O'May was born in
Rouen, France. As a teenager, he was a fan of rock music and
R&B from the
Osmond Brothers, but the album
Machine Head by
Deep Purple inspired him to become a hard rock guitarist. He joined the
heavy metal band Marienthal about 1982. He gave guitar lessons and took them himself from Patrick Duplan, which made him explore classical music,
blues, and
bossa nova. Marienthal toured France, England, and
Algeria, and opened for acts such as
Girlschool,
Alvin Lee, and
Chariot. After conflicts with their manager, the band split in 1987. He stayed in Belfort where he met the band
Ange and as drummer Peter Hartmann and bassist Alain De Bernardi, with whom he refounded the group Road 66. He had the album mixed by
Guns N' Roses guitarist
Ron Thal in New York City, and released it in 1999. In 2002, O'May produced the album
Un Souffle Pour la Vie (Breath for Life) with many artists. He donated the profits to
cystic fibrosis research. That year, he also released his fourth album,
Anakoustik, and followed it with a tour with pianist
Philippe Turbin. In 2003, he created a show with the Breton singer
Gilles Servat. O'May has composed over 100 tracks for the TV serial
European coast seen from the sky, which has been distributed to 15 countries. Breton musician
Alan Stivell had him play on his album
Explore, which released in 2006. O'May also participated in "Brittany celebrates St. Patrick's day" at
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, and played as a guest musician on
Johnny Hallyday's "Flashback Tour". In 2007, he signed with
Milan Music/
Universal label for his fifth studio album,
Omega. It was released on 8 July, and he played at the "Festival des Terre Neuvas" in France in front of 47,000 people. In 2008, O'May toured in France and Europe.
Alan Simon invited O'May to participate in the rock opera
Anne de Bretagne. O'May also participated in Simon's second project,
Excalibur, a Celtic rock opera. He participated in the 2010 Bercy for
St Patrick's Day, and recorded for
Excalibur III, which was the third album from the Excalibur rock opera. He continued touring for both of Simon's projects through 2011 and 2012, visiting Switzerland, France, and Germany. He developed a friendship with
Martin Barre, and later toured with him in October 2011. In 2012, Barre invited him to join his new group for several tours in Britain, Germany, Italy, USA. O'May released his seventh album,
Celtic Wings, drawing for writing it in his musical (metal), genetic (Ireland) and emotional (Brittany) roots. It gives rise to a
Celtic rock and
metal album, between new compositions and covers (Alan Stivell medley,
Over the Hills and Far Away,
Whiskey in the Jar), with the participation of Martin Barre, Alan Stivell,
Jonathan Noyce (
Gary Moore,
Archive),
Moya Brennan (
Clannad), James Wood, Christophe Peloil (
Tri Yann). The album, which he began writing six months before the release in November, is recorded in Britain, Ireland, England and mastered at the famous
Abbey Road Studios in London. ==Discography==