Rory - God Bless the Big Bang

Got this info from a pal on the Island today - and thought it may well be of interest to you guys! I couldn't reduce the info down if I tried... because knowing me, I might leave something important out.

Enjoy!

Rory is an Irish singer songwriter who has been living here in Lanzarote for the past 2 years. He has a formidable track record in the music industry already, Here is his story so far..
In year 2000 Rory joined with childhood friends Michael O'Donnell and John McIntyre, and formed The Revs. Within their first year together, they had played over 200 gigs across Ireland and won a Hot Press sponsored band competition. Their star rose at an extraordinary pace. Summer of 2001 saw their track ‘Wired to the Moon' become the Irish teenage anthem of the summer. The single went on to sell over 10,000 copies. The follow on single, a cover of the Vapours ‘Turning Japanese' became a radio anthem for the Irish soccer team, who had just qualified for the World Cup. Suddenly The Revs were stomping the stage at Oxegen (T in the park) having become overnight teen idols. Their debut album Sonic Tonic in 2002 was a No. 5 chart hit, selling over 20,000 copies.
The Revs went on to win the 2002 Irish meteor Music Award for Best Newcomers, beating Damien Rice, a fact that still makes them cringe. Shirking off the ‘one hit wonder' tag with confidence, they followed with the 2003 album Suck, which debuted at No. 3 in the Irish charts, reaching platinum sales and spawning the hit track 'Death of A DJ'. The Revs were voted third best Irish band of 2003 in the Hot Press Readers Poll, beaten only by U2 and Ash. They played Slane Castle, Reading and Leeds Carling fest, toured the US, Australia and Europe. Death of a DJ was voted record of the week in Kerrang!, was splashed all over MTV2 and broke the Top 20 in Australia. They opened for bands like Muse, Counting Crows, The Libertines, The Kaiser Chiefs and The Hives.
The Revs 3rd album simply titled 'THE REVS' (recorded in the Cardigans studio in Malmo, Sweden) released in the winter of 2005 was a bit of a commercial disaster for the band, only reaching 29 in the Irish album charts and selling only 2000 copies despite being the most critically acclaimed work they had ever done, The single 'Time Slippin' was placed on a compilation CD on the front of Rolling Stone magazine and was featured in the Hollywood blockbuster 'P.S. I love you'. One of the most striking things about The Revs was that they achieved all of this without one cent of financial backing from a major record label. After six years however the lack of clear direction and financial support took its toll. Going through three managers in six years, being unable to shake the ‘teen pop punk band' label and generally loosing their energy, For Rory the fun was well and truly over. The momentum and buzz had died and the band decided to split.
One of the last shows The Revs performed was at the 'Lanzaid festival' in Lanzarote in 2006. After the gig, Rory met a young Scottish lass named Cara, fell in love and when The Revs finally came to a close, he moved with her to the tiny village of Uga, where they now live. Having escaped the rain, the music business and the nay-sayers, in his first six months of island living, Rory had written fifteen new songs in Lanzarote, inspired by the sunshine and the volcanic landscape.

His new album was recorded in Kuesgen Studios in Haldern in Germany. The studio has played host to many international acts including Mercury Rev and The Divine Comedy. Rory produced the album himself, enjoying the freedom of being able make independent decisions. He also plays all the instruments on the album. Rory spent August 2008 gigging across Ireland to help launch the album GOD BLESS THE BIG BANG. It recieved some great press reaction in Ireland with Hotpress magazine hailing it as 'Triumphant' **** and getting Album of the week in the Sunday World, the Anglo Celt and on BBC Ulster. The single "Rain dancer" was also a radio favourite for the whole rainy Irish summer of 2008, since then Rory has been asked to support Britpop legends 'Ocean Colour Scene' in Belfast, Dublin and Cork in December.
Rory is now looking forward to releasing the album in Lanzarote, his new home, on Saturday November 15th in Buddys Bar in old town Puerto del Carmen at 10.30pm and in Charlies in Centro Atlantico later that night at 2am.

The album will be available to buy in any of the ‘Bookswop’ shops in Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca, ‘The Book Shop’ in Costa Teguise and ‘Sounds Familiar’ also in P.D.C. for 12€