Mick Phelan tells the story behind a very special concert from one of the Irish artists of 2021...

One Wednesday night earlier this month, I attended a special gig at the hallowed, revered Olympia Theatre. The performer owned the stage. The crowd were on their feet. There was singing, dancing, joy. I witnessed an emotional outpouring that I've never seen at a gig before. To my left and right I saw friends embracing and tears shed. This was more than a gig. It was an event that reminded everyone there that death is not the end. The refrain was there throughout the gig: the loved ones that we have lost are with us and shall always be.

I was here to see David Balfe, aka For Those I Love. David’s modern punky hip hop/spoken word/social commentary/ambient dance music has made him a cult figure in Britain and Ireland. Far greater writers have told the tale of this album seizing the zeitgeist. This was an album that David made as a labour of love that became the love of so many listeners. David wrote the album for his fallen best friend and former band mate in the band Burnt Out, Paul Curran. Paul sadly took his own life in early 2018. The album is an artistic expression of the many emotions that this tragic loss evoked. He also wrote it to pay tribute to the friends and family that have guided and supported him through the highs and lows. So we have the evocative title of the project and album: For Those I Love.

As I took my seat in the upper circle there was an electricity in the air. There were the knowing glances, the realization that we were all here to share something special. I liken it to the atmosphere in Croker in 2011 as I, and the many other fans, waited for the Dubs to finally, rightfully reclaim Sam. It was that kind of atmosphere. An ambiance that the Covid era certainly took away from so many people.

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This was not just any ordinary gig. For you see, it's not just an ordinary album. I cannot think of any other album that has articulated the myriad emotions that loss uncovers. That explains why so many people have connected with it, and with David on such a deeply personal level. Maybe it’s that it was created from such a genuine place. Maybe its something so raw and real in an era of artificiality. It reminds me of the words of Paul Curran’s favourite poet, John Keats: "If poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree it had better not come at all." It might be the natural organic emotive quality that has made the album, and David, so appealing. Plus, let’s not forget that the songs are brilliant. It’s all about the songs - and there are cracking tunes here.

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The gig was different for me, I suppose. I was there as David’s former teacher. I taught Paul and David English in Chanel College. It was mad seeing David take the stage in such an iconic, packed venue. At the same time I wasn’t truly surprised to see him succeed in the artistic field. David wasn’t just a talent, he had drive and focus. I remember giving David the student of the year award in 2009. Before the gig Burnt Out’s song Dear James reverberated around the venue. Hearing Paul’s voice in this setting reminded me why we were there, to remember Paul, his talent. David reminded us of that throughout the gig.

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The gig itself made me think of the journey that I have seen David take. I remember seeing him as a sixteen-year-old in the Voodoo Lounge down Dublin’s Quays. Whilst his peers played in covers bands, David was playing his own acoustic compositions. I recalled him bringing in a seven-inch vinyl that he had pressed for his own punk band, The Blind. I was stunned, as I thought how does a kid in fifth year produce his own record? I remember seeing Paul and David play a straight edge punk rock show in Eamon Doran’s with their band Plagues. They sat down and educated me on Minor Threat and the ethos of straight edge punk, every day is a school day. In 2012 I saw David play his final show with The Blind in a packed Thomas House. No one was having a beer. It was just all about the music, you can catch the gig on YouTube. The entire room sang every lyric and David was every inch the star.

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The Olympia show was the culmination of years of commitment to creativity, musical exploration and being true to who he is. With this album, he was being true to the musical vision that he and Paul had worked on. Paul would have been in that upper circle dancing, fist aloft, buzzing for David at that moment. I think he was there with us.

There’s many musicians who dream about headlining the Olympia to such fanfare. I have to wear my teacher hat by saying that David got here through hard work. By that, I mean dedication to the craft. His parents supported this. They encouraged it. They did what many amazing parents did. They tolerated the racket coming from the shed out the back. I remember my Mam and Dad being the same for me as I clattered drums for many a year, God rest your soul, Mam.

'It was mad seeing David take the stage in such an iconic, packed venue.'

There’s that old adage about a masterpiece taking 10,000 hours to create. Since he picked up a guitar at fifteen and performed in the weekly lunchtime music club I held in room 11 David definitely put the time in, being creative, brave and expressive. Funnily enough the album has been lauded as a masterpiece. There are myriad articles online from the likes of The New York Times or The Guardian which label it as such.

On a personal note, it makes me think about what young people can achieve when they veer away from the dreaded Xbox or PlayStation. Please, young lads and ladies everywhere, take your games console to the charity shop and get out of that digital fog.

As we get older we can easily write young people off with their strange fashions, expressions. As a teacher, young people often wreck my head. However, the last few years reading Paul’s poetry, embracing the music these lads have crafted has reminded me that we write young people off at our peril. There’s creativity there, expression, talent abundant. This will always be the case. Paul once wrote a poem entitled The Youth Still Own The Art, and it’s true.

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I had a chance to reflect upon all the talented writers that I have had in the class over the years. I thought of Ciaran Parnell, Richard Kennedy, Daniel Murphy, Andrew Creedon, Sean Davies, Alan Fitzmaurice, Anthony Kane, Darren Roe, Ciaran Boylan, Emmet Burke, Arek Podkowa, Alex Shevlin, Craig Doyle, Paul Curran and David Balfe. It’s all about the written word for me. That’s the beauty of the job as an English teacher. I get to immerse myself in literature and see that literary expression. Teachers take a lot of criticism, they say we are all in it for the holidays. There’s more to it than that. The holidays are great, yes, the job is also highly rewarding. As I stood there clapping David on, I felt honoured to be some support and guidance in the development of this artist.

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So, listen to David’s album, an album of love, a reminder that in a world mired by tragedy love perseveres. David Balfe reminds us that love is always there, it’s in the friends and family that we may take for granted. Any piece of art that reminds us of the permanence of love as an ever present in our lives is extremely valuable. As David tells us in the fantastic song Birthday/The Pain: 'The world is a cruel, cruel place without the love'.