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The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Bottle-feeding lambs, poitin at TOTP & punching megastar – iconic Irish 80s acts reveal incredible secrets of golden era
A TOUR manager for Irish rockers The Stunning gave one of megastars Blur 'a dig' — after mistaking him for a drunken music fan. The Brewing Up A Storm band were making serious inroads in the Advertisement 5 The Stunning's Steve Wall revealed how the shock incident happened Credit: Redferns 5 Blur supported The Stunning at a raucous London gig. Credit: Getty 5 The Hothouse Flowers feature on episode 4 of the Irish Sun's Fields of Dreams podcast Credit: Getty Singer 'Derek, the guitarist at the time, had a tendency to play in his bare feet. One of these b*****ds broke a glass on purpose in front of Derek's guitar pedals so he couldn't get to it — and they were really p***ing us off. 'After the 'What he was trying to do? I don't know. Maybe he just thought like, 'I'll go in and say hello to the lads, I'm from Mayo', or wherever. Advertisement Read more on Field Of Dreams Listen to Fields Of Dreams on 'So we had this tour manager, a big strapping fella from Co 'He grabbed your man and he basically rammed him up against the door, threw him out — got the bouncers to kick him out." So far so good, then. He added: 'So we were towelling down. And then this other guy came in the door and it was Graham Coxon from Blur. I mean, we didn't know that at the time. And he was coming in because he thought he'd left something behind in the dressing room. Advertisement Most read in The Irish Sun Breaking Breaking 'Tony grabbed him and rammed him up against the wall. And he said, 'I thought I told you to f*** off!' I think he gave him a dig.' Steve added: 'I never got to meet him again after that, but I always wanted to apologise.' Róisín O says Vogue Williams 'fan-girled' over her mam Mary Black Episode 4 of the Fields of Dreams podcast examines the astonishing quality of the scene nationally in the 1980s and '90s which resulted in many Irish bands — including Founder member Fiachna O'Braonain recalls a shock visit from Irish broadcasting royalty while over in London and about to head out and perform on legendary Advertisement He said: 'We get a call from security. They say, 'There's a guy here, he says he's come to see you. He's from Connemara, and he's come all the way over to see you guys, and his name is Sean Ban Breathnach'.' The POITIN IN HAND Fiachna added: 'F***ing SBB is here! So we go, 'Yes, let him in'. SBB arrives in… he had a bottle of poitin with him.' The Fields of Dreams podcast also hears hilarious stories from Sharon Shannon, the accordion star who was propelled into fame with Advertisement Just before her debut album became the biggest selling trad album in Irish history, she toured with the Whole Of The Moon hitmakers for 18 months. Mike Scott decided they needed to tour on a massive bus, which they took to the Shannon farm in the west of Ireland one day. BIG HOOLEY She said: 'I don't know how it even fitted on the road. The road to our house where I grew up is a tiny little road with grass in the middle of it. I don't even know if my parents were expecting us. 'And this huge, big, luxurious bus comes in, drives into the driveway of the old farmhouse at Advertisement 'My mother was putting dinners in front of them. And if they were staying for any length, any long period of time, the bottle of whiskey would be out as well. 'So we had a mighty big hooley, a big session. FEEDING THE LAMB 'And I remember Noel Bridgman, the drummer in the band, had a pet lamb, one of our pet lambs in his lap, and he was feeding the lamb with the bottle of milk. 'I can't get over that. Advertisement 'Real cool, you know, the leather trousers and the beautiful long hair and Steve with the feathers in his hat and all this — and all of them here in the middle of this old country farmhouse having a drink of whiskey and having a big session and feeding the lamb.' This episode also focuses on the charity single craze which began with 5 Hothouse Flowers star Fiachna O'Braonain got a shock visit from from Irish broadcasting royalty while over in London Credit: Redferns The 14-hour gig in Advertisement However, the event was criticised before it even began. Some saw it as doing the work of government, and the fury levelled at its main players left lasting marks on some. These include Paul Doran, who co-wrote the song Make It Work — derided as 'Make it Worse' by some folk at the time — with Christy Moore. Make It Work topped the charts in May 1986. For Doran, the instant fame, his struggles to deal with the attention and the criticism, and then failure to capitalise on what was a good song left a bitter aftertaste. Advertisement 'A BIT OF A SHOCK' He revealed: 'I became very, very well known almost overnight, you know. 'And then to have people kind of criticizing this event that you're associated with and best known for, it was all a bit of a shock to the system really. 'I guess I didn't really know how to handle it. 'So yeah, my thoughts have changed over the years. There are times when I cursed it and thought, 'God, you know that's the only thing I'm known for'. Advertisement 'Tony grabbed him and rammed him up against the wall. And he said, 'I thought I told you to fk off!' I think he gave him a dig.' Steve Wall 'It's a kind of a weight around my neck, you know — it's that kind of thing. 'I didn't capitalise on it at all.' REGRETS Paul continued: 'I regretted that at times, especially when I was on hard times in my life, and I was broke, and you know what I mean, I would say, oh, why didn't you do that?' That followed 1985's Show Some Concern, by a 'supergroup' called The Concerned. Advertisement Mike Hanrahan from Stockton's Wing was among those who joined forces for the single that topped the charts. However, he admitted: 'If I'm been really honest about it, I think it's more of getting your face in the video, you know? 'PUBLICITY FEST' 'Those things… that was a publicity fest for artists. 'Maybe I'm a bit cynical — but what's wrong with that?' Singing superstar Mary Black also lifts the lid on the time Christy Moore kind of gatecrashed her wedding. Advertisement The Field of Dreams podcast harks back to the time when she was starting to make waves as a solo singer in 1980. It was when the She said: 'I got married on March 6, 1980, and the wedding had to be stopped. 'Because it was being aired at half 9 that night, and we all squeezed into this room. Advertisement 'We were down in the Clarence Hotel in Dublin, having a knees-up wedding, and everything had to stop so they could see Mary on television singing on the Christy Moore show.' EPISODE four of Fields of Dreams is out now on 5 The Waterboys star Mike Scott insisted they needed to tour on a massive bus Credit: Redferns
The Irish Sun
10-07-2025
- 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/
The Irish Sun
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘We've no call girls in Sligo' – ‘Cheapskate' music icon's shock groupie & $10k cash demands to play 80s Irish festival
CONTROVERSIAL rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry demanded a groupie at one of Ireland's earliest ever folk festivals — and got one — despite being told: 'We've no call girls in Sligo.' The Johnny B. Goode star was a veteran of 50 when the Boys of Ballisodare organisers broke the bank to lure him in 1981. 5 Chuck Berry demanded a groupie at one of Ireland's earliest ever folk festivals Credit: Sunshine International/REX/Shutterstock 5 Van Morrison headlined Lisdoonvarna in 1983 Credit: Getty Images 5 Rory Gallagher also played the festival Credit: Fin Costello/Redferns The desperation to shell out on a superstar who didn't really fit the bill was typical of the early As attendances grew and competition between organisers heated up, festivals began looking outside of Ireland for their headline acts. This development convinced Philip Flynn to shell out $17,000 on the ageing Philip said: 'Just the idea of Chuck Berry, with Johnny B. Goode and, you know, like . . . Jesus! We decided to go for it.' READ MORE IN MUSIC Listen to Fields Of Dreams on Getting the fading star to a field in Berry — derided a 'cheapskate' and 'not a very nice man' by organisers — demanded two first-class airline tickets, for him and his daughter, and cashed in her ticket when she didn't make the trip. Flynn dispatched his dad-in-law to a bank to withdraw $10,000 in cash to hand over to Chuck as he disembarked at And it didn't end there. Most read in The Irish Sun Berry wanted a groupie, and was willing to wait in the Mercedes which was provided for him. Flynn said: '(Berry's minder) came to me, and this was a Sunday evening, and said, 'Chuck would like some company'. What REALLY happened with Harry Styles' Glastonbury kiss - and which new celeb couples went public? 'I'm standing there saying, 'You know where we are . . . even if it was possible . . . we don't have call girls in Sligo'. 'We know, as the country is a small place, where the car went and it came back an hour later. 'I mean, that's a fact. And so somebody got what they needed. Who knows what happened?' The pioneering events in the Seventies helped transform Ireland's For five years festivals run by people with big dreams and tiny budgets dominated until a different kind of event took over the live entertainment calendar. 'I'm standing there saying, 'You know where we are . . . even if it was possible . . . we don't have call girls in Sligo'." Philip Flynn Rory Gallagher played to 20,000 fans in tiny Macroom, 'NOBODY HAD DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS' Festival historian Roz Crowley said: 'Nobody had done anything like this in Ireland. I mean, there was no template or anything for it. 'A lot of people came from Cork, of course, and slept in doorways — they couldn't afford anything with the price of it. 'A lot of people had to walk because they didn't have a car and they couldn't afford the bus fare. 'And they walked for the best part of eight hours to get to the concert in pretty poor footwear. 'So the poor things arrived into Macroom a bit bedraggled. 'So much so that the locals who saw them arriving looking exhausted put on batches of scones and came out to their gates and fed them glasses of milk and a scone to take them into the town.' 'EARLY INNOCENCE QUICKLY LOST' The festival was a huge success, but like others which were being put on all over Ireland, the early innocence was quickly lost and it came to an end a few years later. Roz explained: 'A different element crept in. I would say that maybe they weren't all music lovers, you know. 'And then, as time went on, managers recognised that, my gosh, this is a kind of a cash cow. ''We could be charging more here for our artists', and it became a different 'And it probably killed it in the end.' Boys of Ballisodare founders Philip and Kevin Flynn saw their folk acts — including Christy Moore — tempted elsewhere. FEES BEGAN TO SPIRAL Major festivals sprang up in Lisdoonvarna in The fees — which had started out at a few hundred pounds at the Sligo event — began to spiral as rival promoters lured in the big name acts. Philip said: 'Lisdoonvarna, when they came on the scene, they were paying IR£600 for the same acts that we were paying IR£200 for. 'They had no idea. They just needed to get in. Whereas I had come to it from a relationship with the acts, at least. 'The parents of one of, I think, Jim Shannon, put up their farm as collateral for bank loans. And they lost money the first year. 'In fairness to them, I have great admiration for the fact that they stuck with it. They came back. "So they did actually make profit after that and did well for a few years.' TRAGIC ENDINGS Early Irish festivals were tinged with tragedy — the first at a punk event in The Radiators From Space were topping the bill in Belfield, where a young man was stabbed to death. Radiators star Pete Holidai said: 'We weren't involved in the actual stabbing incidents — what happened was a scuffle broke out early on in the night. "There were a couple of band members who were in, trying to break the scuffle up and get people to calm down. 'But unbeknown to us some fellow stepped in and stabbed someone and then f**ked off. 'No one realised what had happened and it wasn't until we were on stage later in the evening where we suddenly became aware. 'What happened was that the ambulances were called and it appeared then this guy had died.' A young man was later convicted of killing 18-year-old Patrick Coultry, from Cabra in Dublin. The biggest of Ireland's earliest festivals was Lisdoonvarna, which came to a tragic end in 1983. HELLS ANGELS DRAFTED IN The event was moved to the end of July to capitalise on the August bank holiday, with Rory Gallagher and Van Morrison topping the bill. A staggering 40,000 people attended, but a huge number turned up without tickets and tried to breach the fence. As a result, Hells Angels bikers were drafted in to lend a hand with security. Separately, eight people drowned while swimming on the hot Sunday afternoon of July 31. The dead, all men aged between 19 and 30, included three brothers from 'PART OF US DIED THAT DAY' Stockton's Wing guitarist Mike Hanrahan remembers: 'I was there and it was dark. 'There was a bad vibe at the festival all weekend because of the security. 'We saw the big fencing being knocked over. It was a bad energy at the festival. 'And to cap it all off the young people who lost their lives on the Sunday, to drown in a part of Doolin that we all know. 'It was like part of us died that day as well. 'I remember somebody saying that was the day the music died. I guess that was the beginning of the end of those festivals as well.' The first two episodes of Fields Of Dreams are available on s 5 Huge acts like Christy Moore became wanted by other promoters Credit:5 Hell's Angels Bikers did security at one event Credit: Getty Images
The Irish Sun
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘I can't come over to this bloodbath' – Irish gig promoter reveals top music stars' fears of playing gigs here in 70s
A CONCERT promoter has told of the huge battle to convince terrified global stars to come to Ireland during the brutal 1970s. While Advertisement 6 Peter Aiken has told of the battle to convince global stars to come to Ireland in the 70s Credit: Darragh Kane 6 Violence here — including the 1974 Dublin bombing — persuaded many to stay away Credit: AP Photo/Peter Winterbach 6 Don McLean said 'I don't want to go to Belfast, there's a war up there' Credit:for Lighthouse Immersive and Impact Museums A new podcast from The first episode of Fields of Dreams reveals how Ireland's huge 1970s youth population started to turn their backs on the stifling Church/State combo which had ruled their parents' lives. But he was certainly up against it. Advertisement Read more in News Listen to Fields Of Dreams on Peter said: 'In the north at that time, which was the nearest thing you could get to civil war, without it actually being civil war — and in a lot of people's eyes, it was — an awful lot of very, very innocent people died for nothing. 'There was very little scene in 'But when Rory came in 1972, the concerts were at 11 o'clock in the day, so people would be home by 4pm. People were terrified. The whole of Belfast, there was a ring of steel all around it. Advertisement Most read in Irish News 'You got searched getting into the town. And at five o'clock, that all shut down. So anything that was inside the city was shut. 'All the cinemas were gone at that time too. We had Willie Nelson coming one time and he read something in his local paper and he actually rang the office himself and said, 'I can't come over to this bloodbath'. 'You had to have power of persuasion, and he'd been with the manager of Don McLean and he said, 'You have to come to Belfast'. 'THERE'S A WAR UP THERE' 'But he said, 'I don't want to go to Belfast, there's a war up there'.' Advertisement American Pie singer McLean did come under Aiken's watch, as did But when it came to going north of the border, there were often obstacles and headaches. He said: 'I remember Dad telling me that he was bringing in Merle Haggard one time, I think 1978, and I happened to be there in the Europa Hotel in Belfast. 'AT LEAST WE'RE TOP OF SOMETHING' 'I wouldn't say it was with pride, but you're saying, 'Do you know the hotel you're staying in is the most bombed hotel in the world?' At least we're top of something!' Advertisement In the course of our podcast, future musicians, including Tom Dunne from Something Happens, Steve Wall from The Stunning, The Radiators from Space star Pete Holidai, Sharon Shannon and Fiachna O'Braonain from the Hothouse Flowers, outline their first steps into music in a country that was then rooted firmly in the past. Dunne said: 'The early Seventies, there was nothing. A combination of the Church and the State, and a lack of radio had really kept the Sixties out of Ireland. 'It's really remarkable that when bands like the Beatles and the Stones were having number ones worldwide, we were getting 'Limerick, You're A Lady' and really weird songs about funerals. Ireland was like this sad nation.' GROWING REBELLION The whiff of growing rebellion was inspired by folk, punk and rock music. Advertisement The Showbands era was coming to an end by the mid-70s as new technologies began opening the country up to outside influences. Dunne said: 'I wouldn't have given them the time of day. I couldn't see any real distinction between the worst of country and western and the showbands. It was just all palaver, you know, men dressed as Indians. 'It was just a pile of sh*te, and it never, even for a second, beeped on my radar. 'PART OF SOME MAD VISION' 'It was part of some mad vision of Ireland that had got nothing to do with me whatsoever.' Advertisement Dunne was among those who credited Celtic rock band The Horslips with saving Ireland's youth during a decade which slowly began to take shape. 'In the north at that time, which was the nearest thing you could get to civil war, without it actually being civil war — and in a lot of people's eyes, it was — an awful lot of very, very innocent people died for nothing." Peter Aiken Horslips were the first Irish band to really take control of their own affairs, from album covers to production, and blazed a trail for others to follow. But they went further than that. Bass player and singer Barry Devlin said: 'There was a funky fun club where you got a joke record at Christmas. And you know, if you wrote in to the lovely 'Samantha', who was the secretary who took care of all these things, you would get a reply. LETTER WRITERS 'You always got a reply. But the lovely 'Samantha', unfortunately, was me and Eamon Carr. Advertisement 'And so we spent a lot of time writing return letters to lovesick teenage boys!' The Fields of Dreams podcast is presented by Irish singer-songwriter Róisín O, who introduces her Mary, who thought everybody could sing until she went to school and realised she might have real talent, said: 'On a Sunday afternoon, after the pubs closed and Daddy had come over, and all the men and the neighbours had come in, singing sessions and musicians all — Daddy always had instruments in our house. 'PUSHED AT THE FRONT' 'We didn't have a lot, but we always had plenty of instruments. Advertisement 'I was always the one pushed at the front to sing.' Promoter Philip Flynn put on Ireland's first weekend outdoor folk festival in a field in 'The early Seventies, there was nothing. A combination of the Church and the State, and a lack of radio had really kept the Sixties out of Ireland." Tom Dunne It was an early template for the major events of the future which would become summer staples, like Forbidden Fruit and Electric Picnic. 'THERE WAS NOTHING' The Boys of Ballisodare Festival founder said of his 1977 event: 'We didn't need planning permission, we didn't need a licence, we needed nothing because there was nothing. Advertisement 'What you did need in Ireland at the time was a dance licence, but that only applied if you wanted to do dancing. 'I have a significant memory of Christy Moore standing on the hill in Ballisodare with myself and my brother Kevin on the Monday after the first festival, just saying how great it was. 'He said every parish will be at this now. And he was right. 'People, when they see something, think they can replicate it. And they have an overblown view. People thought I was a millionaire.' Advertisement The first two episodes of Fields Of Dreams are available on 6 Willie Nelson said 'I can't come over to this bloodbath' Credit:6 Rory Gallagher was happy to perform despite the Troubles Credit: Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images 6 Tom Dunne from Something Happens joined our podcast to outline his music journey
The Irish Sun
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
People lose their minds when they meet my icon mum – going on tour was run of the mill & only my brother has normal job
RÓISÍN O has revealed how people still 'lose their sh*t' when they bump into her iconic mum Mary Black – including Vogue Williams who went weak at the knees for her hero. The singer-songwriter enjoyed a more unusual upbringing than most, under the watchful eye of the No Frontiers vocalist who has for decades been one of Ireland's 5 Róisín O lifted the lid on life as the daughter of a famous mum Credit: Gary Ashe 5 Singer Mary Black boasts a legendary decades-long career Credit: Getty 5 The Irish Sun's new podcast is available now Credit: The Irish Sun The sensational response to Mary's 'Backstage there was this massive long marquee tent for all the dressing rooms and across from us was My Therapist Ghosted Me's "I'm such a huge fan of the READ MORE IN SHOWBIZ Listen to Fields Of Dreams on from July 3 "And Vogue came over, she's so lovely. 'It was like my first time meeting her and she'd come in to say hello to the lads. "Like, she obviously saw the Coronas on the door. 'And then she saw my mam, she was like, 'Oh my God. Oh my God, holy sh*t. I'm sorry, I have to go get my sister'. Most read in The Irish Sun "Like, ran out of the room and brought her sister back and the two of them just absolutely fangirling over my mam. 'They didn't even say hello to the lads. It was the funniest thing ever. 'HUGE FANS' "They're actually huge fans. They really love my mam. "And Vogue and my mam and dad ended up hanging out the whole night, it was so funny.' She went on: 'And then obviously when mam came on stage that night at Electric Picnic the crowd just lost their minds. 'I've felt a lot of women and men, but particularly my age now, in their mid-to-late 30s, who grew up listening to Mary Black in the back of the car, on the CD player, whole albums that they know off by heart. "And when they were kids it was uncool. 'But now they're in their 30s and they're like, 'I love LIFE ON TOUR Róisín is the voice of the Irish Sun's new podcast, It is the ten-episode story of the musicians' astonishing successes and failures as the country opened up to become a live-entertainment powerhouse. Róisín is no stranger to being taken from festival to So much so that as a kid, it became run of the mill. 'CRAZY STUFF' Róisín said: 'Being on tour with my mum, a lot of the time we'd be on a tour bus. "And they'd all go in for soundcheck and I'd get to stay on the bus and watch all the VCR tapes. 'Like of old movies and all, that I just absolutely loved doing that. And I think coming from Ireland, seeing mam's reaction then. "She was doing crazy stuff like Five Nights At 'BEST THING EVER' 'She has the most crazy stories of being at festivals with Mary, 70, has opened up about the difficulties of touring while she had three young She had a three week rule, but it was long enough to put her youngest out. "And Vogue and my mam and dad ended up hanging out the whole night, it was so funny.' Róisín O Róisín explained: 'I was on the "So she came "But then she had to go again for another two weeks. 'And I was so devastated at the end of the week like, 'You're going back? I thought you were home?' 'Those parts were hard. But then she took me everywhere with her, like when she was on that MAGICAL CHILDHOOD "It had a pool and we went to 'I was all over the world as a kid with her, which was really magical. "But yeah, the pros and cons to it, we definitely missed her.' As the siblings grew older, their mother's fame was a bit mortifying. Róisín said: 'When I was really young, say if we were on 'And that stopped abruptly, I'd say about ten or 11 to the point where I would lie. (If I was asked) what does your mum do, I'd reply 'Nothing. Just a stay-at-home mum'. "And then I got into my 20s and I sort of became a mix of the two.' SOLO CAREER Róisín has her own solo career as well as performing with the Coronas, and has mixed emotions about being in Mary Black's shadow. She said: 'Sometimes it's hard. Obviously, Danny is the same. 'We want people to come to hear our music and it's hard when people are like, 'I'm not going to listen to that, that's Mary Black's daughter'. So they just judge it before they hear it. 'But at the same time, I definitely have fans who heard I was Mary Black's daughter and were like, 'I'm going to go listen to her'. LABOUR OF LOVE MUM-to-be Róisín O is going up against Robbie Williams in a bid to put on one last performance before her baby is due. The Heart and Bones singer goes head to head with the former Take That man when he plays Croke Park on August 23, while she's on stage at Whelan's on the same day. But with her baby on the way in October, she said: 'I wouldn't usually do a gig in the summer. 'But I'm pregnant so I need to get this gig in before this baby arrives, before I can't move around on stage anymore. "So Whelan's will be the only gig you'll see me at with 'Bump' on stage. 'So it will definitely be a night to remember. I'm really looking forward to it. "I was thinking about not gigging and that was driving me crazy. I really want to get some shows in before baby arrives.' But there won't be any major break for the star who plans to be back in action for the Christmas period. She said: 'December is the busiest for musicians. I have a load of shows that I could miss but I don't want to. It's the best time of year for gigging. 'I'll probably take about ten weeks off before I get back to work.' "So for me, it doesn't really matter why people have started to listen as long as they like it then I've won them over in my own merit. "I don't really don't care. I'm so proud of her as well. She does have this unbelievable career.' And as for working with her brother's band? 'I LOVE IT' Róisín said: 'I love it. I'm there as a session musician. I do backing vocals and I play keys. 'I know all the boys. I've grown up with them. We have the best craic on tour. It's really not work. 'It's dangerous how much I love it because in a way it stops me from sometimes doing my own gigs but it's worth it.' The first two episodes of Fields Of Dreams are available wherever you get your podcasts from July 3 5 Mary's kids Danny and Roisin have followed in her musical footsteps Credit: Journalist Collects 5 Roisin said podcaster Vogue Williams is a huge fan of her mum Mary Credit: Journalist Collects
