Carnmoney singer dedicates first single to fiancée

Stephen Conley, who is from the Beverley area, released his first single ‘The one’ today (April 11).

Speaking to the Newtownabbey Times, the former Edmund Rice College student detailed the inspiration behind the track.

He explained: “The song is inspired and dedicated to my fiancée Sharon.

“Sharon is born and raised in west Belfast and has been battling a horrible cancer diagnosis for over two years now. We have two kids and she has been an absolute inspiration.

“The doctors and nurses have went above and beyond helping her and us as a family in every way imaginable.

“We could not support the NHS staff more and are so thankful for everything they have done and continue to do.

“With the line in the song ‘I can see in your eyes, the strength to survive’, this sums up Sharon to me. She will never give up any battle and that gets us all through.”

The Newtownabbey man, who has been performing for over 15 years, is full of praise for the team who helped him record his song.

He stated: “I find the writing process very simple. 30 minutes maximum would be a song for me. The recording side can take a little longer. Around three studio sessions completed the song and then mixing and mastering after.

“I recorded it with Jorge Sloan at Half Bap Recording Studios in the city. It was then mixed by the great singer songwriter Joel Harkin. We had another great musician from Carnmoney also on the record, Adam McGahan. He really added so much to the drive of it. Mark Evison added a beautiful poem to kick the song off, something that isn’t done too much in singles, but I think it drags the listener in and sets the tone perfectly.”

Since the video for the song was uploaded to social media, Stephen was been encouraged by the feedback, adding: “There has been some great feedback from the video. All the comments and shares have been greatly appreciated and they give me a little more drive to keep at it and to never give up.”

The 30-year-old businessman, who runs a cafe in Belfast, is due to marry Sharon later this month (April 29).

Commenting on being able to balance his wedding preparations with his music career, he said: “We are just over two weeks away from our wedding on April 29.

“It’s a stressful time, but through all of the stress there is such a great feeling of love and admiration. We are having the reception in Carlingford, a great part of the world.”

‘The one’ is available on platforms including Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and TikTok.

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