Artists:Glyn Bailey

"A quintessentially English singer/songwriter who’s surely a kindred spirit of our best mavericks" -Whisperin & Hollerin

For a time, erstwhile egg-delivery man, MP’s assistant and soft-furnishings salesman, Glyn Bailey played a supporting role in bands from his Lancashire base. He moved centre stage in 2005, generating interest from underground media with the launch of debut solo album TOYS FROM BALSA.

Detectable influences may include Nick Cave, David Bowie, Jacques Brel, Divine Comedy and Lou Reed, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The cliché ‘impossible to pigeonhole’, often used but so rarely true, genuinely fits, though try to imagine alt-folk-pop subjected to several degrees of perversion and you’re coming close.

"This is a guy who would freak out Robyn Hitchcock if the two ever met for a dandelion and burdock down the local" - Americana.co.uk

The raw material for Bailey’s songs comes from an eclectic mix of sources. Themes include internet cannibalism, abusive relationships, a communist feast, Laurel & Hardy in heaven... from perverted clowns to internet cannibalism, school re-unions to moonwalkers, with the odd love song thrown in for good measure (and we do mean odd!).

2007 brought a new album SONGS FROM THE OLD ILLAWALLA, described by one reviewer as "maybe one of Lancashire’s weirdest concept albums yet" Manchester Music.co.uk All of life is here, or at least the darker side… Opener ‘Yahoo!’ - a spaghetti-western inspired swipe at big corporations and their threat to the planet, a theme echoed later in the haunting Doomed Ship Allegory.

There are contrasts, from the heartbreaking Glory, to the Beach-Boys vibe of Down Amongst The Living, with Ghost even providing a pop single. Things get weird too. Kafkaesque World goes under the skin of a torturer. There’s coercion and abuse in Groomed, and a local news headline (Lifetime ban for clown pervert) provides subject matter for The Clown. The FIFA World Cup Final is revisited for a rousing Zizou’s Big Day, while The Crow conjures a fairytale battle.

The album concludes with an 8 minute narrative based on the true story of American singer and cold-war defector Dean Reed, which has been featured on the singer’s official website.

Bailey is supported by his band The Many Splendid Things, featuring Phil Senior (guitar vocals), John Gardner (bass & vocals), Owen Wright (drums), enhanced by some foot-controlled electronic wizardry.

Recent live dates with have included gigs with Waking The Witch, Emily Maguire, Vincent Vincent & The Villains, Hafdis Huld and Whiskycats.

If you are an agent or promoter interested in booking the band, please get in touch.

For more information visit the online home: www.glynbailey.com.