Paul Brady set for Waterford gig

Paul Brady, one of the true legends of the Irish music scene, is on his way to Waterford for what promises to be a very special gig.

The multi-award winner will be performing in the Haven Hotel, in Dunmore East, on Saturday, November 1.

Brady has won Lifetime Achievement awards from both The Irish Recorded Music Association and the BBC and he was also inducted into the Composers and Songwriters Academy in 2004 and the IMRO Songwriters Academy in 2013.

He was further honoured by the President of Ireland with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. 

A spokesperson for the Haven said the venue was "absolutely honoured" to be hosting the gig.

Born in Belfast in 1947, and raised in Strabane with the sound of swing music, jazz and show tunes ringing in his young ears, Paul Brady had taught himself how to play piano and guitar by the time he was 11-years-old. He was further hooked on music when he caught the reverberations of American rock ‘n’ roll, R ‘n B, soul and blues. All of that done against a backdrop of traditional Irish music and song.

Turning professional, he joined The Johnstons with whom he recorded seven albums, living in London and New York with the group between 1969 and 1974. He then returned to Dublin to join premier Irish folk band Planxty. Following Planxty’s demise, Brady played with and recorded an album as a duo with fellow member Andy Irvine, which is rightly revered as a classic to this day.

Now heralded as a master interpreter of folk songs, his peerless versions of the likes of 'Arthur McBride', 'Mary & The Soldier' and 'The Lakes Of Pontchartrain' influenced countless singers, including Bob Dylan who covered all three and wrote: 'People get too famous too fast these days and it destroys them. Some guys got it down - Leonard Cohen, Paul Brady, Lou Reed - secret heroes.' 

In 1978, Brady's first solo album 'Welcome Here Kind Stranger' was immediately recognised as a masterpiece when it was voted Folk Album of the Year. His next solo album, in 1981, came as a shock to most observers, but the self-penned 'Hard Station' perfectly reflected the personal changes he was experiencing and swiftly introduced his fans to the music that was a natural development of all his influences. As a result of the success of 'Hard Station', his songwriting soon came to international attention and other artists began to cover his works including such stellar names as Tina Turner, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Art Garfunkel, Cher, Phil Collins, Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton, to name but a few.

The albums that followed were, 'True For You' (1983), 'Back To The Centre' (1985), 'Primitive Dance' (1987), 'Trick Or Treat' (1991) and 'Spirits Colliding' (1995), and they collectively established Brady as one of the most powerful Irish singer-songwriters of his generation. Throughout the 80s and 90s he travelled widely with his band in the USA, UK, Ireland and continental Europe, and tours with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits helped him reach a much wider audience.

In 2000, he released 'Oh What A World', featuring his own new material alongside his songwriting collaborations with Carole King, Will Jennings, Ronan Keating, Conner Reeves and Mark Hudson. Then in 2001, Brady released a live recording of a concert in Dublin, from back in 1978, with guests Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny, Liam O’Flynn, Matt Molloy, Paddy Glackin and Noel Hill. The long overdue release of this great concert was due to Paul misplacing the original tapes, making it all the sweeter when 'The Missing Liberty Tapes' were finally made available for his fans.

Also in 2001, he undertook a record-breaking, celebrated run at Dublin’s premier music venue, Vicar Street. Playing 23 sold-out shows over the month of October, he re-visited much of his by now extensive repertoire and was joined on stage by several of the many artists he worked and collaborated with over the previous 30 years. A selection of the highlights is available on 'The Vicar Street Sessions' album featuring guests Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Bonnie Raitt, Sinéad O’Connor, Ronan Keating, Gavin Friday, Curtis Stigers, Mary Black, Maura O’Connell, Eleanor McEvoy and Moya Brennan.

Brady went to Nashville in 2004 to cut tracks for what would be his next record which was the 2005 release, 'Say What You Feel'. The result was an organic and fresh sounding record, mostly cut live and in one or two takes, per song. Following the success of his previous collection 'Nobody Knows', in 2012, a new double album anthology named 'Dance In The Fire' was released showcasing a further selection of his best works up to that point in his career. Since then, Paul Brady has continued to push out the boundaries not only of his own talent but of Irish contemporary music with three more solo albums, featuring a combination of new compositions and traditional folk songs mirroring the eclecticism of his long and varied musical journey. They are 'Hooba Dooba' (2010), 'Unfinished Business' (2017) and 'Maybe So' (2022).

His autobiography 'Crazy Dreams' was published in 2022. All of which serve to illustrate why Paul Brady is a beacon of the cultural fabric of Ireland. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch him live in the intimate surroundings of The Haven’s new venue in Dunmore East. 

Very few tickets remain at thehavenhotel.com/events