Daniel Meade

Artist bio

Glasgow songwriter Daniel Meade cut his teeth in the pubs, clubs and venues of Glasgow from a young age. From the half empty piano bars one night, to sharing stages with acts like the Kings Of Leon, The Fratellis, The Zutons, New York Dolls and Glasvegas the next, his early and formative musical experiences were varied, interesting and somewhat eclectic, and continue to be so to this day. His band The Ronelles released debut (and only) album 'Motel' in 2006, which saw them off on tours of the UK, Japan and California. After a three month stint in LA, where he was exposed to a lot of old country music, he formed roots country-blues/ rock n roll outfit The Meatmen which took him all over the UK, and to Ireland and Morrocco on several gig residencies, all the while carving out a reputation as an exciting and formidable live act.

He released his debut solo album, the self-recorded, 'kitchen-made' 'As Good As Bad Can Be’ in 2013 to critical acclaim in the UK. It attracted much radio exposure, which led to a coveted BBC Introducing Session on 'Another Country With Ricky Ross' which showcased a live and very well-received performance.

Since then he has travelled far and wide, working with and sharing stages with acts such as Old Crow Medicine Show, The Proclaimers, Sturgill Simpson, Ocean Colour Scene, Pokey LaFarge, Willie Watson and Diana Jones.

In February 2014, Daniel was invited to Nashville by Morgan Jahnig of Old Crow after he heard As Good As Bad Can Be and viewed his BBC Session online. Jahnig was so impressed, he offered to engineer and produce a new album and proceeded to put a killer band together comprising some of Meade’s favourite musicians, including Cory Younts, Chance McCoy, Joshua Hedley, Chris Scruggs, and Morgan himself. Guest spots were filled by Diana Jones, Shelly Colvin and Critter from Old Crow.

The result was 'Keep Right Away', an exciting, diverse and self assured album that draws on the ghosts of all of his influences, from Hank Williams, Big Bill Broonzy, Kris Kristofferson and Jerry Lee Lewis through to the more contemporary throes of Old Crow Medicine Show and Justin Townes Earle. All the while, as with 'As Good As Bad Can Be', Meade's originality as a songwriter and musician shines through and remains intact.

Both these albums received lots of great reviews and racked up meaningful radio plays, including spins on BBC Radio 2 from Bob Harris and BBC SCOTLAND by the likes of Roddy Hart, Ricky Ross, Ian Anderson and Janice Forsyth.

While Keep Right Away was being finalised in Nashville, Meade wrote and recorded a boogie woogie album, Demented Dynamite (CD only), and officially released an older album 'Redneck Dinner Party that for one reason or other never saw the light of day when it was recorded in 2010 with The Meatmen. He and his band 'The Flying Mules' then undertook two UK tours in support of Sturgill Simpson (forging a friendship that saw them in January 2016 as his backing band for the prestigious Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow). They also made appearances opening for Old Crow Medicine Show and Willie Watson on their tours of the UK.

2015 saw the release of Keep Right Away and saw Meade and The Mules complete another two successful headline UK Tours, a sell out nationwide tour opening for Pokey LaFarge and once again being invited to perform live on the BBC as part of the highly succesful 'BBC at The Quay' sessions in Glasgow. Meade also undertook a two week solo stint in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium opening for and backing the revered folk singer Diana Jones. As a result, he and long-term guitarist Lloyd Reid were invited back to the EU for a string of their own dates at the end of August, which were a great success. The band finished the year off on a high, supporting Scottish music royalty The Proclaimers on tour in Scotland, playing to around 10,000 fans over 3 nights.

In 2016 things continued to move on, with the release of album Let Me Off At The Bottom, his first studio album with The Flying Mules. It was met with kind reviews and lots more radio play. On the road it was another succesful and busy year, with the Sturgill Simpson show at Celtic Connections leading to yet another 5 date UK tour in support of the Grammy Winner in July. Other highlights of this year included 5 packed out shows at 'Kilkenny Rhythm and Roots Festival,' a very well receieved The Quay Sessions (BBC) appearance, and another greatly succesful solo tour with Diana Jones in April, this time over three weeks in the UK. There were many more festival appearances including Eden Festival, a headline slot at Perth Southern Fried Festival, an appearance at Maverick Festival, plus 2 sold out shows in Shetland in the Autumn. He spent the last month of the year touring as the piano/keys player for one of the UK's biggest bands, Ocean Colour Scene, on their triumphant trek around Spain and the UK.

2017 so far has seen Meade return to the DIY ethic with the release of a home made project in February, an album entitled 'Shooting Stars and Tiny Tears' (made entirely on an ipad), which again was released to great reviews and radio exposure, despite it's humble beginnings as a 'songwriting excercise' in which Meade gave himself up to one hour to write each song, and no more than four hours to record each one, on which he played all instruments. He was invited on to the award winning Janice Forsyth Show on BBC Scotland for an interview and session to promote the album a few days before release and performed three tracks from SSTT.

The day after release, Meade and Reid embarked on a 16 date tour of the EU, again taking in Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium, playing to bigger crowds and racking up more miles than before. Once this was completed he headed straight into the studio to begin work on this new project. The summer was mainly spent on the road with Ocean Colour Scene again.