Singing along and clapping to the opening bars of ‘Clare to Here’ set the precedent for the evening. Performed by The Fureys, an Irish 5 piece male folk band, it was obvious that the majority of the audience were well acquainted with the brothers Eddie and George Furey and their bandmates. The Fureys were originally formed in 1976 by four brothers Eddie, George, Finbar, and Paul. Since Finbar left the group in 1996 to pursue a solo career and after Pauls death in 2006 Eddie and George have continued to tour and release albums every year with other band members. There has been over 50 album releases with the latest album being ‘Times They Are A Changing’ a compilation of songs written and performed by other artists such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell and something that they have been wanting to do for many years. Raised in Ballyfermot Dublin, the Fureys have had two number one singles in Ireland and were the first Irish folk band to chart in the UK with their 1981 single ‘When You Were Sweet Sixteen’.
The stage setting is simple, just the band, their instruments, no flashing lights with just a plain black backdrop. The second song of the evening was ‘The Old Man’ an emotional ballad, which I loved but found strange to follow on from their first song which had got the audience warmed up and joining in.
Between songs there are jokes (very funny too) and anecdotes and references to people they have met over the years and performed with. There was an array of musical instruments including guitar, banjo, mandolin, pipes, accordion and the Bodhran drum expertly played by this talented band with the accordion and pipes skilfully brought to life by Camillus Hiney. It would have been nice to see some audience interaction from the musicians as they barely lifted their heads and rarely smiled. There were no brochures or literature available for the group so sadly I am not able to credit the other two members.
As with many folk songs they all tell a tale such as ‘The Leaving of Liverpool’ ‘The Green Fields of France’ and ‘Red Rose Café’ which were immensely popular with the audience who were lively and dancing in the aisles by the end. Although I was not familiar with most of the songs I could not help but be swept along with the party atmosphere and I was soon clapping along with the rest of them, although I did refrain from an Irish jig! A beautiful instrumental of ‘The Lonely Boatman’ was also a definite hit with the fans. All vocals were performed movingly by the two brothers Eddie and George Furey with their wonderful Irish lilt.
Chatting to audience members around me during the interval, Mrs Kerr of St Helens at her first Fureys concert (I promised I would mention her!) summed up the evening……. Excellent!
For further tour dates and venues contact http://www.thefureys.com/concerts
Reviewed On: 9th March 2016
Reviewed By: Lorna Weekes
