Irish rock legends to play The Mall Theatre

Home

Sections

Entertainment

Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 14 February 2007

Johnny Fean and Steven Travers, legendary players on the Irish rock scene, will play The Mall Theatre in Tuam on Friday 2 March.

Johnny Fean is best known for being one of the world's top guitarists when he played with Horslips, who at the height of their fame inspired such luminaries as Rory Gallagher to take up the guitar.

Along with Steven Travers, a former member of the Miami Showband and one of Ireland's best bass players, the pair have come together to create a musical experience that mixes furious paced rock, grass roots blues and some Celtic rock classics.

Johnny Fean began playing guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin and harmonica as a teenager and performed with groups like Sweet Sweet and Jeremiah Henry. When Declan Sinnott left Horslips, Fean was drafted in on a guitar and spent a very successful decade with the band.

Over 12 albums and a multitude of singles, Horslips lay down the template for Celtic Rock mixing traditional and rock music and referencing tales from Celtic mythology.

Stephen Travers first met Johnny Fean in 1975 at the Starlite Awards when he was playing bass with one of the most popular bands in the country, The Miami Showband. Tipped for great things, the band were the victims of a terrorist incident in Northern Ireland, leaving The Miami Showband decimated by the loss of three of its members.

After this tragedy, Travers retired from performing and began teaching bass guitar. In the 1980s, he returned to the stage as a member of The Crack and recorded an album, Dawn of the Crack. Travers and Fean were reunited in London in 1996 and they have been playing together ever since.

The concert in The Mall Theatre starts at 8pm. Tickets cost ?15 or ?12 with a concession. Tickets are currently on sale in Music City in Tuam. Phone 093-28692.

Comments (0) »