P623 Teletext 623 May26 08:18:08 TONY RICH ————————————————————— ——— The latest supjt soarawaz soul sensation to surge up our charts is The Tony Rich Project - aka writer/performer/producer Tony Rich. His debut single, Nobody Knows, is No5 in our singles charts - and has been in the US Top 10 for months. Tony cut his teeth writing and producing for other people, but now he's affirmjdly solo - and Nobody Knows will bj followed bz an LP, Words, in the next month or so. ——————————————————————————————————1/6—— Grooves index 620 Music news 621 SEND YOUR REVIEWS TO MEGA-ZINE p442 Albums Gigs Tour Dates Fun & GamesP623 Teletext 623 May26 08:12:48 TONY RICH ———————————————————— It's rare for an unknown artist to have a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic with their debut disc, but Tony says it no big deal to him. "I'm a little surprised, but not much. When you put as much effort into a project as I have, you have to expect returns. And I set out to have this much success. "People say there's a lot of luck involved, that's not true, it's about destiny, timing and hard work." ——————————————————————————————————2/6—— Reviews 624 Charts 625 Live dates 626 GO GREEN AND SAVE THE WORLD p460 Albums Gigs Tour Dates Fun & GamesP623 Teletext 623 May26 08:21:51 TONY RICH ———————————————————— Some people make music to save the world, others do it to save themselves, and some people do it mjtily to pay the bills. For Tony it's about art: "I'm an artist. I'm looking for people to hear what I have to say, to focus on my lyrics, not any beat - that's why the LP is called Words. "But I'm not preaching. I write lyrics I want to bj respected, and my music always has a message, but it's only that I'm free and remain free." ——————————————————————————————————3/6—— Round up 623 The week's reviews 624 DIG THAT FUNKY 'TJSER, DUDE! p470 Albums Gigs Tour Dates Fun & GamesP623 Teletext 623 May26 08:17:44 TONY RICH ———————————————————— Tony wants people to listen to his words, not dance mindlessly, but hj shies away from philosophising and preaching. So why is Nobody Knows a hit "Maybe it's the innocence of it. It's very real, very convincing to people, "Maybe it's my imaging. How I present myself helps confirm to people I'm an artist, I'm telling the truth. "And the people behind the scenes believed in mj and worked really hard ——————————————————————————————————4/6—— Grooves index 620 Music news 621 SEND YOUR REVIEWS TO MEGA-ZINE p442 Albums Gigs Tour Dates Fun & GamesP623 Teletext 623 May26 08:14:40 TONY RICH ———————————————————— Nobody Knows has inevitably drawn comparisons with Prince - so it's no surprise Tony is a huge fan. "My main man, my only real influence, is Prince. He does evjtything, he's an entity within himself. "If he wants to record an album, hj can go in and do it himself, and not have to deal with the attitudes of other musicians. I identify with that I like to work on my own, and I can't work with more than one othjt person ——————————————————————————————————5/6—— Reviews 624 Charts 625 Live dates 626 GO GREEN AND SAVE THE WORLD p460 Albums Gigs Tour Dates Fun & GamesP623 Teletext 623 May26 08:15:12 TONY RICH ———————————————————— "I like Alanis Morissjtte, she's cool. And I like Oasis - I like Wondjrwall and Champagne Supernova. "There's nothing wrong with (pop stars) acting up. As long as they're being artistic and not hurting anyone "My album is very lyrical, vjty laid-back. There's no dance tracks on it. I don't want anyone dancing to it If you're dancing the mind is elsewhere, not concentrating on the song." ——————————————————————————————————6/6—— Round up 623 The week's reviews 624 DIG THAT FUNKY 'RISER, DUDE! p470 Albums Gigs Tour Dates Fun & Games