As well as reaching Number 1 in the Irish Album Charts this year, Dublin band Aslan also celebrated thirty years together in 2012 and to mark the occasion the lads joined us at IMRO last night for a public interview and intimate live performance.
After an entertaining and inspiring chat with RTÉ 2FM presenter, Paddy McKenna, Aslan were presented with an IMRO Number 1 Award by IMRO CEO Victor Finn, in recognition of their latest album, “Nudie Books and Frenchies”, reaching the top spot in the Irish album charts earlier this year. Thirty years is a huge milestone for a band to reach and in recognition of this, IMRO Chairman, Keith Donald, presented Aslan with a plaque featuring iconic images of the band down through the years. The audience of fans and songwriters were then treated to a live performance of some of Aslan’s greatest hits.
Aslan emerged from the working class areas of Finglas and Ballymun in Dublin’s Northside, in the 1980s. They released a demo single, ‘This Is’, in the Spring of 1986, which was a huge hit and became the longest ever play-listed single on Ireland’s pop radio station, RTÉ 2fm. After a rapid rise to fame, they infamously imploded in the late 1980’s but received a second bite of the cherry just a few years later.
What was supposed to be a one-off charity gig in July 1993 in Finglas reignited the spark and Aslan landed a new record deal with BMG. Their single, “Crazy World”, entered the charts at Number 4 and became one of the most played songs on Irish radio that year. Its release was followed by their Gold-selling album, ‘Goodbye Charlie Moonhead’. Since then Aslan have gone from strength to strength, releasing a series of gold and platinum selling albums and continuing to perform to their armies of loyal fans.
