UH/1343

Phil Coulter to aid Omagh's £1.8m youth sport scheme

MUSIC marvel Phil Coulter is to follow his net worked BBC TV Bank Holiday extravaganza from Derry's Guildhall next month with a two-hour show at Omagh Leisure Complex in aid of Youth Sport Omagh Limited.
His special guest stars on Wednesday, May 31, will be singer, songwriter and guitarist, Ralph McTell, and local girl, Claire Gallagher, who featured on the Derryman's Tranquility Gold CD, with the tune Carrickfergus.
"I am absolutely thrilled that Ralph has been able to join me. He is the man when it comes to contemporary folk writing," said Coulter. "He is a giant in his field. We have worked together before, and have written together. We are good friends.
"Ralph's 'Streets Of London' defined one part of the world for an era, in the same way I like to think I did for another part of the world with 'The Town I Loved So Well. 'Streets' is a classic, one of the true standards of the last 50 years, and his 'From Clare to Here' ranks right up there with it.
Going on to welcome on board young Omagh pianist, Claire Gallagher, horrifically blinded in the town centre bombing of August 1998, Coulter said he was looking forward to a very special night.
He continued: "Claire has brought great credit to Omagh with her indomitable spirit. She is a role model to a whole generation in Northern Ireland. Her ability to put the past and the great trauma that blighted her life behind her and focus on the future is quite astonishing.
"In the course of the past 18 months we have played together in quite a few exotic spots, notably at the White House on St. Patrick's Day 1999. We have developed a fulfilling relationship, which, I believe, has shone a little light into her darkness. Claire and her family are very special people, a very spirited family."
It is the Omagh girl's first major home date, although she has played in the past at the Culloden Hotel and at a number of venues with the Omagh Community Youth Choir. Claire also played for Manchester United when her heroes where in her home town for a charity match last August.
Coulter said his two guest stars would bring completely different strengths to the programme he was preparing, which could well overrun to two hours, 15 minutes, but said he expected to be on stage throughout the greater part of the show.
"We have still to work on the various contributions, but I can say I am genuinely looking forward to being back in Omagh for the first time in 12 years. Having Ralph McTell on the bill is an added attraction, and Claire absolutely seals the occasion," he smiled.
The 58-year-old Derry genius, whose 'Highland Cathedral' CD has just rocketed to No. 6 in the USA's World Music Charts, is bringing his one-man show to the town to support the realisation of a dream for Youth Sport directors.
He says he is delighted to be associated with the £1.8m cross-community concept.
"Cross-community projects are terribly important, as is young people taking part across the religious divide. They must learn to share this piece of land we have, and also their cultures. Sharing in sport is a great way of bonding and of breaking down taboos," he added.
Coulter comes to Omagh fresh from presenting his one-man show at the 3,500 seater Denver Symphony Hall, and insists he will stage the same programme for the 1,200 patrons expected to crowd into the local Leisure Complex.
"It is a show I have toured with for some time now," he said. "Obviously it will include material from the Tranquility series. It is part of my body of work, part and parcel of what I do. People reacted positively then and, 14 albums later, they continue to respond."
'Sea of Tranquility', the second album in the series went on to become the biggest selling work in Irish music history, while Classic Tranquility', which launched a modern-day phenomenon, remains the second highest seller.
'Highland Cathedral1 goes on sale here this month and features, among others, Different Drums of Ireland, The New Age Chamber Orchestra, and Dublin's Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band.
Of course the famed musician first sprang to fame in the 60s with the 1967 Eurovision winner, 'Puppet on A String'.
"I was fortunate to be involved in the contest's formative years with songs such as 'Congratulations' for Cliff Richard, and 'All Kinds of Everything' for Dana in 1970, but now I think the event is a parody of itself. I look in now for the show's curiosity value only," claimed Coulter.
Tickets for the Omagh show, priced £16, are available from Omagh Leisure Complex, the Bawnacre Centre in Irvinestown, Actif Sport, Omagh, Island Records, Enniskillen, and Route 66, Omagh