Veteran British folk act Lindisfarne play rescheduled Irish concerts at the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin on 31 May and Mandela Hall, Belfast on 1 June. We asked the band's front man Rod Clements the BIG questions . . .
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Lindisfarne's sold-out shows in Belfast and Dublin's TradFest had to be cancelled in January because of travel disruption caused by Storm Éowyn.
Today's Lindisfarne, whose include Run For Home, Fog on the Tyne, Meet Me On The Corner, and Lady Eleanor, comprises a classic five-piece line up of long-standing members fronted by original founder-member Rod (vocals, mandolin, fiddle, slide guitar), Steve Daggett (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Paul Smith (drums), Ian Thomson (bass) and Alan Hull's son-in-law Dave Hull-Denholm (vocals, guitars, piano).
Speaking about their upcoming Irish dates, Rod says, "People keep coming back to Lindisfarne live and while that carries on, we carry on. We're thrilled to be making a return trip across the Irish Sea.
"We played a number of dates in Derry and Belfast in 1971 with our manager and label boss Tony Stratton-Smith billing us as 'The funkiest sounds since the Stones'!
"Other memorable gigs in the eighties include the Lisdoonvarna Festival, where we shared a caravan with The Loving Spoonful's John Sebastian. We played Macroom with Van Morrison and Mike Oldfield and had a great time at the Cork Folk Festival, too."
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Rod also acknowledges the cultural connection between Lindisfarne's music and the traditional Irish songs he and band co-founder Alan Hull heard in the folk clubs of Tyneside in the 1960s and ‘70s.
"Our songs often have a strong narrative element and a rousing singalong chorus, and we've found on previous visits that Irish audiences really respond to that," he says.
"We've been wanting to get back for quite a while and can't wait to play there again."
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I am Rod Clements, a singer/songwriter/guitarist. Nowadays I mainly play with my band Lindisfarne, whose breakthrough hit Meet Me On The Corner (1971) was written by me, but I also occasionally play solo and/or with others.
I have I mild form of colour-blindness called Daltonism or red/green deficiency, which means I can't always distinguish between certain colours, e.g. green/brown, blue/purple.
My partner Marie and I are the keepers of a 12-year-old, one-eyed black cat called Burt, whom we inherited from the estate of the late Michael Chapman. He is watching me as I type this (Burt, not Michael... but who knows?).
How would you describe your music?
Rock with folkish elements - instrumentally, including acoustic guitar, mandolin and harmonica - song-wise, narrative songs with strong melodies and choruses, largely thanks to the prolific output of my late co-founder-member, Alan Hull.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Originally, the twangy guitars of The Shadows, The Ventures and Duane Eddy. Then, blues (both acoustic/Delta and electric/Chicago). Dylan. Going to folk clubs.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
First proper gig I went to of my own accord was The Alex Harvey Soul Band, Club Agogo, Newcastle, 1965.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Kon-Tiki by The Shadows. Not their greatest, but their latest (1961). My dad already had their earlier hits like Apache and FBI.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Fort Worth Blues by Steve Earle, but it'll be a different one tomorrow.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"There's a full moon over Galway Bay tonight, silver light over green and blue, and every place I travel to I find some kind of sign that you've been through" - from the above song - Steve Earle's tribute/paean to the late Townes Van Zandt.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Same again but listening to only one song for the rest of my life is my idea of hell - whatever it was, I'd get sick of it sooner or later (thinking of Slade, every Christmas(. I'd rather have an instrumental, e.g. I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine by Ry Cooder, with David Lindley, from Bop Till You Drop.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Our website, YouTube, Spotify and all other streaming platforms.
Alan Corr
