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Irish Post
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
From Disco Pigs to adapting Sing Street for the stage, Enda Walsh tells all
ENDA WALSH is an Irish writer, playwright and screenwriter. He cast Cillian Murphy in his first play Disco Pigs and recently worked with him on the film Small Things Like These. In his latest project, Enda takes us back to the 80s with an adaptation of his book, Sing Street at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, West London. He chatted to CLAUDIA REDMOND about the show, being mistaken for a Corkonian, and what it was like being taught by Roddy Doyle. Enda Walsh has adapted his book Sing Street for the stage So what are you up to? We are here today at a rehearsal showing of Sing Street. I think it is pretty joyful: it is set in 1984-1985 in Ireland. A group of school kids put a band together, they go from their school uniforms to dressing up like Duran Duran. It is pretty chaotic but they end up finding their voices. It is a story about friendship and community. It's a beautiful film that John Carney made. It's a beautiful story and a real honour to put it on stage. It is bitter sweet at times, it's all the Irish stuff, it's quite chaotic, funny, a little bit sad: that sort of vibe. What was your look back in 1985? The thing about the 1980s was every sort of three months there seemed to be like a different style of dress. I went through the early electronic sort of stuff, Duran Duran, Gary Numan all that sort of thing, and Human League. But by 1985 I was probably into The Smiths, so there were a lot of cardigans. Roddy Doyle was one of your teachers at school. What was he like and was he strict? He was an extraordinary teacher. Roddy got us all into English, I turned out a writer but there were other people in my class who were probably better writers: I just stuck with it. It seemed like we did the curriculum and then he opened up this cabinet at the end of the room, and it was full of these books. A lot of American literature. He introduced us to a whole range of different writers, and it was true we used to sort of bum cigarettes off one another in the yard and talk about Charles Bukowski or whoever it was. What is your favourite Roddy Doyle book? When I read Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha he talks about the estate Kilbarrack being built that was just behind my house. So I know that terrain really well as a very young boy. It's a beautiful book: the story of a relationship breaking down, a divorce, but through a kid's point of view. What are your Irish roots? I am a Dubliner but a lot of people in Ireland think that I'm from Cork because I started making work in Cork. I had a play called Disco Pigs when I was a younger man, and a Dublin man moving to Cork was a bit of a strange move. They gave us a civic reception, and when the Cork people found out that I was a Dublin man they almost took it away from me. There was a bit of 'What!? You're actually a Dub! Jesus!' But I loved that city. Cork is an amazing City, it's always been great, the scale of it is fantastic. The shape of it is like an amphitheatre, so to me as a Dubliner moving down there it was always very theatrical. Cork people themselves because it is the second city they've got a lot to prove, so I've always loved their attitude. Cork star Cillian Murphy You're well known for giving a famous Cork man, Cillian Murphy, his start. How did that come about? Cillian was in a band not unlike the Sing Street guys. He was 18 at the time and in a band called The Sons of Mr Green Genes. They were like kids just like these fellas here, a fantastic band and they were just about to be signed to an Acid-Jazz label and I had a play called Disco Pigs that we were casting. I wrote it for Eileen Walsh this great Cork actor, and she was very young at the time, she was 18, but I had seen her in a play and thought she was extraordinary. Then we were looking for this guy and we were all obsessed with Cillian in this band. He just had this magnetism and it just turned out that he could act, so I auditioned him, gave him the role. We've made a ton of work since: he's just got something. What is the next project you have in mind to work on together? We always want to work with one another. We made a movie last year: 'Small Things Like These.' When you work with friends the shorthand is there, it's quite joyful and fun and I'm sure we will work again together. The cast of Sing Sing (Pic: Richard Southgate) What is your favourite theatre in Ireland? It's just about to be pulled down, and it's barely a theatre. I love Galway a lot, and I've premiered a lot of my own shows in the Black Box in Galway, which is in a car park. I remember bringing producers from around the world, they would come to see my shows and they would walk through this car park asking, 'what are you doing here?' But the venue itself has an amazing atmosphere and that is my favourite place. I have made a ton of shows in there and now they are pulling it down which is super sad. How do you think theatre is doing in Ireland at the moment? I don't live there, but I go back. We've always had incredibly strong actors but I think now we've got really great directors, so I think the work has become really quite dangerous and expressive and unusual, and I'm really proud of that. It's changed a lot in the last 15 years, a lot of young companies. But it's hard work. It's hard to keep it going I think for all of them. But it's always been like that. Even when I was a boy in my twenties it was always a difficult profession to be in and to stay in. I am excited though when I go back and see these really quite arresting productions. The Irish are taking over London at the moment, with Conor McPherson having back to back productions at the Old Vic with The Brightening Air and Girl from the North Country and yourself of course. Are you surprised? Yes and Mark O'Rowe at the Kiln Theatre with Reunion. When I play in America and they say 'Why are there so many Irish writers?' I think it has to do with our geography. I think it has to do with the fact that we're on the edge of Europe so a lot of the work is to do with identity and self-analysis, about who we are. Who we are in relation to Britain used to be the old plays, or who we are in relation to America, a whole load of plays about that. Back in the day in the 1700s, back in the villages you had the Seanchaí in the town who would stand up and proclaim who we were at the time and talk out these stories. It's all about where we are, who we are, what we're doing, what we want to do, and that's a very island mentality. Irish people have always been like that. That is why there are a ton of writers, poets, and musicians. What is your favourite memory as a child back in Ireland? I grew up in Dublin and on a Sunday we would go on a walk around Howth: it's very beautiful. If anyone is in Dublin they should take the DART out there, get off at the harbour and there is a great chipper at the end of the harbour. I have had so many conversations with my mother walking up there, and she used to take all of us. I still do it with my brother or friends, it is a ritual thing. What advice would you give to aspiring writers? It is tricky, but when I was in Dublin in my twenties and starting out, I worked with friends at the back of pubs, or the centre of pubs. In Cork we were given the Triskel Arts Centre to do shows and it was just trying out material. Over the course of three years we got our Arts Council funding and we took it very seriously. Young people just need to persevere and have a go at it. A lot of it is luck, most of it is luck. I have been incredibly fortunate. You have to be ready for the luck so you have to show up a little bit. What's your next project? I'm doing a lot of film at the moment. I am working for MGM on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a new version of it, which is really fun, so I'm writing that at the moment, so my head is in that incredibly weird, dark, funny world. Sing Street runs from the July 8 to August 23 at the Lyric Hammersmith. Click here for tickets. See More: Cillian Murphy, Disco Pics, Enda Walsh, Sing Street
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Legendary '80s Pop Star, 66, Has Fans Jumping to His Defense After Latest Performance
Legendary '80s Pop Star, 66, Has Fans Jumping to His Defense After Latest Performance originally appeared on Parade. As the frontman for iconic British pop/New Wave group Duran Duran, Simon Le Bon was known for his flamboyant style and pitch-perfect vocals. Over 40 years after the release of their eponymous debut album, loyal fans are still turning out to see the singer and his bandmates play their biggest hits live onstage — and they're more than ready to defend their favorite musicians from any haters out there. In a video shared to TikTok this week from a recent live performance in Amsterdam, Le Bon delivered an impressive rendition of Duran Duran's number one hit, "The Reflex," wearing a pair of tight white pants and a fitted black t-shirt. While the star seemed as energetic as ever, some commenters took the opportunity to criticize his performance, slamming Le Bon as an "aging pop star" and suggesting that it's "time to give up." Others, however, came to his defense with lightning speed. "He is 66!!! He still looks and sounds fab!" one person declared, adding, "So many rude and disrespectful comments from people who listen to remixes from the 80s. Simon le Bon was my 80s! My teenage years." "I will defend my boy simon till I die," agreed a second fan, while another pointed out, "I'm 50. My hip couldn't get that high. Fair play to him!" "Listening to the comments, jealousy is a many headed snake just saying," another commenter wrote. No matter what his critics say, it seems Le Bon isn't planning on slowing down anytime soon — and he still looks back fondly at his earlier years with Duran Duran. In an April 2025 interview with The Times, Le Bon weighed in on his trademark "1980s outfits," saying he's "not embarrassed by any of it." "I remember playing a gig in the UK in about 1980 and it was a very hot day," he recalled, adding, "We were in the dressing room, we knew it was going to be absolutely boiling, so Roger [Taylor] literally tore a strip off a towel, put it around his head and tied it in a knot at the back. I looked at him and thought, that looks cool in a Jimi Hendrix sort of way, so I did the same thing." "That was on a Saturday afternoon," Le Bon continued. "By Monday kids were wearing that — and by the end of the week it was in the fashion pages of newspapers."Legendary '80s Pop Star, 66, Has Fans Jumping to His Defense After Latest Performance first appeared on Parade on Jun 19, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Duran Duran at Dublin's Malahide Castle: Set list, ticket information, how to get there and more
Multi-awardwinning Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Duran Duran are set to play Dublin's Malahide Castle on Monday. The British legends have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and been honoured with eight lifetime achievement awards, two Grammys, two Brits, and two Ivor Novellos. Duran Duran will play two dates in Ireland – Malahide Castle on Monday and Cork's Virgin Media Park on July 1st – as part of their wider European tour. Here is everything you need to know if you are heading to the Dublin gig. READ MORE When and where is it? Duran Duran will play Dublin's Malahide Castle on Monday, June 30th. What time should I arrive? Gates open at 5pm, with the show expected to start at 6pm. Who are the support acts? Grammy Award -winning icon Nile Rodgers and his band Chic will be warming up the crowd before Duran Duran take to the stage. What songs will they play? Duran Duran's set list from a recent gig in Düsseldorf, Germany, gives an idea of what to expect at their Dublin show: Velvet Newton Night Boat The Wild Boys Hungry Like the Wolf A View to a Kill Invisible Notorious Nite-Runner/All She Wants Is Lonely in Your Nightmare/Super Freak (aka Super Lonely Freak) Evil Woman (Electric Light Orchestra cover) Friends of Mine Careless Memories Ordinary World (dedicated to the people of Gaza, Israel, Iran and Ukraine) Come Undone (Reach Up for the) Sunrise Planet Earth The Reflex White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) (Grandmaster Melle Mel cover) Girls on Film/Psycho Killer Encore Save a Prayer Rio How do I get to and from the gig? Though it is possible to drive, you are encouraged to use public transport to get to and from Malahide Castle. Allow yourself plenty of extra travel time, as traffic delays and congestion are inevitable. Bus: Dublin Bus is running a concert express to the venue. It also operates services to Malahide village from the city centre. Dublin Bus routes 42, 42d and 142 go to Malahide village. The H2 and 42 routes connect with Malahide, while the 102 provides a direct route from Dublin Airport. Marathon Coaches are offering private, direct return buses to the concert from Northwall Quay Bus Stop 7623. Irish Concert Travel offer a similar service from the likes of Donegal Town, Sligo, Longford, Ballina, Castlebar, Roscommon and Galway. Train/Dart: Malahide train station is about a 15-minute walk from the concert venue and connects to city centre dart locations including Grand Canal Dock, Pearse, Tara Street and Connolly. Additional capacity and services will operate after the Malahide concert. The Dart often runs extra services for concerts in Malahide, with the last train leaving the station sometime between 11.30pm and midnight. Car: There is limited parking at Malahide Castle, but it is possible to drive to and from gigs. You are recommended to book parking by downloading the Evntz app and clicking 'parking' on the page for Duran Duran. Recommended car routes are: Via the M50: From Dublin city centre, west and south of Ireland, exit the M50 at Junction 3 (signposted M1 Belfast/Airport), continuing on to the R139. At the roundabout, take the second exit, continuing on the R139 for 2.6km. Turn left on to Malahide Road/R107. Continue straight for 4.2km, then take a right on to Back Road. Follow signs for car parks on your left. Via the M1: From the north of the country, exit the M1 at Junction 4 (signposted R132 Swords/Malahide/Donabate). Keep right, merging on to the R132. At the roundabout, take the second exit, keeping on the R132. At the next roundabout, take the second exit, again staying on R132. Take a slight left, merging on to Swords Rd/R106, and continue for 2.9km. Turn right on to the Dublin Road/R107, continue straight for 700m and then turn left on to Back Road. Follow signs for car parks on your left. Are there any tickets left? At the time of writing there are a limited number tickets available through Ticketmaster . Download your tickets to your phone in advance, in case there are internet or connectivity issues at the site. Screenshots of tickets will not be accepted. What is the security situation? Attendees under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult over 25 to be permitted entry. You should bring an official form of identification – a passport, Garda age card or driving licence. Bags will be searched on arrival, and you are advised not to bring a large bag to avoid the possibility of a lengthy delay or even refusal of entry. It is prohibited to bring alcohol, umbrellas, garden furniture, flares or professional recording equipment in with you. A full list of prohibited items is here . What does the weather look like? According to Met Éireann , sunny spells will develop in places during the day with just the chance of a few passing showers. Maximum temperatures of 19 to 24 degrees in moderate southerly winds. Lowest temperatures of 12 to 16 degrees.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Five For Your Radar: Cork gigs, Glastonbury, Squid Game, and more...
Cork concerts: Duran Duran, etc Musgrave Park, Live at the Marquee, Cork, Friday-Thursday, June 27-July 3 What a week of gigs ahead. Duran Duran, supported by Nile Rodgers and Chic, play Musgrave Park (Virgin Media Park) on Tuesday, July 1, while the same night Live at the Marquee on the docklands, renowned blues player Joe Bonamassa plays Rory Gallagher on the first of three shows (next Thursday's show still has some tickets remaining). The Conoras play the Marquee on Friday, while the legendary Christy Moore returns on Saturday - expect classics and songs off last year's acclaimed album, A Terrible Beauty. Talk: Gerry McAvoy The Blue Angel, Cork Opera House, 2pm, Saturday, June 28 With the aforementioned Joe Bonamassa in town and Cork Rocks for Rory series of events continuing around the city, Gerry McAvoy, who played bass with Gallagher for 20 years, is in conversation on Saturday afternoon. Expect tales from the road and the recording studio. It's presented by Feedback Promotions as part of Gallaghers Music Festival, who are also staging a bus tour on Tuesday, July 1, of sights and landmarks associated with Rory. (Full disclosure... I'm the one interviewing McAvoy) Streaming: Squid Game Netflix, Friday, June 27 Netflix's number one non-English language series of all time, Squid Game returns for its third and final season on Friday. Gi‑hun (Lee Jung‑jae) returns wounded, vengeful, and ready to dismantle the Squid Game empire from within. He will be forced to make some important choices as he and the surviving players are thrust into deadlier games that test everyone's resolve. With each round, their choices lead to increasingly grave consequences. TV: Glastonbury 2025 BBC, Friday-Sunday, June 27-29 The cliche goes that the best way to experience Glastonbury is on your couch rather than in the usually muddy field of Somerset with over 250,000 people. Neil Young (his set won't be televised), Olivia Rodrigo (who played Dublin on Tuesday), and the 1975 headline, but the act everyone is talking about is Kneecap. It's unlikely their set will be shown on Saturday, however. Coverage begins on BBC Two at 5pm, while Kneecap's set on the West Holts stage is scheduled for 4pm to 5pm. Comedy: Dara Ó Briain Live at the Marquee, Sunday, June 29 It's a busy weekend of comedy in Cork, with Jarleth Regan doing a second night at the Opera House on Friday and Katherine Ryan playing a sold-out show there on Saturday. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Dara Ó Briain returns to the Marquee with his latest tour, Re:Creation, about the search for his biological father. Like the story itself, expect to be taken on a laugh-filled journey by one of the best standups around. Read More Tom Dunne: My six favourite albums of 2025 so far
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Why Paula Yates was the secret force behind Live Aid and why Bob Geldof's phone call with a pop star helped raise £74m
THE world will always remember 1985's Live Aid as the global fundraiser organised by Bob Geldof. But the truth was, he could not have pulled off the mega rock concert without his then-girlfriend, 9 Paula Yates was the secret force behind Live Aid 9 Paula and Bob Geldof began a romantic relationship in 1976 Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Four decades on from the historic event, a new documentary reveals how In Live Aid At 40, which airs next week, Sir Bob says it was really Paula who brought together the likes of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet to boost the appeal, which ended up raising about £150million for the starving in Ethiopia. She had access to big-name celebs through Channel 4's Eighties music show, The Tube, which she hosted with My wife had befriended all these new guys with beautiful suits and hair. I asked who was on her show and she put Midge Ure on the phone Bob On the BBC Two programme Bob, who married Paula in 1986, recalls: 'All I had the power to do was write tunes. But the Boomtown Rats were not guaranteed to have hits any more. All these new guys had come along with beautiful suits and coiffed hair. READ MORE ON MUSIC 'And I understood this new thing because my wife had befriended all these people on the show that she was host of, The Tube. 'So I called Paula and I asked who was on the show that night and she said, 'Ultravox'. I said, 'Put Midge Ure on' and he just said, 'What do you want to do?'.' That was the moment which led to the cream of British music coming together on November 25, 1984, to record Band Aid's Do they Know It's Christmas?, which then led to Live Aid on July 13, 1985. 'Lot of male egos' The global event saw Madonna, U2, David Bowie, Most read in Music They were broadcast worldwide in a bid to encourage donations to combat the Ethiopian famine. But fundraising to help victims was actually an idea dreamt up by Paula — who was just 25 — in the family home she shared with Bob, then 33, and their two-year-old daughter Fifi. Critics of Bob Geldof are WRONG - Band Aid saved my life and thousands more He can still vividly recall the moment they watched the evening news and witnessed Michael Buerk's now-famous 1984 news report on the humanitarian crisis. She couldn't stand watching the Ethiopia news. She put a bowl on the table with a note saying put £1 or £5 in here. I thought: That's not adequate Bob In the three-part documentary, Sir Bob says: 'My partner Paula couldn't stand watching it, she didn't want our child to watch it. She clearly associated what she was seeing with our child. She just grabbed her and went upstairs, but I stayed, transfixed. 'I came down the next morning and there was a green bowl on the table in the kitchen, and Paula had put a note in there saying, 'Anyone who comes to this house must put a pound or five pounds into this bowl'. I thought, 'That's not adequate'.' This saw Bob team up with Midge to write Do They Know It's Christmas?, with a little help from pals such as Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, who Bob pressured to sign up. 9 Paula hosted The Tube with Jools Holland Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 Paula and Bob join Prince Charles and Princess Diana to watch 1985 mega concert at Wembley Credit: Alamy In the documentary, Gary recalls: 'He came running in — his presence is huge, he takes over — and he said this report was from Ethiopia where the famine is huge and out of control and it broke my heart, and it broke Paula's heart.' Paula was also credited with holding things together when the Band Aid track was recorded — a day which could easily have been derailed by rivalries among the mostly male line-up of rock and pop superstars. As U2's Bono says in the programme: 'There was a lot of male egos in the room, not enough women.' Bringing together so many huge artists from the day — some of whom had sniped at one another in the past — could have ended with fighting and stars storming out. Gary says: 'Paula Yates was really the lovely glue, carrying her child around, Fifi, and their dog, Growler. They're a great family.' Midge adds: 'Everybody knew Paula, we all knew Bob through Paula. 'She was funny and witty and highly intelligent, and she kept everyone entertained, walking around chatting to them.' The glowing praise for the TV host is in stark contrast to the dark clouds that overshadowed her life in later years, when her marriage to Sir Bob imploded. After a decade together, they had wed in Las Vegas, with Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran as best man. They went on to have two more children — Peaches in 1989 and Pixie in 1990. But in 1995, Paula interviewed 9 The jubilant Live Aid crowd Credit: Getty 9 Co-organiser Midge Ure performs on the day Credit: Getty 9 Bob at launch of Just For One Day - The Live Aid Musical, in May Credit: Getty That finished her marriage to Bob and led to her having a child, Tiger Lily, with the singer in 1996. Then, in 1997, he took his own life in a Sydney hotel room aged 37. Three years later, Paula died aged 41 of a heroin overdose at her home in Notting Hill, London. 'Wonderful spirit' Tragically Peaches, her daughter with Sir Bob, died the same way, aged 25, in 2014. But with the passing of time, the new BBC documentary provides a clearer look back at the day the world was changed by the unlikely force of rock and pop music. Do They Know It's Christmas? was a huge success, shooting straight to No1 and staying there for five weeks, which saw it sell three million copies in the UK alone. Bob laughs as he recalls convincing Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government to effectively wave the VAT on sales. 'BOB THOUGHT QUEEN WERE ROCK DINOSAURS' QUEEN'S mesmerising set at Live Aid was one of the concert's most memorable performances – but it almost never happened. Bob Geldof did not rate Freddie Mercury and Co and had to be convinced to add them to the bill because he simply 'didn't want them'. Drummer Roger Taylor explained: 'Bob came from the post-punk explosion, so he had pretensions of being a bit punk, so he must have thought we were dinosaurs.' However, after 'packing a few bangers in our set', Queen managed to somehow crank up the volume at Wembley to unparalleled levels. Their epic contribution, which included the songs Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga and We Are the Champions, soon changed Bob's tune. Forty years on years on, he says: 'I just thought it was over-blown operatic, you know 'we use the studio as an instrument', oh f*** off. 'Subsequently, of course, we all have to admit that we thought the songs were great. 'So with age, we're allowed to admit it.' Then another huge boost came when musicians across the Atlantic decided to record their own fundraiser for Africa in the form of We Are The World on January 28, 1985. The track was written by In the documentary, Bob recalls receiving a surprise phone call from a man who was instrumental in the US project. He says: 'The phone rings and it's just, 'Is that Bob Geldof?'. It's this husky, gravelly voice that's very slow and I go, 'Yep, who's that?'. And he says, 'It's Harry Belafonte . . . and here's Michael'. 'He goes, 'Hi Bob!' and, like, Paula's sitting on the sofa and I'm saying to her, 'It's Michael Jackson!'. And she gets up and sort of runs around excitedly. Anyway, he says, 'Will you come out and help us?'.' Bob flew to LA, where he effectively gave a pep talk to stars including Michael and Lionel, plus Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper and Tina Turner. As a result of these huge names, the single sold a staggering 20million copies. More importantly, it forged a trans-Atlantic drive to do more. That led to the launch of Live Aid in London and the US, which was also joined by performances around the world. It soon became apparent just what a success it had been. Interviewed on the night, the ever-positive Paula was asked if she had doubted Bob could pull off the feat. 'No, I never did,' she replied. 'Right from when he first decided, I thought that it would work. 'When they did the record, there was such a wonderful spirit around it. People did want to do it for free. So I thought the concert would happen.' Live Aid At 40: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On The World is on BBC Two at 9pm on July 6. 9 David Bowie at Live Aid Credit: Getty 9 The historic event birthed Band Aid's Do they Know It's Christmas? Credit: Alamy 'DIDN'T DO HOMEWORK ON THEIR TITLE SONG' BAND AID's festive track Do They Know It's Christmas? raised more than £8million for Ethiopia within a year of its release. But it was not a hit with everyone. Despite its huge financial success – and the fact it featured an impressive collection of artists brought together by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure – some Ethiopians were offended by it. Two leading government figures admitted the song – which came after Michael Buerk highlighted the plight of starving Ethiopians in a 1984 news report – left them a bit miffed due to inaccuracies in its lyrics. Dawit Giorgis, former Minister for Aid for Ethiopia, told the documentary: 'We didn't like the title, Do They Know It's Christmas? It's the wrong title because they just didn't do their homework. 'Ethiopians are the oldest Christians in the world, so that offended us a little bit.' His deputy, Berhane Deressa, was equally bemused, questioning why the song referenced the country's perceived lack of water with the lyric, 'the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears'. He said: 'The country is that poor there is no rain? 'It supplies its neighbours with rivers that go into the Nile. Writing things like that isn't going to be right.'
