On the Town: Watching Christy Dignam on stage is "unreal", according to one fan, Rob Smith, from Terenure. Dignam, lead singer with veteran Dublin band Aslan, always sings in his bare feet, using his whole body to interpret songs.
"He has a very unique way of performing," said Smith. Graham Quinn (16) from Clonsilla, agreed, saying "Dignam is a genius on stage . . . He's like a character in a film".
Fans of Dignam - and of Aslan - packed into the venue, Sin, on Sycamore Street, Temple Bar, this week to applaud This is . . . Christy Dignam, the singer's biography written with Neil Fetherstonhaugh. Dignam, who didn't sing at this particular gig, signed books and thanked his friends for supporting him.
Alan Smyth, actor, and producer with Gúna Nua Theatre Co of the Tom Stoppard play, The Real Thing, which is running at Andrews Lane Theatre until Saturday, June 5th, came to the book launch with actor Pauline Hutton. They are both enthusiastic fans of Dignam. Singers Finbar Furey and Don Baker also wished Dignam well.
Aslan, who formed in 1982, are still together because the band continues to write its own songs, according to the group's guitarist Billy McGuinness. Their seventh album is due out next January, he says, and the first single from this album, Shine a Light, will be released in July. He was there with other band members, Joe Jewell, who has known Christy Dignam since they made their First Communion together in Finglas, bass player Tony McGuinness and drummer Alan Downey. They were looking forward to heading to Arklow, Co Wicklow, tonight, where they play the Tunnell nightclub. After the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Royston Brady, officially launched the book, it was time to mingle and have fun.
This is . . . Christy Dignam, by Christy Dignam, with Neil Fetherstonhaugh, is published by Merlin Publishing