The Fureys, one of Ireland’s all-time most acclaimed and influential middle of the road, folk and traditional bands will be appearing at The Savoy Theatre in Monmouth early next month.
Fureys, classics such as I Will Love You, When You Were Sweet 16, Red Rose Café, and The Green Fields of France have become the soundtrack to the lives of fans all over the world.
The Fureys, indelible musical footprint is rivalled only by their vast collection of personal stories of their musical experiences and friendships, gathered by Eddie and George Furey along an amazing 48-year journey which shows no signs of reaching a final destination.
The oldest of the brothers, Eddie Furey left home in 1966 and travelled to Scotland at the time of the great folk revival where with his brother Finbar, he met and shared accommodation with then unknown folk singers Billy Connolly, Gerry Rafferty, Tam Harvey and Alex Campbell, now all famous in their own right. In 1969 Eddie and Finbar were the special guests for the Clancy Brothers throughout the USA and Canada.
By 1976, George, Paul, Davey Arthur and Brendan Leeson were playing with their own band, the Buskers in Denmark. Eddie and Finbar, while touring in Germany were involved in a road accident. When their brothers got news of the accident, they immediately travelled to Germany to be with them. They then decided that they should all be playing together and this was the start of the Fureys and Davey Arthur
They are particularly proud of their UK chart success with songs such as I Will Love You and When You Were Sweet Sixteen, which in turn helped bring Irish folk and traditional music to a completely new audience.
Inevitably changes have occurred over the years. Their brother Paul died suddenly in June 2002, Finbar left the band in December 1996 and Davey has a stroke in March 2014 which he is still recovering from. However, George and Eddie have continued to delight audiences on their tours and releasing CDs.
The Fureys will be performing all of their best loved songs in The Savoy Theatre, Monmouth on Thursday, May 9.