Acclaimed Belfast singer Brian Kennedy has described being part of the "soundtrack of people's lives" as a privilege after a difficult number of years.
In 2016, the multi-platinum recording artist was diagnosed with cancer and after being given the all-clear in 2019, he suffered cardiac arrest and battled Covid during the pandemic.
However, despite what health issues he faced, Brian called music "the ultimate healer" as he prepared to release his new album Folkie on May 27.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Brian said: "My eldest brother and I had cancer at the same time and he died after five months of having it.
"I have had the four Cs - I had cancer, then I had chemo, then I had a cardiac arrest and then I had Covid. I had a quadruple heart bypass last July and then I caught over after that and you think what else is there to have but I am still here and making music.
"I am pushing through these things and I think if anything, I want people to understand at home is that most things are achievable. I know that many people are no so lucky and do not come out the other side but my story is one of recovery, survival and triumphs."
Discussing the new album and making music during the pandemic, Brian said it "never gets less exciting" to be able to share new projects with fans.
"It is a closing of that and a reopening of the gates of music and a way of celebrating.
"In lockdown, I started watching Youtube way more than I usually would - I came across an old song called 'I Wish I Had Someone to Love Me'. People were talking online and in the media about isolation and mental health and I thought we needed a comforting anthem of some kind.
"I then came across Imelda May and the Dubliners singing a song that was 100 years old from the 1920s and I loved how songs are like buildings and they change as we get older.
"Each song I have dedicated to the people who inspired me to record it - we also have the instrumental backing tracks and I am hoping that people will bring it into schools and learn the songs and sing along," he explained.
Recording music in height of the pandemic was a completely new experience for everyone involved, with one of his first projects being a duet with Boy George from different countries.
Brian continued: "I had to my vocals here in my music room and he recorded his in his flat in Soho and we then made video live of that - thank goodness technology was on our side and we could get around it like that. It is wild what you can do these days.
"It made us understand how much you cannot replicate that visceral reaction between a performer and an audience - the artist and the audience are a collaboration for a good reason and there is nothing that will ever replicate that feeling."
With a long and successful career performing with big names such as Van Morrison and Stevie Wonder in iconic venues such as Carnegie Hall, Brian admitted that he is not the kind of person to always look back.
"Sometimes when you have a massive illness and the cancer journey I had, you have to look back to see whether there were clues along the way or look at your family - sometimes life forces you to look back but at the same time, it makes me want to look forward even more," he said.
"It has been quite a journey from that wee fella running around the Falls Road trying not to be shot and all of a sudden you are at Madison Square Gardens and Carnegie Hall. When you put all the records and books and all the other creative works down on a table, you think 'wow I've done good work'."
Brian had no idea that his voice would be enjoyed across the world in Sir Kenneth Branagh's 'Belfast', saying it was "so strange" to watch for the first time and hear himself without knowing he would feature.
He added: "Life has a way of surprising you and I am proud of the work that has gone in before but I really feel there is so much more work to be done.
"Without loyal fans, there is no point in doing it - I don't make music just for me to listen to. I make music in the hope that someone else will listen to it and be moved by it.
"I am privileged to have been the soundtrack to people's most precious and most difficult moments like weddings, funerals and births and all kinds of things like that and to be part of it is a real joy and I just thank people for following along."
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