Voice On The Verge #19 • Honey Ryder

voice on the verge #20: honey ryder

listen to Honey Ryder on Myspace

You can’t name your band after arguably the most famous Bond girl in history without bringing the sass to back it up, and rather like Ursula Andress’s white bikini, Honey Ryder don’t leave much to the imagination. But not in an OMG-that-Britney’s-shameless way. Simply, they sound just how you might imagine a duo made up of a former MTV employee and an ex-banker with preposterous man-from-Toploader hair would sound like. Even their publicity material gives the impression of a band that’s more of a business enterprise than the work of two people who really love music. It put me off at first, I’ll admit, but actually there’s some genuine promise in the songs that make up their debut album Rising Up, out October 13th. And they do love music, they just need to relax a bit more, get out of that white collar mindset. Not that it’s doing them any harm mind you. Recent single ‘Numb’ sailed into the Top 40 last month and Annie Lennox loves them. Singer Lindsay O’Mahony filled out our ever-faithful questionnaire. Find out more about what makes her tick…

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What’s your earliest memory?
Getting lost in Las Vegas at the age of 4 and not being remotely fazed by it.

What were you like at school? 
Bossy, enthusiastic, hardworking, outspoken, loyal.

Who was your childhood idol?
Russ Abbott. I genuinely thought he was a legend of comedy. Michael Jackson came a very close second.

Are you multi-lingual?
I speak French, German and Spanish. I tried to write a song in Russian once but found it very difficult.

What did you listen to when you were growing up?
Mum and dad played us stuff like Elvis, The Hollies, Motown, Neil Diamond, Doctor Hook and The Beatles. When I got older I loved U2 and Oasis.

Who was the first person you saw in concert?
Whitney Houston at Wembley Arena.

What’s the biggest guilty pleasure in your record collection?
Helen Reddy’s greatest hits.

Which female musicians have most inspired you?
Alanis Morissette, Tori Amos, Carole King, Sheryl Crow.

Which artist would you most like to work with – your dream collaboration?
Chris Martin, or Tom Chaplin from Keane. And Dolly Parton.

If you had to pick one song from your repertoire to represent your entire body of work, which one would you choose and why?
‘Choices’, because the lyrics are not only about my journey in music but about every decision I’ve made in my lovelife, family life and work.

Do you have an instrument you’d still like to learn? What’s stopping you?
I’d like to master the comb and tissue. I’ve got the comb but need to buy the tissue.

What’s your tipple?
Uncle Jack and Coke.

What’s your top household tip?
Never make a cup of tea naked.

What are your views on feminism?
I don’t believe I have the right to a view on this.

What’s your favourite quote?
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm” – Winston Churchill.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever worked and what was so bad about it?
Cleaning toilets. I don’t think I need to explain.

What was the last good book you read and how did it affect you?
‘For One More Day’ by Mitch Alborn. It reinforced how important it is to never have any regrets or unsolved issues with loved ones.

Would you rather see a ghost or simply have a piece of toast and watch the evening news?
If possible I’d like to see a ghost eating toast. And I’d like it to be Elvis. And I’d like the topping to be lemon curd ‘cos it’s underrated.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It’s 9am. The best thing I’ve done all day is get up before 9am.

Tick tock, tick tock. What you waiting, what you waiting for?
Usually a London bus.

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Alan Pedder

 

‘Fly Away’

‘Numb’

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