Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TRUE TO THEMSELVES
Delorentos
It seems like a lifetime ago now, but Delorentos’ Kieran Mcguinness can still vividly recall the exact moment he vowed to put his heavy partying days firmly behind him.
It was back in the late noughties and the Dublin four-piece felt like they were on top of the world thanks to the huge success of their debut album, In Love with Detail.
The singer and guitarist told The Beat: “I don’t think any human in that situation wouldn’t get a bit silly.”
There might’ve been your typical drugs and rock ‘n’ roll vibe – but, as far as Kieran was concerned, it was definitely without the sex element.
You can forget about asking him for juicy stories about groupies and promiscuous one-night stands.
Even before hitting the big time, Kieran was head over heals in love with his wife-to-be and future mother of his child, Emily Aylmer. She herself was a backing singer with the Republic of Loose.
The wild partying days abruptly ended one night when Kieran crawled into bed after a hard day’s night and Emily (inset) looked him straight in the eyes and told him some home truths.
Picking up the story, Kieran revealed: “She said, ‘What were you up to?’ kind of thing. And I said nothing. And she said, ‘You were smoking. You were drinking. And you did this’.
“And I said, ‘I wasn’t’. And then she turned on the light and she said, ‘I know when you’re lying. Don’t ever lie to me again’. I think that was a wake up call. I went cold turkey on the smokes. I had tried to give up cigarettes about 100 times.”
The “this” she was referring to was presumably cocaine?
Holding up his hand, Kieran confessed: “Listen, I dabbled. It was very rock ‘n’ roll for a while. Let’s just be clear now. I don’t want to exaggerate any of this stuff – I was never too bad at anything. But I was careless and not looking after myself.”
A day after the interview, Kieran sent me a Whatsapp message, saying: “Hopefully, I didn’t make myself sound like I was Tony Montana.”
No need to worry. The Beat is certainly not going to paint a picture of Kieran being like the Al Pacino character in Scarface with cocaine caked on his nose in practically every scene.
“I got out of that (drugs) pretty quickly. I learnt pretty quickly it would be the end of me. I had to be very careful.
“But I did (it) and I was a moron. I don’t think it’s a good thing. It’s not for me. I never sat down and said, ‘This is a wonderful experience’. It was always just showing off when everyone else was doing it. Don’t go near it.”
He added: “I drank too much. Smoked too much. Stayed up too late. I’d do what I want. I just didn’t have any off switch with things.
“So smoking was very bad. I would smoke myself stupid. I’d go through packets in a night. I wouldn’t know when to stop with drink.
“I’m a bit of a disaster. I’ve got a fairly addictive personality. So, I have to be careful. I feel like I’m constantly alert to everything I’m doing. I have to be vigilant and make rules for myself.
“I had to keep writing the word ‘No’ on my hand and I eventually I got it into my head and it (all) stopped.”
Kieran also didn’t like how cocaine affected his voice.
He explained: “You shout your head off and you don’t stop talking. It wrecks your voice.
“To be a songwriter, which is all I care about, or a singer, you have to look after yourself. And you have to learn the hard way. But once you learn then everything improves.”
Kieran still finds himself occasionally being offered Bolivian marching powder, but he is determined to stay a million miles away from it.
“You do get whispered into toilets and open little baggies of things. I honestly cannot get into that stuff because it would just be the end of me,” he said.
“I’ll tell you, cocaine is insane in Dublin again. It is just off the charts. It’s like it was around the time of the boom. It’s scary stuff the way people act on it and think they’re invincible.”
He also didn’t like how his own personality changed from all the drugs and boozing.
“I had arguments with people I know that I shouldn’t have had. And said things I shouldn’t have said. Someone told me, ‘You need to stop that stuff and cope the f*** on!’ So, I did. Lucky enough, I never got too into it. And I never will,” he said.
Kieran credits both his wife and his passion for music with keeping him on the straight and narrow these days. The loved-up couple first met when their respective bands were gigging together.
While over in New York for a showcase gig, they got chatting over a drink and agreed to go on a date when back in Dublin.
It’s worth hearing the bizarre story behind their first date. Picking up the narrative, Kieran revealed: “My wife is one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. I’d been obsessed with this girl. We went for a drink. It was a bit lukewarm. I was f ****** it up, I think.
“(Afterwards), I was walking her to her bus. And a fella came out of a pub, I never saw him, and punched me as hard behind my ear. It was just a happy slap. No reason whatsoever. He just wanted to punch someone.
“And I dropped to the ground. There was a crowd of people around us. She was upset and trying to get me up. And this fella came out of the crowd to lift me up and he goes, ‘Jesus, Delorentos’ And then he walks off. I was dazed and confused.
“After that, we sat on the steps for an hour and we had a big heart-toheart. That was it then. I am really happy that happened because that changed the night.
“So, I’ve been with her since. Of all the things the band has got me, one of the things is that I got to meet her. Pretty cool.”
Kieran’s decision to hit the wild partying on the head has clearly paid off in spades.
He went on to focus all his energy on writing some great tunes, as is evident with the band’s new album True Surrender being shortlisted for the Choice Music Prize for Best Irish Album of the Year.
The band already have a Choice Music Prize under their belt and won the Irish album of the year gong in 2013 for Little Sparks.
“We’re delighted with the Choice nomination. This record took longer and took more out of us than any other, but it’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” he said.
Delorentos – Kieran, Rónan Yourell (vocals, guitar, piano), Níal Conlan (bass, backing vocals) and Ross Mccormick (drums, backing vocals) – will headline the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown Racecourse on February 2 and then they’re jetting to Spain for some big gigs.
“True Surrender was a passion project and for people to connect with it has just been amazing. We just want to tour that and then we’re going to start cracking on with new music,” he concluded.
“The late nights and whatever else had to be put aside. You won’t last if you’re touring and you’re going out and on the beer. You can’t do it. As I say, we’re very lucky it hasn’t been part of our life.”
“We’re doing what we love. It’s important for us as a band to be always evolving. It keeps it interesting and, hopefully, it keeps the music fresh as well.”
’After that, we sat on the steps for an hour and had a big heart-toheart. I am really happy that happened because that changed the night’ - KIERAN MCGUINNESS