Rihanna may have performed at Dublin’s Aviva stadium last night, but the hottest ticket in town wasn’t for her gig.
In the much smaller Olympia theatre, the cream of the Irish music industry took part in A Night For Christy, a benefit concert for Christy Dignam, the lead singer of Aslan, one of Ireland’s best-loved veteran rock bands, who has cancer.
Top of the bill wasn't an Irish band in the flesh, however – it was a live stream relayed from U2's New York-based recording studio. The band is putting the finishing touches to their forthcoming album, but made time to perform an emotionally charged version of Aslan's chart-topping single, This Is.
“U2 don’t really know us,” says Dignam’s long-standing band mate and best friend, Billy McGuinness, some hours before last night’s show. “But they’re doing this because they want to. We both started around the same time – them in the late 70s and us in the early 80s. The difference is that U2 went through the roof and Aslan went into the gutter!”
Cancer diagnosis
In March, Dignam was diagnosed with cancer (melanoma) and amyloidosis (a potentially life-threatening condition caused by an abnormal protein that enters tissues or organs). Now out of hospital, Dignam has weekly appointments in Beaumont Hospital and occasional appointments in a specialist centre in the UK. With all monies raised going towards Dignam's hospital bills, the cast list for last night's show was a who's who of Irish acts.
Those taking part and covering Aslan songs (and songs associated with them) included The Coronas' Danny O'Reilly (Hurt Sometimes), Horslips (Different Man), Mary Black and Don Mescall (Too Late for Hallelujah), Bressie (Angie), Paul Brady (We Did), Tom Dunne (Rainman), Gavin Friday (Five Years), Steve Wall (Pretty Thing), former Westlife member Mark Fehilly with the Dublin Gospel Choir (Where's the Sun), Jedward (She's so Beautiful) and, via video, Damien Dempsey (Bullets & Diamonds).
“It’s about a night for our band’s lead singer, who is going through a tough time at the moment,” said McGuinness. “Is it going to be Aslan’s last time on stage? Who knows?”
The emotive yet jubilant evening concluded with the all-star cast, including Dignam's daughter, Kiera, belting out This Time and – with the surprise appearance of a frail but clearly resilient Christy on lead vocals – Crazy World.
Between the levels of goodwill, respect, regards and fan-love, there was hardly a dry eye in the house.
