Mal Fry

Mal Fry

Mal Fry is an acoustic singer-songwriter who begins writing and performing after seeing Martyn Joseph play at the Norwich Art Centre. He starts learning guitar in 1996, after his girlfriend arranges lessons for him on Valentine’s Day because the instrument is lying unused at home. He is not a natural player at first, but develops enough confidence to begin writing songs, drawing most of his material from everyday observation and personal experience.

Early performances and first recordings

Fry’s first live performance takes place at Wensum Lodge in Norwich in September 1999. His first CD, Through the Eyes of the Beholder, is recorded in March 1999 and features only vocals and guitar. He follows it with Pure Blue, recorded at Purple Studios in Norwich. Nigel Harris, who engineers the first CD, produces this second release, helps bring in session musicians, plays many of the instruments, and contributes ideas during the recording.

One Year Out and October Sun

In February 2004 Fry releases One Year Out, recorded at Zig Zag Studios near Huntingdon and produced by Gareth Stuart. Stuart also plays several instruments, with Amanda Stuart contributing vocals and keyboards. Session musicians on the album include Dave Larcombe on drums, Dave Tiplady on bass, and Roger Smith on guitar and vocals, while Fry’s girlfriend provides backing vocals on “Chasing Rainbows”. The album receives positive critical and commercial reaction, leads to radio appearances, and its track “In Your Arms” is selected for an Irish newspaper CD. In 2008, “You Were There” and “In Your Arms” are used on the Dutch television programme Hello Goodbye about Schiphol airport.

During the recording of One Year Out, Fry, Larcombe and Tiplady form a band and play gigs in the Cambridge area. The group first uses the name The Cuban Missile before settling on October Sun. October Sun records one album, Close Your Eyes and Count to Five, on Dave Tiplady’s 8-track Korg digital recorder. Tiplady engineers, produces and plays many of the instruments, and also co-writes some of the songs. The record takes three years to complete and uses two drummers, Dave Larcombe and Andy Farrow, while Trevor Earnshaw plays lead guitar on some of the heavier tracks.

Later solo work

After Tiplady emigrates to Australia and Fry returns to solo performance, he continues writing and recording with multi-instrumentalist and producer Stuart Braybrook. Together they make Never Too Late in 2009 and Time to Take a Chance in 2011. The lead track “Goodbye My Summer Love” from the latter release gains airplay on college radio in the United States and on internet radio in the UK.

Style and influences

Fry describes his music as leaning towards softer, more melodic songwriting. His influences include Martyn Joseph, Barclay James Harvest, Marillion, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, John Denver, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, David Gray and Coldplay. He says he prefers to write without worrying about rules or current trends, following the principle of liking what he makes first.