Iconic Irish rock DJ Dave Fanning has been slammed on Twitter by fans of late Aslan frontman Christy Dignam after his comments about the beloved This Is singer.
Called the “voice of a downtrodden generation” in touching tributes paid after he passed last week, thousands turned out, braving the rain, to sing farewell to Christy as he was laid to rest on Saturday.
While the vast majority of people celebrated the life of Christy, which brought both whopping Irish chart success and moments of struggle with drug addiction, Dave Fanning, who has been a voice of music in Ireland for over 40 years, has been knocked for his “inappropriate” comments about Christy in recent days.
READ MORE: Stunning Christy Dignam mural pops up in Dublin after sad death from cancer
Fanning, who is generally well regarded for his opinions on Irish music, was invited to speak on a radio segment remembering Christy on Claire Byrne's RTE Radio One show, alongside Frances Black and Ronan Collins.
Clare asked Dave, who hosted Aslan during one of his Fanning Sessions back in the 80s, what he remembered about the band during that time, to which Dave responded that even though this is a “time for eulogising” the Finglas singer “blew it”.
Answering Claire’s question, the rock DJ, who has interviewed hundreds of artists, said: “I mean, there are two things there. First of all, I wouldn't have the same relationship as Imelda or Francis there, because I'm a bit more like Ronan.
“I never hung around with him and I didn't know Aslan as much as maybe, you know, I probably should have, but in the early days, yeah, they started in the early 80s or so one of the things was to get a Fanning Session.
“You know, it's public service broadcasting, we don't deserve praise for it, we should just do it. And we did it for 400 bands over 10 years.
“The point about that is when Aslan did their session near the beginning, they were so pleased and so proud and so like, ‘Wow, this is a rung on the ladder that we have now reached, we can also use this as a demo tape for record companies’".
He added: “Then they got that kind of deal and they were with the record company, they brought out an album and they did well with the single This Is and all that happened. And then I know this is a time for eulogising, but I don't want to deify the guy, either.
“He blew it royally and he would say later on that, you know, 'because I was abused at the age of six by a neighbour, and had this hole in my life for ages, so I filled it not by trying to get high with heroin, but just filling it with heroin to keep myself away from the memory of it.'
“I remember saying to him, ‘Are you sure about that now Christy? Are you sure you're not trying to pull the wool over my eyes?’
“So look, you can look at it that way, if you like, that's what I'm saying. Basically, what I'm saying is you have two things about people who go on heroin, get rid of them or do the best you can with them.
“He just blew it. He left the band for five or six years. It was Dignam and Goff after that, with Conor Goff who was a kind of a light guy, he was a fun guy, Conor, and it made him, I think realise 'I can get out on the stage and not be stupid.'
“He came back then, a bunch of years later with Aslan and they had the biggest hit of all but it kind of went downhill after that in terms of major success.”
Fanning’s comments have received widespread backlash online from fans of the late star, who slammed the "inappropriate" remarks.
One person posted: “When I die please be kinder than Dave Fanning was about Christy Dignam.”
Musician and housing activist Martin Leahy wrote: “Dave Fanning should apologise for that radio piece this morning. His account of his response to Christy Dignam's story of abuse was horrible.”
Another added: “Jesus that Dave Fanning is an awful yoke. I'm not one for saying someone is great when they weren't just because they're dead but if that was his opinion of Christy Dignam why go on national radio at all.”
One more added: “Bloody hell! Dave Fanning’s comments during the tribute to Christy Dignam on Claire Byrne’s radio show were awful. If he thought so little of Christy & Aslan, why did he agree to be interviewed? Poor form Dave. Poor form.”
While another posted alongside a clip of the segment: “The Dave Fanning contribution at the end of this segment (that was supposed to be a tribute to Christy Dignam) was bizarrely mean-spirited and inappropriate for the moment.”
The Irish Mirror has contacted RTÉ for comment.
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