Fiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench (born 7 September 1941, in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. [1]
Trench first studied Chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, before moving on to the University of Georgia in 1963, and then the University of Cincinnati. From 1969 to 1991, he lived and worked in London. [2] In 1972, he co-produced, and played keyboards on, the If album Waterfall , as well as appearing on Solid Gold Cadillac's eponymous first album. In 1973, he played piano on the If album Double Diamond .[ citation needed ]
He and his songwriting partner of the 1980s Ian Levine wrote and produced some popular hi-NRG club hits of the era for Miquel Brown, Barbara Pennington and Evelyn Thomas. It was through Levine that he came to co-write the theme tune for the 1981 BBC Doctor Who spin-off K-9 and Company . He is credited with the string arrangements on the Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues. [3] Other artists he has worked with include Van Morrison on his 1989 album Avalon Sunset , Elvis Costello, Art Garfunkel, Sinéad O'Connor, the Corrs, Phil Lynott (including the orchestral arrangements on Lynott's solo hit "Old Town"), Sweet (arrangement and piano on early hits), Joan Armatrading and Paul McCartney. His string arrangements on the Van Morrison song, Have I Told You Lately , are among his most beautiful works. He taught McCartney's late wife Linda to play the piano. In 1996, he conducted the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, "Diwanit bugale", composed and performed by Dan Ar Braz.[ citation needed ]
He has scored and composed music for films including Pearl Harbor , The Boxer , The Tailor of Panama and The Ring . [4] In 2006, he reworked Clint Mansell's "Lux Aeterna" for the 2006 AIB Ryder Cup advert "Epic" directed by Enda McCallion. [5]
William Michael Joseph Whelan is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, "Riverdance", was a seven-minute piece of original music accompanying a new take on traditional Irish stepdance that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish traditional music and dance. The corresponding soundtrack album earned him a Grammy. "Riverdance" was released as a single in 1994, credited to "Bill Whelan and Anúna featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra". It reached number one in Ireland for 18 weeks and number nine in the UK. The album of the same title reached number 31 in the album charts in 1995.
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Thin Lizzy initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon, although Wrixon left after a few months. After Bell left at the end of 1973 the band soon switched to twin lead guitarists: Scott Gorham, who remained with the band until their break-up in 1983, and Brian Robertson, who was replaced in 1978 by Gary Moore. Moore was replaced in turn by Snowy White in 1980, and John Sykes in 1982. The line-up was augmented by keyboardist Darren Wharton in 1980. The singles "Whiskey in the Jar" (1972), "The Boys Are Back in Town" (1976) and "Waiting for an Alibi" (1979) were international hits, and several Thin Lizzy albums reached the top ten in the UK. The band's music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes heavy metal.
Philip Parris Lynott was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive pick-based style on the bass and for his imaginative lyrical contributions, including working class tales and numerous characters drawn from personal influences and Celtic culture.
The Popes are a band originally formed by Shane MacGowan and Paul "Mad Dog" McGuinness, who play a blend of rock, Irish folk and Americana.
Enda McCallion is an Irish film director. He studied at the Dún Laoghaire College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art in London, England.
Vagabonds of the Western World is the third studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1973. It was the band's last album with original guitarist Eric Bell and the first to feature the artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick, whose work would appear on many subsequent albums by the band.
Johnny the Fox is the seventh studio album by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy, released in 1976. This album was written and recorded while bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott was recovering from a bout of hepatitis that put him off the road halfway through the previous Jailbreak tour. "Don't Believe a Word" was a British hit single. Johnny the Fox was the last Thin Lizzy studio album on which guitarist Brian Robertson featured as a full member of the band, as the personality clashes between him and Lynott resulted in Robertson being sacked, reinstated, and later sacked again.
Chinatown is the tenth studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1980. It introduced guitarist Snowy White who would also perform on the next album as well as tour with Thin Lizzy between 1980 and 1982; he replaced Gary Moore as permanent guitarist. White had previously worked with Cliff Richard, Peter Green and Pink Floyd. Chinatown also featured eighteen-year-old Darren Wharton on keyboards, and he joined Thin Lizzy as a permanent member later that year.
"Pipes of Peace" is a song written by English musician Paul McCartney and the title track on his 1983 album of the same name. It was released in December 1983 as a single and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Charts for two weeks and No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1984.
Remembering – Part 1 is a compilation album by rock group Thin Lizzy, one of the first compilations of the band's early years with Eric Bell, released by their record company at that time, Decca Records, in an apparent attempt to cash in on the chart success Lizzy had recently begun enjoying with Vertigo. It includes "Sitamoia" and "Little Darling", both featuring Gary Moore during his first brief stint with the group, the first of which was previously unreleased. The time frame of the album stretches from 1971 to 1974. The album was issued in the US as Rocker (1971-1974) in 1977 by London Records, with the song "Honesty Is No Excuse" instead of "A Song for While I'm Away".
Poetic Champions Compose is the seventeenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1987 on Mercury Records. It received generally positive reviews from critics, most of whom viewed it as adequate mood music.
Down the Road is the twenty-ninth studio album by Northern Irish singer Van Morrison. The album has a nostalgic tone, lyrically and musically, and its arrangements mix R&B and blues with country and folk, and, with a few exceptions, like "Georgia on My Mind," the music is most often rooted in 1950s and early 1960s popular music.
Solo in Soho is the debut solo album by Irish rock singer Philip Lynott, released while he was still in Thin Lizzy. Current and former Lizzy members guested on the album, including Scott Gorham, Brian Downey, Snowy White, and Gary Moore. Brian Robertson also contributed to the writing of one of the tracks, "Girls".
Enlightenment is the twentieth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1990 and reached No. 5 in the UK charts and "Real Real Gone" charted at No. 18 in Mainstream Rock Tracks.
"Someone Like You" is a song written by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his seventeenth studio album, Poetic Champions Compose (1987). It has become a wedding and movie classic and the song subsequently furnished the framework for one of Morrison's most popular classics and love ballads, "Have I Told You Lately", released in 1989.
The Philip Lynott Album is the second and final solo album by Irish rock singer Philip Lynott, released in 1982.
"Queen of the Slipstream" is a romantic ballad written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his 1987 album, Poetic Champions Compose. In 1988 it was released as a single in the UK, but did not chart.
"Carrying a Torch" is a popular song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and released on his 1991 double album, Hymns to the Silence. It was also included on his 2015 album "Duets: Re-working the Catalogue" with Clare Teal.
Yellow Pearl is a compilation album of songs recorded by Irish rock musician Phil Lynott; the only such compilation as of 2022. The album, released in 2010, features songs taken from Lynott's two solo albums, Solo in Soho and The Philip Lynott Album, together with rare singles, remixes and b-sides.
"Warm and Beautiful" is a love ballad credited to Paul and Linda McCartney that was first released by Wings on their 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It is a love ballad sung by Paul directed to Linda. Critical opinion of the song has varied widely, ranging from a comment that it is "one of the most beautiful songs that Paul ever wrote for Linda," to a suggestion that it may be "one of the worst songs Paul McCartney has ever written." In 1998, after Linda's death, Paul rearranged the song for string quartet to be played at memorial concerts for his late wife. This version was included on the 1999 album Working Classical.