Billie Myers : The Singer Songwriter That’s Every Bit As Addictive As Her Music
Billie Myers : The Person
Head over to a site like Wikipedia to try and learn about British born singer / songwriter Billie Myers and you’ll discover this is a woman who hails from Coventry in UK, was discovered in a nightclub, and before becoming the singer she is today had jobs as diverse as an insurance agent and nurse.
What you won’t get to discover though is who British singer/songwriter Billie Myers is, and that ladies and gentlemen is something a little bit, no actually a huge bit special.
Standing out in a music world of carbon copies, Billie Myers is a artist who not only impresses with the quality of her writing and those incredible vocals, all on full show in her three albums, Growing Pains, Vertigo and the recently released Tea and Sympathy, but also in the kind of person she is.
Building up an incredibly talented team around her, including Kismet TV, a media consultancy who are central to a social media campaign that seen Billie raise her profile via social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, , a PR consultancy and RJO Artists, an artist management company, there was never any doubt that Billie’s latest album was always going to be hugely popular, but what this modest artist could never have expected was just how popular she as a person was about to become.
A woman who wears her heart on her sleeve and is blessed with a super quick wit, Billie’s tweeting on Twitter and posts on Facebook has not only seen her re-ignite old fans love of her music (and gain a merry band of new ones) but also seen them fall head over heels in love with the woman herself, and it doesn’t take much to see why.
Wonderfully humble Billie stands out from most celebrities you will find on Facebook and Twitter because she really is the real thing. When you get a tweet from her saying thank you for playing her music unbelievably you are getting it from the woman herself, and if you tell her you can’t stop playing the new Wonderful remixes on her Facebook page it’s going to be Billie Myers coming right back at you and telling you how much it means to her.
Don’t however think this means that Billie Myers is a woman who’s just about selling albums. As you may well have guessed by now nothing could be further from the truth, something clearly seen by her work with the Jed Foundation, the US’s leading organization working to increase awareness about depression to those up to the ages of 25.
Working both in conjunction with the organisation and independently, Billie Myers, unlike many of those in the public eye, is willing to speak frankly about her struggle with depression, not to gain herself publicity but because she knows from personal experience what it can mean to hear someone telling you you’re not alone and that help is at hand. Fully aware by doing so she is putting herself into an incredibly vulnerable position and leaving herself open to attack from the uneducated, this astonishing show of honesty shouldn’t however surprise you as it’s the exact same characteristic that runs through every song she’s written, and is heard every time she performs it.
Billie Myers : The Activist
Having been criticised in the past for not being gay enough, you wouldn’t think badly of openly bisexual Billie Myers to choose not to discuss her sexuality, but this singer/songwriter isn’t the kind of woman who is going to hide away from speaking out for the greater good.
Writing very eloquently about LGBT right issues, amongst other things, on her own blog, Billie Myers also isn’t shy about speaking out for these rights, something very clearly seen at the recent National Equality March, where she was not only willing to tell Obama and the thousands at the march that “I’m sorry, but I didn’t like your speech” concerning the one he had given the previous night at the Human Rights Campaign dinner, but to make it very clear that both her and the LGBT community weren’t willing to accept anything less than equality.
Billie Myers : The Musician
If you’re a long time Billie Myers fan then Growing Pains and Vertigo are likely to have been two albums that never left your iPod’s playlist, but having said that after 12 years since the release of Growing Pains, the arrival of Tea and Sympathy earlier this year has been a very welcome gift for fans new and old.
An album that exhibits the same honest and open characteristics of it’s creator, Tea and Sympathyis made up of ten tracks that are guaranteed to take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, which begin with the first track Lady Jane.
Lady Jane – Tea and Sympathy
Written alongside Neil Athale and Dee Adam, Lady Jane may have a wonderfully uptempo beat, but listen to the lyrics and you’re going to discover that this is a song with a sad tale to tell. Inspired by a transvestite, Lady Jane, who walks the streets down from her home, living a life a million miles away from his dreams of being an actor, Myers uses the track to explore the fading dreams that so many experience in Hollywood.
Wonderful – Tea and Sympathy
If you’re a long term fan of Billie Myers you’ll know this is a woman who finds it hard to be 100% positive but she’s nearly there with this track written with Kristen Hall. Written about being with a person who to you is everything you could ever want them to be, Wonderful is one Billie Myers track you could actually get away with playing to someone you’re falling for.
Alongside being available in it’s original form, this track has just been made available in four different remixes created by the hugely talented Barry Harris of Thunderpuss fame.
Send Me An Angel (…Is God Dead?) – Tea and Sympathy
Using her depression as inspiration for this song, Send Me An Angel (… Is God Dead?), is about those dark late nights when you’re left wondering where God is because he certainly isn’t where you need him to be. Definitely not the easiest topic to write about, though this has never stopped Billie Myers before, this is not onlya very beautiful song but one that is likely to reverberate for you long after the last note has been song.
I Hope You’re Happy Now – Tea and Sympathy
Written with Dee Adam and Jane Dobbins, I Hope You’re Happy Now explores how the break up of a relationship can hit you when you weren’t expecting it and definitely weren’t wanting it. Able to powerfully get across the inner turmoil it can create within you, Myers explores that feeling of wanting nothing more than to have them back, there’s some small part of you that does want them to be happy.
Anonymous – Tea and Sympathy
Perhaps the most painfully honest track on the album, Anonymous, written with Tim Frazer and Dee Adam is definitely going to have a lasting impact on you. Describing a time in Bille’s life when she felt lost, alone and like nothing was going right, the lyrics of this song explore how friends may try to help you feel better they can’t as much as they want to help you have a sense of who you are.
Not Another Love Song – Tea and Sympathy
If you’ve witnessed Billie Myers at work on Twitter then you’ll know that this is a woman who does sarcasm incredibly well, and Not Another Love Song is another example of this. Written about the end of a relationship where she didn’t feel she was being treated as well as she should have been, this as title suggests is definitely not a lovey dovey number.
You Wear Heaven – Tea and Sympathy
You Wear Heaven, written with David Tyson, has quickly become a favourite of many fans, and why wouldn’t it with a dreamy melody that’s as addictive as the words that’ll have you falling in love with the incredible talent of this woman.
No Regrets Allowed – Tea and Sympathy
Written with Nick Brophy, No Regrets Allowed has something of a country twang to it and is another song to showcase the versatility of this artist’s voice. Featuring the title of the album, Tea and Sympathy within the lyrics, Myers also asks “Would you push me from your ivory tower?”. From the quality of this song, anyone who listens to this track is only going to have one answer – a big round no.
Flying – Tea and Sympathy
Originally released on the Growing Pains album, Flying may on first hearing sound like a straight forward love song, but this isn’t any old song, it’s a Billie Myers song which means it comes with an added layer to it ,which in this case is about infidelity, with flying refering to that oh so hard to resist feeling of temptation.
Painfully Happy – Tea and Sympathy
With a melody that floats over you like acoustic silk, Painfully Happy, which was written with Marcella Detroit, features a much more chilled Billie Myers than the one won over by temptation in Flying and is the perfect song to round off an album that has not only seen Myers open up her soul, but is likely to get you doing pretty much the same. Luckily for her though few of us are blessed with the ability to put these thoughts and words so beautifully to music.
Tempted by the sound to Tea and Sympathy, but like to hear some of it before you buy? Well thanks to the kind generosity of Billie Myers you can get a taster by checking this Tea and Sympathy sampler.
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How Can You Get Your Hands On Billie Myers?
Billie Myers first two albums can be ordered from Amazon and iTunes with her third album, Tea and Sympathy available from iTunes and Billie’s own website.
You can follow Billie Myers on Twitter at @BillieMyers, check out new music releases on Myspace and interact with her and other fans on her Facebook Fan Page.
UPDATE:
You can now order the dance remixes of Wonderful from Fruit Loop Records and iTunes (US/UK). There are seven versions on offer which include:
- Barry Harris Saturday Night Club Mix (Radio Edit)
- Barry Harris Saturday Night Club Mix
- Barry Harris Acca Triba Lectro Mix
- Barry Harris Late Night Club Mix
- Barry Harris Late Night Club Mix (Radio Edit)
- Cajjmere Wray Club Mix
- Cajjmere Wray Club Mix (Radio Edit)
