Martin Briley

Martin Briley (born 1950, London, England) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.

He has recorded with and written for a variety of well-known musicians, as well as releasing four solo albums in his own right.

Music career

Beginnings and early bands

Briley began playing and writing music when he was ten years old.

At the age of seventeen, he and his band "Mandrake Paddle Steamer" (later shortened to Mandrake)^[1] signed their first record deal with Parlophone/EMI, and subsequently recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

Briley was later signed to George Martin's AIR group of companies and went on to become an important part of the London studio scene as an arranger, vocalist and sought-after session guitarist. He also had a brief stint with the British progressive rock band Greenslade.^[2]

Session work in America

Briley moved to New York, where he found work as a touring and session musician for numerous artists, including Meat Loaf, Julian Lennon, Bonnie Tyler, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Engelbert Humperdinck, Lulu, Mick Jones, Donna Summer, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, the Hollies, Tom Jones and Albert Hammond.

Solo work

Briley signed a deal with Mercury Records as a solo artist, releasing three self-written albums. Of his solo work, his single "Salt in My Tears" is probably the best known. It is for this song that Briley is generally known in the US to be a one-hit wonder,^[1] as it reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1983, making it his biggest pop single.

Songwriting

Briley has received orchestral commissions, and has written songs for such artists as Céline Dion, *NSYNC, Dream, Michael Bolton, Mietta, Kenny Loggins, Pat Benatar, Jessica Andrews, 5-Star, Jeff Healey, Rebecca St. James, Nana Mouskouri, Willie Nile, Gregg Allman, Nightranger, David Hasselhoff, Patrick Swayze, Michael Monroe, Chastity Bono, Peter Tork, Nikki Webster, Hope Partlow, Natascha Sohl, Ballas Hough, Phil Stacey, Orianthi, The Maine and Barry Manilow.

Personal life

Briley lives in New York with his wife, Dana Calitri, and has two daughters, Vanessa and Olivia.

Discography

• Fear of the Unknown (1981)
• One Night with a Stranger (1983) ( includes the hit single "The Salt in My Tears" )
• Dangerous Moments (1985)
• It Comes in Waves (2006)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.br-online.de/bayern3/musik-center/ohw-martin-briley-a-rainy-day-in-new-york-city-ID1212138940841.xml
2. ^ http://www.nme.com/artists/greenslade

External links

• Martin Briley's official website

Persondata
Name	Briley, Martin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1950
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death
Place of death