A very welcome surprise in the RGM inbox this morning is the debut single by Tony Wright & Ryan Hamilton with their take on 'Oh Lonesome Me' the Don Gibson classic. Many RGM readers might know Ryan Hamilton from his band The Traitors while Tony Wright is best known as the frontman for Alternative UK rock act Terrorvision. An unlikely transatlantic alliance but very effective if the single is anything to go by. A full album of country classics entitled 'Grand Ole Otley' is due June 8th and the duo will be playing UK shows to coincide. To check out the single, learn more about the duo and those all-important tour dates follow:

Updated: May 11th, 2018. The guys have now put together a video for the single which you can check out below.

Ryan Hamilton, the Texas rocker who grew up on country greats, and Tony Wright of Brit-Rock hitmakers Terrorvision, have banded together to produce ‘Grand Ole Otley’, an album of country songs re-worked in their unique style and the first release of a brand new transatlantic collaborative project, led by their version of the Don Gibson classic later recorded by Johnny Cash among others,

“Ya know, I’m still not exactly sure how it happened. At the time, our [Traitors] new single ‘Smarter’ was doing well on UK radio... and one day, Dave goes, “What would you think about recording a song with Tony?” I was already a fan of Terrorvision, and we have a lot of mutual friends, but I had never met Tony. I don’t know if he heard our song on the radio, or just overheard our stuff that Dave was working on. Whatever happened, he expressed interest in working together. I was flattered and excited. Before I knew it, we were recording an old song together called ‘Everytime I’m Kissing you’. Never in a million years did I think we’d make an album together. Especially not THIS album. This whole thing continues to be the most wonderful surprise”

— Ryan Hamilton on his introduction to Tony Wright by producer Dave Draper

Their shared love of ‘good music’ led to talk of an album covering country standards and more obscure songs from way back in the archives. The resulting album, ‘Grand Old Otley’, is a heady mix of country, Americana and folk and is likely to prove much darker at times that could be expected from a pair notorious for their wise-cracking.

Initial takes for the album were captured in Wright’s coffee/print-shop, Bloomfield Square in Otley, Yorkshire (referenced by the album’s respectfully tongue-in-cheek title). A beautifully renovated 18th Century building with plenty of charm, as a temporary ‘studio’ it certainly lends its very own special acoustics to the grass-roots vibe of the recordings.

“There’s something really magical about Tony’s Bloomfield Square. Talking through, deciding on the tracks, and doing the initial recordings in the back of that beautiful old building definitely lent itself well to the vibe and a direction of the album. It’s strange how things have fallen into place with this project. Accidentally. Sort of creepy, actually. But, again, that old school, dark/creepy vibe lends itself well to these tunes. I think we’ve stumbled onto something wonderful here. Accident or not, it just works. Even though on paper, it looks like it shouldn’t”

— Ryan Hamilton

Wright and Hamilton take the album on the road for a short string of intimate shows in June (tickets on-sale now) – celebrating the official release at London’s beautiful St Pancras Old Church on Friday June 8th. These shows promise to be nights of laughter and story-telling definitely not to be missed:

6th June - Parish, Huddersfield
7th June - Gullivers, Manchester
8th June - St Pancras Old Church, London
9th June - Bodega, Nottingham
10th June - Prohibition Caberet Bar, Gateshead

Tickets & info from http://tonywrightandryanhamilton.com/

“who knew?! It seems that Ryan and I are actually distantly related…”

— Tony Wright on his genealogy studies

ABOUT RYAN HAMILTON:
Born and bred in Texas, Ryan Hamilton was raised on a staple diet of the music of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoakam. Ryan’s former band Smile Smile achieved success in North America and Canada largely through the song/album Truth on Tape, touring with the likes of Ryan Adams and Loretta Lynn.

The band People On Vacation followed, which introduced Ryan to the UK for the first time, his UK touring band mates on that project then joining him to ultimately form the rock/Americana combo – Ryan Hamilton and the Traitors, who have received the seal of approval from none other than Little Steven Van Zandt. Ryan is preparing to record a second album with the Traitors after the critical success of debut, The Devil’s In The Detail.

ABOUT TONY WRIGHT:
Tony Wright hails from deepest Yorkshire and has fronted Terrorvision since the 1990s. Well known for his quick-witted appearances on TV’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Tony is currently back on the road with Terrorvision for the Britrock Must Be Destroyed tour joint headlining with the Wildhearts and Reef.

Having released two solo albums under his own name and a brace as Laika Dog (named after the first animal to orbit the Earth), Tony has also turned his hand to screenprinting and building dry stone walls.