February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Eileen Murphy
We hear that Chris Byrne, who with Larry Kirwan formed the seminal Irish band Black 47 back in 1989, will be leaving the group at the end of the month to pursue a solo project.
Byrne, a former member of the NYPD whose 11 years as a cop inspired one of the band’s best songs, "Walk All the Days," says that the split is completely amicable.
"A change is as good as a rest," he said philosophically, from behind that bar at his popular NYC watering hole, Rocky Sullivan’s, on Monday night.
"I just wanted to concentrate on my own stuff," he explained. "It’s hard to maintain a side project, like [his other band] Seanchai/Unity Squad, when I’m working on Black 47. If I don’t do it now, I never will."
Kirwan and Byrne seem to be on the same wavelength.
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"Chris’s exit is amicable and we all remain friends, but time marches on and we all want to do different things with our lives," he wrote. "Nothing stays the same – if it does, it goes stale and that’s one thing we’ll never allow happen to our music."
Byrne and the members of the Unity Squad will be holding a record release party for their new CD, "At the Turn of the Century," at Rocky Sullivan’s on Monday, April 24, starting at 7 p.m.
"The record’s got more of a dance feel, more hip hop," Byrne said. "I also think it’s important to bring an Irish-American voice to the music. You hear a lot of the Irish emigrant voice, but I think it’s important to bring an Irish-American voice, an Irish-American point of view, into the mix."
Byrne’s last show with Black 47 will be on Saturday, April 29, at Connolly’s Pub, 47th Street and Madison Avenue. Sounds like it’ll be one people will be talking about for ages.
To Ireland with love
Pierce Brosnan fans who were wondering if the actor and his long-time girlfriend, Keely Shay-Smith, were ever going to get around to tying the knot, can breathe a little easier. The couple are planning a springtime wedding in Ireland. No date’s been announced yet (probably to avoid a press invasion of the ceremony), but Keely has confirmed that the happy event will take place within the next eight weeks.
The couple, who had a baby together a while back, have talked about marriage for years. Last year, they made it official.
"Pierce proposed in October, and I in turn accepted," Keely told the Sunday Independent.
So, why did they decide to marry in Ireland?
"Ireland is an important part of what Pierce is," Keely said. "I understand how close it is to his heart. So we are planning a spring wedding in Ireland with Pierce’s family and my own."
Swear it again
Westlife, the boy band whose squeaky-clean looks and harmonious, er, harmonies drive Irish teenyboppers stone mad, have reached another plateau.
No, we’re not referring to their five consecutive No. 1 chart hits, which have put them into the Guinness Book of World Records. We’re referring to the real sign of pop superstardom: being too busy to date.
It seems that, except for the one who’s dating the taoiseach’s daughter, the boys are livin’ la vida loca – but at the Heartbreak Hotel. You see, they’re so famous now that they don’t know "if girls fancy because we’re pop stars or for the kind of people we are." Hmmmm.
It seems to us that they just need to do some simple math: take the number of girls who bribed hotel chambermaids for a piece of your bedsheets three years ago, and compare it to the number who do it now. Any more questions?
Who wants to be a millionaire?
We knew Gay Byrne had something up his tuxedo sleeve when we met him at the Broadway opening of "Riverdance" and he told us that he had "projects in development" at home. Did he ever!
The perennially popular RTE personality will host the Irish version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Though it would be hard to imagine Uncle Gaybo more famous than he already is in his native land, it’ll be interesting to see if the show becomes a phenomenon like its British and American counterparts.
Will people follow Gay in the streets, shouting, "Is that your final answer?" every time he opens his mouth, like they do to Regis Philbin? Will his attire spark a national fashion craze, like Reeg’s dark shirts and matching satin ties? Sure, only time will tell. And that’s our final answer.
Hollywood’s calling
Really, we can’t seem to get through a week anymore without opening a paper and seeing a picture of shirtless, pumped-up and sweaty-looking Michael Flatley. (After all, the guy’s a millionaire many times over. You’d think he could afford a tasteful cardigan.)
Anyway, we reported this many moons ago, but it’s worth another lash. Michael is reported to be thisclose to signing a deal to star in a Hollywood movie. Nothing’s confirmed yet, and his publicist won’t say whether the proposed film will be based on Michael’s own colorful life.
The "Feet of Flames" star has been splitting his time of late between performing in the show and cavorting with his shapely Irish girlfriend, Lisa Murphy (who’s going to catch a chest cold one of these days if she doesn’t cover up, if you catch our drift).
Brian Kennedy at Arlene’s
Fans of Brian Kennedy will have a rare chance to see him in concert – for free.
The golden-throated singer, who shot to fame touring with the likes of Van Morrison and who’s now featured in the Broadway version of "Riverdance," will do a show at Arlene’s Grocery. The performance takes place this Saturday, April 16, at 11 p.m., and there is no cover charge or drink minimum. One caveat, though: Arlene’s holds just 140 people, so get there early and enjoy the four other bands who will perform from 7-10 p.m.
Arlene’s Grocery is at 95 Stanton St., between Ludlow and Orchard Streets, NYC, one block south of Houston Street on the Lower East Side. For information, you can e-mail shane@arlene-grocery.com.