
Tony Vincent (recording artist/actor) calls New York City home, but was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where from a young age he was exposed to the music of The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and The Rolling Stones. As a child he studied drums and percussion, and after discovering the synthesizer in his early teens, began writing songs influenced by European electronic-based bands, such as Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk.
While studying at Nashville's Belmont University, Vincent started a makeshift record company out of his dorm room and recorded a
five-song EP, which led to a recording contract with EMI records. The two solo albums (
Tony Vincent,
One Deed) that followed produced six #1 radio hits.
Shortly after moving to NYC in 1998 to continue his recording career, Vincent took an unexpected detour into the world of rock-based theater, joining the cast of
RENT, initially as part of the first national tour, then making his Broadway debut in the New York production in 1999. He was featured as Simon Zealotes in Andrew Lloyd Webber's remake of the film
Jesus Christ Superstar (2000), and when the production was revived on Broadway that same year Vincent earned critical acclaim starring as Judas Iscariot. In 2002 Vincent originated the role of Galileo Figaro in Queen's smash hit
We Will Rock You in London's West End. He also fronted the band itself on several occasions-- including a performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee concert for a live audience of over 1 million people surrounding Buckingham Palace and over 200 million television viewers world-wide. Two years later he was invited to Las Vegas to open the North American premier of
We Will Rock You (2004-2005).
During this time Vincent had continued to write, and in 2008 independently released the EP
A Better Way, produced by Adam Anders.
In the fall of 2009, he returned to Broadway, originating the role of St. Jimmy in Green Day's
American Idiot. Upon his departure from the production in 2010, the role of St. Jimmy was played by Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.
Tony Vincent is continuing to write for future projects, both as a solo artist and under the band moniker Mercer.