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text: Rob Jastrzebski photography: Marnix Heijnemans saturday,
15 & 16 april 2000 |
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| Interview Ronnie Drew: "I don't want to do the same things too long!" |
Ronnie Drew
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| In 1962 a revolution happened in Irish folkmusic. It was the year when Ronnie Drew founded The Dubliners, the famous band
that still plays a leading role in the interest of many traditional folk-lovers. When Ronnie left the band some
people thought it was the end of his career, but he started a solo-career in 1994 and has made a glorious comeback
on stage, taking distance from his Dubliners-adventure. At the Celtic Shop Folkfestival in Holland he presented
the 'new sound' he has been creating since then, accompanied by Mike
Hanrahan, former member of The Stocktons Wing that Ronnie joined too earlier. |
| During his Dubliners-period he already produced a solo-album called: Guaranteed Dubliner. Today that title only
applies to him as long as it has no relation with his membership of the group, since he was very determined in
leaving The Dubliners. "Yes, I left the band, because I had the strong feeling I had to. I just didn't
want to do the same things for 30 years! I needed something new. The songs that I'm singing today are completely
different from what I was used to sing with The Dubliners." |
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| Own audience |
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| Ronnie Drew has produced two solo-albums since he made his new start: Dirty Rotten Shame and The Humour
is on me now. He has also done a lot of live-performances with Mike, touring through the 'home-area' Ireland,
England, Scotland, but also to Israel, Hungary, Denmark, Finland, the United States, etc. Ronnie says he likes
performing in theatres rather than on festivals: "When performing in theatres on my own, I have my own
audience. It's a different atmosphere than while being part of a festival. I don't have the close relation there
that I have during my solo-performances. That's the reason why I have adapted my style to this festival. For this
occasion I have chosen songs that might be familiar to a bigger audience than my usual stuff." |
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Mike Hanrahan
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| Breakthrough |
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| Ronnie says that the release of Dirty Rotten Shame, his first solo-album after
The Dubliners, was a breakthrough in his career. Most of his 'modern work' is a translation in music of Irish stories,
including stories about himself. "Ironic stories sometimes, that I like to tell and that people like to
hear. Altogether, I love telling stories about experiences of life." |
text: Rob Jastrzebski
photography: Marnix Heijnemans |
Ronnie Drew and Mike Hanrahan
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