Richie Kavanagh is marking a whopping 30 years of his chart-topping hit Aon Focal Eile . The comedy song, written as part of his stage act, went from a local favourite to a national phenomenon after Gerry Ryan picked it up on RTÉ 2fm in 1996. It knocked Take That off the top of the charts, spent seven weeks at No.1, went triple platinum, and earned Richie an IRMA award for Best Single of the Year.
The singer also recently released a book, entitled Richie Kavanagh: Craic, Stories & Songs , which is packed with lyrics, stories and photographs from over the course of his impressive career.
Here, Richie and his son James chat to RSVP Country about his career, his health and how a new generation of people all over the world are discovering Richie’s music.
When his song Aon Focal Eile hit the charts in 1996, Richie was already well-known across much of the country. Having always had a passion for comedy and entertainment, the Carlow native had put together an act, which included his alter ego ‘Johnny’, as part of his comedy routine.
“I had kind of a small success with the local radio stations,” Richie recalled. “I put a little show together, it was basically a comedy show and I had this character Johnny. I used to write sketches and comedy stuff. As part of the comedy show, I wrote Aon Focal Eile .
“One night after a show, an English fella came up to me and said, ‘have you got that song on tape?’ I said, ‘no, I didn’t record one’, and he told me I should. I went and recorded it, and the lads in the studio said, ‘they won’t be playing that on the radio anyway’.
“But Tony Kehoe from South East Radio played it one Saturday morning, and then Gerry Ryan started playing it, and it ended up being No. 1 for seven weeks, with 27 weeks in the top 30. By the time that happened, I was well-known around the country. I was ready to go. I had an act together and I went on tour.”
When fame came knocking on Richie’s door, it was an amazing time for the family. Richie’s son and manager James remembers the glitz and glamour of his dad being in the charts.
“When he got the IRMA award for Best Single of the Year, I was doing my Leaving Cert at the time,” said James. “We were there and the Spice Girls were beside us. I had a great time getting to meet all of these superstars.”
Richie wasn’t only rubbing shoulders with celebrities, but had celebrity fans as well.
“He went to do a gig in Monte Carlo in 1996 and who arrives at the gig, only Jeremy Clarkson,” said James. “He’s had fans come to his gigs that you’d never think would be into his music – Shane McGowan and Niall Horan.”
His book chronicles the famous faces he’s met over the years. Alongside 150 songs and stories, the book contains a treasure chest of memories in the form of rare celebrity photographs, from a fresh-faced Niall Horan at his brother’s Communion, to Shane MacGowan asking Richie for a selfie, to moments with the late Christy Dignam of Aslan. Other surprises include TV favourites Podge and Rodge, and The 2 Johnnies.
The book also carries a foreword from the late broadcaster and songwriter Shay Healy, who called Richie “a true national treasure”.
One could even argue that Richie is an international treasure, because despite the fact that Aon Focal Eile became a big hit 30 years ago, he still has fans all over the world and from all walks of life.
“A man rang me recently and he has a child that’s four years of age who’s non-verbal,” said James. “But he put on Richie’s song Stay Wut Her Johnny one day and now the child watches Richie everyday on YouTube.
“It’s great to hear stories like that, there’s so many special kids who have come to the gigs over the years. There’s so many kids who love Richie’s videos, they’re very much about country life and I think that’s what captures people’s imagination.
“He’s popular even in New Zealand and out to Australia and America. People have paid stupid money to ship his book abroad, which is amazing. It’s great that people are willing to pay that extra few bucks, and he has fans across the world.”
For Richie, he’s delighted he is still reaching people with his music far and wide, and has social media outlets like Facebook, YouTube and TikTok to thank for it.
“All those social media outlets have been very good,” he said. “We had the cassette tapes, and then we had videos, then CDs and DVDs, and they came to an end. I thought that’s the end of that now, people won’t have any way of hearing me or buying new songs. But this internet thing started then and that has made me more popular than I ever was, probably.”
James added: “It’s mad to see after all the years, 30 years, if I bring Richie into Dublin, or if we stopped in Athlone or Roscommon, the minute we’d stop, there’d be lads over asking, ‘How are ya, Richie?’ It used to be autographs, but now it’s a selfie!”
His music and comedy have taken on a new lease of life lately, with other entertainers and musicians reinvigorating the genre. At 76, he is still as relevant and revered by young people in Ireland as ever.
“A lot of young fellas going to secondary school and going on their bus tours sing all my songs,” said Richie. “I do gigs in colleges and places, and they’re mad into the stuff. I think there’s a real resurgence with this sort of stuff, with The Tumbling Paddies and all of that.”
James continued: “That kind of music is coming back. Richie over the years, he’s been in between everything, because he’s not country music but he kind of is. He used to call himself ‘rowdily dowd’ music. He’s kind of in the middle of the whole thing.
“But The Tumbling Paddies and The 2 Johnnies, that’s the kind of area he would have been in music, but there wasn’t an area like that. The 2 Johnnies have been very good on the podcast to have Richie’s t-shirts and CDs up on the walls.”
His videos and songs are still racking up millions of streams worldwide.
“Looking back on Richie’s songs, his most popular song on the downloads now is Chicken Talk , which has 25 million views across the world. The second is usually Stay Wut Her Johnny , then his next most popular is Aon Focal Eile ,” said James.
Looking back on the highlights of his career, meeting fans has always been at the heart of it.
“We love the National Ploughing Championships every year, it’s massive. There’s people coming to the tent every year looking for a new album,” said James.
However, over the years he had to turn some opportunities down too because the timing wasn’t right.
“Britain’s Got Talent rang us and they wanted Richie to go on,” James recalled. “They said, ‘you don’t have to queue, you’ll go straight into the green room, we love your music and your style’. We turned it down. It could have been good but we decided no.”
“If it was Ireland’s Got Talent, I’d have done it straight away, they’d get the craic,” joked Richie.
“Another phone call I got that I turned down was Dancing With The Stars ,” James added.
Three decades down the road, Richie remains as warm and witty as ever. Even after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2010, he continues to “keep the best side out”. His love for writing and performing hasn’t been diminished by the condition.
“I’m doing fairly well,” he said. “My legs are not the best, but other than that I’m doing good. I’m still writing songs as well. I put them out now and again on social media. On days that my voice is good, I set up the camera here and do some comedy and songs.”
You can order Richie’s book, Richie Kavanagh: Craic, Stories & Songs at www.richiekavanagh.ie
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.rsvplive.ie ’
