Fascinated with Gearóid Farrelly

In 1998 my friend Niamh Kavanagh was making an album and she recorded some cover versions of a Canadian singer songwriter Jann Arden. I then listened to Jann's orignal versions and I have been hooked ever since. Jann Arden is a huge recording artist in Canada and had international success in 1994 with her "Living Under June" album. She has just released her 14th album "These Are The Days" and has...

In this episode I got to meet up with 90s RnB pop goddess Michelle Gayle. But as you can see from the photo below myself and Michelle Gayle are old friends. I won a competition to meet her back in the mid-ninties and because I was under eighteen I had to bring my Dad. Michelle was a struggling singer who became an actress and then a very successful singer. Sh appeared in Eastenders and in the spac...

A teaser for the new season of Fascinated with Gearóid Farrelly. The season starts on Wednesday 2nd May 2018. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Comebacks (Part 2): Deirdre O’Kane The Fascinated Live show as the Dublin Podcast Festival was an embarrassment of riches. In part one I was joined by fabulous Singer/Songwriter Naimee Coleman and in part two the fantastic Deirdre O’Kane. This is interview is proof if it was needed that Deirdre is very very funny. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Comebacks (Part 1) This is the first half of a show recorded live at the Dublin Podcast Festival 2017 with guests Deirdre O’Kane and Naimee Coleman. In this episode Naimee Coleman picks up where she left off in our last chat where she had decided to get back to writing and playing music having taken time out to have children.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015 between the Marriage Referendum results and the American Supreme Court Ruling a video of a romantic proposal was shared on the Huffington Post website. It was one of those videos that melt your heart before you’ve even got out of bed. But aside from the romance of the whole thing one of the guys was very familiar.  Craig Young a member of the fleeting 90s pop group; Deuce.  In an episode t...

In this episode Gearoid heads to London to meet Ben Adams. Ben is a music producer and songwriter. He has written and produced hits for some of today’s brightest stars. But Ben is probably best know for having the most famous pair of curtains in pop. Ben is a member of the boyband a1. They […] La entrada Ep 29: Same Old Brand New Ben with Ben Adams from A1 se publicó primero en Headstuff. Learn mo...

Actor James Dreyfus has just finished a 5 year run in the series “Mount Pleasant”. Gearoid visited him at his home in London to chat about his career which has included some iconic british comedies. He recalls his first professional job in Panto with Graham Norton. A star turn in in Jennifer Saunders’ hit series “Absolutely Fabulous” led to his casting opposite Rowan Atkinson in Ben Elton’s “The T...

In 2010 Chely Wright became the first major country music star to come out as gay. In this episode Gearoid talks to Chely Wright about the struggle to be authentic and the price you pay when you are not. Since the age of 4 Chely has wanted to be a country music star. At 18 she moved to Nashville to follow her dream. Her dreams came true and she achieved more success than she had ever dreamed. But...

It is two years since Ireland voted in favour of a constitutional change to allow gay people to marry.  It was a monumental step for gay rights. But the run up to referendum was a difficult time for LGBTQIA people when even simply watching a youtube video meant you had to endure an anti-equality message.  This episode contains clips of interviews with three people you won’t have heard of who each...

Gearóid meets athlete Oliver Dingley the olympic diver who changed nations to become the first diver in sixty eight years to represent Ireland in the Olympic games. He then made history by becoming the first Irish diver to make it to the final finishing a very respectable eighth position. In order to compete for Ireland Oliver had to make big sacrifices.  He moved to Ireland with his coach and he...

In this episode Gearoid travels to Henley on Thames to pay a visit T’pau singer and 80s rock queen Carol Decker. We take a nostalgic look back at her glory days and chat about everything from fridges to “The Killing”. In the 80s Carol Decker and her former partner Ronnie Rogers shared a damp flat in which they wrote songs chasing their dream of superstardom which remained elusive for six years. Th...

Kelle Bryan’s fascinating story is one of eternal resilience. In 1992 Kelle Bryan went underage clubbing with her friend Louise and dramatically changed the course of both their lives. At the time they both were studying at the famed Italia Conti stage school. Louise was spotted by a record producer who was putting together an R&B band. She roped in her friend Kelle and Eternal was born. Within th...

A teaser for the new season of Fascinated with Gearóid Farrelly. The season starts on Wednesday 12th April 2017. You can catch up on all 23 previous episodes over on the HeadStuff Podcast Network. You can check out the full video promo right here. La entrada Fascinated New Season Promo: Listen Here se publicó primero en Headstuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shelly Poole and her sister Karen work independently of each other as much sought-after hit-writers for today’s pop acts. But their success began jointly as hit makers themselves; lining up the soldiers and shooting them all down from 1996 to 2001. Their career began in their friends attic where their band Alisha’s Attic was born. They racked up hit after hit before consciously uncoupling after th...

In this special episode, food-writer Lilly Higgins and former White-House correspondent Gina London join Gearoid for the first “Fascinated – Live”. This show was recorded in front of an audience in the green room of the Cork Opera House as part of the Cork Comedy festival. Gina tells Gearoid about reporting live from the White House, fleeing Egypt and the danger of hot microphones. Lilly and Gearo...

Jo Youle has lived two lifetimes. In the 90s she was part of the band Scarlet who had a massive hit with the song “Independent Love Song”. Her life was writing and recording music and a whirlwind of promotion, photoshoots and the terrifying prospect of playing live to huge audiences.  Alongside her music career Jo also worked as a volunteer at the Samaritans. Scarlet’s pop stardom ended, after the...

Mo Gaffney from Absolutely Fabulous joins Gearoid to chat about comedy, her career and put the world to rights. Mo is a very respected actress, writer, comedian and activist. She began her career as part of a double act with Kathy Najimy with whom she wrote two smash hit off-Broadway shows; Parallel Lives and The Dark Side which were subsequently were filmed for HBO and won a string of awards. She...

In this episode Gearoid (with a little help.. ok a lot of help from Dave Moore)  tracks down Irish singer songwriter to find out what became of the Dundrum songstress after her second album. Naimee made her first record soon after she left school and her debut album “Silver Wrists” was a hit in Ireland and around Europe and had hits with “Care About You”, “Ruthless Affection” and “Sometimes”.  No-...

In this episode Gearoid heads to Cobh (the new Kinsale) to chat to “Great Irish Bake-Off” judge Lilly Higgins. Lilly is a food writer, chef and photographer with a background in art and design. With a CV like that it is no surprise that her books are so beautiful. Once it is established that Lilly is not in a girlband they chat about her new venture into the world of food production. Gearóid learn...

In 1998 the Spice girls were busy dealing with over-exposure and the departure of Geri Halliwell.  Their crown was deftly snatched away by an Irish foursome who jigged and twinkled their way to the top of the charts pumping out hit after hit.  B*witched struck hard and fast and world domination followed. For Edele it was the beginning of a punishing schedule and unrelenting hard work. A few years...

If you were a child of 80s Ireland, Bosco was almost certainly a big part of your childhood. Bosco has now been off the air for 20 years, and there hasn’t been a new episode in 30. Yet, Bosco remains as much a part of our Irish identity as the shamrock or stew. In her first ever interview, Gearóid talks to Paula Lambert who has been the hand and voice behind Bosco since the early 80s.  They chat a...

In this episode Gearóid chats to two stars in the making; Mark Ronson’s latest protege Keyone Starr (vocalist on his grammy winning album) and Dubliner Hallie Ridgeway. Keyone Starr has already caught the attention of Mark Ronson when he travelled the bible belt in search of a gospel singer for his song “I Can’t Lose”. He was blown away by her voice and she recorded the track on his grammy winning...

Two-time Olivier nominated Navan-man Killian Donnelly is one of the West-End’s brightest stars. His versatile singing voice has helped him rack up numerous starring roles on the London stage. He has also appeared in the movie of “Les Miserables” (correct Navan pronunciation please!) and performed at the Oscars. Last year he was nominated for an Olivier award for the role of Hughey in “Memphis The...

In this episode Gearoid chats to singer songwriter Marcella Detroit who is well-known for her solo records and her time in Shakespears Sister (sic). Before she was a recording artist in her own right she was also a respected songwriter, session singer and backing vocalist working with greats such as Aretha Franklin, Better Midler, Burt Bacharach, Belinda Carlisle and many more. She toured extensiv...