Short Biography and Press Release - 1st November 2006
TADHG* COOKE - Live At Saint Kevin's
* Tadhg is pronounced like "TIGER" without the "ER" sound.
Live At Saint Kevin's is the new live album from Irish recording artist Tadhg Cooke. Recorded live in a living room in Dublin's inner city, this record captures the intimacy of a living room concert, in the vein of the now well-established house concerts in the US. Accompanied by Lorcan Cosgrave on violin, Clare Finglass on vocals and David Geraghty on vocals and guitar, Live At Saint Kevin's is one to savour. It's out now.
Wax & Seal, Tadhg Cooke's debut from 2005 (described by Hot Press as a "confident, impressive debut") led to a ream of TV appearances, local and national radio sessions, international radio coverage and excellent press throughout the year. Cooke's jazz-tinged acoustic pop has been described as "eminently likeable, utterly enviable. **** " by The Irish Times. Tadhg also appeared recently as a guest vocalist on "Flock", BellX1's number one album.
Having shared the stage with the cream of the Irish crew (Damien Rice, BellX1, Glen Hansard, Mundy) and top international acts (The Troggs and Paul Carrack of Ace, Squeeze and Mike & The Mechanics), Cooke's place on the scene has been confirmed by appearances at the Electric Picnic (twice in one year) and Hard Working Class Heroes, Bud Rising, Tennants Live & other festivals within and without the country. "Wax & Seal" is due for release in Japan on November 19th 2006 on the VIVO label alongside The Chieftains, Altan, Donal Lunny, Liam O'Maonlaí and Kíla to mention a few.
Taken from the sleevenotes of Live At Saint Kevin's....
The Scene
On a cold February evening, thirty people arrived at an address in Dublin's city centre for a secretive and intimate live performance. The players would be mere inches away from the audience. An atmosphere musicians thrive in. The audience, melted together by our collective body heat, were crammed into the living room on chairs, stools, futons and cushions.
Live At Saint Kevin's captures one of our intimate living room performances from 2006 for your listening pleasure. There are no edits, cuts or overdubs here. This is audio verité. You can hear glasses clinking, the faint thud of a falling foot, and other sounds associated with a living breathing audience. We hope you enjoy listening to these songs as much as we enjoyed playing them on that night in Dublin.
"Tadhg Cooke's solo debut crisscrosses so many terrains that your musical compass may quiver with the sheer magnetic challenge of Wax & Seal" (4/5 stars) - Siobhan Long, The Irish Times
"Cooke's voice immediately grabs you. Soft yet strong, it's got that Jeff Buckley quality to it that most vocalists crave." - Steve Cummins, Hot Press
"Success and acclaim is very much his for the taking." - Tanya Sweeney, HotPress
"Our favourite new singer/songwriter" - Miriam O'Callaghan, Saturday Night with Miriam
Over the last few years, Tadhg has supported & shared stage and screen with these artists and more : BellX1, The Troggs, Emm Gryner, Mundy, Paul Carrack (Squeeze, Ace, Mike & The Mechanics), Sonny Condell (Tir Na N'Og, Scullion), Damien Dempsey & Sinéad O'Connor, Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan, The 4 of Us, Glen Hansard (The Frames), Scullion, Mic Christopher,David Geraghty, The Rotators, Q & the Hallucinations (a.k.a. Colm Quearney - LIR, Dragonfly), Ronán O´Snódaigh (Kila), Jerry Fish (Jerry Fish & the Mudbug Club, An Emotional Fish) & Conor Brady, Ollie Cole (Turn), The Twomanband (featuring Bob Tooke & Jem Finer of The Pogues), Brian Kennedy, Phil Coulter, The Walls, David Hopkins, Maria Doyle Kennedy and band, Jenny Lindfors, Jessie & Layla, Roesy, Freddie White, Fred, Stanley Super 800, John Spillane & Louis De Paor, Matt Lunson, Duke Special, Bronco Billie (Bronagh Gallagher)... There are really too many to mention, although I have made a stab at it.
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Design and maintenance copyright of Tadhg Cooke 2007