Dundee singer-songwriter Demi McMahon has put her mind, body and soul into music – and she finally has an album of her own songs to show for it.
The journey to release Rainbow Remedy began more than two decades ago when Demi, now 29, sang in her childhood home in Menzieshill and starred in local talent shows.
Since then she has gained a music qualification, gigged throughout Dundee and Scotland and released an album of covers – putting in numerous hours of effort in writing, performing and promotion along the way.
Funding Demi’s labour of love is her job as a healthcare assistant at Ninewells Hospital, where she indulges in her other passion of caring.
She now has a 12-track album that has been labelled “simply wonderful” by one reviewer and is looking forward to a number of gigs this year across Scotland, including Dundee and Perth.
Behind all the hard work, her philosophy to music is simple: “I don’t care about the money. I just want people to listen to my music.
“Some people worry about the money but it is just a bonus to me. It means a lot to me when people say they heard my song.”
Demi also gives her verdict on teachers in Menzieshill, reveals whether she found love on a BBC Scotland dating show and explains how she appeared on Leona Lewis’ radar. Her story is in the following sections:
- Young singing dreams
- Ninewells and music achievements
- Bandmates and promotion
- Lockdown at Ninewells, TV show and Leona
- Album meaning, review and tour
Young singing dreams
Demi McMahon’s parents and grandparents told her from a young age to follow her dreams, and that is what she has done ever since.
“I grew up around music,” she says. “Mum and dad used to play music and I used to sing about the house from a young age. They said I should follow my dreams and I used to go by that motto.
“Everyone is born with a gift or a talent. I have been born with a singing voice and I want to pursue a career in music.”
Only-child Demi was introduced by her parents to artists such as Mariah Carey, Eva Cassidy and Bob Marley.
“My dad loved The Associates, a Dundee band, which was led by Billy Mackenzie. My mum loved Motown and soul music, so there was a variety.
“I have always liked pop singers and mainstream music. I also liked reggae and old-school music such as Amy Winehouse. She had such an unusual voice.
“I wanted to do pop but also make songs that are meaningful and people can connect to.”
‘It was the domino effect’
While at both St Ninians Primary and the old Menzieshill High School, Demi’s approach was consistent.
“When I was in school I just used to think that I wanted to do music,” she says. “Some people say they want to be a nurse or a doctor. I just wanted to be on stage singing.”
Fortunately there were performing opportunities throughout her childhood.
“At primary school they would have talent shows and at nine or 10 I would be in them. I would also be involved in Christmas songs and pantomimes.
“And then at high school I did talent shows and then open mics from there. It was the domino effect into gigs and songwriting.”
A portion of one of Demi’s songs during secondary school – her version of No One by Alicia Keys – was recorded and uploaded on YouTube. See below:
‘You always looked forward to her classes’
At Menzieshill High School Demi spent lunchtimes at the music department singing songs, jamming with other musicians, learning how to play instruments and preparing for talent shows.
“That was my happy place,” she says.
She also benefited from guidance by teachers in and out of the school.
“Mrs Coull was upbeat and encouraging in the music class,” Demi says. “You always looked forward to her classes and you always thought you were going to learn music.
“Miss O’Neill was strict but fair and encouraged her pupils to focus on what they wanted musically.
“I used to go for acoustic guitar lessons by Scott Holmes. He doesn’t do it anymore and now does his own music.
“It was to get the gist of straightforward chords and structures to help me write songs. I am not a guitarist but just do it to help me with song structures and writing for open mics.”
Ninewells and music achievements
Demi left school at 17 to study an NCE in music at the Graham Street campus of the old Dundee College.
Although she says the one-year course was a “good experience” and “great to be with likeminded people and musicians”, she knew that being a singer wouldn’t pay the bills so took on unrelated jobs and began gigging in her spare time.
She worked at the café of the former Debenhams store in the Overgate and had an eight-month stint at the Silvery Tay in Charleston, which she describes as “a good experience to meet people and it was good to have a laugh with the public”.
At 19 she took a job working at a café in Ninewells Hospital, which soon led to her taking a caring role.
“I always helped elderly people to the table and with their trays and when they were struggling,” she says.
“I have always had a caring nature and always wanted to help people – through music, but also through caring for people.
“So I applied for a job at Ninewells when I was 20 and got a job as a healthcare assistant.”
Demi is still working as a healthcare assistant, initially in haematology before moving to gastroenterology five years ago.
“Caring and music go hand in hand,” she says. “Some people are touched when you make music, which I am humbled by.
“And with caring too, you are giving something to people and making their day brighter at times.”
‘The rest is history’
Shift patterns at work enable her to focus her spare time on music and she has made a number of achievements in the past decade.
Demi has performed at local gigs since she was 16, with a mixture of covers and original songs. .
She was 20 when she wrote her first song, Party.
“It was a fun song,” Demi recalls. “It came about because I have friends – a keyboard player and a drummer – and we sometimes have a jam and I had a song idea.
“It’s about letting your hair down and enjoying yourself and I said to them, ‘I want the song to sound like this’. They came up with chords and piano.
“I went to the Gardyne Theatre Recording Studios in Broughty Ferry and also did a video. The rest is history.”
‘How has this happened?’
Demi has entertained fans at big events such as Fake Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, Oktoberfest, Harley Davidson in the City Festival and Fife Pride.
In Dundee, Demi regularly performed at now-closed bars Clarks and Nicolls, though she has been booked in for two gigs at the latter’s successor, Bertie Mooney’s.
In 2015 she released an album of covers recorded at Seagate Studio. Music On My Mind was mastered by Graeme Watt, included versions of I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Stupid Cupid, Bleeding Love, Chasing Pavements.
Three years ago she sang in front of her largest crowd – 15,000 – at Dundee Pride.
“I was so surprised by how many people were there,” she says. “I couldn’t believe it and was like ‘how has this happened?’
“I have friends who are gay and I always think they get a hard time for who they are so I wanted to support that and I wanted to put on a good show.”
Also in 2019 she reached the regional final of the UK Open Mic competition, singing her own songs throughout the competition including her single, Party.
In October 2020 she reached the last eight of Karaoke World Championships UK from 44,000 applicants.
She is also a hit on social media, with her Facebook page having more than 20,000 followers and 52,000-plus views of her music video for song Don’t Forget About The Reggae.
Bandmates and promotion
While such achievements require talent, hard work is also a prerequisite.
The process begins with making the music. Demi writes her own songs but she also gets help from other musicians.
She receives input on the keyboard from Marley Davidson, who she met in a drama group at the McManus Art Gallery.
Shaun Garrigan, an acquaintance through Marley, is often on the drums, while guitarist Lewis Davie has been a friend since they met him during a Dundee’s Got Talent event.
“They have been the ones with me from day one and I have known them from a young age,” Demi says.
A more recent contact is Inverness man Keith Robinson, who has contributed on the guitar and drums remotely after the pair became acquainted on Facebook during the Covid lockdown.
“He has had an impact throughout the album but I’ve not even met him,” Demi says.
‘I don’t like to call them support acts’
Then there are the gigs. Demi does all the promotion herself so has to proactively persuade bar owners and music venue managers to allow her to perform.
“Because of the work I put into it I feel I am a manager plus singer plus songwriter plus healthcare assistant – it’s just like all into one. It’s hard to juggle it around but you have to make time for it.
“I also get other acts to perform at the same gig – I don’t like to call them support acts.
“Some pubs will contact me and ask if I want to do a certain date and I manage to get someone from work to swap shifts.
“Sometimes you message pubs and they say we don’t have anything until next year, which is fair enough because they can be fully booked. I am grateful for bar managers who say they have dates available.
“People think you turn up at a gig, set up, sing some songs and then just leave. Musicians don’t – they know what is involved in it: the rehearsals, song structures, setlist, how it’s going to go. It all takes time and effort.”
Demi’s band comprises herself, a guitarist, bassist and drummer. There is no set lineup but it often includes Marley, Lewis and Stephen Gibson, a guitarist who also plays the drums.
Lockdown at Ninewells, TV show and Leona
The Covid lockdown, beginning in March 2020, was a strange time for all of us but particularly so for Demi.
While her plans to release the first album of her own songs were delayed by being unable to book studio time, it was a period in which she caught the public eye more than any other.
In late 2019 she partook in TV dating show Love Song, which was broadcast on BBC Scotland in early March 2020.
In the show Demi did mini duets with three male contestants and had to choose one of them for a date. She opted for Robert, who impressed her in his singing of Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
“It was like a singing version of Blind Date,” Demi says. “The date was at this pub near the TV studio in Glasgow. You did the podium part and then went backstage straight away.
“It was a bucket list thing – I always wanted to have a stint on TV singing.
“On the show Robert seemed upbeat but on the date he wasn’t my type of person. I picked wrong but it was a good experience to have.”
Video of Demi’s appearance is below:
‘I got the notification’
The following year she also caught the attention of one of her idols, Leona Lewis.
In February, Demi posted a duet video on TikTok alongside The X Factor winner just before starting her night shift at Ninewells and couldn’t believe her luck when she noticed the superstar had commented on the video saying Demi’s rendition was “so good”.
“It was absolutely mad when I saw that she had commented on my video,” says Demi.
“I had done the duet with her video on TikTok before my nightshift started and when I was scrolling through on my break, as you do, I got the notification that Leona Lewis had commented on it.
“It is so weird when someone you love comments on one of your songs in a duet.”
‘NHS workers took the place of their family’
Away from the media exposure, the Ninewells carer was a first-hand witness to loneliness and heartbreak during the Covid lockdowns.
She drew on these experiences for the song Loved and Lost, which included the pertinent lyrics ‘Take my hand, don’t leave me. You are like my friend or even family’.
“During Covid some people thought NHS workers took the place of their family because their own family couldn’t come in,” Demi explains.
“So I wanted to put that into the song. My songs are real and are made from experience.
“The song also includes the words ‘Hold on’ and ‘Don’t give up’. That was an inspirational thing because I have witnessed that and I wanted to dedicate it to people who have passed away.
“It was a touching song, a ballad, and I wanted to give something back to people and their families.”
Album meaning, review and tour
There are at least two reasons for the name of Demi’s album, Rainbow Remedy.
One is the feeling of accomplishment.
“When you have a goal in your head it can feel as though it is miles away to reach,” she says. “But I feel like when you get to the end of it – like a rainbow – you feel you have succeeded and the plans you have put into place have come to something.”
Another is something more personal.
“When I first started singing I remember going to see a show with my family at a concert hall in Dundee and a female singer sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
“At the time the, feeling I had from that woman singing the song was the feeling I wanted to have.
“It blew me away so I wanted to do that in the future through my music. I was nine years old and that was how it started.
“My album is called Rainbow Remedy, so it is funny how coincidences happen. I love bright colours, bright hair, and rainbows.
“Remedy is a healing type of thing so music contributes to that and helps people too.”
‘Genuine character and bona fide honest writing’
Rainbow Remedy, which was released earlier in May, has received glowing praise from reviewer Jason Small, who wrote on the Small Music Scene website:
A proper full-blown record from the famed Dundee singer is something that’s been on the cards for god knows how long by this point, but now it’s here at last, and it’s simply wonderful.
Demi McMahon goes all in through the range of tunes on hand with a little bit of everything stylistically speaking without running dry or becoming too repetitive, which is impressive considering how stacked and loaded of a tracklist we have here, but the two most important ingredients without a doubt are her genuine character and bona fide honest writing, which creates a well-earned huge degree of charm and respect, and in turn a drawing power making for an overall splendid album courtesy of the red-headed dazzler.
Demi is marking the release with a tour that began at Bannerman’s in Edinburgh on May 20 and continued at Grampian Pride in Aberdeen’s Regent Quay on May 28.
She is to perform at Perth’s Counter Collective Studio on June 17 and Church in Dundee on July 13.
“I just want to thank Dundee people because I am so grateful for those who support me and my music page,” she says.
“Sometimes I am out and about and they say they love my songs and ask when I am gigging next. I am grateful for people to support me.”
The album was funded with the help of a £300 grant from Leisure and Culture Dundee’s musicians awards.
It is available as a physical copy, which can be ordered here, and also online.
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