Hailing from Liverpool, and now based in Sheffield, JOHN REILLY emerges from his former role as the front man for Atlantic Records recording artists Boy On A Dolphin to release his solo album, ZEBULON in Spain. (Date to be announced in the coming months)

In between American tours with Boy On A Dolphin, Reilly travelled north to Vancouver to spend time co-writing with some of the greatest songwriters in the business, including Jim Vallance (Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Tina Turner) and Robbie Buchanan (Christina Aguilera, Diana Ross). Having already forged a reputation as a great songwriter in his own right (Billboard Magazine said, “Reilly unearths one precious pop gem after another”) Reilly took considerable inspiration from working with such acclaimed writers and focused on further developing his own writing style. Meanwhile his songs were being places in movies such as Tokyo Cowboy and TV shows True North, Dawson Creek and X Files.

When John returned to England with just a handful of solo gigs under his belt he was offered a slot opening for Ray Davies, who was so impressed with John’s performance he offered him the support slot for the whole tour, which culminated in John fulfilling a life-long ambition – playing a sold-out show at The Royal Albert Hall.

Full of confidence and ideas for his solo album, John flew to Toronto to team-up with in-demand Canadian pianist/songwriter LEWIS NITIKMAN, who’d already written with world-class songwriters such as Eddy Schwartz (Mike & The Mechanics, The Doobie Bros, Joe Cocker, Pat Benatar), Steve Diamond (Eric Clapton, Heart), Bruce Miller (Reba McIntyre, Dixie Chicks) and John Capek (Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Joe Cocker). For Reilly, whose mantra is, “The song is God, not the artist”, it was a songwriting match made in heaven.

Having been let loose from the constraints of being in a band, Reilly’s lyrics became more personal and he discovered a renewed creative energy that had been bubbling under the surface for a long time. During the next eighteen months Reilly and Nitikman, who eventually moved to Sheffield to continue the fruitful partnership, wrote over three albums worth of material.

“I believe in songs speaking to people individually, one-by-one,” says Reilly. “I also believe a great song is timeless. I only write songs that can be stripped down to piano or guitar and vocal before thinking about production and instrumentation.”

After painstakingly identifying the songs that would make the final cut, recording sessions for ZEBULON began to take place in Toronto, Vancouver and Sheffield, with members of fellow Sheffield artist Richard Hawley’s band (drummer Dean Beresford, bassist Colin Elliot and guitarist Shez Sheridan) adding their celebrated pedigree to the album’s dynamics.

With tracks such as Some Fall Too Hard, Not Alone and One More Mile establishing a very international vibe, ZEBULON also features nods towards blue-eyed soul in the form of Building Avalon, Before You and Living With It, each highlighting Reilly’s versatility as a singer and songwriter. Songs such as Tightrope, Deep And Blue and The Break open the door to a much more intimate and personal space.

The singles Not Alone and Building Avalon have already received airplay internationally and across several shows on BBC Radio 2, with the latter also being picked-up by CBC, Canada’s biggest national radio station, who have placed the song on full rotation. RTE Radio 1 in Ireland has also picked up the track Deep And Blue.

Having performed to over 100,000 people during performances at various festivals, The Royal Albert Hall and several sold-out headline shows at Sheffield’s prestigious City Hall, John Reilly is looking forward to breaking out of the recording studio once again to perform ZEBULON across Spain in late 2014.
Having recently returned from a successful short tour of Southern Spain with writing partner and pianist Lewis Nitikman, John is now planning dates for further shows in Spain later this year starting with a festival date on July 10th at the TORRE DE LES CULTURAS in Castlelldefels, Barcelona.

“ … Deep And Blue fills your heart with a sense of peace and warmth, a soothing pleasure you may well get addicted to …” SONIC SHOCKS

“ … Building Avalon has all the attributes needed for extensive airplay … and to put John Reilly well into the spotlight …” ROOM THIRTEEN

“ … What Reilly offers is actually something of a master class in its genre …” IS THIS MUSIC

“ … John Reilly is the kind of man who I’d love to see live …” GRAHAM NORTON, BBC RADIO 2

www.johnreilly.org

JOHN REILLY IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS

For further information, call Lewis Nitikman 07971617460
https://www.facebook.com/lewis.nitikman
https://www.facebook.com/JohnReillyOfficial?ref=br_tf
https://www.facebook.com/iamjohnreilly?fref=ts

QUOTES

SUNDAY EXPRESS
‘Reilly is a classic English Singer Songwriter in the Ray Davies/Richard Hawley mould and ZEBULON is a terrific record brimming with tunes, passion and wit’ – Martin Townsend

PAUL O’GRADY – BBC RADIO 2
‘Fantastic album, Brilliant voice. Out of 5 I’d give it a 10.’

CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE
‘Every song here is a perfect pop gem. Beautifully crafted, intelligent pop music of this standard is rare these days. If you are looking for tuneful pop music with substance that you will never tire of then you should make Zebulon your next musical stop.’

PENNY BLACK MUSIC
‘Zebulon is one of those albums where everything fits. The vocals are superb, instrumentally it’s perfect and maybe more importantly, Reilly and Nitikman are obvious masters at writing perfect timeless tunes.’

GRAHAM NORTON – BBC RADIO 2
‘I’ve simply got to see him live!’

MANCHESTER MUSIC
‘With Zebulon, Reilly has captured the true essence of pop infected rock’

THE LICKS
‘Frontman of legendary Sheffield band Boy on a Dolphin goes solo with a powerful arsenal of beautifully crafted songs’

RIFF MAGAZINE
‘Beautiful intense vocals with genius lyrics’

ALED JONES – BBC RADIO 2
Re Not Alone – ‘What a stunning, moving song’

SONIC SHOCKS
Re Deep and Blue – ‘Simple, genuine, melodic. A soothing pleasure you will get addicted to’

ROOM 13
Re Building Avalon – ‘Building Avalon is a no nonsense, no holds barred catchy tune. Edgy and memorable’