Dave Fanning has apologised for comments he made on RTÉ radio about the late Aslan singer, Christy Dignam.
The veteran 2FM DJ and broadcaster admitted on Twitter on Tuesday that his comments were “incredibly ill-timed” and in “poor taste”.
Earlier, RTÉ confirmed it had received over 40 messages with “negative feedback” following the comments.
The station said four formal complaints were lodged with its audience unit, while the RTÉ information office received 37 emails and calls giving negative feedback after Fanning’s appearance on Claire Byrne’s Radio One show last week following Dignam’s death.
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“I listened back to my bit on the radio about Christy Dignam feeling that it wasn’t perhaps as bad as some comments have made out. Comments were right, I was wrong – it was bad,” wrote Fanning.
“I was trying to highlight some deeper issues in Ireland during the eighties and I totally missed the mark. Incredibly ill-timed and poor taste. I really didn’t intend to come across that way.
“Christy was honestly one of the nicest and most genuine people I met in the music business, as are all of Aslan, and I have said that many times down through the years.
“I particularly want to apologise to his family. Christy was ALWAYS a gentleman who deserves better than that from me.”
Fanning had said that while it was a time for “eulogising” Dignam after his death, he didn’t want to “deify the guy, either”. Dignam died last Tuesday following a long battle with amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder associated with certain cancers.
Fanning went on to say on the radio programme that Dignam “blew it”, commenting on the Aslan singer’s struggles with substance abuse and criticising the Finglas native for leaving the band for “five or six years”.
“He blew it royally,” Fanning said. The DJ suggested Dignam had sought to justify his heroin use by revealing he had been abused at the age of six by a neighbour.
“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 doing the best you can with them.
“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 also said that Aslan “never made it outside of Ireland” and that “they didn’t mean a thing elsewhere”.
