Barry O'Brien is a Dublin based solo artist whose debut EP 'Spark' is a soulful blend of past and present Power pop and Rock influences. His songwriting has been compared to the likes of The Beatles, Elvis Costello, XTC, and Elliott Smith.
Born and raised in Dublin, he was brought up with the influence of his big brothers' record collection. Barry was inspired to take up guitar at the age of twelve and played with various bands until he attended Ballyfermot Music College. After leaving, he formed his own band Peyote. They enjoyed mild success on the gig circuit. When Peyote went their separate ways he took a different route by singing and immersing himself in the craft of songwriting.
Playing at various clubs around Dublin to develop his songs, he bought himself a 4-track recorder and assembled a CD of home demos. He quickly gathered momentum and formed his own band consisting of members of Mundy and Pugwash.
Barry recently made artist of the week on one of Irelands national radio stations Today FM’s “Pet Sounds” gathering a whopping 97% of the people’s votes. He was also picked as one of Tom Dunne’s Rising Stars and his track 'Cut Me Out' was chosen for a compilation CD that went out with The Star news paper.
In October of 2004 he played the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of The International Pop Overthrow festival and has also been asked back for IPO 2005 in May. As well as touring around Ireland Barry continues to record for his debut album.