Buy a stake in Caldy man’s band

Oct 29 2008 by Sue McCann, Heswall News

LEAVING a steady, secure job to try and become a rock star is probably not the kind of career change most level-headed people would advise you to make.

But with the credit crunch biting, it may be seen as a viable option – especially if you work for a bank.

Martyn Shone, from Caldy, gave up his lucrative job with financial institution Credit Suisse to become one half of the band Honey Ryder.

And since making the switch, his group has had a top 40 single, just finished touring with Michael Bolton and is set to be the supporting act for Will Young, including taking the stage at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall next month.

But 29-year-old Martyn didn’t leave his business brains behind when he moved into the music industry – as he is now selling shares in his band.

Martyn said: “Its not the sort of career change most people make, but I moved into making music just before the credit crunch hit and now it’s really paying off.

“Our group has had a top 40 hit, we have an album coming out and we are touring with some big names.

“We have also turned our band into a limited company which means you can even by shares in Honey Ryder.

“Let’s face it, the way the financial crisis is going at the moment, it’s probably a better bet to do this than invest in banks such as HBOS or the Royal Bank Of Scotland.”

Martyn has worked in a number of roles for many of the world’s top banks and even spent time as a trader in the City.

In his last role, he worked as a project change manager at Credit Suisse’s offices at Canary Wharf, London – the place where many of the world’s financial institutions have their European headquarters.

Martyn left his £50,000 a year job in January to gamble on making music, starting up Honey Ryder with friend Lyndsay O’Mahoney, 28, who use to work for MTV.

The two listed their group with Companies House under the name Honey Ryder Ltd and put 100 shares in their band up for sale at £3,500 each .

Buyers get a share in 50% of all the profits that Honey Ryder makes from royalties and tours. The rest of the money goes to Martyn and Lyndsay and their producer.

Martyn said: “I always knew that one day I would make a living as a musician.

“When I worked in banks I was a bit of a Clarke Kent character, dressing in a suit in the daytime and talking about monopolies and mergers. But by night I would sneak off from the office and head out to practice at music rehearsals.”