Raymond "Rea" Michael Garvey (born 3 May 1973)[1] is an Irish singer, songwriter and guitarist based in Germany. In 1998, he formed the band Reamonn. Over the 11 years that Garvey was their frontman, they saw chart-topping success in Europe, with a number of gold and platinum selling albums, Tuesday, Dream No. 7, Beautiful Sky, Wish and Eleven and several sold out European tours.[1] In 2010, after the release of the band's best-of album/DVD "Eleven", and a best-of tour, the band parted ways. Garvey took this time to pursue a solo career, which gave birth to his first solo album "Can't Stand the Silence" in 2011.[1] This album saw Garvey's transition from anthem rock with Reamonn, to alternative electro pop.
Early life
Garvey was born on 3 May 1973 in Tralee, Ireland. He is the third of eight children and the only boy. His father works as a police chief, both parents are Catholic and very strict in their upbringing. By his own admission, Rea often went over the top in his youth – taking drugs, occasionally getting into fights, and getting arrested a few times – until he found a more moderate path with music.[1]
Career
Frontman
Garvey gained his first musical experience as frontman of the Dublin band The Reckless Pedestrians. In 1998, he immigrated to Germany without being able to speak German. In Upper Swabia, Rea Garvey initially stayed with friends. He earned his living as a T-shirt salesman and roadie at music festivals.[1]
At the same time, he placed an ad in the newspaper looking for people to join him in a band. Together with drummer Mike Gommeringer, keyboardist and saxophonist Sebastian Padotzke, guitarist Uwe Bossert and bassist Philipp Rauenbusch, he founded the band Reamonn in November of the same year. The band's name is derived from the Irish version of Garvey's first name Réamonn. In June 1999, the band signs its first record deal.[1]
In March 2000, the band Reamonn released their first single: "Supergirl" reached number four in the charts in Germany and Austria. In Switzerland, the song also makes it into the top ten. The debut album Tuesday follows two months later. It reaches number five in the German album charts. This is followed by over 200 sold-out concerts and two further albums (Dream No. 7, 2001 and Beautiful Sky, 2003), which achieve gold and platinum status.[1]
Garvey first showed his fascination with electronic music in 2001, on the title track "Be Angeled" for the movie Loveparade. This was the first of many collaborations with the DJ team Jam and Spoon. The song was performed for the first time in memory of Mark Spoon at the start of the Love Parade in July 2006. In 2007, Rea appeared on a track titled "Let Go" for Paul van Dyk's album In Between. Rea has also worked on a solo collaboration with Xavier Naidoo, with whom he recorded Falco's song "Jeanny" in 2002 and "My Child" for his solo debut album Can't Stand the Silence in 2011.[1] The latter was a multi-platinum success, following the break-up with his former band Reamonn in early 2011.
Garvey was also one of the four coaches on the German version of The Voice, The Voice of Germany for season 1-2, 4-5, 9-10 and 12. The winner of the second season was British singer-songwriter Nick Howard, who was on Garvey's team.
In 2005, Garvey together with Xavier Naidoo, Sasha and comedian Michael Mittermeier, paid tribute to the Rat Pack in a live performance called Alive & Swingin', in aid of Garvey's charity organisation, Saving an Angel. Due to its success, the four took to the stage again, in early 2011, to a sold-out tour. As the demand for the German Rat Pack grew, the four continued to tour in 2012 and, with their big band, were set to take another encore in 2014.
Garvey won the 2021 edition of the Free European Song Contest, a spin-off of the Eurovision Song Contest created by the German TV Channel ProSieben to have a version of the original contest when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. He represented Ireland with his song 'The One' placing first with 116 points out of 16 songs.
Personal life
Rea Garvey has been married to the German-Romanian Josephine (née Falticska) since 2002. The couple have one daughter, Aamor (born 2005), and a second child, a boy, but year of birth is unknown. The family lives alternately in Berlin and in the Hessian village of Hadamar.[1]
