Spence moved to Staffordshire from Ireland in the late 1970s, and began playing with bands such as The Jury and Big Daisy.
TrapezeEdit
During Spence's time in local bands, he was spotted by Mel Galley, who promptly offered Spence the bassist and vocalist position in Trapeze, which had been left vacant since Peter Goalby had left to join Uriah Heep. Spence briefly toured with the band, and during his tenure recorded one album's worth of material, which – due to Galley's departure to replace Bernie Marsden in Whitesnake – remains unreleased.[1] Several of the songs from these sessions however (Demos exist in bootleg form), would form a very small part of Tom Galley's Phenomena project, which Spence would later join to sing and play bass on the 1992 album "Innervision" (billed as "O'Ryan")
Spence later went on to buy the rights to the project, cashing in (and dining out) with a 'best of' compilation which featured a very small percentage of his work tagged onto the work of the real members of the project.
Wishbone AshEdit
Following the break-up of Trapeze, Spence was offered an audition for Wishbone Ash while he was pitching demo material to various outlets. On the strength of his vocal range and enthusiasm, Spence became a member of the band. Spence would perform on one album by the band, 1985's Raw to the Bone.[1]
Post-Wishbone AshEdit
Spence left Wishbone Ash in 1986 "to pursue family matters". He has since released two solo albums under the name "O'Ryan" (his mother's maiden name), 1993's Something Strong and 1995's Initiate.[2]
Spence secured a job lecturing music industry topics at Walsall College of Arts and Technology in the mid-1990s while hitting hard times musically.
^ ab. Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash. 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
^. Allmusic. 2008. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
August 27, 2023
mervyn, spence, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, ta. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Mervyn Spence news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Merv Spam Spence is a Northern Irish musician and producer best known for his work with Wishbone Ash and Trapeze Mervyn SpenceBirth nameMervyn SpenceAlso known asO RyanSpamMerv SpenceBorn1958 age 64 65 Larne County Antrim Northern IrelandGenresHard rock progressive rock pop rock blues rockOccupation s Singer songwriter musician producerInstrument s Vocals bass guitarYears active1980s presentLabelsParachute music Emjo MediaWebsitehttp www mervspence co uk Contents 1 Musical career 1 1 Trapeze 1 2 Wishbone Ash 1 3 Post Wishbone Ash 2 Discography 2 1 Solo 2 2 with Wishbone Ash 2 3 with Face Face 2 4 with Purple Cross 2 5 with Phenomena 2 6 with Big Daisy 3 ReferencesMusical career EditSpence moved to Staffordshire from Ireland in the late 1970s and began playing with bands such as The Jury and Big Daisy Trapeze Edit During Spence s time in local bands he was spotted by Mel Galley who promptly offered Spence the bassist and vocalist position in Trapeze which had been left vacant since Peter Goalby had left to join Uriah Heep Spence briefly toured with the band and during his tenure recorded one album s worth of material which due to Galley s departure to replace Bernie Marsden in Whitesnake remains unreleased 1 Several of the songs from these sessions however Demos exist in bootleg form would form a very small part of Tom Galley s Phenomena project which Spence would later join to sing and play bass on the 1992 album Innervision billed as O Ryan Spence later went on to buy the rights to the project cashing in and dining out with a best of compilation which featured a very small percentage of his work tagged onto the work of the real members of the project Wishbone Ash Edit Following the break up of Trapeze Spence was offered an audition for Wishbone Ash while he was pitching demo material to various outlets On the strength of his vocal range and enthusiasm Spence became a member of the band Spence would perform on one album by the band 1985 s Raw to the Bone 1 Post Wishbone Ash Edit Spence left Wishbone Ash in 1986 to pursue family matters He has since released two solo albums under the name O Ryan his mother s maiden name 1993 s Something Strong and 1995 s Initiate 2 Spence secured a job lecturing music industry topics at Walsall College of Arts and Technology in the mid 1990s while hitting hard times musically Discography EditSolo Edit Something Strong 1993 as O Ryan Emer May 1995 as O Ryan Initiate 1995 as O Ryan with Wishbone Ash Edit Raw to the Bone 1985 40th Anniversary Concert Live In London 2010 with Face Face Edit Childhood Dreams 1994 Bridge to Nowhere 2006 with Purple Cross Edit Eyes of the Mirror 2000 with Phenomena Edit Phenomena III Inner Vision 1992 as O Ryan The Complete Works 2006 with Big Daisy Edit Big Daisy 2012 References Edit a b Mervyn Spence Martin Turner s Wishbone Ash 2008 Archived from the original on 12 February 2008 Retrieved 10 November 2008 Mervyn Spence Allmusic 2008 Archived from the original on 7 November 2017 Retrieved 10 November 2008 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mervyn Spence amp oldid 1163999385, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
