Celebrity Health - Lyra
Photographer Ruth Medjber. Make up Billy Ore. Gloves Izzy O’Reilly. Dress owned and styled by Lyra.
Singer-songwriter Lyra is set to go global with her powerful voice and distinctive lyrics. Born Laura McNamara in Bandon Co Cork, her songs Emerald and Falling became well-known hits after being used on Love Island and Grey’s Anatomy. She has performed at Electric Picnic, the 2fm Christmas Ball, Latitude, Independence in Cork and at the St Patrick’s Festival in Dublin. She appeared as a celebrity judge with Boy George and Jedward on Virgin Media talent show The Big Deal and performed on RTÉ’s music show The Main Stage.
Tell me about what you are doing now Lyra
I’m staying in Brighton at the moment and travelling up to London to record a single. I will be back home in West Cork later this week. I am the kind of person who needs to be busy all the time. This summer I am going to be performing at Brighton Pride and Independence in Cork.
This year I am focusing on my live performances and TV in Ireland. I really want people to get to know me in Ireland. They may have heard my music but wouldn’t know me very well.
I write all my own songs because I need to sing from my own real experiences, and songs are very personal to me. When I singBroken Down I can get a bit angry as it’s about being told I wouldn’t make it as an artist. Emerald is about my nan so it can be emotional, and Lose My Mind is about a great night out with friends. I am a very emotional person which comes across in my performances.
I love it when people come to see me live – my live performances are better than recordings or on Spotify. Performing live gives you a different relationship between artist and audience and you develop a bond together.
My current single Edge of Seventeen is out now, it’s a collaboration with John Gibbons.
What exercise do you do to keep in shape?
I try to exercise regularly and go to the gym but because I travel back and forth between Ireland and England so much it can be difficult. I like to walk wherever I am, whether it is in west Cork or on hikes with my friends. When I can I go to the gym and do HIIT workouts and 10 minutes of running on the treadmill to get my breathing up for performing on stage and moving around.
You need to be in really good health to go on tour. There are long hours, you’re on the road and your immunity can become depleted.
I work on my voice a lot with a salt inhaler or an electric nebuliser – inhaling steam can really help the vocal chords which are muscles.
What sort of foods do you eat to stay healthy?
I have a tour coming up with all my outfits planned so I will be trying to be healthy and reduce calories in order to make sure they fit me! I enjoy a bacon bagel for breakfast, and adore sushi for lunch or will make a tuna sandwich if I am at home. For dinner I love ramen – home made chicken broth with noodles and loads of vegetables.
Do you take any supplements?
Yes I take a multivitamin every day. I take Echinacea lozenges for my voice and arnica tablets which can help when I have been on stage as it can be bruising on the voice muscles. I find that a stage performance is like a workout in terms of the strain it puts on the body.
In my bag I carry vitamin C lozenges and I always bring colloidal silver in case I get a cut or an infection.
My dad is really into natural health and has made some amazing things over the years like liposomal vitamin C in a special bath and a home-made probiotic.
Do you have any tips for Rude Health readers?
- My mum gave me this advice which has made a massive difference to me and really made me the artist I am now. Always strive to be the best version of yourself – you will never have to apologise for it. If you stay true to yourself it is better for you mentally too.
- Your health really is your wealth. Always keep looking after your health even when you are not sick. Do not wait to get sick before you look after your health. Be constant with taking your vitamins.
- We are all human and need to look after ourselves mentally and physically.
Lyra is performing at the sold-out Electric Picnic Festival which returns to Stradbally, Co Laois this year on 2-4 September.
She will be performing live on the following dates of her Irish tour:
27 October Spiegeltent, Wexford
28 October Cyprus Avenue, Cork
4 November Dolans, Limerick
6 November INEC, Killarney
8 November 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
10 November Limelight2, Belfast
11 November The TLT, Drogheda
13 November Haven, Waterford
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