Inspiration can come from many places. For Finbar Furey it came from dying, 3 times.
Now at the age of 71, and following the near-fatal heart attack, the veteran Irish musician and storyteller is signed to BMG (Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Morrissey), is releasing his new album ‘Don’t Stop This Now’ and will soon embark on a UK tour, his first for 10 years.
The singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, storyteller and actor (credits include Gangs Of New York) has never been more creative. In the wake of his heart attack Finbar was driven by an insatiable desire to write, to capture the sights and sounds that were now bigger, more colourful, more important. “I couldn’t sleep. I'd be woken up by words and melodies every night. I had to get out of bed and write them down. It was a strange feeling; I felt driven, I felt so peaceful inside yet so driven and, since I barely survived the trip to heaven and back, I was different somehow. I was more inside my music and my confidence to write and to sing and play grew.”
‘Don’t Stop This Now’ finds him “singing like a played-out, Dublin-born Tom Waits” (MOJO) and is “an impassioned piece de resistance.” (Sunday Independent)
The album was originally released in Ireland as ‘Paddy Dear’ (topping the charts), and has been repackaged for the UK to include new tracks and a live concert DVD filmed at Vicar St, Dublin in May 2017, where Finbar performs classic hits such as ‘When You Were Sweet Sixteen’, ‘The Lonesome Boatman’ and ‘The Green Fields of France’.
‘Finbar Furey is not just a superb musician. He is a wonderful singer, a songwriter of genuine originality, and a marvellous interpreter.” “...this is excellent stuff from a genuine legend of Irish music.”
(Hot Press Magazine)
Finbar is a supreme storyteller, and the songs, which are close to his heart, were inspired by his love of his native Ireland. New songs featuring on the UK release include the title track ‘Don’t Stop This Now’- “I was going to retire, or at least take some time off, but I thought this is ridiculous timing and wrote this love song”, ‘Annabelle’ - “Old Annabelle was a friend of my mothers. I’d often be with them as they’d share a bar of chocolate sitting on the roadside in Dublin in the 50s”, the eastern groove sounding ‘Co-Exist’ - “It’s about greed,” and the bluesy ‘Hail, Rain Or Snow’ he sings with his daughter Aine Furey, who also joins him on ‘The Taxi’s Waiting’.
In ‘Sweet Liberty of Life’ Finbar sings about freedom and peace, “Liberty, life and freedom are words that capture the true spirit of humankind in every imaginable way – even in today’s global and tangled democracies”. ‘We Built a Home’ is the tragic story of a Famine family, and ‘I Remember You Singing This Song Ma’ is a classic Finbar love song.
A versatile and multi-talented artist, Finbar also plays pipes, whistles, banjo and guitar. The album is co-produced with Peter Eades.
Finbar is truly a Renaissance Man. Celebrated around the world as one of the great folk icons, Finbar’s playing was recognised by John Peel when in 1972, when he and his brother Eddie were awarded Single of The Year for the original sound of the pipes and the whistles. At the forefront of musical change, Finbar’s successful career and extensive touring introduced a whole new audience to his music and instruments, and he advocated for changes to allow pipes to become more accessible to young musicians.
‘Don’t Stop This Now’ follows on from his successful albums, ‘The Slender Promise’ in 2015, an instrumental CD of pipes & flute, and 2013’s ‘Colours’ which reached Number 1 in Ireland with the beautiful ‘Last Great Love Song’. In 2014 Finbar was honoured by the City of Dublin, Lord Mayor Christy Burke praising him for “Bringing life and laughter to many homes in Ireland”.
‘…the album we all have been waiting for from Finbar, a man at peace with himself, and his music. His voice rings true in every lyric, and proves just how good a songwriter he is’ (RTE)
Track Listing
CD
DVD
1. Sweet Liberty Of Life (4.10)
1) The Lonesome Boatman (5.19)
2. Don't Stop This Now (3.41)
2) After Sunday Mass (5.47)
3. Annabelle (4.11)
3) We Built A Home (4.32)
4. We Built A Home (3.22)
4) Michael Power (4.14)
5. The Galway Shawl (4.30)
5) Dan O’Hara (4.41)
6. Sarah Waits (4.25)
6) The Ballad for George Best (6.6)
7. Co-Exist (5.18)
7) Living in Ballyfermot - Story (2.17)
8. The Taxi's Waiting (3.05) with Áine Furey
8) The Old Man (4.51)
9. Hail, Rain Or Snow (3.39) with Áine Furey
9) The Taxi’s Waiting with Áine Furey (5.44)
10. Michael Power (3.53)
10) Fur Coat - Story (5.59)
11. Paddy Dear (4.08)
11) I Was Further Than I Thought I Was (4.48)
12. I Was Further Than I Thought I Was (4.06)
12) The Green Fields of France (7.46)
13. I Remember You Singing This Song Ma (2.51)
13) When You Were Sweet Sixteen (6.0)
14. Lament For John (2.59)
14) Sweet Liberty of Life (5.15)
Finbar will be hitting the road in the UK and Ireland this spring:
Tour dates 2018:
2 April Liverpool St George's Hall
3 April Birmingham Glee Club
5 April Glasgow Old Fruit Market
7 April Manchester Dancehouse
9 April London Islington Assembly Hall
10 May Dublin Vicar Street
11 May Wexford Opera House
12 May Galway Black Box
24 May Killarney INEC
25 May Limerick University Concert Hall
2 June Castlebar Royal Theatre
3 June Cork Everyman Theatre
7 June Derry Millennium Forum
8 June Belfast Ulster Hall
