Latest news with #ChristyDignam
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Music bosses tried to keep us going with huge new album offer but we feared for Christy Dignam's life, Aslan star admits
ASLAN ignored pleas from record company bosses to stay together at the height of Christy Dignam's heroin addiction, believing that doing so would risk his life. The 5 Aslan ignored pleas from bosses to stay together fearing doing so would risk Christy Dignam's life Credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE 5 They were on the brink of superstardom when the frontman succumbed addiction Guitarist Joe Jewell has opened up on Joe had already suffered his own family tragedy when they felt they had to sack his former school mate Christy. He said: 'During the early Eighties, the devil came to Ireland and it killed a lot of people, a lot of kids, including my own kid brother. 'So I had a lot of experience of it, and it devastated families.' Read more in Showbiz Listen to Fields Of Dreams on , Dignam was busted during a Joe said: 'Sometimes I ask, did I try hard enough? But we did. We did everything, absolutely everything. 'We're signed by EMI, the biggest record company in in the world, and if you sack the singer it's suicide for 'So we didn't do it for us, because you would have said, 'Look, it's grand!'. We were offered like, 'Oh, he can travel differently, and we can put him on a bus'. Most read in The Irish Sun 'At the time Chris Thomas was a big producer who I adored, and Bob Clearmountain was the big mixer at the time. He did all the INXS stuff. 'Capital (EMI's US subsidiary) promised us, 'If you get back together we'll get you Chris Thomas to produce the album and Bob Clearmountain to mix it', and even then we refused. Aslan release first new single since Christy Dignam's death 'We didn't do it for us. I think that's proof enough. 'He would have killed himself — not through his own fault, but just the demon. The devil would have taken complete hold.' The band DIZZYING RISE Elsewhere, Hothouse Flowers star Fiachna O'Braonain has told how his band went from busking, to impressing In a dizzying rise to fame, the Dublin band's singer, Liam O'Maonlai, went from paying his rent with his Grafton Street busking to performing to millions in the US on David Letterman's show. Fiachna said: 'I was still living at home, and the phone call came through to my parents' landline number. Rolling Stone magazine want to do this feature on you. 'That also coincided with both Melody Maker and NME being in Dublin doing a profile with Bono on Dublin bands, and we were featured in that. 'HOTTEST UNSIGNED ACT IN THE WORLD' 'And that's when we first met, and then Rolling Stone magazine picked up on that, and we were called the hottest unsigned act in the world.' In episode three of the Fields of Dreams podcast, we chart It was a long way from when they were schoolboys in the 1970s and their manager asked ex-Horslips star Barry Devlin to help them put together a demo. Devlin said: 'Larry Mullen's dad arrived at about one o'clock in the morning and said, 'I have to take this lad home, he has exams in the morning'. 'NEVER FORGIVEN THEM' 'And I went pleading, 'But, Mr Mullen, I haven't finished with Larry's bass drum yet'. And he said, 'Ah you have', and took Larry away.' 'He would have killed himself — not through his own fault, but just the demon. The devil would have taken complete hold.' Joe Jewell Devlin went on to work closely with the band for decades and was the brains behind the video for I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For — even if he did miss out on a gong for it. He said: 'The only thing I've never forgiven them for was the first MTV Awards, and they weren't interested. They got rung up by MTV where they had five nominations, including People's Choice for Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. MTV AWARDS 'They rang up and said, 'If you come over, if you are given the award, we're thinking of giving you the award. Will you come over?'. They decided not to go. 'Michael Hutchence (from INXS) had four nominations. INXS said 'Yeah, we'd love to come over and pick them up'. 'So they came over and picked them up, and the next year, you know, U2 would have done anything to get the MTV Award. 'In fact, I think they got their MTV awards. But I'm deeply resentful of the fact that I don't have a funny white spaceman (on my mantlepiece).' INTERNATIONAL BUZZ U2's global domination created an enormous international buzz around what was happening in Ireland, which had thriving music scenes in The US media were always looking for the next U2, and in 1988 thought they had found it with Hothouse Flowers. Liam and Fiachna met at a bus stop in south Dublin as nine-year-olds and honed their extraordinary talents throughout their teens. By 1985/86 they were drawing in huge crowds on Dublin's Grafton Street. BUSKING FAME Fiachna said: 'We kind of quickly realised that the way to make a few quid busking is to attract as big a crowd as you can, and then pass the hat around to everybody. 'And that's literally the economics of busking. Or get as much attention as you can. 'We used to dance together and move around each other and create this big audience very quickly before we got moved on. This was before busking became regulated. So then we'd be moved. 'Back up to Grafton Street at around five o'clock to get the people going home and build up a big crowd again. The gardai would come. They'd watch for a while, and then eventually go 'Right, lads, come on', because the crowd literally would block the street quite often. 'WE CERTAINLY MADE ENOUGH' 'And then we'd take ourselves and our big bucket of change off to Tobin's or to the Coffee Inn and get a bowl of pasta and go for a pint afterwards.' He added: 'We certainly made enough to be fed and watered, and for Liam to put a roof over his head. 'There was times where he'd go, 'God, the rent is due tomorrow. We really need to do a bit more busking today'. And we would.' All the club bosses wanted them to play, and they took a Sunday night slot at Risk nightclub, where they were spotted by Bono, who invited them to do a single with U2's Mother Records. Not long after, they were number 2 in the Irish singles charts with Don't Go, which became an international smash on the equally huge People album. 'We kind of quickly realised that the way to make a few quid busking is to attract as big a crowd as you can, and then pass the hat around to everybody." Fiachna O'Braonain Letterman, Saturday Night Live and Arsenio Hall followed as the band, for a time, threatened to follow in the footsteps of Bono, Adam, Larry and The Edge. Elsewhere, promoter Peter Aiken opens up about seeing some serious stars up close thanks to his dad Jim, even if Jim didn't quite understand how one of the biggest ones might be gay. Peter said: 'Elton John came in in '83, '84, did four nights in the King's Hall. Incredible. ELTON'S GIFT 'He came to our house for dinner and mum made these steaks. 'He gave the auld fella a Cartier watch that was flown in from England. And then somebody told the auld fella that he only gave it to his boyfriends.' 'It came with an inscription - 'To Jim, love Elton'. 'And the auld fella, being from Jonesborough in Co Armagh, 6ft 1in, big, it took him 20 years to get his head round that.' The first three episodes of Fields Of Dreams are available on 5 Joe Jewell opened up on the Irish Sun's Fields of Dreams podcast about the crisis Credit: Harry Scott/Redferns 5 Christy died in 2023, aged 63 Credit: Independent News5 Liam O'Maonlai went from paying rent by busking to performing to millions Credit: Paddy Cummins/
RTÉ News
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Aslan "move forward" with new single, A Hand To Hold
Aslan are set to release A Hand To Hold, their second new song since the death of their former front man Christy Dignam in 2023. The track with new singer Lee Tomkins on vocals will be released on 11 July and the Dublin band will perform it live for the first time on their upcoming Australian tour. It follows the release of the single Hear Your Call last March and Aslan, who are currently working on a new album due out later this year, have described it as having a "new sound". Speaking about A Hand To Hold, the Finglas five-piece say: "At times, when feeling that way, we don't realise there's a hand to hold, to show us not everything in life is as bad as it feels. Sometimes you need to open your eyes, to see there is still good amongst all the bad. "Like with all songs, the message that resonates with each individual, can be different, as we all have different thoughts, experiences and views in life. For us, it's a feel good song, a positive song. "There are a number of singalong parts in it, which we see as a way of bringing people together and this is something we really love when performing live, strangers, friends, singing together, singing back to us and with us." Singer Lee Tomkins has said he is "very excited" about performing the single live for the first time at their gig in Perth, Australia, on 11 July. "It feels good to be getting more new music out and for it to have a different sound to anything the band has done before, it's exciting," he said. "It's great to hear everyone singing along. That's the aim of the song so performing it in Australia for the first time is going to be special." Aslan founding member Joe Jewell also discussed said the recording process for the new single. "We are well settled in now. All we can do is keep being creative," he said. "The recording process is always enjoyable. Once the recording starts, it's full steam ahead." The band's drummer Alan Downey added that it's important for Aslan to continue putting out new material and to progress and move forward. "Releasing new material has always been a top priority for us. We thrive on being creative," he said. "It feels good every time we release something new. Being in recording mode is special. It obviously brings all the writing process, rehearsals, and ideas together and it's brilliant to hear that final recording." Guitarist Billy McGuinness added, "Having released our first single with Lee in March this year, it's great to be releasing our second one so quickly as it lets people who haven't seen the band live hear the direction we are going in," he said. "I think the last single Hear Your Call had the Aslan vibe but with this new single, it's definitely different for us. But different is good in my opinion. "It's great playing a new song for the first time, there is excitement and nervousness in the air. Like when we played Hear Your Call for the first time in the Olympia.
Irish Daily Mirror
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kiera Dignam would love to see statue erected to honour late dad, Christy
The daughter of the late Christy Dignam has said she would be "honoured" if a statue was erected to remember her famous father ahead of his second anniversary on Friday. Kiera told how the Dignam family were blown away when An Post put the late Aslan frontman on a stamp as part of a special commemorative set called "Iconic Irish Voices" on September 12, 2024. The set also included stamps honouring Séamus Begley, Sinéad O'Connor and Shane MacGowan, all of whom passed away in 2023. Kiera said it would be "lovely" to see her father, who died from a rare blood cancer when he was 63, honoured with a statue. "When he died, we had people saying they wanted to talk to the local authorities." She told us: "It's weird but it would be lovely. It was the same when An Post brought out the stamp. When they approached us about it, I thought it was mad, but it was an amazing nod to him. It's lovely to have and my kids to have. "It's in the archives now so it's really special in that way but it was something he would never expect. We're normal people. It's not something we'd expect. "That would be an honour though," she said of a statue. Speaking ahead of her father's second anniversary today, Kiera opened up about how tough it is not to have her father's opinion when she writes new songs for her album. And the Dubliner said she was finding feathers everywhere she went after he died. "For a while afterwards, I was finding feathers everywhere. "I think the first year, you'd find yourself saying, 'this time last year' but then you get beyond that and you 'oh my God this time last year he wasn't here.' "Then that kind of freaks you out a little bit because you feel your memories are starting to get further and further out into the distance. "Then people say 'you have to just move on' but that nearly offends you. Like I don't want to move on. I lost someone I loved. I don't want to keep turning but unfortunately it does. "These are the songs I either stood in the crowd listening to or stood on the stage and sang with him. "It's a unique way to experience something in a crap way. It's bittersweet. It's nice to have those experiences but it also makes it very tough to be rehearsing on stage with a band and he's not here. "My whole album – anything I wrote, I'd send him on the demo asking him what he thought. I don't have that counsel anymore," she added.
Extra.ie
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Kiera Dignam: Singing helps me deal with the grief of losing Dad
Sometimes, out of the blue, Kiera Dignam will hear her father's voice suddenly coming from a radio, a post on Facebook or a TV screen, and the pain of hearing him is almost too much to bear. In just a few weeks, it will be the second anniversary of Christy Dignam's death and though for some, it would be a great comfort to hear the voice of a loved one who has died, for Kiera it brings back a wave of grief that is still too painful to cope with. 'I am very lucky that I have so much of him, whether it's music or interviews or television performances that I can access,' says the Dubliner. 'But at the moment I find it quite difficult. My mam and my husband and oldest son find it almost therapeutic and enjoy listening to him, but for me once I hear his voice I have to turn it off straight away. Kiera Dignam. Pic: Fran Veale 'Maybe in six months, or five years or at some point I could find it comforting.' It's understandable too, given that losing Christy is still so raw. Next month it will be the second anniversary of his death and on May 29, Kiera and her family are putting on another concert in his memory. Remembering Christy Dignam will feature special guests including Tom Dunne, Brian McFadden, Mundy, Steve Wall and The Four of Us to name but a few. It's the second concert of its type – the first was meant to be a one-off but was such a warm-hearted celebration of Christy's life that Kiera and her family have been persuaded to fo it again. Christy Dignam of Aslan. Pic: Getty Images 'The more we talked about it, the more we thought maybe it could be therapeutic,' Kiera says of the first gig. 'It was emotional but it was an incredible night. 'Anyone who was there, online fans and so on were commenting and sending messages saying they hoped it would be an annual thing. I said no, as to my mind it was a once-off.' But this year they have decided to do one more, persuaded by Christy's fans and also the idea that these gigs are a way of keeping his memory alive. Christy Dignam with his daughter Kieran on her wedding day in 2013. Pic: Collins Dublin 'We have some amazing acts on board and it is the same idea,' Kiera says. 'It won't just be Aslan songs, there will be solo Christy Dignam songs, Dignam & Goff songs, songs that my dad loved like Gilbert O'Sullivan and David Bowie, covers he would have been known to sing like The Green Fields Of France, Waltzing Matilda, traditional songs he loved to sing and songs that make us think of him.' They aren't a big organisation, it's just the family, Mark, Kiera's manager and the team at Vicar Street, but anyone who has been asked to sing has said yes, unless they are away on tour. Of course Kiera, who is a singer herself, will pay her own tribute to her dad. Christy Dignam of Aslan. Pic: Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock 'Anyone we have asked has been amazing about it,' Kiera says. 'They are really excited and want to come and remember him with us.' There is, of course, one name missing – Aslan themselves, who are still performing with a new singer, Lee Tomkins, and who were also absent from the first celebration of Christy's life. The last time Kiera said there were reasons for this that she wouldn't go into and pointed out her father had not spoken to the band for seven months before he died. Kiera Dignam. Pic: Fran Veale But she refused to go into the details and said the band had every right to continue as Aslan, and the songs were as much theirs as they were her father's. 'No, we don't speak,' she says when I ask if she talks to the rest of the band. 'I have no need to now. My dad is gone and that's water under the bridge for me,' is all she will say on the matter. But she was viciously attacked by online trolls when it first came to light that the band were not included in the initial celebration of Christy's life and being forced to grieve in the public eye has been difficult for the mother-of-three. 'I can't explain how difficult it is,' Kiera says, with an honesty and clarity that most would shy away from. 'When you're in the public eye people have their minds made up and there is a perception of you. It happens a lot and when I am doing stuff like this concert, it can be misconstrued. Christy Dignam Pic: Gareth Chaney Collins 'We literally want to have a celebration. This was my dad. We just want to keep him alive and celebrate him and remember him in a positive way that he would want because music was his life and music is my life. 'The nastiness in some people – it has literally been said to me by trolls online that I am milking his death, which is a horrible thing to say, it is a horrible thing to hear and it's absolutely not the case. 'That aspect of being in the public eye and almost having to defend why you are trying to do a nice thing is hard. Even grieving publicly is very difficult because everyone feels they own a little bit of him. Sometimes you want to shout, 'He was my dad'. I understand his fans do miss him and they grieve him and it is genuine. But he was my dad and it is very hard to grieve that loss anyway but to do it in public is tough.' Kiera does her best to ignore the trolls but admitted that last year she was vulnerable. 'I was trying to protect the kids too because my kids are old enough to read newspapers online and see horrible, untrue things being said about their mother,' she says. 'I did get to a point where I got into a very dark place and that was somewhere I had never been before. But I had never grieved before and I was very vulnerable anyway.' She knows being in the music business demands a thick skin and tries her best to ignore any of the horrible comments. Christy Dignam. Pic: Sam Boal/ ' You shouldn't have to say, 'people are going to be nasty and you have to grin and bear it', but unfortunately that's the way it is. It's not fair but I am aware of it so I do try as best I can to take it that strangers' opinions of me are none of my business. I can't read into that and I choose not to read the comments because 99 per cent of them are lovely and supportive and it is brilliant to have that. But then you get the one per cent that are negative and those can get on top of you.' Kiera was 36 when Christy died after a long period of illness – he had amyloidosis, a type of cancer. It is well documented that the man with the powerful voice behind hits like This Is and Crazy World had battled his own demons after becoming addicted to heroin following childhood sexual abuse. Finally clean of heroin, Christy got his cancer diagnosis which he bore bravely before it all became too much. Christy Dignam in 1988. Pic: Independent News'Nothing prepares you for that,' Kiera says. 'You feel, why was there another battle given to him? Why was he taken so young? I was 36 and my dad was gone. All of these things come up. It's rough. Now we are heading into the third year without him, I am finding it more difficult. 'There is a certain numbness because when you get to the second year you don't have that, 'this time last year we were in the hospital' or 'he came home'. I know they are negative things because he was sick but you still cling on to them. 'Now I don't have anything at all. Now I say, 'this time last year he wasn't here'. It's a strange feeling and a kind of a panic you have because he is getting further away from you. Christy Dignam performing in 2003. Pic: 'Anyone who is grieving will be able to relate to that.' Kiera was told about her dad's issues with addiction when she hit her teens as her father insisted that nothing was kept as a 'dirty secret.' 'I was going into secondary school and because I was old enough to understand newspapers, he wanted me to be aware of it,' she says. Christy sat her down and explained everything to her so that she knew before anyone said it to her. Christy Dignam. Pic: Sam Boal/ 'He always wanted to explain why and how he went in that direction,' she says. 'He and my mam were always very honest about those things. It was a case of, 'This is the way it is, have you any questions or would you like to talk about it? And if anything is said to you in school or by friends on the road come and talk to me and if you have any questions I am here for that.' 'I think that is all you can really do in a situation, it's the best way of dealing with it.' Now, with three children of her own – Kian, 21, Ava, 17 and Jake, 11 – Kiera finds her father's tragic past all the more upsetting, given that it happened in an era where these things weren't spoken of and the supports were not there for him. Christy Dignam getting music lessons off Frank Merriman at the Parnell School of Music in 1989. Pic: Independent NewsChristy was a doting grandfather to Kiera's kids and he and her mam Kathryn supported her when she fell pregnant at 17. 'I was petrified,' she says of telling her parents. 'I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I did know that I was going to do my very best for him. It wasn't what I had planned. I had planned to go to college the following September and Kian was due in the October, so I never got to go. 'But at that stage I was already singing, and I was lucky enough that I had good supports around. Me and Darren, my husband, have been together since we were 16 and when I got my confidence back up, I was able to go back into music.' Christy Dignam of Aslan performs on stage at Shepherds Bush Empire in London. Pic: C Brandon/Redferns via Getty Images This is one of the reasons that Kiera won't be bullied into giving up the career she loves. 'When you get a bit of aggro off people you can think, is it worth having to put up with this just because I love to sing? Why should I have to be bullied just because I want to sing?' she says, pointing out that people who follow their parents into other careers don't get the same level of abuse. 'I have never known any different, I have never wanted to do anything else. 'Singing is hands down the one thing that has help me get this far through my grief. 'I am writing and putting any negative thoughts down, when I am upset and need to vent in some way, I am writing and some of the music I am producing because of it is free therapy for me. Music and singing has always been my go-to and I can't see it ever being any different. 'It is just a language for me and I don't know any different.' Though Christy's loss is great, the gig in Vicar Street this year will be a way to remember him and cherish him for the Dignams and his fans. Christy Dignam with Billy McGuinness in 2018. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos 'When you lose someone, regardless of who that person is or what that person was in life, all you want is to remember them and keep their memory alive,' says Kiera. 'We just happen to be in a lucky position that other people outside our family circle want to do the same, whether that be fans or other people in music who are willing to come along and pay their respect to him and talk about the memories they would have with him over the years. 'It is a lovely thing to be able to do and it is a privilege to be able to do that and just stand on a stage that I stood on with him numerous times and be able to celebrate him and keep his memory alive a little bit longer for us and for everyone in the crowd.' Remebering Christy Dignam is at Vicar Street on May 29, tickets, priced €44, are available from
BreakingNews.ie
13-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Nephew (27) of the late Aslan singer, Christy Dignam died from cocaine overdose, inquest hears
A nephew of the late Aslan singer, Christy Dignam, died from an overdose of cocaine, an inquest has heard. Chris Dignam-Healy (27), a father of two from Ashbourne, Co Meath died in the emergency department at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin on January 23rd, 2023. Advertisement The young man had been brought to the hospital by ambulance after he became unwell with a suspected heart attack while visiting an apartment in Gracepark Manor, Whitehall, Dublin. A sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court on Tuesday heard the deceased's mother, Therese Dignam, and other family members were concerned about the response of emergency services to a 999 call. The coroner, Cróna Gallagher, noted that there was no record available to her to show what time the alarm had been raised. Ms Dignam expressed concern that there were witness statements which indicated there was a delay in getting access to the apartment. Advertisement It was also recorded that the apartment was 'full of people taking drugs'. Garda Aidan McHale said he had been unable to contact Rachel McGowan, the occupant of the apartment who had made the emergency call, despite several attempts. Garda McHale explained to the coroner that Ms McGowan was now of no fixed abode and could not be located although it was believed she was based somewhere in the Ballymun area. In reply to questions from Dr Gallagher, he said he had called to the apartment on several occasions but never got an answer. Advertisement Garda McHale said he was not aware that the apartment was known to gardaí as a place where drugs were being used. The deceased's family also expressed surprise to learn from medical records from his GP that Mr Dignam-Healy was being prescribed methadone as they were unaware of him having any history of using heroin. However, a medical note written in April 2022 recorded that he was smoking heroin as well as having injected the drug twice. Ms Dignam observed that it was probably 'part of his lifestyle at that time'. Advertisement A postmortem showed Mr Dignam-Healy had a high level of cocaine in his body as well as low levels of other drugs including methadone, morphine and benzodiazepines. The coroner recorded the cause of death as cardiac arrest due to cocaine in his system. Dr Gallagher acknowledged that details of the deceased's drug use had come as a shock to his family. The coroner adjourned the inquest at the request of the deceased's family in order to try and obtain more information about issues relating to the response of emergency services to the 999 call from the apartment in Whitehall. Advertisement Offering her sympathy to Ms Dignam, Dr Gallagher said she would fix another hearing date in a few months when she hoped to have more details about what had happened. Mr Dignam-Healy's death occurred just a few weeks after the family of his uncle had confirmed the Aslan frontman was receiving palliative care at home after a lengthy stay in Beaumont Hospital. The singer was first diagnosed with amyloidosis (an incurable skin condition caused by a build-up of protein in the body) as well as myeloma (a form of blood cancer) in 2013. The much-loved musician, who had publicly spoken about his own battles with drug addiction including in his autobiography, This is Christy Dignam, died at home on June 13th, 2023 at the age of 63.
