Our Man Friday is a Fleming Success
Friday, 10 November 2006
OUR MAN FRIDAY IS A FLEMING SUCCESS
Today's man Friday has gone from performing in his home town in Sligo to packing out venues all over the states. He's a platinum selling singing sensation and Ireland can call him his own. Currently on a nationwide tour he's taken time out to chat with us.
He has the voice of an angel and It's been a busy few weeks for Tommy as he only got married three weeks ago. He has just launched his new album, A Life Like Mine, which is his first with Universal Music Ireland and he is currently on a nationwide tour.
Tommy is the youngest of six children from Aclare, Co.Sligo.
He has been performing since he was young at local concerts.
While at school he had a rock band called 'The Face of February'.
Later he was in a band called, 'Jaro', which gave him a taste of what it was like to have to tour Ireland to play at various venues including some festivals.
It was a chance encounter with Phil Coulter that changed his life when he met Phil at a charity event in Co.Mayo. Within a few days he was singing with Phil on stage in the Cork Opera House. Within the next four months he was touring America playing to packed venues.
When he came home he was invited to be lead vocalist with legendary group, De Dannan. He stayed with them for the next three years and toured in Australia, Hong Kong and the U.S. In a way it was the thought of more exotic travel rather than the actual band that kept him with De Dannan for three years.
He recorded his first solo album in 1996 called Different Sides of Life'. On the back of this he was offered his first record deal with Dara Records.
His second album in 1998, called Restless Spirit went platinum. But, just as success was reaching new heights on the back of this album, Tommy suffered a catastrophic setback. He was taking a trip back to Sligo when he took a short cut home and veered off the road and hit a tree. He was lucky to manage to crawl from the burning car. He flagged down a passing driver, and, not realizing he had a serious injury, made his way home.
It was ongoing pain that made him go to hospital the next day where it was discovered that he had a broken neck. He spent the next three months recovering and wondering if his singing career was over! He describes this time as the scariest of his life. It also left him bitter that it had put his career back by five months in physical terms but five years in real terms. He also came back with his finger on the self destruct button which he took a year to realise before changing his ways!
With great determination, Tommy was back on the road within a year and working on his third solo album, The Contender.
After this Tommy made a decision that shocked family and friends - he took six months off to go to work with Goal in Sudan. He says this started as being more about him taking time out for himself but that the experience changed him and his attitude and any ego.
When he came home, Tommy took over the direction his career was going in and worked on booking small venues that would sell out and thus increase his fan-base on a more solid footing.
It was here that he approached the head of PBS TV in Detroit and asked how he could get on their channel.
He became friendly with the station head and she came to a gig in Killarney. It was here he came up with the idea to record a DVD at the Basilica in Knock even though it had never been done. Yet, Tommy managed to convince Monsignor Joe Quinn who just asked that he put it back as he found it!
It was this that led to his break with PBS as the DVD was shown on 155 stations across the U.S.
On the home front, Tommy married his wife, Tina, three weeks ago and they're going to honeymoon in January. He met Tina at a funeral when she sat beside him and they started chatting as she knew his sister.
Tina is now involved in the business as well as she looks after the office and sometimes goes on tour.