Independent musicians almost always encounter setbacks in their careers, but it is the ones that have music in their soul that never give up. The United Kingdom’s Neil Bailey is one of those fiery musical souls. He has overcome a crushed right wrist and thumb from a motorcycle accident, shingles which developed into Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome and ultimately turned into ME, which caused Neil to become dependent on medication for five years before he finally quit “cold turkey.” And then this past January, he was demonstrating Chuck Berry’s iconic duck walk after a couple libations and snapped his Achilles tendon. After a major operation to repair the tendon and a few months of intense physical therapy, Neil is finally getting back to work on his music.
Neil’s musical journey began at the age of four, when he received his first guitar – a small, blue and white, plastic toy guitar. He slept with it and took it everywhere with him. By the time Neil was six, his parents realized they had a guitar addict on their hands and gave him a real guitar. Neil was in heaven.
At the age of 13, Neil had his first studio session, playing lead guitar for an established electric-folk band called Charlie Crow in his hometown of Sheffield, UK.
Since those days long ago, Neil has played as a session musician, toured both in the UK and abroad, appeared on radio, TV and several albums and singles. Neil has supported such artists as Sam Brown (Pink Floyd/Jooles Holland), Sonja Kristina (Curved Air), Willy Porter, King Kurt, Ezio as well as playing for such bands as The Slide, Electric Kool-Aid, Listen, Indigo Listen, Invisible Voice, The Raven Club, Two Far Gone, The Sultans, Passionfish , JJ Kane, Sacred Earth, Quietman Presents, and Magpie22.
Magpie22 is Neil’s most recent band. Founded by Neil and Dawn Kelly, the band also includes Amy Bartlett, Eve Sapphire, and Jack Carver. In the next couple of months Magpie22 will be releasing a DVD/EP that will include six tracks filmed and recorded live at Whispering Bob Harris’ Under The Apple Tree Studio. Neil wishes to thank Dawn and the band for their patience during Neil’s health challenges.
Toward the end of 2022, Neil began working on a brand new project of his own – Guitar Soundscapes, his creation mixing music and visuals and creating “live” stories. Neil now has 150 songs in his Guitar Soundscapes catalog ready to be worked on when Neil has fully recovered. He is well on his way as he continues with physical therapy and recently got his therapeutic boot removed. Neil plays his first live show this weekend, since his injury and is anxious to get back to to creating more Guitar Soundscapes and performing live. Check out some of Neil’s creations below and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to his YouTube Channel!
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