Mick Foster and Tony Allen, well known as the musical duo Foster and Allen, told David Hennessy about their new album that celebrates half a century of music.
It is 50 years this year since Foster and Allen got started.
The duo are marking the milestone of their 50th anniversary with the release of their highly anticipated new collection, 50 AT 50.
Available from 28 February, the landmark album celebrates five decades of music and friendship with a handpicked selection of their most beloved hits, alongside 14 brand-new recordings combining to take fans on a journey through their illustrious career.
Foster and Allen are well known for tracks like A Bunch of Thyme, Maggie, and Old Flames.
Established in 1975, the duo started playing cabaret venues in Ireland and the UK before their big break came in 1978 with A Bunch of Thyme. The song had a long stay in the Irish charts and although it was not until years later, it was also their breakthrough song in the UK. They produced another hit in Old Flames before they released Maggie, the song that brought them international recognition.
Foster and Allen then had international success and toured far away territories such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada but it all began for them here in London.
They have sold millions in the UK alone, regularly touring here and their albums still chart in the UK.
Other highlights include duets with acclaimed singer-songwriter Derek Ryan (“In The Good Old Days”) and the uplifting voices of the Dancezone Stage School Choir.
The duo have also collaborated with a host of young stars such as Shayne Ward and Nathan Carter while they have also worked with Daniel O’Donnell, Gloria Hunniford and the London Irish Pensioners Choir.
How does it feel to be talking about 50 years, can you believe it?
Mick: “It’s fairly strange because you’re not supposed to last 50 years in our business and I suppose at the level we are, you’re definitely not supposed to be lasting that far, but we’re not going to question it.
“We’re more than delighted to have 50 years behind us.”
Tony: “Well it’s hard to believe that it is 50 years.
“It doesn’t seem like 50 years.
“We’ve been in a lot of places, played a lot of tunes, met a lot of people and it’s hard to believe that it is actually (50 years).
“If someone said it was 30 years or 35 years you’d say ‘alright’ but 50 is a long time to be in the same job but it’s good to have it.”
Mick: “Whether we get another 50 years now is anyone’s guess.”
Tony: “I doubt that very much but we’ll keep going anyway as long as we can.”
You started in London and have always had that support from here, haven’t you?
Tony: “It all started in London 50 years ago.
“But yeah, we’ve always had a great relationship with the radio and television in the UK, they’ve always kept us alive there.
“And of course our biggest show ever was Top of the Pops and that set us up for concerts and has kept us alive all over the years.
“We’ve got radio plays from Terry Wogan, Gloria Hunniford, every one of them have played the music.
“They’re still playing the music and it’s keeping us alive so there’s no harm.
“And it’s not a big deal to fly over to England and spend a couple of weeks on the road.
“In fact, it’s very enjoyable and we’re looking forward to Scotland now.”
Mick: “Tony and myself were playing music and we going to primary school and we were just lucky enough that everything fell into place for us over the years.
“And if everything folded in the morning, we’d still be playing and singing so it’s a way of life more than a job.”
You just mentioned Top of the Pops there. That was with Bunch of Thyme and Maggie.
Did you know how big these songs were going to be for you?
Tony: “Not really because we’d been doing all these songs for years and years at home and even in the Irish clubs and Irish pubs in England.
“But no and once it got a few radio plays and it just took off.
“I think we had about five or six singles that made the top 30, top 40 in England and I think that’s a fair achievement for any ballad group or folk group or easy listening group.
“There was always a very, very, very big amount of Irish and easy listening music in the British chart so it was no big deal when you think of it that way that the people took to the music because they’ve always liked that type of stuff in in the UK, both the English audience and the Irish audience.”
Do you still enjoy playing the popular ones like Bunch of Thyme and Maggie? Do they never get old for you?
Mick: “No, the audience reaction would keep you going.
“The minute they hear them, they start singing with you.
“When you see how much they’re enjoying it, it rubs off on you.”
Tony: “We always like doing them.
“We were doing them before they became hits so we’re still enjoying doing them.
“The other thing is we never record something we don’t like.
“Like everything we do, we love playing them and we love singing it and, as Mick says, once the crowds still like it, you have to enjoy it.
“You can’t but react to what they’re like.”
You spoke of Top of the Pops, is that one of your greatest highlights?
Tony: “Well, for me, it definitely would be the top.
“I was a huge Top of the Pops fan before we ever got near it.
“I mean, I always watched Top of the Pops.
“Top of the Pops and The Monkees were the two big shows that I always wanted to get home from school in time to watch.
“Top of the Pops was massive.
“It’s probably the biggest show ever in British television.
“Everybody, all ages, at some stage, watched Top of the Pops.
“And that night we had the Boomtown Rats and Dexter’s Midnight Runners and the Gombay Dance Band and Adam and the Ants so there was a huge collection of different types of music.
“That was a good thing about Top of the Pops.
“You could be number one in the UK with a song and you might never be heard of again.
“I mean, the Goombay Dance Band were kind of an example of that.
“We haven’t heard much about them.
“They were number one that night but we haven’t heard much about them since.
“But that’s the way it goes and that’s the good side of it for us.
“Every year we’ve had an album in the British charts so the English audience has been very, very good to us.
“Really good.”
It wasn’t such a highlight for you though, Mick, isn’t that right?
Mick: “Well I had never seen Top of the Pops until I was on it because I was more into Irish and Scottish music and traditional Irish music.
“The highlight for me was getting to meet and play with Jimmy Shand as in Sir Jimmy Shand, as he became.
“He had a huge hit all over the world with a tune called the Bluebell Polka back in 1955 and I was a fan since I was six or seven years of age and it was great to actually meet him and play with them.
“We recorded a track with him but with that, you can definitely keep Top of the Pops as far as I’d be concerned after that.”
The new album includes the poignant duet Flying Without Wings with Martin Finn, a remarkable young man with severe non-verbal autism.
Tony: “Martin can’t talk, he can’t communicate.
“He can sing like a thrush. He’s a fabulous singer.
“He came over to Ireland, I suppose it’s six months ago now since we started recording this.
“Himself and his mum and dad stayed over and we went into the studio.
“I, first of all, went in and I put down the track for this song and sent it to him and he just learned it word for word.
“He had no problem whatsoever.
“He seems to be able to sing in any key, any song.
“Anything he wants, he can do it.
“As I said he can’t talk, he can’t communicate but he just goes around singing all the time.”
It shows the power of music that he can use it to communicate..
Tony: “Well, I was asking his father and mother how he came to sing and they said they brought him to Lourdes one time and they didn’t want to bring him into the crowds because they weren’t sure how he would react.
“I think he was only about six or seven and when he heard the music, he just stopped and he started (singing).
“From there on, he started singing and he hasn’t stopped since.
“I think he’s 33 or 34 now so it’s an amazing gift to have.
“And when you see him and see the enjoyment he gets out of it…
“He just goes around all day singing to himself.
“It’s just an amazing thing.
“Absolutely brilliant.”
It was probably a similar thing when you did a couple of songs with the London Irish Pensioners Choir..
Tony: “That was a prime example.
“All those people were, most of them were just living on their own and all of a sudden they discovered there was a choir nearby.
“They went to join it and once they started singing, they had a load of friends and a load of music that they could enjoy.
“I think some of them have passed on now but they’re still going strong.
“These are all things that are very important in life.”
Let’s talk about your own influence. You’re noted as being inspirations for the likes of The Corrs, Daniel O’Donnell, the Pogues even, is that something you’re very proud of?
Tony: “We were very lucky to be in before all them.
“It was great because once that type of music broke into the charts and got going, people like the Pogues were going to get played, and like Daniel. As I said, The Corrs because they started as a trad band as well.
“They would be very, very, very influenced by traditional music.
“It’s great that they knew before they started that there was somebody to play the music and that there was someone to listen to it. So they all had a fighting chance thanks be to God.
“It was great times, great times for music.”
It must be a great source of pride that you influenced someone like The Pogues..
Tony: “Yeah, it was great because, as I said, we were getting played on the radio.
“We were an Irish band.
“We were playing a lot of traditional stuff as well as easy listening music.
“And of course, they came along then and gave it a whole new feel and a new interest for the people and it was great that they at least recognised us and they remembered us.
“That’s what it’s all about.
“In this business you influence a lot of people, whether you like it or not. It can be good or it can be bad but we’re glad to say that whatever we did was fairly good.”
Shane MacGowan spoke to you about seeing you play when he was very young…
Mick: “His mother was from county Tipperary and when they would be over on holidays and if we were playing in the area, she’d bring Shane along to hear us.
“This is when he was a young fella, say maybe 12 or 13.
“We wouldn’t have known about it only he told us one of the times that we were with him that his mother used to bring him to Kennedys of Puckane.
“It was just outside Nenagh and that’s where he heard us first.”
You spent a lot of time with Shane…
Mick: “We met him loads of times and Moyra, my wife, and myself, we played accordion and piano on one of his tracks, probably one of his last tracks that he recorded before he died.
“We’ve gone around with a lot of fellas and we’ve recorded with a lot of lads from Jimmy Shand to the Chieftains, Gloria Hunniford.
“Our new single is Derek Ryan’s song and he did it with us so we’ve got around on a lot of people.”
Tony: “It’s great to work with these young people.
“I mean, Derek is probably one of the finest singer- songwriters that has ever come out of Ireland.
“And a few years back, we recorded with Nathan Carter.
“And then a few years further back, we had a great time with Shayne Ward.
“We did Galway Girl with Shayne and really, really enjoyed that.
“And Shayne has gone from strength.
“Well, of course he had won The X Factor at that stage.
“And he’s been in Strictly.
“He’s been in loads, Coronation Street and a whole lot of things.
“And we still keep in touch which is nice.
“We still keep in touch with each other which is really good.”
You mentioned Nathan there, Nathan was there with you at the Irish World awards back in 2017..
Tony: “That’s right, that’s a while back here. God be with the days.”
Mick: “I used his accordion that night.
“I rang him to see could I use his accordion because I knew he was over there on tour.
“It saved me the bother of hawking one on my back so I used his accordion that night as well.”
Irish music is having a real moment with acts such as Fontaines D.C., Lankum, and Kneecap bringing Irish music back to the forefront of cultural conversation.
What’s your take on the condition of Irish music at the moment?
Tony: “I think Irish music in general is in a great place.
“I mean, some of the amazing talents coming out at the moment… There’s some great country singers and the trad music is in a great place.
“I think the scene is changing.
“The dancing has probably nearly gone at this stage but there’s a huge concert scene coming up and there’s people like The Tumbling Paddies and The Whistlin’ Donkeys and people like that. They’re packing in places.
“The festivals in Ireland the last 10 or 15 years have been unbelievable. You’re talking 4- 6, 000 people at a festival so nobody can say that the business is in a bad place.
“It’s just not the same as it was when people went out every Friday, Saturday, Sunday to dance but they’re still going out and the young people are still jiving like mad.
“So it’s still in a very, very good place.”
The Mary Wallopers are another band who are delving into the canon of old Irish music to make something new out of it. It’s very much what you have always done, isn’t it?
Tony: “I was just gonna say: This has happened a good few times.
“The Clancy Brothers did it back in the 50s.
“The Dubliners did it in the 60s.
“The Wolfe Tones have been doing it for 60 years.
“We did it in the 80s and 90s and now the Mary Wallopers and the Tumbling Paddies, they’re all doing well.
“It’s great music, you can’t kill it.
“It’s not going to go away so the young people are giving it a new feel and a new sound.
“The Pogues did it.
“In fairness to the Pogues, they wrote a lot of original stuff themselves but they still kept that feel of the old Irish music and song but it’s still alive.”
Did you always know you were going to play music?
Mick: “More or less, as was saying earlier on, we were playing music when we were going to primary school.
“So the first thing was to play the music whether we ever became successful and went professional or whatever, that was a secondary thing when we started playing.
“And if anything happened that everything finished tomorrow, both Tony and myself would keep playing.
“It will be the last thing we do hopefully.”
If someone had told you 50 years ago that you would be here with this album now, what would you have said?
Mick: “Well, we’d have been probably shocked because the original plan was, if it was possible, to be able to make a living just playing music without having to have day jobs as well which both of us had.
“And in ’77, we went professional and that was it.
“And then, of course, when the records started going into the British charts at the end of ’81, that changed everything.”
Foster and Allen: 50 AT 50 is out now.
Foster and Allen tour Ireland until March and tour Scotland in April.
For more information, click here.