Not used to collaborating on lyrics but what a joy to have a common goal and work with a grammy award winner and someone who has sold 20 million and hit the nail right on the head and then have a real tough hook to ride with. 'There's nothing much tougher than a Northern Girl' John Reilly -John Parr -Eliot Kennedy

WOMEN OF STEEL

This old town’s got a story, Started back in 39.

One of faith hope and glory, women on the factory line.

Steel toe boots and helmets hiding feminine curls

And there’s nothing much tougher than a northern girl

5am as she rises, never dreamed that this would be her life

Her boiler suit her summer dresses, hanging on the washing line.

Mother sister wife and woman in one word

And there’s nothing much tougher than a northern bird

Nothing much tougher than

Women of steel keeping the fires burning

Steam clouds filling the sky

Women of steel, wheels of freedom turning

Lipstick, glitter and grime

Keeping it real while the babies crying

And her man’s trying to save the world

And there’s nothing much tougher than a northern girl

Nothing much tougher than a northern girl

Whistle blows the day has ended but for her it’s only just begun

Mouths to feed, clothes need mending ‘cause now she is the only one.

Mother sister wife and woman first and last

And there’s nothing much tougher than a northern lass

Nothing much tougher than

Women of steel keeping the fires burning

Steam clouds filling the sky

Women of steel, wheels of freedom turning

Lipstick, glitter and grime

Keeping it real while the babies crying

And her man’s trying to save the world

And there’s nothing much tougher than a northern girl

Nothing much tougher than a northern girl

Now it’s time we all remembered all the sacrifices that were made

No one even tried to thank them, no medal or big parade

For all that’s past let’s all stand and raise a glass

To the women of hope, Women of faith, Women of steel.

And there’s nothing much tougher than a northern girl

Nothing much tougher than a northern girl

There’s nothing much tougher than a northern girl

Nothing much tougher than

Women of steel keeping the fires burning

Steam clouds filling the sky

Women of steel, wheels of freedom turning

Lipstick, glitter and grime

Keeping it real while the babies crying

And her man’s trying to save the world

And there’s nothing much tougher than a northern girl

Nothing much tougher than a northern girl

(Reilly/Parr/Kennedy)

LONG TIME NO SPEAK.....I'M BACK

Here i am just testing the water, well er dipping my toe in to see if i want to dive into the blogging ocean again. In my last voyages on the blogging current i perhaps bared my soul a little to much for my own liking in the end and realised i'd not worn a life jacket. I would like this in the future to be a free flowing outlet for creative thought that one or two may want to dip into out of curiosity. So let me just step back and count to 10 and decide if i take that leap or put my hood up and walk away.

A NOTE FROM ZEB

I have seen

The darkest place

And I have been

To the wrong side -of this- town

And I have seen

The future cry

And I have been

To the edge and looked right down

Don’t you ever change

Don’t you ever change

Cause my one last drop of faith

Is in your eyes

My one last ray of hope is in your eyes

So don’t you ever change

I have seen

The sun go down

And steal the light

That shone upon my dream

And I have screamed

The silent scream

And felt your hand

Slip away from mine

Don’t you ever change

Don’t you ever change

Cause my one last drop of faith

Is in your eyes

My one last ray of hope is in your eyes

So don’t you ever change

Someone whispered in my ear

They shot the last bird from the sky

A white feather floated down

And I asked my angel why

And for the first time in my life

My angel gave me no reply

I caught the feather in my hand

They shot the last bird from the sky

They shot the last bird from the sky

I have seen

And I have lived

And I have loved

And lost ……………

Don’t you ever change

Don’t you ever change

Cause my one last drop of faith

Is in your eyes

My one last ray of hope is in your eyes

So don’t you ever change

Don’t you ever change

From ZEB........

Turkish Storm

The clear blue sky suddenly turned black. I was floating on my back in the swimming pool and warm rain began to fall. The sound of thunder over the mountain and the shutters blowing open and shut and ozone in the electric air. Surreal and beautiful.

In the valley i could hear the stray dogs barking and out to sea the colour changed from turquoise to charcoal. I went to my bedroom and opened all the sliding doors to my veranda which looks out to sea on one side and to the imposing mountains on the other. I sat there on the bed and watched and listened to the storm unfold.
Earlier i had walked down the steep hills into town to have a Turkish shave and massage. He was an artist with the razor, gentle, proud and precise. It was a fantastic experience and ended with a vigorous shoulder, neck, head and arms massage. When finished he said "Now you have face like baby!"

Downstairs in this wonderful 3 storey villa, my sister Moira is marinating the lamb with lemon juice, honey, garlic and rosemary and as the storm leaves us as quickly as it came, Tom brushes away all the water from the patio area and opens the bag of coals for the barbecue. Amazingly, the sky is blue again and the dogs fall silent.
My phone is switched off and Lewis is updating me with any news (i told him i only want to hear good news) from back home where everything is crazy. Our song THIS CITY has been added to the playlist in 9 UK stations and 9 Canadian stations in the last week and the official release isn't until October 22nd so that constitutes good news to me. Downstairs i can hear them all singing Those were the days by Mary Hopkin. I think the 1st of many IGLOOS must have been already poured. Lots of ice, gin vodka, tonic and fresh limes. I was very uptight when i arrived. It has been a tense and tough few months but great gigs at The Cavern Club in Liverpool and the thrilling concert in the stunning setting of PEAK CAVERN, known as THE DEVILS ARSE in Castelton helped morale.

My grumpy mood was not helped when we got a flat tyre on the M1 on the way to the airport. Changing a tyre when there is no hard shoulder with lorries whizzing past your ears is less than calming but being with family and friends in a beautiful place has chilled me no end and the sound of laughing voices from downstairs gives me a warm feeling.
Pretty soon i'm going have to tackle writing my best man's speech for Lewis and Suzanne's wedding. There is certainly plenty of ammunition as me and Lewis have been through some adventures and experienced some momentous ups and downs over the years. I shall not spare him any embarrassment i can tell you that!

And so, a quick cool shower and change for dinner and drinks with lovely people, especially Tom Giblin. He is the reason we are here. It is his birthday and we have joined him in this beautiful place, 11 strong, to celebrate with him. He truly is the kindest soul you could ever meet and i feel lucky that i was blessed enough to meet him and call him my friend.

THE PLUG THE DUKE & THE DEVIL'S ARSE

Greetings my friends. I'm feeling blogworthy again. I think the bacon egg and tomato saturday morning sandwich has given me the energy and will to muse or talk bollocks depending on your view! Saturday kitchen on TV always makes me hungry. If i was ever on that show though i would have a problem because i cannot think of a food hell!

Do any of you have a Costco card? I have. They are bloody lethal. I love shopping there but everything is in bulk. For the past week i have been stuffing myself with Buffalo Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar and basil as i bought enough to feed all of Sicily. The basil is now looking decidedly limp and sad. I also have enough Granola to feed a herd of cows and enough batteries to floodlight Wembley!
Last night i sang for The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and 700 of their pals in the wonderful setting of Buxton Dome. It turned out to be a great night. Our dressing room was the beauty parlour and i had to wake up bassist Sean Perry 1minute before we went on as he was out for the count on a massage bed. I spoke to the Duke a couple of times. I think that officially makes us pals now and as far as i'm concerned i should be able to show up any time at his place for a cup of tea. Well that's the way i was brought up anyway. The Duchess is very 'fit' by the way!!

It's not every day you get an email asking if you are willing to put a gig on in 'THE DEVIL'S ARSE'
but that's what happened last week. The Devil's Arse is the spooky and magnificent Peak Cavern at Castelton in The Peak District. I went with our John jnr and Lewis to check it out. There are a few logistical problems to sort out but it is definitely going to happen on 4th August. I'll let you know more later.

AND SO TO THE MAIN EVENT MY FRIENDS

A Personal Message from John Reilly.

‘Singer songwriter & the voice of Boy on a Dolphin & Acoustic Angels.’

So here we are in March already. What a hectic few months since the release of my new solo album Zebulon. We have had some solid support from Radio across the world, great reviews and early indications for the next single One More Mile are very positive. We have just finished some fantastic dates around the country, the highlights being The Leicester Square Theatre in London and the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool but the reason I am sending you a personal message is that what I regard as my most important gig in the last 10 years is just 1 week away. The very 1st JOHN REILLY BAND concert at THE PLUG, SHEFFIELD on SATURDAY 10^TH MARCH.

This is the start of a new era for me, having spent the last 2 years honing the songs and trying them out as stripped down versions with Lewis Nitikman on piano. I will now be taking to the stage with DARREN FORD (Boy on a Dolphin/Acoustic Angels) on drums. ANDY NEEDHAM (Boy on a Dolphin) on bass. CHRIS FIRMINGER (Firecracker and ace session player) on electric guitar and slide and of course the brilliant, enigmatic LEWIS NITIKMAN on keyboards to perform full band versions of songs from ZEBULON, TEACOZY HAT & MY FAVORITE BOY ON A DOLPHIN SONGS.

For all of you who have supported Boy on a Dolphin and Acoustic Angels over the years I would love you to be there at this the  1^st  NEW John Reilly Band gig in a very cool rock venue in the heart of Sheffield. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. Here are the details

JOHN REILLY BAND

SATURDAY 10^TH MARCH

THE PLUG

14 matilda st Sheffield S1 4QD

TIMES

Doors 7pm

Support – ‘See Emily Play’ 7.30pm

JOHN REILLY BAND 8.15PM – 10.15PM

This leaves plenty of time for a good night out in Sheffield. Recommended after show venues. Delaney’s Bar and Maggie May’s.

We recommend that you book tickets in advance if possible.

HOW TO GET TICKETS

Box office 0114 241 3040

24 Hours 0844 478 0898

Also a limited number of tickets without booking fee from Colin Wilder at Art Music – 0781 706 1690

·     There is so much happening at the moment and some imminent announcements. So, to keep up with all the latest news, comments and musings you can now follow me on Twitter.

·     https://twitter.com/#!/johnreillymusic

·     Also join me on facebook

·     www.facebook.com/iamjohnreilly

Finally – Have a great weekend and week everyone. I think we could well be hearing the new single on BBC Radio 2 this week so listen out. Please spread the word. Really hope to see you at the PLUG and to have a drink with you all afterwards.

John Reilly

STRAGGLERS (& Back in the saddle)

New single soon dudes. It's heading off to radio land right now. The peoples choice.

And so what happened. Sheffield City Hall December. All my stuff; Reilly/dolphin/ angels Most said it was the best ever. Heard my songs on the radio again. Once when at the traffic lights, the car next to me had the same channel on, window down....strange feeling. I looked at her and said 'Great song' she smiled and nodded. I felt like an idiot. And so Christmas where i sat back, looked at my family and took it all in. 

How it's changing with the nephews grown up and new babies keeping the big wheel turning. 

In between Christmas and New Year a mad flurry of Angels gigs night after night. A welcome diversion to focus my wandering questioning mind. This was one night;

A big part and I mean a very big part of being a musician is hanging around waiting to go on and do your thing. That time in between sound check and performance can drag and drag and usually involves crap food, tedium and headaches from strip lighting. I find it very hard to relax at this time and it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a big or small gig, solo, Angels or Dolphin. Tonight the food is better, prawn salad, haggis and cracked pepper chips and good old pork pie. The lighting too is better than usual and the background music is pretty cool, Bonnie Raitt live. Yet still I have that pre gig uneasiness, which will disappear only when I get on stage. I’m sitting here and I’ve no idea what the 1st song will be. I’ll look out at the audience when I get up there, decide on one and shout it out to the band and away we go.

(Later)

TV GUIDE CAN ONLY SHOW SO MUCH OF A TITLE EG LAST OF THE….. AND WE KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE SUMMER WINE

BUT NEW SHOWS YOU HAVE TO GUESS

THE GOLDEN AGE OF….

IS IT rock n roll

Cinema

Space travel

No it’s the GOLDEN AGE OF CANALS

(Even later)

I could see the light

Even when I closed my eyes

It was so bright

And it called me on and on

I could hear that voice

Calling out my name

So far away so clear so loud

 Through the valley of hope and joy

Over the mountain of despair

Over the sea that makes the man out of the boy

Oh tell me when tell me where tell me 

Where did I take that wrong turn

 I could see the map

Tattooed in my brain

Indelible

With a red cross, at the destinations name.

 Like a kiss on a letter of love

Like a big blue open door

Like the open wings of an angel from above

Oh tell me when tell me where tell me when

When did I take that wrong turn?

There was also an escape to Filey alone to write and disappear. Staying at my friends lovely place overlooking the sea. The 1st morning full of good intentions i took a walk along the sea front. A school party of very young kids in single file with a teacher at the front, one in the middle and one at the back were walking towards me. I passed the teacher at the back and about a hundred yards ahead of me i could see a lone child at the railings looking out to sea. I shouted to the teacher. 'You've got a straggler!" He looked at me with panic in his eyes and said thanks, running to the the hooded child. he reached the child who turned around startled. It was a 60 odd year old dwarf lady just out for a walk! oops.

OK this isn't a proper blog but i have to restart the engine you see. Especially as i'm now a tweeter. please follow me   @johnreillymusic

How diverse this big ball is. 2 people leave the ride. A million miles apart in every way. One threw away God's great gift and one just laughed like fuck till the end!

'It's the way i tell 'em"

See you soon

SAT 10TH MARCH - PLUG SHEFFIELD - MY NEW BAND

Hurricane Head

7am. Tuesday

Got to bed at 4am and now its 7am. This is no time for a self-respecting musician to be awake. I can’t sleep and I’m feeling restless. It’s that feeling when you have so many things to do and so much on your mind and it’s all swept up in a whirlwind, spinning around in your head so fast that you can’t focus on one particular thing.

The fact is. I need a manager. I’m in danger of spending too much time doing music biz stuff at the expense of what I do well which is writing, playing, singing, performing and recording.

Got home late last night from a rehearsal and started to surf through the endless list of crap TV. I fast-forwarded through the Chelsea v Liverpool game from the day before which had been recorded and then the Spurs v Villa game from last night, just to see the goals really. Seeing Liverpool win again didn’t hurt quite so much when it was against one of the billionaire ‘anything you can do….’ teams, who can make a massive financial loss because it is just a plaything to someone. They are strangling the game and creating monsters like Teves who has no clue whatsoever about the average supporter and how hard it is to raise the money to support a team week on week when one of their own can’t even get off his arse for £250,000 A WEEK!!!!

After the football I looked for something else. I decided against a programme called ‘Curious and unusual deaths at work.’ Then I swept over past and present gems such as ‘Supermarket sweep’ ‘Beauty and the Geek’ ‘Life as a turkey’ (I’m not kidding!), ‘don’t tell the bride’ ‘Verminators’ and I accidentally caught a preview to a show called….er wait for it!   ‘DESPERATE SCOUSE WIVES’ 

After a brief visit to ‘I’m a celebrity I was forced to move on or risk putting my foot through the TV after watching Sinnita squealing and wimping out on yet another task. WHY is she in there? And more importantly, WHY have I been watching it. Someone commit me!

I’ve been so focussed on the release of ZEBULON that the Sheffield City Hall gig has crept up on me and I’ve got 3 weeks now to get the word out. I say ‘I’ve got’ because that’s exactly how I feel. So, any creative budding promoters out there who want to help spread the word then my door is wide open! Great feedback from the new album keeps coming and Art Music are sending copies to Australia, Africa, Germany, Canada, The USA and even The Outer Hebrides (is there such a thing as ‘The Inner Hebrides?) I was so pleased to get a great review from Martin Townsend, The Chief Editor of the Sunday Express because I really value his opinion.

“IT is no surprise that Liverpudlian John Reilly was picked to support Ray Davies on tour, or

that Richard Hawley’s backing band have helped out on his new album.

Reilly is a classic English singer-songwriter in the Davies/Hawley mould and Zebulon is a

terrific record, brimming with tunes, passion and wit.

The opener, Some Fall Too Hard sets the tone, Reilly’s rich, open vocal set against a sweet and restless melody, but Living With It is the stand-out, a gale of laughter that turns into a gorgeous breeze of a pop song. A masterful set.”

‘NOT ALONE’ is scheduled as the new single. 

I am receiving  lots of  emails from people who have heard it on BBC Radio 2 and they all have a similar theme, which is private and spiritual. In that, I mean that they feel the song is speaking to them as an individual and that pleases me so much because my aim is to write songs that get beneath the skin.  There is a certain amount of compromise when it comes to singles now in that usually the song has to be edited to a length to suite radio and as a songwriter and particularly as a lyricist the amputation of a verse from my baby can be traumatic but in this case I think the true essence of the song has not been compromised. The unedited version though is on the album.

I took a rare visit to the cinema to watch Spielberg’s Tin Tin movie in 3D. I am a big fan of the cartoon strips and I’m very intrigued by the character of Tin Tin’s creator Herge.

If you read and experienced the beautifully illustrated Tin Tin cartoon strips you will know that there is something magical, dark and deep in there. Herge was a man who despised his youth. Smothered by the church and living in the grip of Fascism, the early Tin Tin’s are alive with propaganda, right wing stereotypes and a slightly patronising colonialism, and then gradually, with popularity, Herge found his feet and his soul, which led to

Adventure Adventure. Adventure. Beautiful, wonderful escapism.

World travel, exotic deserts, seas and mountains. Africa, Japan, the frozen wastes and the deepest jungle. Yet amazingly, Herge did not travel himself. Meanwhile through Tin Tin, Herge begins subtly undermining terror. It was the end of the 30’s and he could see what was brewing!! I hadn’t realised this, but bravely he called his villain Mussoller. A clever combination of Mussolini & Hitler and one that at first escaped the notice of the bone headed goose steppers.

I enjoyed the spectacle of the Spielberg movie and would recommend it, but honestly, for pure escapism, give me Herge’s adventures of Tin Tin in a cartoon strip any day. 

I'll catch up with you soon when no doubt I'll be moaning about something or other or who knows? i may be bringing you some good news.

See you all at Sheffield City Hall on 15th December.

love love love

JR