These are momentous times for Danny O'Donoghue. The Script frontman tells Dave Owens how his band has seen him through the tough times and how one Welsh icon has provided a guiding light for his career.
BY their own admission The Script's new single was also their hardest to write.
If You Could See Me Now, the tear-jerking track from the band's latest album #3, is a song the group never thought they would ever be able to commit to record.
Addressing the death of guitarist Mark Sheehan's parents and of singer Danny O'Donoghue's father, with alternative verses delivered by both singers, the song was written in a couple of hours one night, over bottles of whisky and through rivers of tears.
"I'll remember that night for the rest of my life," says Danny.
"Emotionally, we achieved exactly what we got in to music for, what we're all still in it for.
"Not the number one singles or the fame, but to capture an emotion in three and a half minutes that we know will mean an awful lot to other people.
"As a band, writing that song was the bravest thing we've ever done.
"It's us imagining what our parents would say were they still here. We like to think they would be proud of us and our achievements, but they'd probably be telling us off for drinking and smoking and swearing too much. And you know what, they'd be right."
It's been a whirlwind 12 months for the Irish outfit's frontman, the eminently likeable and chatty singer was a judge alongside the Welsh legend when The Voice first hit out TV screens last year.
The pair hit it off and Danny says he's looking forward to re-igniting the chemistry that lit up the show first time round with judges Sir Tom, Jessie J and Will.i.am when the show returns to our TV screens soon.
"It's a weird thing because it sounds like a car crash when you say you're going to put those four artists together on a panel," he jokes.
"It sounds like a skit from The Simpsons or something. But I thought we worked brilliantly together."
The judge who made the biggest impression on him, however, was Ponty superstar Sir Tom - who not only wowed Danny with his incredible showbiz tales but also his drinking prowess.
"I know lot of people use the word legend around him but he's more than that," says Danny.
"I was lucky to spend a lot of time with him. People can go to a show for one night and see him, but not many people can say I got to hang out with him for eight weeks, which was great because you get the insight, you get to see what he's like when the camera's off - and he's just a gentleman, a really nice guy.
"He's always been at the forefront of my musical taste. He's always made brilliant albums and come back storming with whatever he does.
"And then he goes on a show that many people thought he might have been a little too old for and then he goes on to win the show."
Unsurprisingly the Irishman and the Welshman spent quite some time together "It sounds like as joke doesn't it," Of course we had a few initiations with Sir Tom I don't think you get properly acquainted if you aren't anointed so to speak "The very first night we actually met, we all went to dinner together, and who were the last two who were at the bar, it was me and Tom "Will and Jessie had gone home and we were at the bar drinking, and he told me these incredible stories about Elvis and all the amazing times he's had.
"I wish Elvis was still around so I could verify the stories because some of them are amazing."
The Irish star says he would love to model himself on the legend. "He comes from a day and age where you could be and calm and cool. Nowadays looking at the stars on television they all seem to be thinking I need to be more extravagant or I need to be more extrovert than Lady Gaga "But all Tom needed was his voice, that was it.
"What I learnt from him was how to conduct yourself in the industry. The legacy that he's left behind is what I'd love to achieve as well. Me and you are talking about him, but he is just a man, although we both acknowledge there is something special about him.
"He will go down in history as an absolute legend.
"How he conducts himself is a lesson to us. He has no airs or graces. The bigger the star the nicer they are and he epitomises that."
A lot has been said about the future of The Voice - which lost a huge chunk of its audience share by the end of its run on BBC One, but Danny reckons the show more than proved its worth.
"I loved the first series. The experience itself was incredible.
"I'd never been on TV doing anything like this before, so just to do that was a big thing for me. But the response we got was immense.
"It was the biggest launch for an entertainment show in the history of British television, which I think is phenomenal.
"And the first four weeks we were getting 14 million watching, which was incredible. The BBC are so proud of it, I'm so proud of it. I just loved last year and the buzz about it. It shook up the establishment that was already there which was needed."
Source: South Wales Echo / Edited: DannyODonoghue.Net
No comments:
Post a Comment