From time to time Bryan gets trendy. Again and Again, it happens. He was a constant in all of his friends lives. He was always there with a word or with support. He was like that. Watch out because for the next few weeks Bryan will be back in the limelight. Helping those less fortunate than himself . making a difference in the run up to Christmas and the New Year.
And if you don't know who we're talking about let us tell you here
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Please send your memories and stories to bryaninfo@gmail.com
A while ago I came across pages of tributes to Bryan and wished to add my own. It is extraordinary that this man meant so much to so many. He oozed this loving vibe that distance and time did not fade and he stayed connected on a personal level. His presence at the New Troubadours Club in the late 80s and early 90s kept my purist brand of unplugged acoustic singer-songwriter promotion in the Manchester music scene loop, drew distinguished artists to the club such as Johnny Bramwell and David Gray, and invited the respect and appreciation that Bryan wanted for all his diversely creative friends and live music projects.
To whom it may concern.
Bryan Glancy is a singer songwriter of the very highest order. He is the first human to receive a posthumous Mercury Award. Strangely little is known of him.
In the painful days after his sudden and unwanted death, his family graciously allowed this blog to be set up and a small proportion of the lives that Bryan touched have left their personal memories of a truly significant human being. No two postings are the same because Bryan was many things to many people and that creates a whole lot of Bryans. It's a great read.
An LP is waiting in the wings to scorch into the Mercury betting stakes. "First two times recipient of the Mercury" "Bryan Glancy" "Odds 1,000,000,000 to 1 win" In my book that is looking quite tasty. Stranger things have happened. Ask anybody from Alan Turing to Chas Rigby.
To be honest in my book he's odds on to win.
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Please send your memories and stories to bryaninfo@gmail.com
In 2000, when my time in Manchester was coming to an end (although I didn’t know it at the time) Bryan used to come and visit me while I was working in the little Waterstones in the Royal Exchange Theatre. I loved that, in the morning, no customers, a mild hangover and a mocha and a wee blether with Bryan. It was 10 years ago, so don’t expect me to go into many details, or, let me say, don’t expect me to be too rigorous with the accuracy. What I do remember is that we had some God talk at that time; he was going through a difficult time, having recently lost his father, and inherited some money. It was the first time really I was faced with that sad conundrum of having your poverty relieved by the death of a loved one. He was sad and flush at the same time, and a very touching person.
Just after I launched the first single with Sleepwalker we had a residency in the Night and Day, where we played with a few bands that we had asked to play with us. One of them was an acoustic outfit called The Rio 6, and they were led by Matt, a friend of Bryan’s. When we were backstage Bryan was with them and they seemed to have this kind of love cult thing going on, all talking in tongues and group hugs. I wasn’t sure what was going on to be honest, but I loved that kind of thing, still do, that kind of whacked out on the edge love and sentimentality - it kind of defined Bryan for me, in a way. I think it’s really apparent in my favourite song of his, ‘My Love’ – because the way he sang that line with his droll Manc drawl, he really made it his. His Love.
He was so full of love and positivity and sadness at the same time, but he also had that endearing boy-about-town kind of edge. The last time I saw him perform it was supporting David Gray in the Academy – they were good friends, and David’s star was in the ascendency, so it was a good opportunity for Bryan to play a few songs. I’ll never forget seeing him that night. But perhaps the image that stays with me best is standing outside the Night and Day one Wednesday afternoon watching him drive down Oldham Street on one of those ridiculous motorized scooters. And I don’t mean a scooter like a Vespa (although a Vespa would have suited him more I think), I mean a scooter like you had when you were nine. But motorized. He looked really comical, like he was having a laugh playing with the sense of cool, and I loved that about him too. He didn’t seem to worry too much about that shit. He had the talent to live his life the way he wanted to, and document that. Yep, he was a lovely guy that Bryan Glancy, it was privilege to have known him.
If you have just "googled" Bryan Glancy and arrived here, welcome to a site dedicated to his memory, lovingly filled with thoughts and memories from just a few of his many friends.
Last night the prestigous 2008 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to Elbow who promptly dedicated it to Bryan.
The rock group elbow have dedicated the final track on their new LP to Bryan
The track is called Friend of Ours
The LP is called The Seldom Seen Kid
Here's an early review of the LP mentioning our friend. Click
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Please send your memories and stories to bryaninfo@gmail.com
I only met Bryan on a few occasions between 1988 and 1991. I first time was at the Green Room on Whitworth St in 1988, it was the first CC/Funbox Manchester Busker night, both myself and a friend (we were both 15 at the time) had read about Bryan in the evening news, he had just been crowned Piccadilly Radio's busker of the year (whatever that meant!), we had a schoolboy band of our own at the time and were intrigued. What we heard (Bryan, Johnny Dangerously, Darren Poyser, Henry Normal, Clare Mooney) that night changed our lives forever. I remember meeting Bryan after the gig, he was selling his tapes at a table in the bar area of the venue, we approached him just to tell him we loved his set, it was near the end of the night and by this time neither myself or my friend had any money left, so we felt a little embarrassed when Bryan asked me if I liked his stuff enough to buy a tape of him, when I drunkenly explained I had no money he just smiled and handed me a tape anyway. That tape was called "The kid who saved your life" it contained five other songs as well as the title track, another track on it was "Bicycle Corncob Tuesday". I remember playing the tape almost constantly that summer and beyond. Unfortunately a fascist tape machine decided to chew up the tape a couple of years later and has been lost to me ever since (if anyone out there has this tape, I would be eternally grateful for a copy)
It is a year ago that I heard the news that Bryan had died. In the passing 365 days I haven't stopped thinking about him and my life has been guided by some of the most valuable things he shared with me, in ways that I would never have dreamt. I will take time today to listen to his music and offer up a prayer to tell him how much I love him and miss him and hope that he is okay wherever he is.
God Bless you Bryan, 1 year on and it still hurts like mad.
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Please send your memories and stories to bryaninfo@gmail.com