Damien Maddison is a singer/songwriter from Manchester, England. Damien first came to prominence on the music scene in the North of England in the early '90s, performing with the likes of John Bramwell (I am Kloot), Intastella, Louise Goffin (daughter of the legendary Gerry Goffin and Carole King), Bryan Glancy, Mark Burgess (The Chameleons, Sun and the Moon) and 'Guitar George' Borowski. As a result of appearing at the Northern Songwriter of the Year Awards he came to the attention of Roag Best (brother of The Beatles original drummer, Pete Best) who secured him a nine month residency at the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool.
He also began to achieve important radio airplay around this time, recording several radio sessions for the BBC, Factory Records A&R guru Tony Michaelides' show on Manchester radio station Key 103 and Pete Mitchell's radio show (BBC Radio 2, Virgin Radio). Damien also gained exposure by appearing with artists from genres other than the music world, most notably Steve Coogan, John Thomson and Caroline Ahearne. Building on this local success, Damien started to receive national exposure as a solo artist, embarking on two major UK tours with 60s icon Donovan. As a result of this he then landed further UK tours with Ronnie Spector & The Ronettes (which, on the final night of the tour saw several members of Ronnie's band deputising as Damien's backing band, including the noted New York session guitarist Jim Satten, and both Mick Seeley and Rusty Cloud from Southside Johnny's Asbury Jukes. There was even a food fight thrown in for good measure!!), Wishbone Ash, Medicine Head and The Stylistics.
Some of Damien's material naturally leant itself to be taken and performed in the context of a group and so in the late '90s he formed the band MADDISON, recruiting members from local bands, 63 Trees and Weekend With Adam. From August 2005 MADDISON started to play live more extensively. Tour dates saw them headlining at Manchester Academy on three separate occasions, The Borderline in London and a support slot with ex-Gene members Steve Mason and Matt James' new outfit, Palace Fires.
Under the MADDISON banner Damien has released two albums; the eponymous 'Maddison' in 2003, which featured former classmate (and now reknowned physicist) Professor Brian Cox on keyboards, and 'Looking at the Clouds' in 2005. In late 2007 he released the EP 'Slide'. This EP attracted a considerable amount of radio airplay, most notably in the US, with WUIC in Chicago being the first to pick up on it quickly followed by various West Coast stations such as K-Beach in Long Beach, KRLY in Los Angeles and KCSF in San Francisco. Not to be outdone by their West Coast counterparts, the East Coast stations WMFO in Boston, HGR in New Jersey and WRCT in Pittsburgh added the EP to their playlists. The 'Slide' EP also gained airplay in Canada too, courtesy of CITR in Vancouver and CFUR in Prince George BC. The volume of airplay that the 'Slide' EP received in the US and Canada led to the band's profile being raised considerably in North America. This resulted in Damien being approached by a Los Angeles based film company with a request to use two of his songs on the soundtrack to a feature film set in Los Angeles and Nebraska, called 'Veronica'.
Here in the UK 'Slide' was playlisted on Radio 2 xs (four months in a row), and also received healthy airplay on BRFM, All FM, Manchester Radio Online and Clint Boon's Music Response show on XFM Manchester. Manchester Radio Online, which is the most listened to online radio station in Europe, are currently featuring 'Hold Back The Rain' and 'Slide' on heavy rotation on their station's playlist.
2008 saw Damien and the band kept busy as a result of the interest generated by the 'Slide' EP, with live shows, radio interviews and the recording of several live acoustic sessions for Caroline Rennie's drivetime show on AllFM, Paul Ripley's evening show on Manchester Radio Online and Clint Boon's drivetime show on XFM.
2009 saw the release of Damien's debut solo EP 'Acoustic Side Street', with tracks such as 'Absolutely Tib Street' and 'I Pity You' quickly gaining regular airplay in the UK. The EP release was followed up with several live festival and theatre appearances, most notably 'The Legendary Manchester Busker Show' (with I Am Kloot's John Bramwell) and a live set at 'In The City 2009' with Mark Burgess from The Chameleons.
2010 proved to be an equally productive year, with Damien performing shows with the likes of Martin Stephenson (The Daintees), Tom Hingley (The Inspiral Carpets) and Dave Sharp (The Alarm) as well as finding time to record several live UK radio sessions.
2011 sees work currently underway on the follow up to 2009's 'Acoustic Side Street' EP, with Damien working in the recording studio with Martin Coogan (The Mock Turtles, and brother of Steve Coogan) with a provisional release date set for early next year.
Damien's songwriting skills and vocal style continue to earn plaudits from various quarters of the music press and media including:
"A rare songwriting talent" BBC Radio
"Maddison's voice is simply superb: tremulous, with a soaring, distinctively nasal, husky American drawl" City Life Magazine
"After having done a bit of research on these guys I was pretty impressed to see that they're not doing too bad in the old US of A. Having had their new EP played on various radio stations across the promised land I was intrigued to hear what all the fuss was about, I wasn't disappointed. Their cutting edge rock/indie sound is different to all those other 'indie bands' mixed with Californian cruising melodies and good old British rock and roll, its obvious why this lot are doing well in America. 'Slide' is by far the best song on the album, with its driving rhythms and simple chords, matched with gritty, honest vocals which make you listen to every word. The EP continues to impress with a mixture of styles being incorporated into the tracks, showing the band's ability to keep pushing forward and developing their sound. Surprisingly, America has got it right, Maddison are great!" Ella Byford, Sandman Magazine
"An accomplished artist whose pedigree speaks for itself" Manchester Evening News
"Incredibly catchy stuff this - taking the melodic nous of Oasis and marrying it to a rockier, blues-driven backing. Damien Maddison's vocals really stand out; raw and raspy without any metal-ish histrionics, he recalls Stevie Ray Vaughan at his crackling best. If they've got a few more instant hooks to match this, Maddison could conquer American rock airwaves with ease" Channel 4 Television's PlanetSound review of 'Slide'
"A fascinatingly distinctive voice" City Life Magazine
"Classic rock with double edged harmony and a mighty sly grin. Maddison's tracks are fully-loaded, indie-pop classics influenced by The Pixies, Dylan and Stone Roses, the latter being a very obvious maker in 'Rainbow' with a background saturated in gleaming sunshine. 'Hold Back The Rain' showcases Damien's "Neil Finn"-toned vocals in a cheerful, happy anthemic piece." WeAreManchester Magazine
"One of the best f**king CDs I've heard in ages" Clint Boon of XFM (and the Inspiral Carpets) on 'Slide' EP
