The word 'legend' is totally over used now, but most definitely in 50 years from now, that's what
Finbar's going to be without a doubt.
He is truly unique in what he does - especially coming from his Traveller/
Gypsy background. I think over there, that's the way to put the focus - 'the wise old man' 'greybeard'
but with maybe a mystical thing around the traveller side of him. Story teller, seanachie - an aura. This
is all from comments people make to me over here, but over here it just doesn't work.
He and his
brother Eddie brought the uillean pipes over to Germany and really began this huge revival of Irish music. In the history
pages it all seems to start with Planxty or some others, but again Finbar was the instigator and influence there. Christy
Moore was broke, out of work, looking to make a start in music and stayed with the Fureys. Finbar got him a week on
the Edinburgh Festival, and suggestged he hook up with Liam O'flyyn and start his own band and the rest
is history.
Looking at some pipes sites, Finbar's not even mentioned though he taught so many of them and they
were certainly inspired by him. He brought over Brian Howard from England and got him a govt grant to make pipes in
Waterford. Before that it was nearly impossible to buy a set and in so doing this began the explosion in interest. You
could have counted the number of Uillean pipers in the world on your hands up to then.
Another thing he was responsible
for is what they now call the 'low whistle'. He never really like the side flute and the only ohter thing was
the Clarke's whistle or the penny whistle as they used to call it.
Finbar persuaded a friend Bernard Overton,who
was a welder, to try and make a new style, now the low whistle that every Irish band in the world is playing.
Finbar
designed it, tuned it and tested it then played it all over the world. There was such demand that Bernard gave up his
job to make them full time and did so till he died.
Finbar was born in Dublin's inner city, the Furey family were travelling people who settled in Claddagh Road,
Ballyfermot, Dublin. Life was happy but beset with hardship. It left its mark: "I like people who had a tough growing
up," he says. "They know about life."
"Our
parents started us off in music when we were very young," he says.
"My father played the fiddle and the pipes;
my mother played melodeon and five-string banjo. She was a wonderful singer as well... I can remember when we moved into our
new house in Ballyfermot. My father singing in the empty rooms. We lived and breathed music."
"Strangely enough, I can't remember ever learning to play an instrument... As far back
as I can remember, I could play music. There were always instruments in the house. When we were kids, we had no TV, so we
had to make our own entertainment. We'd just pick up the instruments and start to play and sing."
Finbar readily admits to not having had much of a formal education, although he went to school in Ballyfermot, to the De La
Salle Brothers. "I went there for an hour. We only went to school when we were caught."
It wasn't long before music totally dominated his life. In the early 60's, he started appearing with
his brother Eddie, and his father, Ted, in O'Donoghue's bar alongside Ronnie Drew who later went on to form The Dubliners.
"It was the place bands went to play," he says. "Ronnie would sing a few songs, my father would play the fiddle,
I'd play the pipes and Eddie would play the guitar." Eventually these informal sessions ensure that O'Donoghue's
bar became part of Irish musical folklore.
For the next few years Finbar
and Eddie Furey toured the Folk Clubs, Colleges and Universities throughout Britain and Europe, building up a large following
for their haunting music. They became folk legends across the continent and introduced a whole new generation to the wonders
of Irish music. Without realising it at the time, they also pioneered a pathway for many new wave Irish traditional and contemporary
bands that were to follow.
From playing to audiences of a mere 200
people, The Fureys soon found themselves headlining concerts and playing to thousands of people on major european tours, particularly
in Germany. Indeed, Finbar and Eddie were instrumental in establishing Germany's very first "Irish Folk Festival
Tour." As their reputation spread wider, they consolidated their success in Canada and the USA, and took Sweden, Denmark,
Holland, Belgium, France and Switzerland in their stride.
Before
long, they were established as a household name throughout Australia and New Zealand. When the younger brothers Paul and George
joined the fold, several years later, success and appeal remained as strong as it ever was.
With the success of their live concert appearances, it was inevitable The Fureys would soon reap their own
reward and enjoy a string of best selling records all over the world. It happened with such gems as WHEN YOU WERE SWEET SIXTEEN,
I WILL LOVE YOU EVERY TIME WHEN WE ARE ONE, LEAVING NANCY, TARA HILL, GREEN FIELDS OF FRANCE, RED ROSE CAFE and THE LONESOME
BOATMAN, which have gone on to become their own trademark, alongside such albums as Sweet Sixteen, Golden Days, The End Of
The Day, Claddagh Road and Winds Of Change. In Britain they become one of a mere handful of Irish folk groups to make it on
to TOP OF THE POPS.
In 1993, with The Fureys at the height of their international
popularity and after nearly thirty years as the group's front man, lead singer and driving force... Finbar decided the
time was right to take a break, for the time being at least. It was the ideal climate in which to step aside and go out on
his own to pursue his solo career, to present his definitive one-man show and to explore new pastures as a singer, producer
and writer.
"I enjoy writing," he says. "I really know where
the inspiration comes from... Either write a song in ten minutes or don't write it." "The words and the melody
come together!"
Since making his decision to step aside, Finbar's
reputation has increased with every performance. He has toured extensively in Britain, Australia, elsewhere, bringing his
rare talents to a world-wide stage and treating audiences to evenings of pure Irish magic, great music, good humour, and the
charm and sparkling wit associated with one of Ireland's great raconteurs. "My life has been gifted," he says.
"My brothers and myself travelling the road doing what we love best, and a wonderful supportive family at home. What
more could I want..?"
