Aslan - Lifetime achievement award (1 Viewer)

[thickaspigshit]

Aslan will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at this year's Meteor Awards in recognition of their contribution to Irish music over the past 22 years. The band will also perform as the closing act of the show which will be hosted by comedian Ed Byrne in The Point on Thursday, 24th February 2005




Desperate bastards

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Aslan will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at this year's Meteor Awards in recognition of their contribution to Irish music over the past 22 years. The band will also perform as the closing act of the show which will be hosted by comedian Ed Byrne in The Point on Thursday, 24th February 2005




Desperate bastards

I wonder which one of their tracks they'll be playing. Whats the odds on that crazy world yoke!

 

[shidheat]

they'll be presented with a big bag of brown for their 22 year contribution to the Irish music scene which consists of two songs

 

[thickaspigshit]

Do they have another song?

 

[krystal]

they must do - all those gigs they pack out in the silver granite in palmerstown can't just consist of crazy world x 20, now can they?

Do they have another song?

 

[thickaspigshit]

they must do - all those gigs they pack out in the silver granite in palmerstown can't just consist of crazy world x 20, now can they?

Is that place blike the Point?

 

[JohnnyRaz]

they must do - all those gigs they pack out in the silver granite in palmerstown can't just consist of crazy world x 20, now can they?

dont forget their classic cover of the rolling stones "angie". I think DCU has played a large part in keeping those boys going. They seem to play nearly every event there. I supose its handy to get to from finglas in a bedford van while smacked out of it!

 

[SONYMEGADRIVE]

a friend of mine told me a story about an aslan gig in dcu
well more the after party in someone's gaf (probably in "res")
anyway - one of christy d's mates tried to stab someone and the pigs were called

it's better whne he tells it

andrew

 

[Theseus Mock]

Crazy World 1990
Crazy World 1991
Crazy World 1992
Crazy World 1993
Crazy World 1994
Crazy World 1995
Crazy World 1996
Crazy World 1997
Crazy World 1998
Crazy World 1999
Crazy World 2000
Crazy World 2001
Crazy World 2002
Crazy World 2003
Crazy World 2004

& yet to come.....Crazy World 2005.

How many times does Christy have to inflict the re-re-release of this song on the public in order to feed his heroin habit?

 

[krystal]

once a year by the looks of things. I cold be wrong, but the sequential nature of your figures would indicate same.

How many times does Christy have to inflict the re-re-release of this song on the public in order to feed his heroin habit?

 

[SONYMEGADRIVE]

haha KERZING!
y'know - i nearly bought you christy's biography for xmas there, kirstie
ah joke gifts. joke gifts.

andrew

 

[Pantone247]

once a year by the looks of things. I cold be wrong, but the sequential nature of your figures would indicate same.

It's been a year or two since it's been last out

but I'm sure we can expect a re-issue in celebration

Probably a Launch gig in Madigans lounge too

Each time it comes out the rythm section gets louder and more punchy, obviously to make it sit in with the rest of the muck, Maniac 2000, trance version of the Four Green Fields etc, etc, etc, that they play at country meat market nightclubs/dancehalls...

hopefully soon it'll just be 3.24 of a big kick drum beat

 

[krystal]

hahah,
chapter one: growin up in de mansion
chapter two: my herodin hell
chapter three: aslan - the beginning
chapter four: the time I was on the cover of hotpress wearing nothing but a pair of grey jocks
chapter five: the time I was on the late late show
chapter six: crazy world

wow, that'd be some read alright.

haha KERZING!
y'know - i nearly bought you christy's biography for xmas there, kirstie
ah joke gifts. joke gifts.

andrew

 

[billygannon]

Aslan

Ass man

He sort of looks like Anthony Mackey

 

[krystal]

If I was Anthony Mackey I would be petitioning Pete right at this very moment to strip you of all your rep and expell you from the Thumped Community. 4EVAH.

Aslan

Ass man

He sort of looks like Anthony Mackey

 

[krystal]

and of course, the music

THIS IS CHRISTY DIGNAM
By DIGNAM CHRISTY & FET

Synopsis
Christy Dignam, is the lead singer with Aslan. This is the true story of Ireland's most talented but troubled star, as told in his own words.

Enter Christy's world as he delves into rock'n'roll excess, an abyss of heroin addiction, dealings with the drug squad, Aslan splitting, child abuse, Bono and Bowie and of course - the music.

 

[SONYMEGADRIVE]

Re: and of course, the music

just got off the phone with my imro rep - this is actually an intervention to try and help christy get off the horse. you can't have 'music community' without 'community' (or 'unity' for that matter!)

andrew

 

[avernus]

hehe ah aslan.

 

[ddmurph]

It's been a year or two since it's been last out

didn't they re-release it again after beslan or was that just someone taking the piss?

 

[Charlie Bucket]

In my time working with FM104 I have interviewed hundreds of people, in many different locations, for a huge number of different events, in many different towns, in a couple of different countries and in a couple of different states. When I say states I mean states of sobriety, most I’d say 95% are stone cold sober, some not so, some stoned, some coked-up and others on Lord-knows what. I am not there to judge, or unless asked, for my opinion so if it is possible to continue with the interview and I can understand what the interviewee is saying, I do. Most times you know what to expect, for example if the event is in studio first thing in the morning, most people will be as sharp and clean as a whistle, then again if its an evening launch with gargle on tap, you get the picture. However I didn’t know what to expect when Aslan’s Christy was coming in to studio to talk about his autobiography

This Is Christy Dignam, I didn’t know what state he would be in and I was curious, if not a little anxious.
I had interviewed Aslan a few times previously, Billy and lead singer Christy Dignam in particular but each time the band were on tour and it was a phoner. Aslan had written and released the bands biography Aslan’s Crazy World back in 1998 but now Christy had his own personal story to tell now, six years on and we wanted to find out more info on it for his fans.
Christy is a small man and it is plain to see that his body has suffered from years of substance abuse, as his cheeks are sunken into his face, leaving his cheekbones protruding out from under the dark sockets of his big eyes. His arms hang at an awkward angle a few inches from his sides, as if they were in plaster casts but simply aren’t. I’ve just re-read that and don’t get me wrong, he did not look like E.T. or a scruffy, penniless, user. He was dressed extremely well in a hip long sleeved T-shirt top and very cool jeans but it was his small withered body underneath that caught your eye. More importantly though he was definitely not high, or at least he did not appear to be.
He told me and I had heard that he was off heroine, that he had beaten the addiction and that he was off all drugs. I was thrilled for him, as I know that there was many occasions where his loved ones, his band and his fans must have feared for his life but he told me that he had it all under control now and I really was thrilled. I remembered what Aslan meant and how appropriate that their Turkish name seemed right at that moment, for it means Lion and they took their name from the heroic lion in C.S. Lewis’s series of books chronicling the fictional land of Narnia. He was very warm and welcoming when he came into studio, so much so that instead of a handshake greeting, he opened up his thin frail arms and gave me a hug. Fans who have seen him in concert, at gigs or even face-to-face know Christy to be a warm, open character and we got on very well.
It was only after he had left that one of the studio crew, an Aslan fan remarked that he didn’t look as well as he had hoped, that he thought he was on something. I hadn’t coped that at all, I did think that he had a vulnerability in his eyes which made me tread carefully when I approached sensitive subjects or subjects I imagined were sensitive for him, such as his (former) drug addiction, his family life, his hellish times. Sometimes looking at him, I saw a world-weary look in his eyes, yet there was also flicker of a childlike insecurity that warmed me to him, not out of pity but out of respect. Respect for him having picked up all those pieces of his life, putting them back together and being brave enough to open up his heart and bare his soul in his autobiography despite the fact that he knew he would insult or hurt some people in his life by doing so. Respect also for the fact that he and the band had let their single Crazy World be re-released to raise funds for the charity ‘to Russia with Love’. The single, which Aslan dedicated to the victims of the Beslan school disaster during their Phoenix Park show, went straight into the top 3 of the Irish Charts.

I also had respect for the fact that he always recognised his and Aslans fans were and never neglected them. Their lyrics gave and give hope to thousands of people, people they knew, working class people like themselves who had followed them right from day one, as well as new fans they attracted over the years. Christy knew his roots and always went back to them, whether that involved spending time with his family, friends and neighbours in his hometown of Finglas or hanging out with Aslan, the band that he had sung with for over twenty two years.
When I heard then a few months later that Christy had left Ireland to attend a very strict rehabilitation centre abroad run by religious monks I was a little surprised to say the least and very saddened. I was sad for him, for his family, his loved ones and his band that the drugs still had a grip on his life. This rehab centre was closed off from the outside world; patients were removed from all contact with anyone else. The drugs were allegedly forced out of the patients systems through a cold turkey style vomiting therapy and the whole process was all consuming. I interviewed Billy just before Christy came home after his treatment was complete and he was very excited about being reunited with his lead singer and friend. They were due on stage at a number of different gigs within a matter of days and he hoped that Christy would be up-for-it and he was, the band were back in one piece once more and fans were obviously thrilled too. Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors or what’s really going on in Christy’s life but things are looking good from the outside.
Tony, Alan, Joe, Billy and Christy formed Aslan in 1982 and four years later that they released their demo single, This Is, which was an instant hit and consequently became the longest ever play-listed single on 2FM. Later on in 1986 they won The Stag/ Hot Press award for Most Promising New Band and they are still winning awards, having recently had their album Made in Dublin voted as one of the Top 100 Greatest Irish Albums (No. 81 on November’s Hotpress list voted for by Irish Musicians). Then in 1988 they recorded their debut album Feel No Shame which went straight to No.1, and held that coveted spot for over three weeks before going Gold. Just when Aslan were at the height of their success with talk of a second album about to be recorded, they split up. Fans were gutted and the media went wild with speculation as to the reasons why, some suggested that Christy’s drug problems were the main cause. It wasn’t until five years later that the band stepped on stage together again for a one off charity performance. Eleven years on and that one night stand is still going strong, thanks to many award winning and chart topping singles such as Crazy World, Where’s The Sun, She’s So Beautiful (featuring Sinead O’Connor on vocals), Different Man, Waiting For This Madness to End, Six Days To Zero and acclaimed albums Goodbye Charlie Moonhead, Here Comes Lucy Jones, a best selling Best of and a re-released Feel No Shame.
In 1999 the band played five sell out gigs in Vicar Street, from which they made a live album and video concert. The resulting album (Made In Dublin) and video/ movie, launched by An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern himself, both shot to No.1 in their first week of release. It’s only fitting then that their Christmas gig this year finds them back filling up seats in their lucky Dublin venue.

Aslan play Vicar Street, Off Thomas Street, Dublin 8 on Monday 27, Tuesday 28 and Thursday 30 December 2004. Tickets are €25.00 and are available through Ticketmaster and other usual outlets nationwide. On Wednesday 29 December there is an all-ages matinee show. Doors 2pm/Show 3pm. Tickets for this show are €15.00.


By Taragh Loughrey-Grant