Ben Reel Band

After the Boom ? Get Real With Ben Reel ?Ben Reel stands at the threshold of true greatness as an artist.' Pat Cunnane, Radio Kerry ?The best album I've heard in years.' Gerry Anderson, BBC Radio Ulster. BEN REEL plays rock with a touch of blues and roots and the occasional injection of reggae. Critically acclaimed all over Europe, his vocals are soulful and his lyrics meaningful.

Get Real With Ben Reel
?Ben Reel stands at the threshold of true greatness as an artist.'
Pat Cunnane, Radio Kerry
?The best album I've heard in years.'
Gerry Anderson, BBC Radio Ulster.

BEN REEL plays rock with a touch of blues and roots and the occasional injection of reggae. Critically acclaimed all over Europe, his vocals are soulful and his lyrics meaningful.
Feel Alive and Summer's Always Here are the double A-Side singles from Time To Get Real, the Co Monaghan-based songwriter's fifth album in 10 years.
Due for release in October 2009, Time To Get Real promises to be the definitive album of Ben's career.
?It's an earthy album which reflects the need to get back to reality in these post-boom times,' says the South Armagh native. ?Ireland lost its way and a bit of its soul in the last decade; now it's time to get back to basics.'
Time To Get Real has been eagerly awaited since Ben's radio hit earlier this year with U People, an instantly catchy collaboration with the famous Rainbow George.
//?


And he's back with hints of reggae on Old And Wise, the ninth track on Time To Get Real.

Since his debut This is the Movie (1999), each Ben Reel album has gone from strength to strength, covering different styles of music along the way from Rock, Soul, Roots to Reggae to Funk. Now, with Time To Get Real, his music has evolved into an honest earthy, soulful sound that has matured like a fine wine.

Ben first picked up the guitar when he was 15 years-old, inspired by the realness of the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. Their influence is still reflected today in Ben's passionate and heart-on-the-sleeve approach to performing and writing, but his sound is very much his own.

In February 08 RTE Radio 1 broadcasted a full live Ben Reel gig as part of their In Concert series. His band has performed Blas Ceoil on BBC2 N. Ireland, Dave Fanning's The 11th Hour show on RTE2 and the Ray Darcy's Today FM Show, while U People was featured on Tony Fenton's download of the day.

In the last two years Ben has enjoyed successful tours in Holland, Belgium and Germany, receiving rave reviews and attracting a growing fan base.
//?


In the last 10 years he has supported celebrated names like Jools Holland, Alabama 3, The Cranberries and Michael Ball. He has performed U People with the late great Ian Dury's legendary Blockheads, and has recorded the song with award winning saxophonist Gilard Atzman.

Along the way he has played with some of the finest musicians in Ireland as his backing band and has built a loyal underground following. Described as an artist lying beneath the radar for way too long, this simmering pot is about to boil. (See Reviews below.)

Discography
1999 This Is The Movie
2001 Lost In The Haze
2004 Sweet Victory
2005 U people (single)
2007 New Horizon
2009 Time To Get Real

www.myspace.com/benreelband www.benreel.com

Further info: Una Brankin 0044 754 555 4484 unabrankin@live.co.uk




BEN REEL ? REVIEWS

Put simply and aptly, New Horizon is all killer, no filler! Rarely have I heard an album so complete and so fully realised. From the brilliance of the playing and arranging to the magnificence of Reel's voice, this is heaven all the way. A superb album by an artist good enough to hold his own in rock's premiere league.
Andrew Hobbs, Hi Fi + magazine


When it comes to making classy albums, Ben Reel's your man. Year on year, Reel's songwriting is growing in stature in every department, yet he still doesn't get the wide spread recognition he richly deserves
it's one of the strongest albums this year. This CD isn't just music: it's art.

AllGigs.co.uk review of New Horizon, 8th October 2007


Ben Reel, a native of South Armagh, has in the words of one journalist ?operated under the media's radar for far too long'. On the evidence of this release, his fourth album, I would have to agree. The songs and the playing are really impressive, an earthy mix of rock, roots and blues, all mixed lovingly together with soulful vocals. His song writing shows maturity and progression which comes through with repeated plays. Featuring some great slide guitar from Micky McCarney and terrific vocals from Kelie Redmond, ?Hell In Ur Own Head? is a standout, closely followed by the semi spoken ?When Will Be Ever Be Free?. ?For U And I? shows the band at their best with a lovely rock/soul groove that you wish would go on longer. All in all this is an impressive album from a major talent who needs further investigation.
Chris Field, Birmingham Post