'Maggie Reilly' History:
A tree is known by its fruitsIf you own Echoes you may know that Margaret and Danny Reilly started it all. To extend this information I must add that it started in Glasgow, Scotland in 1956. Danny was a singer so it was no surprise that his little daughter, who often accompanied him on his concerts, dreamt of her own musical career. The first opportunities to show Maggie's vocal talent came during her school times in various school performances on such occasions as Christmas. The potential of her beautiful strong voice was soon recognized. Maggie was only fourteen when she went to London and recorded her first single Imagine Me but she was not satisfied with the result at all and refused to promote it. Back home in Glasgow, Maggie met Stuart MacKillop who asked her to join his band Joe Cool. In October 1974 the band merged with another - Up, forming Cado Belle. Cado Belle consisted of six members: Stuart MacKillop, Alan Darby, Gavin Hodgson, Davy Roy, Collin Tully and Maggie Reilly. They issued their only, self-titled album in autumn 1976. It was followed a year later by an EP. In 1978 they gave some concerts in clubs but Cado Belle dissolved soon after, with Maggie turning to session work before signing on with the trio Riotous Assembly. source: http://reilly.szm.com/biography.htm |
The voice of Moonlight ShadowAn important turn in Maggie's career came in the early 1980s. Her boyfriend Chrys was working as a sound engineer for Mike Oldfield at the time and she came along to a few venues with him. Mike asked her to accompany him on his forthcoming European tour which would start on the following day. Maggie took her chance and joined Mike's then vocalist Wendy Roberts on the stage. When the tour was over, Maggie contributed vocals to Mike's album QE2. They collaborated on four more projects: Five Miles Out, Crises, Discovery and Earth Moving. Between the years 1980 and 1984 they regularly toured around the world. During Crises sessions, Maggie and her boyfriend were staying in an apartment under the studio in the garden of Mike's house in Denham. They didn't have to pay rent but they were at Mike's back and call. Whenever Mike wanted to record he just knocked on the door. Working in such a family atmosphere turned out to be effective. The international hit Moonlight Shadow reached number 4 in the UK charts and over the years has become a timeless evergreen. When Crises was completed, Maggie and Chrys moved to a 400-year-old romantic house in Hertfordshire, however, they had no time to enjoy their new home. Maggie went to Switzerland where Mike had bought a studio. They recorded another big hit - To France and spent following months on a tour. The tour was very stressful and when it was over Maggie decided to take a rest. But a person with such a dynamic Scottish temperament is apparently not able to take a rest. Or not for a long time. During this time Maggie released her solo debut, a cover of Marianne Faithfull's classic As Tears Go By, married her long-time boyfriend Chrys Lindop and in 1985 gave birth to their son Fionnbharr, who means everything to her. A year later she appeared together with Mike and Simon Phillips on a charity concert in Royal Albert Hall where they performed an acoustic version of Moonlight Shadow. In 1989 Maggie sang Blue Night, a song Mike wrote especially for her. source: http://reilly.szm.com/biography.htm |
You keep going your own way...Besides fulfilling her motherly duties, Maggie contributed to several different projects during the next period including collaborations with such stars and legends as George Harrison, Jack Bruce, Nick Mason and Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Sisters Of Mercy, Smokie or her colleague from Mike Oldfield Band Rick Fenn. In 1988 Maggie met Stefan Zauner, who was a member of the project Artists United For Nature as well as her. Maggie recorded her first solo album Echoes between March and September 1991 in co-operation with Stefan's band Münchener Freiheit and producer Armand Volker. The album with the hit single Everytime We Touch was doing very well in Europe as well as Maggie's next release Midnight Sun. In 1994 Maggie collaborated with Juliane Werding, German singer famed for a cover version of Moonlight Shadow (Nacht voll Schatten), and French singer Viktor Laszlo. This trio went on a short tour in autumn. The concerts they gave in twenty German cities and towns were a huge success. In November 1995 Maggie spent some time in the capital of Finland - Helsinki where the Finnish band Värttinä recorded background vocals for her forthcoming album Elena. Elena is a special album because besides Stuart MacKillop, who has helped Maggie with all her solo projects, almost all their friends from Cado Belle contributed to it. The album succeeded in Europe. All three singles - To France, Walk On By and Listen To Your Heart were later remixed and re-released on M.R.: All The Mixes. Maggie spent the whole summer of 1999 on a tour to support her best of compilation There And Back Again. During the tour most of the next album Starcrossed was written. The fact that the compilation contains the hits from Maggie's collaboration with Mike Oldfield may be the main reason why her management refused when Mike asked her to sing Man in the Rain. Two years after Starcrossed, in 2002 Maggie released a cover album entitled Save It For A Rainy Day. In the same year Maggie joined the German gothic cross-over project Lesiem. She contributed three songs to their album Times. They are going to tour next year so Maggie spends a lot of time rehearsing or enjoys being with her beloved family in London. |
Maggie Reilly Discography:
| Release Title and date | |
| save it for a rainy day 2002 | |
| starcrossed 2000 | |
| all the mixes 1996 | |
| elena 1996 | |
| midnight sun 1993 | |
| echoes 1992 | |
| always you (maxi) | |
| every single heartbeat | |
| everytime we touch |
| listen to your heart - the mixes | |
| the best | |
| there and back again | |
| there and back again (the best of) | |
| wait (maxi) | |
| walk on by |
