Ciaran Gribbin
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Ciaran Gribbin (born 1976) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer who hails from Castledawson, Northern Ireland.


Career


Early career

Gribbin began writing songs at the age of nine. He formed a small band with his two best friends, and for years they toured the pubs in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, Northern Ireland where he was born. At 20 years of age, Gribbin studied music at the School of Music in
Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked ...
, Northern Ireland. Upon leaving college, he formed the band, Leya, which lasted seven years. The band put out one album, titled ''Watch You Don't Take Off''. Leya toured with bands such as
Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...
,
Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) as dr ...
,
Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...
and
Embrace Embrace may refer to: * A hug, a form of physical intimacy * Acceptance Music Bands * Embrace (American band), a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. * Embrace (English band), a post-Britpop band from West Yorkshire * Embrace (duo), a Dan ...
. Gribbin also performed backing vocals on Snow Patrol's album '' Eyes Open''.


Joe Echo and collaborations

After Leya disbanded, Gribbin continued to work with the members of Leya on various projects, under the name of Joe Echo as well as collaborating/co-writing with international artists including
Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...
and
Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...
, with whom he co-wrote
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
's track, "Celebration", for which he received a
Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
nomination. Gribbin also toured, under the name Joe Echo, with many artists including
Gotye Wouter André "Wally" De Backer (born 21 May 1980), better known by his stage name Gotye ( ), is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The name "Gotye" is a pronunciation respelling of "Gauthier", the French cognat ...
,
Powderfinger Powderfinger were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer ...
,
The Script The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, consisting of lead vocalist and keyboardist Danny O'Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan, and drummer Glen Power. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint ...
and opened for
Sir Paul McCartney ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
at the
Hard Rock Calling Calling Festival (formerly Hyde Park Calling and Hard Rock Calling) was an annual music festival, formerly held in Hyde Park, London, from 2006 until 2012, and from 2013 in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. In September 2013, Hard Rock In ...
Festival in Hyde Park, London. Gribbin wrote and produced soundtrack albums for the films ''
Killing Bono ''Killing Bono'' is a 2011 comedy film directed by Nick Hamm, based on Neil McCormick's 2003 memoir ''Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppelgänger''. The film stars Ben Barnes as Neil McCormick, Robert Sheehan as Ivan McCormick and Martin McCann ...
'' and ''Heartless''. Ciaran also released some original music under Joe Echo in digital format.


INXS

In 2009, while supporting Paolo Nutini on his Australian tour under Joe Echo, Gribbin met
INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
keyboardist and songwriter
Andrew Farriss Andrew Charles Farriss (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. Farriss released his debut studio album in 2021. Care ...
at a house party in Sydney. Over the next 12 months, Farriss and Gribbin became close friends and in May 2011 the two songwriters got together for a songwriting session. The members of INXS were impressed with Gribbin's vocal and songwriting ability and promptly asked him to audition for lead vocalist of their band. In November 2011, Gribbin performed his first show with INXS in
Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...
,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
in front of 7,000 people and two nights later performed in front of 30,000 people, headlining the Personal Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He replaced their former lead singer,
J.D. Fortune Jason Dean Bennison (born September 1, 1973), better known by his stage name J.D. Fortune, is a Canadian singer and songwriter best known for his six-year tenure as the frontman of the Australian rock band INXS. He received worldwide recognition ...
. Gribbin performed over 50 shows as INXS' frontman. Two of the songs Gribbin co-wrote with Andrew Farris have been released by INXS. "Tiny Summer" was a free download single. The second single, "We Are United", was performed in Australia's capital city, Canberra, at the Australia Day celebrations in January 2012 in front of a television audience of one million, and was released to mark this occasion.


Recent work

Gribbin is continuing to work on many projects including his own solo debut album. He has recently been producing and writing records for young music artists, including remixing for Thai artist Tata Young, writing songs for the Asian pop market and working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, writing music for movies. Gribbin recently announced on '' The Morning Show'' on the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
that his new single "My Killer, My King" will be released and available for download on iTunes on Friday, 16 August 2013.


Personal life

Gribbin is the eldest of five children. He currently lives in Wollongong, Australia with his wife and two sons.


Awards and nomination


Environmental Music Prize

The
Environmental Music Prize The Environmental Music Prize is a prize launched in partnership with Green Music Australia. It aims to celebrate and amplify powerful music videos that inspire action for climate and conservation. It was launched during the United Nations Cl ...
is a quest to find a theme song to inspire action on climate and conservation. It commenced in 2022. ! , - , 2022 , "What If" , Environmental Music Prize , , , -


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gribbin, Ciaran INXS members Male singers from Northern Ireland Rock singers from Northern Ireland 1976 births Living people Rock musicians from Northern Ireland Alternative country musicians Expatriates from Northern Ireland in Australia