Rev hammer

Rev Hammer (born Stephen Ryan in Kent , England in 1965 ) is an English folk singer.

Life

The son of a family of Irish descent , he grew up in Buntingford , Hertfordshire north of London . He came into contact with music for the first time at the age of 5: The Johnny Cash record "Live at St. Quentin" impressed him so much that - with Johnny Cash as a great role model in mind - years later he did it himself Started playing guitar and singing - initially only as a busker, i. H. Street musician . Rev about this time: "I only performed in pedestrian zones for 18 months before I dared to step on stage in public." While
still in school, he formed a band called Featus and the Undertakers . Under the pseudonym Featus he also performed poetry. After the breakup of Featus and the Undertakers , he and a friend formed the duo Hammer & Sickle , with whom he recorded two songs on the album Buntingford Center of the Universe together with Justin Sullivan from New Model Army published.

The friendship with Justin Sullivan then also led to the founding of the folk formation Red Sky Coven in 1986 .

Rev also continued on solo paths: After a series of demo tapes, his debut album Industrial Sound and Magic was released in 1991 . His biggest project to date was released in 1997: "Freeborn John" - a concept album about John Lilburne , the leader of the Levellers . The recordings lasted over 15 months. In 2005 this CD was performed 'live' for the first time, at the Beautiful Days Festival in Escot.

Discography

Demo tapes

• 1986 A Few Minutes in His Company
• 1987 The Dog Kennel Sessions # 1
• 1987 The Dog Kennel Sessions # 2
• 1987 Just Say Yes
• 1987 demo tape

Solo albums

• 1991 Industrial Sound and Magic
• 1994 The Bishop of Buffalo
• 1996 The Green Fool Recordings
• 1997 Rev Hammer's Freeborn John : The Story of John Lilburne - The Leader of the Levellers
• 2004 Spitting Feathers
• 2006 Rev Hammer's Freeborn John Live (CD and DVD)
• 2010 Down the Alley
• 2017 Skald - with Nick Harper

Collaborations

• 1995 Various Artists: The Disagreement of the People (as Reservoir Frogs)
• 1995 Levellers : Zeitgeist Out-Takes (as Reservoir Frogs)
• 1997 The Levellers & Rev Hammer Are: Drunk in Public
• 1998 The Levellers & Rev Hammer Are: Too Drunk in Public
• 1998 Red Sky Coven Volume 1 & 2
• 2001 Red Sky Coven Volume 3
• 2001 Ukrainians: Drink to My Horse! (with Oysterband and Rev as guest on one piece)
• 2002 The Levellers & Rev Hammer Are: Drunk in Public - The Muddy Road to Invergarry

Web links

• Official Rev Hammer homepage
• True Blue - Well-maintained unofficial homepage with lyrics and much more.
• Official Red Sky Coven homepage