Aslan frontman Christy Dignam says he has no plans to give up performing live, insisting: “Only God will retire me.”
The 60-year-old hitmaker said he lives to be on stage and could never imagine doing anything other than singing and gigging.
Dubliner Christy, who was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer called amyloidosis in 2013, revealed he was on top form with the band back on tour.
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The Crazy World singer told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I will never stop, only God will retire me.
“When I’m not gigging, it’s weird. It’s like a writer not writing. I wouldn’t be able to not do it.”
And he told how despite living with an aggressive cancer which causes a build up of proteins in the body medics are pleased with his current progress.
He said: “I’m not bad at the moment. I was going to Beaumont [hospital] once a week and now I’m only going once a month.
“I’m never going to be cured but once you have one foot on the floor that’s good.”
Christy, who turns 61 this month, made no secret of his struggles during lockdown after he lost his dad to Covid-19 and live performances were put on ice.
But he said he’s flying high as the veteran rock band perform to legions of fans nationwide as part of their 40 Years tour.
He said: “It feels f*****g amazing being back on stage.
“I always thought for us that the audience were very important but I never realised just how important until they were gone.
“Our audience is what makes a great show. Doing streaming gigs was like doing a gig without a drummer, it was just weird.
“You get spurred on by the audience.
“If you are looking at them and say there are a couple of people in the audience who aren’t getting into it you go that extra mile to try and hook them into it.
“Things like that spur you on. and when you don’t have that it lacks spirit.”
He added: “It’s [tour] going great so far.
“With the pandemic it hasn’t gone back to normal though as usually while we would be on tour other bands would be in recording and vice versa.
“But because everyone was off for two years everyone is now gigging at the same time so there’s a bit of saturation at the moment.
“But so far we have been very lucky and the gigs have been great. The adrenalin just kicks in.
“The first gig that we did after the pandemic was the Olympia and I remember walking onto the stage and I couldn’t even hear the band because the crowd were screaming that much. It was amazing.”
Christy released his solo album The Man Who Stayed Alive last year and loved the process.
He revealed: “We [the band] started to do a bit of an album and Hold On was one of the songs off that album, but then the pandemic happened and we couldn’t travel.
“That’s how I ended up doing the solo album. I have done loads of stuff and I don’t blow my own trumpet about things but for me it’s a great album.
“I have always wanted to see what would happen if I was on my own because when you are doing an album with a band everyone has an input. With this I could do whatever I wanted.”
When it comes to the band’s big 3Arena concert in September 2022 – which will see them headline to their biggest audience ever – Christy said he can’t wait.
However he admitted that despite really looking forward to it he actually prefers the intimacy of a small venue.
He said: “It’s a weird one, the 3Arena gig, because I find the smaller gigs are better, I like the intimacy.
“When we did Slane supporting Bowie and I remember walking out on stage and the nearest audience member was nearly the width of O’Connell Street away from us. With the gigs, the bigger they get, yeah grand they are good for the ego, but from an artistic perspective the smaller ones are better.”
Aslan’s fans are among the most loyal in the business, but Christy remains critical of bigger radio stations who he says don’t give them the airplay they deserve.
He said: “Apart from The Late Late Show, RTE don’t really support Aslan.
“They have played This Is and Crazy World alright but if it wasn’t for the regional stations we would be f****d. They are the ones who play Irish music. The likes of RTE play Westlife and U2 and that’s it.”
Asked if he’d consider a stint on Dancing With The Stars, like bandmate and guitarist Billy McGuinness, Christy said it wouldn’t be his thing.
“Even if I was asked to go on it I wouldn’t, it’s just not for me really.
“Billy was great at it, but he has the right personality for it.”
Tickets for Aslan’s tour are on sale on at ticketmaster.ie.
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