Tony Clayton-Lea talks to Damien Dempsey
What's on your rider?Brandy, port, fruit, water, nuts.
What would be on your fantasy rider?Havin' a rider at all is my fantasy!
What's your pre-gig routine?Steam vocal chords, a few scales to warm up, take a few vitamins, pray to the great spirit for courage, brandy and port for more courage, get the guitar and sing a few ballads and get harmonies goin' with the heads, then group hug (my favourite part), and into the abyss.
How do you get to the gig?Fiacre, the tour manager, drives us there with passion.
What's the best gig you've been to?There's no one best gig, but I was high for a few days after seeing The Pogues one time, so go figure.
And the worst?There's no such thing as a bad gig in my opinion, but I might not think that if I'd gone to the Barbra Streisand show here in Ireland. I hear it was a bit of a disaster.
Ecologically speaking, are you closer to Radiohead or Motörhead?Can't see Lemmy goin' to the bottle bank, but he could be as green as Ireland. I never judge a book by its cover so I couldn't tell you.
Who is the most famous person to have shown up at one of your gigs?I've had some legends drop by the gigs like Sinéad O'Connor, The Dubliners, Christy Moore, Annie Lennox, Brian Eno, Shane MacGowan, Bono and the Edge, but I knew beforehand that these heads were comin'. One night I got a shock in the Water Rats in King's Cross when I saw Chrissie Hynde and Morrissey together in the crowd.
Most embarrassing on-stage moment?Wearing beige jeans at a gig and havin' too short a safety leak before I went on.
What's your crowd-pleasing number?I've a load of songs the crowd sing along to, but half way through Party Onthe kick drum comes in rave-style, everyone starts jumpin' and the whole building starts rattlin'. Did the Earth move for you?
Chatting between songs – good or bad?I always like to tell a bit of a yarn, about the song or the town I'm in, or a recent experience. Most crowds love a bit of chatter, within reason, like.
Who's invited to your aftershow party?The beautiful ones, inside.
Damien Dempsey plays in Castlebar on Saturday
