ONE of Ireland’s most acclaimed and influential folk and traditional bands of all time are set to make their eagerly anticipated return to the live stage for the first time in 24 months.
The Fureys, widely regarded as legends of Irish music and song, will mark their first Belfast show for three years at the Waterfront Hall on Saturday, January 8.
Performing some of the most emotive music ever composed, a Fureys concert guarantees a night of pure music magic, enchantment and nostalgia. The band will play from their rich and timeless songs catalogue, with the added bonus of a chance to savour some of their most popular recent compositions.
Fans will be taken on a compelling winding journey through more than four decades of The Fureys’ legendary classics, including 'I Will Love You', 'When You Were Sweet 16', 'The Old Man', 'Red Rose Café', 'Her Father Didn’t Like Me Anyway', 'Leaving Nancy', 'From Clare to Here' and 'The Green Fields of France'.
The band have always been equally as masterful in recording their own unmistakable interpretations of other songwriters’ works as they have been in penning their own legendary songs. Their unique versions of the Eric Bogle anti-war song, The Green Fields of France and Ralph McTell's emigrant ballad, From Clare to Here, are just two poignant examples.
The band continues to find enduring appeal with all ages. It is not unusual to see three generations of the same family enjoying a Fureys concert together.
Their story began to take shape with the great folk revival of the 1960s when Eddie Furey met up with then unknown folk singers Billy Connolly, Gerry Rafferty and Alex Campbell. The seeds were well and truly sewn when Eddie and Finbar Furey joined the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem as special guests on their 1969 American tour. The Fureys had arrived.
Still one of the hardest working bands on the live circuit, the band has naturally gone through change with Finbar leaving the band in 1996 and Paul’s passing in 2002.
The legend of The Fureys continues to shine as brightly as ever with Eddie and George steering the band through the last two decades. In 2018, they played more concerts than during any of their previous 39 years on the road.
Now that they are up and running again, Eddie and George have no plans to stop anytime soon. "We'll keep it going. As long as people want us to play and sing, we'll be around."
Tickets for The Fureys at the Waterfront Hall on Saturday 8 January are available now here or by calling the Waterfront and Ulster Hall Box Office on 028 9033 4455.
