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Band Member Profiles
Mervyn Spence - Bass/ Vocals
1983-86
Mervyn Spence - aka Spam - was born in Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Mervyn moved to mainland UK in 1980, taking up residency in the Staffordshire area where he began to play with local bands such as Jury and Big Daisy. It was while doing this that he was spotted by Mel Galley and offered the opportunity to join Trapeze (a respected British band who had once featured Deep Purple's Glenn Hughes and Judas Priest's Dave Holland in its line-up). Mervyn recorded one album with Trapeze, although this remains unreleased to this day as, shortly after its completion, Mel Galley accepted an invitation to join Whitesnake.
Following the break-up of Trapeze, Mervyn spent several months writing and demoing song material, before receiving a phone call from Wishbone Ash's then manager John Sherry, asking if he would be interested in auditioning for the band. Impressed by Mervyn' s enthusiasm and his considerable vocal range, Wishbone offered Mervyn the position. The following week Mervyn found himself playing onstage with the band for the first time in the US!
Mervyn Spence remained an integral part of Wishbone Ash for almost three years, and was a key impetus behind 1984's "Raw to the Bone" album. Mervyn quit Wishbone early in 1986, in the wake of longtime member Laurie Wisefied's decision to leave. Following his departure, Mervyn worked with Mike Oldfield and original Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips, before making a more concerted move towards establishing himself as a singer/songwriter in his own right. In 1988 Mervyn and collaborator Dieter Petereit released an album under the name "Silent Witness". In the early nineties Mervyn established his own record label and production company Parachute Music and released his debut "solo" album "Something Strong", under the name "O'Ryan" in 1991. A second "O'Ryan" album "Initiate" followed in 1995. Mervyn also appeared on the all star "Phenomena 3" album alongside Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy), Brian May (Queen) and future Wishbone Ash drummer Mike Sturgis.
Click here to go to O'Ryan page
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