Aslan aim to 'blow the roof off' in Athlone
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Aslan are set to make an appearance in The Venue in Athlone on Saturday, October 5. The legendary Irish band are fresh off an Australian tour and a surprise performance with Coldplay in front of a sold-out Croke Park.
Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, Aslan's Billy McGuinness said: “We've always has a great response from Athlone. Our last gig there was in the Hodson Bay Hotel. We're ready to blow the roof off The Venue. Bring it on!”
When asked what it has been like performing since the passing of the band's lead singer, Christy Dignam, in 2023, Billy said the loss hit the band hard.
“When Christy passed we had been 40 years in the band with him – we didn't know if we would continue.
“We had to do a lot of soul searching, and we came to a decision that yes we would continue, and everything fell into place.”
Outlining what the audience can expect from the upcoming Athlone show, Billy said: “The show is pretty electric. It's full on. There's songs we've never performed with Christy, there's new songs, there's songs we've dug up from old albums.
“Everybody knows 'Crazy World', but we've got six albums of great music.”
Speaking about Lee Tomkins, the new lead singer of Aslan, Billy said: “He found us actually! We were in the studio, and we didn't know what way we would approach it.”
Lee, a 37-year-old Finglas native, says he grew up listening to Aslan as a child, and performing with them has been the honour of his life.
“The lads have a great sense of humour, and it has been very welcoming,” he said.
Billy explained that “the whole dynamic of the band has changed” since Lee joined them. “The gigs have been well-received,” he added.
The band are just back from their Australian tour, and were welcomed home by 80,000 people in Croke Park as they performed alongside Coldplay.
Explaining how the performance came about, Billy said it had actually been planned over a month in advance.
“A month before Australia we were asked to play – but we had to keep everything under wraps. If it leaked online, it wasn't going to happen. They asked us not to perform an Aslan song at the soundcheck on the Sunday."
“It was a bit surreal,” Lee added. “We had only gotten back from Australia. You're jet-lagged and you're going to Croke Park to perform with Coldplay! The response from the crowd was phenomenal.”
The crowd in Croke Park was the biggest Aslan have ever performed in front of. “The second biggest was in 1987, when we opened for David Bowie in Slane,” Billy said.
The band also have exciting news for fans, as they revealed they are working on new music. “We're working on new material... We love music, and we love performing too much to stop.”
Tickets for Aslan in The Venue are available on Eventbrite, and are priced at €30 each.