The guy:
Manchester-based, Canadian singer/songwriter Ryan Lamey (The Spiels, Sloganeer) distils experiences of tragedy, trauma and unrelenting pining and anxiety into songs of great warmth, sincerity and, often, a playful wit. His music spans tender low-fi acoustic observations to full-on power pop – music described by the Manchester Evening News as “epic in chorus, heartfelt in sentiment, and rousing in atmosphere.”
Having spent the early 2010s co-fronting the successful Manchester dark pop group The Spiels, Ryan stepped away from music in 2014 to focus fully on fatherhood. However, a subsequent mental health blip and global pandemic found him turning back to song writing to help make sense of the world around him.
The result is that Ryan returned after his seven-year hiatus with ‘Disordered’ – his first solo album in over 15 years. Written, recorded and performed entirely by Ryan, ‘Disordered’ was released on 20 May, 2022 and saw Ryan moving beyond the familiar acoustic pop of his previous solo releases. Thematically, the songs explore gratitude, grief, and ghosts - and other people not easily forgotten.
Following the release of ‘Disordered’, Ryan assembled a group of musician friends to help him bring the songs to life on stage for a series of gigs to promote the release. The result, however, was the formation of a band that would further redefine Ryan’s sound and his approach to songwriting and performance.
The Band:
Dubbed ‘Ryan & the Lameys’, Ryan is blessed to be joined by multi-instrumentalist Dan Parr on piano, keys, and woodwinds, and long-time collaborator Gemma Lovegrove (The Spiels, Night Alive) on guitar, bass and vocals. The group not only brings great depth and urgency to Ryan’s songs, but they also spent part of 2023 releasing a series of original interpretations of songs that have meant so much to them through the years. Though they’re not a covers band, their interpretations of Smashing Pumpkins, Duran Duran and Shakespeares Sister garnered great acclaim from followers and fans.
Throughout 2023, the group played a series of pop-up gigs across Greater Manchester, delighting followers and fans with their emerging brand of lush pop interspersed with Ryan’s in-between-song storytelling and witty musings.