Todd Sharpville (born 9 April 1970 as The Hon. Roland Augusto Jestyn Estanislao Philipps) is an English musician and the younger son of the 3rd Viscount St Davids.
A British musician, singer-songwriter and lead guitarist, mainly in the blues field, it has been asserted that he is "the world's first blue-blooded bluesman", as a titled member of a British aristocratic family. In 2010, the Conservative Party asked him to stand for election as a prospective parliamentary candidate, but he declined the offer. as part of the Todd Sharpville Band. Taylor appeared as a special guest at a limited number of European dates.
Sharpville can also be found on more than 35 compilation albums, and at least five Dana Gillespie releases. He participated in Mick Ronson's Memorial Concert (Citadel Records – recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in 1994), in Albert Hammond's 2006 release Revolution of the Heart (Sharpville was Hammond's guitarist and musical director) and in Leo Sayer's Voice in My Head (2005). Live performances include appearances with Robbie Williams, Van Morrison, Peter Green, George Michael, Taj Mahal, Albert Collins, Georgie Fame, Kim Wilson, Joe Louis Walker, Tommy Castro, Brian May, and the reformed version of The Yardbirds.
Between 2005 and 2007, Sharpville was the European opening act for Pink, Joe Cocker, and B.B. King. His blues double album, Porchlight, was released on 29 October 2010 by the MiG Music record label. This was produced in Rhode Island by Duke Robillard and featured contributions by Robillard, Joe Louis Walker and Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Sharpville assembled the world's first professional lockdown backing band which included well known session musicians, living together under one roof in a rented Norfolk mansion. They performed online streaming shows each week, and remotely recorded with a variety of artists. The James Bond film composer David Arnold worked with Sharpville on material forming part of a public awareness campaign, designed to promote unity amongst the general public.
He was chosen as the opening act for Eric Clapton in May 2022, and performed at Clapton’s Royal Albert Hall concerts in London on 7 May 2022 to help promote Sharpville's album, Medication Time.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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! Year || Title || Record label
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| 1993 || Touch of Your Love || style="text-align:center;"| Red Lightnin' Records
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| 2001 || The Meaning of Life || style="text-align:center;"| Cathouse Records
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| 2010 || Porchlight || style="text-align:center;"| MIG
|-
| 2022 || Medication Time || style="text-align:center;"| DixieFrog Records
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| 2023 || Live at Rockpalast || style="text-align:center;"| Repertoire Records
|-
|}
