Tommy Reilly – One for the future?
To say I dislike reality TV would be an understatement. To say I dislike the musical variety of reality TV, things such as X-Factor would be a massive understatement. However recently I stumbled upon Orange unsignedAct on T4, and my god it’s good!
The show pits unsigned bands against each other in a ‘battle of the bands’ style show where celebrity musicians judge their performances and decide who goes through to the next round. The difference with this show is that the bands are real – they sing live, they play their own instruments, write their own songs, and have even played gigs before being on the telly (who’d have thought it)! It’s been pretty inspiring watching it – I’ve felt genuinely excited watching the show – something I can’t say about any other ‘reality TV’ I’ve ever had the misfortune of watching.
Tommy Reilly is 19 years old and from Glasgow., Scotland He looks like he could be the bastard child of Elvis Costello and The Proclaimers, minus the glasses. He looks completely unremarkable, but when he popped up on the show during the auditions and started playing I jumped up out of bed with a start. After his initial performance with just his acoustic guitar, audition judge Jo ‘Radio One’ Whiley told him she didn’t think he was ready for the competition and to try again next year. Tommy said “ok thanks” and toddled off – no tears or strops a la X-Factor , afterall he’s a musician doing what he does, not some little wannabe who’s determined to be the next Kerry Katona. Within seconds of the door closing Jo Whiley and the other judge began whispering on the sofa, and before long realised their mistake. To their credit, they called Tommy back in and told him they thought they’d made a mistake, and were putting him through into the next round.
The judges for the next round were Alex James (the bass player from Blur), Lauren Laverne (ex-Kenickiea nd all-round good egg muso presenter), Simon Gavin (the usual industry type), and rapper Leathal Bizzle. After watching Tommy’s performance (click on the image above to watch the video) all four judges gave him their vote – making him the only person on the show to get all four votes.
I listened to Tommy’s demos on his Orange unsignedAct profile and they’re okay, but they nothing compared to hi no-nonsense live performance of ‘Give Me A Call’ – they don’t do his songs justice – watch the video and decide for yourself.
I hope Tommy wins the competition so that someone talented and real can come out on top of one of these competitions, however part of me fears for him, as winners of this type of competition usually get chewed up and spat out by the industry within 12 months. Maybe he’s be better off coming second, signing to an indie label, and releasing a couple of records before a major snaps him up – it would be a real shame to see the raw nervous energy he has ‘polished’ by an A&R man and producer.
Only time will tell how Tommy gets on – but right now he’s definitely one for the future, good luck son!
I watched the video. It’s shocking he’s only 19, because he comes off like an experienced star already. And that song is quite good. Unbelievable the judges could have missed on him, if even for a moment.
Agreed Paul – he’s definitely got something. I’m not sure exactly what it is that draws me to him, but there’s something very soulful/honest there. The judges were comparing him to Bob Dylan by the end of the show – which is no small thing!
Check out his performance of another song ‘Jacket’ here: http://orangeunsignedact.co.uk/blog/tommy-reilly-acoustic
i happened to catch him a couple of weeks ago (when he nearly slipped thru the net). Sometimes on that type of show you look for the talent, attach credibility to someone that is very good, but not perfect. Tommy didn’t need looking for or any high brow assessment, look at the judges faces when he performs ‘give me a call’, spellbound, captivating, no need for words when words are not needed. Tommy is raw,(in a way this makes his music even better)and has a talent for songwriting/storytelling, that makes it possible to listen to a song time and time again and it still does it for you everytime. I agree james, you want to tell the world about someone this good, but not to the detrement of the man himself. He probably bashed these tunes out in his bedroom, unbeknown that it was genius at work. keep it up tommy – i dont want you to win (for the reasons above) but its obvious your gonna walk it.
any comparisons with bob dylan are sickening.. to compare the songwriting and lyrical genius of dylan with the mustering up of one catchy chorus about not having a chick phone you back.. give me a call? give me a fucking break.. honestly! the only comparison that could be drawn between them is the raga muffin look that dylan had as a teenager entering in to the folk world in newyork. which is easily emulated for someone who states bobby d as his favorite artist of all time.. a baby face, scruffy hair cut, an old shirt and an acoustic guitar. nothing more.
byeee hype lovers and band wagon jumpers onners. jo whiley had it right the first time.
First I have to say I’m a big fan of Tommy. His live rendition of his songs are absolutely amazing and he does demonstrate maturity above his 19 years.
My question to the author is who edits your work. There are a lot of problems with the piece, however, the message was not lost.
@ross – each to their own I guess! Dylan comparisons get thrown around far too easily granted, but this lad has definitely got something!
@Lisa – he is great isn’t he!? As for my ‘work’ – this is purely a personal blog where I talk about things that interest me. I’m not a ‘professional’ blogger – I blog for fun and decided to write this because Tommy struck a chord with me, so no one edits my work. I’m glad you got the message despite the ‘problems’ in my post ;-)
Fair enough dylan comparisons get paped around, but yer missin the point man, that boys got a good innocently raw talent an as for ye sayin abt that song he does alot more than that away do your homework pal!
Well he won. So Yeah!