never know how far we'll go
I′ll grab some chump that I don't know
And plant one right on him
You′re only here for our
Amusement
I kissed a boy and they liked it
Got all the honeys in the club excited
I kissed a boy just to start shit
And homeboy was not about it
I know it's wrong, but I don't mind
I′m gonna start shit tonight
I kissed a boy just to start shit
Bitches loved it
The song "Bad Luck" by Deke Leonard is a disturbing take on the idea of starting trouble for the sake of it. The lyrics are sung by a protagonist who seems to find pleasure in causing chaos and creating disturbances. The song opens with the singer possessing a diabolical plan to start an altercation with the people at the club. He calls them 'lame' frat boys and taunts them by saying, "What you gonna do". The singer's rationale for the fight is that it's what he is used to and just wants to mess things up.
The chorus of the song takes a sharp turn with the lyrics "I kissed a boy, and they liked it." The singer details how he kissed a boy merely to start trouble, not caring if it was wrong or not. The crowd at the club seems to love his indiscretion, as they become excited, but the homeboy is not interested. The tension of the song increases when the singer decides to steal the girl of the boy he kissed, as she wants someone secure, which the singer is not. The song's lyrics take us on a wild ride of chaos, as the singer continues to cause trouble for the amusement of himself and his "bros."
Overall, "Bad Luck" is a song that captures the essence of toxic masculinity, which has been prevalent since time immemorial. It showcases how men are more prone to violence, and how they measure their worth based on their ability to cause chaos and destruction. Moreover, the song also captures how crowd behavior can fuel the perpetuation of violence and the objectification of women.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo check it out, I've got a plan
I have an idea that I want to carry out
The frat boys in the club are lame
I don't like the men in the club
Let's start an altercation
Let's start a fight with someone
It's just what I'm used to
I'm familiar with starting fights
Just want to fuck shit up
I just want to cause chaos and damage
I got my whole damn crew
I have my entire group of friends with me
Come on, what you gon' do
What will you do in response to my actions?
I kissed a boy and they liked it
I kissed another guy and the people in the club enjoyed it
Got all the honeys in the club excited
All the women at the club were happy about it
I kissed a boy just to start shit
I kissed another guy just to cause trouble
And homeboy was not about it
The guy I kissed did not appreciate it
I know it's wrong, but I don't mind
I know my actions are not acceptable, but I do not care
I'm gonna start shit tonight
I plan to cause trouble tonight
Bitches loved it
The women at the club enjoyed my behavior
Nah, you don't even know my name
You do not know who I am
It doesn't matter
My name is not important
Don't even front, you got no game
You do not have any skills or charm
You're just a sucker
You are foolish
So what now, I clowned you
I made a joke out of you
And I'm stealing your girl too
I am taking your girlfriend away from you
She wants a secure dude
She wants a reliable guy
And that's just not you
You are not that type of person
Me and my bros that's how we roll
My friends and I act this way
You'll never know how far we'll go
You will never know what we are capable of
I'll grab some chump that I don't know
I will take someone I do not know
And plant one right on him
And I'll kiss him on the mouth
You're only here for our amusement
Your purpose for being here is to entertain us
Writer(s): Deke Leonard
Contributed by Colin P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@worldautocars8563
RIP Decke awsome talent and great man.😢😢😢
@tubetea
Loved Deke Leonard's music for decades.
@ralphmchendry4030
With Michael Jones, formed one of the great lead guitar duos. RIP Deke Leonard.
@wonkylommiter6364
Cerys Matthews on 6 music did a really nice tribute today on her morning program (05/02/17) with a clip of Deke talking about the time he met Hendrix, sounded like a very down to earth normal guy with a good sense of humour.
@tonyputtick6461
R l P the deke man were fantastic x
@jenniferb2613
I can't believe I just found this ... wow .... Deke Leonard. RIP. Back into the Future/Maximum darkness Live. Superb.
@bobjones5353
So sad and so sorry to have only just heard this news. My heart goes out to his family, and I only have the fondest memories of listening to, and seeing live this wonderful man over the course of many years beginning in1974 until quite recently. Absolutely gutted!!!
@jenniferb2613
Very under rated. Wonderful musicians!
@Pedro2706
Seems a lifetime ago when I bumped into him at the Roundhouse when Man were recording the Maximum Darkness LP.
RIP Deke
@DirkjeA
Saw him live in a small town in The Netherlands, so many years ago. Walking on bare feet, wearing a maxi skirt and a see through blouse as was done in those days.... Flower Power and marijuana days.....oh my, such a long time ago, and I often wonder where have those years gone, being a girl of 15 yrs then and a granny of 67 now? They were gone in the blink of an eye. Back then at the concert, not only the song "The Storm" took my breath away, but the whole performance of the band was awesome. Never heard a man doing a seagull on his guitar. They had a hit with the song Erotica of the album Revelation, but I loved 2 others songs from that album, Puela Puela and Love a lot more. Thanks mr Deke Leonard, for the great musical legacy you left us. I wish you a beautiful and safe journey to the Light. 💕✌