Singer- songwriter Lorraine O’Reilly, well known on the London- Irish scene, spoke to David Hennessy to look ahead to the release of her debut album which is set to launch at the London Irish Centre.
Lorraine O’Reilly releases her debut album Blue Eyes this weekend on Saturday 31 January and she launches it with a special night at the London Irish Centre in Camden the same night.
Lorraine, from Kildallan in Cavan, is known around the London scene for her collaborations with local bands such as The BibleCode Sundays.
It was through her connection with that band that she came into contact with Russell Crowe who in addition to being very well known as an Oscar- winning actor also sings in his own band, The Indoor Garden Party. Lorraine has been a part of his band since 2017.
Although she has released several Eps, Lorraine has never put out an album. It was when her band leader and star of films such Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind offered her the use of his studio that she finally took the plunge.
Lorraine took time to chat to the Irish World about the new album.
Are you excited to be bringing out an album?
“I am nervous, excited.
“It’s been a long time in the making.
“It is a lot of work that’s been being done for many years that, I suppose in truth, became a reality when Russell offered the services of his studio and we came to Australia to actually make it happen.
“That was really the big kick I needed to actually get it to the next stage and have something physical really to show for all the hard graft over the years.”
Is it really your debut, you’ve never done an album before?
“It is my debut, yeah.
“There’s 11 tracks on it and some co-writes in there with Russell and other writers and there’s something from my own work over the years, a good mix of songs from quite a long period of what I’ve been doing over the years and finding where my preference of genres and everything sits and where I feel I fit.”
It’s great you are doing it now but does it feel like you should not have waited?
“I think it’s been overdue.
“I think life gets in the way.
“Doubt gets in the way.
“There’s a lot of barriers that end up in the way.
“Imposter syndrome.
“It’s a long time in the making.
“I’ve been playing music since I was very young and playing kind of semi-professionally since I was about 16.
“I entered many competitions for BBC and did some TV work on RTE many times, done a lot of recording collaborations in Nashville and shared stages with many very well known celebrities over the years but I suppose that this is just my time to put me on the stage rather than hiding behind other people.”
I wanted to ask about some of those you have shared the stage with. As well as Russell Crowe you have also shared stages with big names like Michael Bublé and Emili Sandé..
“I’ve had some super special moments.
“The Michael Bublé we were playing the Sydney Opera House which is not your average venue so that was iconic for me in a lot of ways.
“And then Michael Bublé was one of the special guests who jumped up with us on stage so that was super special to meet somebody who you admire massively.
“That was unbelievable.
“Emili Sandé, she’s another one.
“That was a great night.
“She jumped up and joined me for a duet.
“These are very special moments.
“They make you a better version of yourself.
“They’ve been amazing and I have to thank Russell for a lot of those kind of experiences and events and to be on his tour and jumping on the Indoor Garden Party, that’s been a special part of it all really.”
How did it start? How did you come to link up with Russell and end up performing with him?
“It actually stems back to Ronan McManus.
“The BibleCode Sundays were some of the first guys that I met when I moved to London.
“In fact, it was Ronan’s brother Ruairi who was the first person I met and through that link up, they were all so inviting and helpful and we ended up having a couple of gigs where I supported the lads and from there, we discussed songs.
“I was featuring on the BibleCode Sundays’ album To Walk Like Kings.
“There was a track called Hand in Hand Ronan had been working on.
“It was about his mam and dad passing away and he had been supporting Elvis Costello, his brother, at the time and had said to Russell, ‘Is there any chance I can get you to listen to some of my songs and maybe you might record them?’
“And Russell says, ‘Yeah, send me through whatever you have and let’s have a listen and see what we can come up with’.
“And in the meantime I recorded a duet with Ronan on that particular song.
“Ronan sent that track, along with others, to Russell and Russell came back and said that he particularly liked the track and asked who was the girl singing?
“And it opened up that door really whereby Russell said he wanted to record that duet and I was the female part and so he recorded in Australia, I recorded here in the UK and that was how it came together.
“And then Russell said, ‘I’d love to meet her. I’m going to be in the UK’.
“So when he arrived in the UK in February 2017, the relationship kind of kicked off there.
“It was one of those overwhelming nights where you’re pinching yourself.
“He invited myself and Ronan and Enda (Mulloy) and we went to the Dorchester and we’re having this dinner.
“I had no idea what to expect and who we would be having dinner with.
“I just assumed it was Russell but it was a lot more people than Russell.
“It was David Beckham and Ed Sheeran and a lot of very high end people in the room.
“And that was the start of the relationship and the journey really.
“It was pretty, pretty amazing.
“That was a very important night and the start of how we were to progress, I suppose.
“And he had an Indoor Garden Party gig coming up in the July and when I was leaving the room that night I said to Russell, ‘If you ever need a support, don’t be shy. Let me know and I’d be more than delighted to jump in’.
“And in the June Russell had reached out to Ronan and said, ‘Can I get Lorraine’s number?’
“He had gigs lined up in Leeds, London and Dublin and Samantha Barks, who was his actual singer at the time in the Indoor Garden Party, was unable to do the shows because she was drafted into Broadway and he wanted to speak to me to see would I be up for the challenge.
“That’s how it came about.
“It was one of those: Right place, right time.”
Russell already has a hugely successful career so he must have a passion for the music..
“Yeah, for sure.
“I can’t say enough on that point.
“Russell obviously is known to everybody as an amazing actor and that’s his day job but music is his passion.
“He’s been playing music since before he was acting.
“That’s very evident when you get to know him and even anybody comes to the show, the way he talks. He just absolutely loves the whole journey of music.”
I’ve seen a performance of the Indoor Garden Party and I’ve seen how he brings the same presence he has as an actor to the stage show, do you feed off the audience as well?
“Massively.
“It’s brilliant. The energy is electric.
“The Gentleman Barbers are an absolutely great bunch of guys and I’m privileged to have had all of them play on my album.
“I’ve had the privilege of sharing them and getting to use their talent and their skills on my work which has been great and also the three girls on backing vocals, that’s been super.
“It’s all been great and we all have a great friendship and respect for each other.
“That’s very, very important when you’re creating like that.”
What made you want to call the album Blue Eyes?
“The reason the album was called Blue eyes is mostly as this was one of the first tracks written and from there it allowed the rest of the songs to exist.
“It probably expressed the feeling that everything else on the album circles around: Love, nostalgia, vulnerability, loss.
“Blue Eyes is a song that has been in the making for ten years or more.
“It’s the oldest tack on the album and It was the one that pushed me the most to really do this.
“The reason I chose Blue Eyes is because it’s one of my favourites and I think the story it tells is quite important to where I’ve come from and what this album is about to me.
“I think that’s a massive part of it.
“The main story behind it is love loss and a specific relationship that didn’t work out.
“It’s about love loss and a backstory that I think will be relatable to a lot of people.”
You have already released tracks such as Where Are You Now, where did that one come from?
“That song is actually a track that I worked on with a really good friend of mine, Craig McEvoy.
“I think it is just a beautiful track and a lot of people that have listened to the song just love it because it’s telling a story about a journey, about somebody that you’ve lost whether it’s through their passing away or whether it’s a relationship loss but it’s about where that person is now, where they’ve gone to and it’s quite emotive in that sense.
“I think it’s a very personal song to Craig and for me, I’ve developed a different personal element to it because I’m delivering it and I feel that that’s another side of how you have to perform a track that’s lyrically written by somebody else but melodically you’ve had involvement in.”
You said you recorded in Russell’s studio, does Russell feature on the album?
“Yeah, he does.
“Russell features on the album.
“He features on two of the tracks.
“One of them is Psycho.
“It’s definitely not your typical love song.
“It’s called Psycho and we’re duetting on it and it’s a funny song to sing.
“It’s actually written by an Australian songwriter called Amy Shark.
“Amy is very popular in Australia.
“I’ve been lucky to be introduced to her through being over there.
“I think she needs to be heard over here.
“She’s amazing.
“And then another track which is called Don’t Be So Unkind which I was involved in from the get go with Russell and Scott Grimes.
“That song was written back in 2019 and we worked a lot in the studio in Stockholm back in 2019 and got to really take it from a demo stage and really play around with it.
“And then when we went back into the studio there in 2023, we got to work on the vibe and the groove and rewrite a little bit around the lyrics and just kind of fine tune it on the album.
“They’re the two tracks that Russell features on on the album which is very exciting.”
He also co- wrote the song I See You for the album..
“I See You is very important to me as in 2017 we lost our dear friend Carlton Hunt, the BibleCode Sundays drummer who I also worked with.
“He was a true friend and amazing musician.
“It’s about loss but mostly about acknowledgement, recognising Carlton’s spirit , his impact and the fact he’s still felt.
“Even though he’s gone, I see him and his presence is felt.
“It makes it special to have co- written this track with Russell as Carlton was so excited when I joined the Indoor Garden Party for the shows in 2017 and he was always there to support me.”
You launch the album at the London Irish Centre..
“Exactly.
“It’s a venue that’s always been great towards the Irish people in London and having been in the UK for so long, it’s nice to find a place that I can feel that I suppose give something back to me.
“It’s a big room and the aim is to find people who have come across me over the years to come and join in a night of celebration of music.
“I’ve got a really good band behind me on the night.
“They’re all accomplished musicians in their own right.
“They’ve recreated the sound that we’ve created for the album very, very well so it’s exciting to do that live.”
Have you already done the tracks live?
“Well I’ve done quite a few of them live with The Gentlemen Barbers and the Indoor Garden Party but only a handful of them so this is definitely a challenge because it’s the 11 songs off the album that are all going to be done live on the night.
“It will be a great night.
“It’s hopefully an exciting night and I’m excited for it but nervous obviously.”
And how will you do songs like Psycho if Russell is not there to sing his parts or will he be?
“Well that’s something we have to wait and see.
“Who knows?
“If he’s there on the night, wouldn’t that be great?
“And if not, we’ll have to find somebody who will step into his shoes.
“We’ll be prepared for either of those options.”
Would you describe your sound as a mix of Irish and Nashville influences?
“Yeah, I would definitely.
“What I would definitely say is there’s a country folk element in there with a little bit of a rock edge and that’s where the influences definitely come from.
“It’s definitely taking a lot of those different genres of music that I’ve played over the years but with that Irish influence very much embedded in there.”
You say you started young, was it always music for you?
“Yeah, my family are all very musical and from a young age I’ve been playing a number of instruments from guitar to piano and I’ve been singing.
“Music has always been the highlight and the role I wanted to pursue.
“My brother is actually Nathan Carter’s drummer so between myself and Sean and my younger brother Ciaran, we play quite regularly as well together in Ireland if I have a chance to get home so it’s nice to bring a family element into the mix.
“And my two sisters have also played with me in the past so we all individually have a part to play in music thanks to my parents.
“We all kind of slide into that country/ bluesy kind of folk coming back to the roots of our Irish heritage and bringing it back to the ballads.
“Sing songs at home would start with a good old ballad requested by my dad so it’s been a huge part of growing up.
“I think it’s what carves you into the musician I am today.
“I can sing a song but I might kind of have different elements to bring to the table whether it’s my tone or whether it’s how I interpret it or whatever people take from that.
“It’s always great to have different influences and so on throughout your journey.
“So yeah, it’s always been about music.”
What highlights leap out for you of your time as a performer up to now?
“I think the Sydney Opera House is a landmark.
“That was insane to do that.
“And I played like in the US.
“We played in New Orleans.
“We played Sony Music Hall in New York, Whiskey a Go Go in LA, some of the most iconic venues that if the walls could talk, you’d be literally wanting to know what went on there over the last X amount of years.
“Crazy, crazy venues that I could only ever have dreamed of and they’re doors that have opened for me and experiences that I’ve gained over the last number of years.
“They’ve been a few of the highlights.
“I’ve got to perform on BBC The One Show and RTE Today Show, and some great TV appearances.
“So many things.
“I did The Voice UK as well many years ago.
“All of these opportunities and experiences just have kind of helped me be who I am today.
“I think that’s kind of where it all kind of stems from really.”
Blue Eyes by Lorraine O’Reilly is out on 31 January.
Lorraine launches the album at London Irish Centre on Saturday 31 January. For tickets and more information, click here.
For more information about Lorraine, click here.
