It’s The Songs Not The Singer

Pic: Brendan Duffy

t’s a fate that has befallen many a band, their leading light extinguished, leaving behind songs that still need to be sung.

For some, it can be a blessing in disguise.

Fleetwood Mac did okay after Peter Green walked in April 1970, as did Pink Floyd when Syd Barrett left the planet in April 1968, and Joy Division as they became New Order following the death of Ian Curtis on May 18th, 1980.

The lads meet their idol, Dylan Crampton

Closer to home, Paul McLoone has been the lead singer of The Undertones for 18 more years now than original vocalist Feargal Sharkey.

So, it’s hardly surprising that, once they said goodbye to their original vocalist, Christy Dignam, on June 23rd, 2023, Joe Jewell, Billy McGuinness and Alan Downey would want to continue playing the songs that had been part of their lives for over 40 years.

Enlisting Lee Tomkins as their new lead singer back in February 2024, Aslan will be bringing those songs to The Whale on Saturday, May 10th. It might just get emotional.

In the meantime, we caught up with the band to talk new life, old songs, and the call of the road…

Given the long history you guys have together, how long after Christy’s passing did it take for you guys to play together again…?
After about 3 months, we decided to go the rehearsal studio and play together again, for our own well being, after such a traumatic experience. It felt very strange for the three of us, but it was good the heads.

It’s always difficult for a band to continue when their lead singer departs, but it worked for Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd, for Joy Division becoming New Order, and Adam Lambert stepped up for Queen, Paul McLoone for The Undertones. Ever a doubt in your minds…?
Once we made the decision, a few weeks after the initial jam, for want of a better word, we felt it was important to keep our music going. At the end of the day, we weren’t doing anything different than many other bands who lost a life-long member.

Live, it’s a celebration of your 40 years together. Coming up with new material is perhaps more of a challenge, as you may have nothing to prove but plenty to live up…
One of the first rules we made, was to keep writing new material, as we have always done. At the end of the day, we are songwriters, and this is, excuse the pun, a new journey for Aslan moving forward.

What was it like, performing with Coldplay in front of 82,300 people at Croke Park…?
It was very humbling to be honest. Coldplay could not have done enough for us. To hear the crowd singing Crazy World with us, was really emotional for all of us. It was like coming home after a long absence, and being accepted for who and what we are, a few blokes playing music that people enjoy listening to and joining in. Amazing, both evenings.

Will the recent Hear Your Call single be followed by an album…?
There will be a couple of releases before we release an album. We feel it’s important for our fans to hear to hear Lee’s stamp on new material and also enjoy what Lee brings to the table. We constantly write songs, as before, that will never change and the product of that will be our new album.

Live is really the only surefire revenue for most musicians these days – do you see Aslan continuing for years, decades to come…?
Of course, there’s a saying that musicians and artists never retire, and this is certainly true for us, and the previous bands you mentioned. Keep it lit!

You can find out more Aslan on Instagram here or Facebook here, and grab your tickets for Saturday, May 10th at The Whale here.