Singer / Songwriter / Guitarist
Lucy Ray : The Top Twenties Band Singer Guitarist
Lucy Ray has been performing and writing songs ever since she could hold a guitar.
At the age of ten she was featured live on Radio Bristol. When she hit her teens she discovered the electric guitar.
By 1980 she was fronting the New Wave band ‘Cold’ who shared the bill on many occasions with Bristol punk legends ‘Vice Squad’.
In 1983 she formed a songwriting partnership ‘Balloon Music’, an 80s style pop group working with keyboards and drum machines, and recorded with celebrated bass player Herbie Flowers in his west London studio.
Lucy moved to London in 1986 and fell in with a bunch of Hackney Jazz musicians. Experimentation and improvisation culminated in an eight-piece jazz funk band ‘Wealth’ that played venues throughout the capital.
In the early 90s she did a season at Butlins playing lead guitar in the resident cabaret showband. This proved to be an amazing musical experience in all areas and eras of popular music. Not to mention rubbing shoulders with some of the great Motown artists including Edwin Star and the Drifters.
In 1996 she recorded her debut solo album ‘When I Grow Up’. Released in February 1997 by Cycle Records, it has sold over 1000 copies, received favourable reviews and national airplay.
She toured for three months in 1997 as the supporting act to Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys. Lucy began to perform to large audiences at such venues as Glasgow’s Big Big Country Festival, Ronnie Scott’s Club, the Phoenix Festival and charity events at the Duke of York’s Theatre and the Hackney Empire.
In 2004 she spent some time in the US collaborating with other songwriters in Nashville Tennessee, whilst playing shows to promote her fourth album ‘High Ground’ to publishers.
A highly regarded finger style guitarist Lucy was name checked in the recent biography of Nick Drake by Patrick Humphries. She is currently collaborating with the jazz improviser Maggie Nicols and other musicians around the country and beyond.
She has a huge talent, a big voice and a cheeky grin! Today Lucy Ray lectures in Commercial Music at Bath Spa University.
Press News
“Redolent of Nick Drake Lucy Ray has staked her claim with one of the most of the most accomplished debuts of the year. The smooth production has given voice to an extensive musical vocabulary that transcends most contemporary acoustic styles”
Hugh Gregory
Country Music International
“There are some moments of pure beauty in life that have to be grabbed with both hands before they slip away.”
Virginia Black
Melody Maker
“What is it that makes your women pick up the guitar and write songs about the nature of human relationships? This particular arena seems to grow and grow without any sign of abating. Which inevitably means that potentially great talents fall by the wayside.”
Gerry Ranson
Rock N Reel
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