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Róisín Meets: Chloe Agnew – former singer with Celtic Woman

Performer reveals story of formative years and heartbreak when famous parents split

Roísín Ingle talks to Chloe Agnew about her life and times. Photograph: The Irish Times

Sat Jan 9 2016 - 01:00

Chloe Agnew, the former lead singer with Celtic Woman, says the show “was all I knew from such a young age, and it took over my life”.

The 26-year-old talks to Roísín Ingle about her formative years on the road and how difficult it was when her famous parents, Twink (Adele King) and oboist David Agnew, broke up while she was on tour at the age of 15.

“There was the guilt of feeling you should have been there to help support your family,” she says, adding “it might have been just as difficult if I was here”.

Of Twink’s infamous “zip up your mickey” voicemail message to her now ex-husband, Agnew says: “Even when she’s serious, it’s got comedy gold in it. She’s one of a kind, and I wouldn’t be here or be half the person I am without her.”

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Agnew, who calls herself a “mammy’s girl”, says music was a way of life in her show business family.

She refers to Celtic Woman as a “powerful machine and brand” that resonated with the Irish diaspora and American audiences in particular. The group topped the US billboard world music charts for 81 weeks.

“I think we forget how many of us have actually gone abroad. For them to feel in some little way connected to their history, their ancestors, was a very special feeling for us,” she says.

Agnew tells Roísín about the “difficult” transition after she left the show in 2013, calling the period a “really weird, scary, life-changing quarter life crisis”. She has since moved to Los Angeles to launch a career as a songwriter, actress and voiceover artist.

Recently, she won a “quirky” role in an independent film that will start shooting in Los Angeles this spring.

Her solo singing career has enabled her tour internationally. And She will play her first major Irish concert at the National Concert Hall on January 16th.

Tickets for “Introducing Chloe Agnew – The Voice of Celtic Woman” are available on www.nch.ie.

To listen to the conversation or other episodes of the podcast, go to Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher or irishtimes.com.