Doug Ashdown

Douglas "Doug" Wesley Ashdown (born 29 July 1942) is an Australian folk, country singer-songwriter who had a minor hit with "Winter in America" aka "Leave Love Enough Alone", which reached No. 13 on the Dutch Singles Chart in 1978. In 1988 the song was covered by Dutch singer René Froger, and in 1994 by Australian group The Robertson Brothers. Ashdown reached No. 53 on the Australian Go-Set Singles Chart with "The Saddest Song of All" released in August 1970. In 1977, his album, Trees won the TV Week (an Australian television entertainment magazine) King of Pop Award for 'Best Album Cover'.

Douglas Wesley Ashdown was born in 1942 in Adelaide, South Australia and at the age of 17 he travelled to England to play in a rock band. In 1961 he was back in Adelaide and played guitar alongside Bobby Bright as vocalist in The Bowmen. By 1965, as a solo singer-songwriter, he released his first album, This Is Doug Ashdown. His 1960s popular singles were "Something Strange" in 1968, and in 1969, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" (cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis' hit).

In 1970, he signed with the independent label, Sweet Peach, and issued "The Saddest Song of All" in August which peaked at No. 53 on the Australian Go-Set Singles Chart. The song was written by Ashdown and Jim Stewart, who became his long-term producer and co-writer. The associated album, The Age of Mouse, was the first double LP album of original material released by an Australian. Ashdown and Stewart relocated to the United States, living in Nashville. While in Nashville, the pair co-wrote "Just Thank Me", for David Rogers, who released it in 1973—it peaked at No. 17 on the US Country Music Singles Chart. They also co-wrote "Leave Love Enough Alone" which Ashdown released in 1974 upon relocation to Sydney. He had a minor hit with it when it was renamed as "Winter in America" and released in 1976, it peaked at No.  3 in Brisbane, No. 14 in Melbourne and No. 30 in Sydney.

In 1977, his album, Trees won the TV Week, an Australian television entertainment magazine, King of Pop Award for 'Best Album Cover'. Ashdown also worked with science fiction writer/songwriter Terry Dowling on recordings of Dowling's song-cycle "Amberjack", about a stranded time traveller. Ashdown contributed lead vocals and guitar to six of the tracks of Dowling's song-cycle which were broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1977.

He continued to release singles and albums and had minor chart success into the 1980s. As from April 2010, his most recent album was The Folk Centre Concert in 2007.

Albums

• This Is Doug Ashdown (CBS SBP 233283, 1965)
• The Real Thing (CBS SBP 233317, 1966)
• Source (CBSSBP 233516, 1968)
• The Age of Mouse (Sweet Peach, 1970, 2002 re-issue)
• Doug Ashdown Live (Sweet Peach SPB-501, 1971)
• Leave Love Enough Alone (Billingsgate L35294, 1974, re-released as Winter in America, Festival Records / Infinity, 1976)
• Trees (Ash, 1977, 1997 re-issue)
• Empty Without You (Festival, 1977)
• The World for the Right Kind of Man (CBS, 1983)
• Love Lives Love Grows (Larrikin, 1987)
• No Cheap Grace (NashWest/Roadshow, 1997)
• Really and Sincerely (1999)
• Homesong (2000)
• Doug Ashdown and Friends Live – The Blues and Then Some (2001)
• A Career Collection (1965–2000) (Raven, 2004)
• The Folk Centre Concert (2007)