100 Not Out – From the Edge of Life to the Gift of Kindness Saving Him
Putney singer songwriter Adam Lanceley reaches a century of songs
image from Adam Lanceley - A Film We All Saw (Official Music Video)
Adam was only ten years old when a car accident left him seriously injured. Sustaining a severe brain injury, a crushed pelvis and shattered legs, doctors advised him he was unlikely to walk or talk again. However, though he has largely recovered from his physical injuries, he continues to live each day with the spectre of serious mental health issues which have grown over the last seven years, with constant battles with depression, anxiety and PTSD, all of which combine to create a torturous existence, essentially trapped with himself.
The only thing that has really saved him is his music – especially after suffering a major mental set-back last year – but he started to write again – desperate to get his 100th track recorded for his latest music project – then the virus hit – which has been a nightmare for him but with the help of his family and one special friend in particular he has managed to pick himself up, record the track – literally this music has saved him and this crazy situation we are all in somehow gave him that extra strength and determination.
Intended to be his final album, last year’s album 'The Rainbow's Legacy' was Adam Lanceley’s goodbye to music, his salvation through many years’ struggle through physical and mental health issues. Suffering with anxiety, depression and PTSD, he has found the aftermath incredibly difficult but his life has been turned around by the kindness of a friend, kindness which he has tried to repay with a brand-new collection of songs which he has entitled Deliverance.
This album is Adam’s fight back against one of the toughest periods of his life. Dedicated to the faith and feeling of safety knowing her had given back to him after a very long time, what Adam describes, “a very rare and special kind of friendship”. Deliverance is Adam’s most touching collection of songs which sees him reach a milestone of one hundred recorded songs released to the public and celebrates the cathartic power of music and the importance of true friendship.
Last summer, Adam felt his world was being torn apart. Fearing, as Adam put it, ‘the kind of friend who doesn’t come along too often’ was leaving his life, 'Deliverance' is a reference to how things have totally changed, as if, in Adam’s words, “the storms of the past are over and I've arrived at a calm shore”. The Deliverance EP sees Adam releasing six new tracks, four of which are dedicated to his friend and the change she has brought about in a life Adam felt was going nowhere.
'The first song on the album probably means the most to me. Everything happened so quickly at the end of last summer and I wrote it in desperation at the thought of losing her. I read it to her but when I thought I'd never be able to record it and give it to her, I couldn't face doing it. It was in the winter when I realised I would be able to, that I recorded it. I recorded three more tunes that I'd written about how she'd come into my life after this.”
Recalling the time he played her “Handle Me with Care” for the first time, Adam says: “I recited it but temporarily forgot the first half of the 2nd verse. I just went on though and finished on the middle 8. I said, 'I can't believe I forgot a bit' She replied 'it doesn't matter, you said the bit about – ‘…because there's a lost little boy inside, Begging handle me with care; and that's my favourite bit'. I smiled and said 'Yeah, mine too'.”
See more about Adam’s Story.
May 14, 2020