by Paddy Kinsella

Poet, Hollie McNish, referred to Newcastle’s bridges as ‘Muscle built beauties of sweat into steel, of hardening fires, solidified metals.’ Songwriter, Ruth Lyon, is the product of those ‘muscle built beauties’ and, like her city, her trials have taught her to never let others define her path.

On Trouble, she snarls – biting back at all the ‘adults’ who have advised that she follow the well-tread path of home, family and prosperity. ‘I’ve never been into cars,’ she remarks cuttingly. On Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple memorably sang ‘I would beg to disagree but begging disagrees with me.’ Lyon’s work is marked by a similar sense of defiance. Indeed, when speaking on the new single, she remarked: ‘I’m trouble and I love it.’

Lyon became a wheelchair user at 21, and has since refused to be ‘boxed up with a neat little bow with my labels printed on it.’ Now an ardent advocate for the disabled community, Lyon has used her experience to her’s (and others’) advantage. Rising from a city that was birthed in flames, Lyon is a fitting star for a city that shines brighter than most.

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