‘Government must act now to save arts’ – singer Brian
SINGER Brian Kennedy has urged the Government to put together a financial aid package for those ‘worst hit’ by the pandemic in the arts.
‘I think that as much as we can fantasise about what’s coming down the road, none of us knows what’s around the corner,’ he told the Irish Daily Mail.
He also said that is ‘not helpful when the Government don’t act as quickly as they should’, adding: ‘Because as you know, culturally, you’re talking about €480million [lost] to our [economy] within one year with all the concerts and the theatre and those things. So to suddenly have all of that taken away…’
Belfast man Brian, 53, also said the current period ‘is when we need our musicians more than ever to calm people, to placate people’. The popular songwriter – who told the Mail earlier this month of his concerns for the industry – continued: ‘So yeah, I think it’s, hopefully, on one hand a reminder of how important our creative culture is, but then again, we’re going to have to come up with ideas about how to move forward.’
Explaining how he’s proceeding, he said: ‘I’m doing Facebook live sessions every two weeks. I’m doing a few concerts with just 50 people that are just dinner, intimate concerts.
‘I’m lucky that I’m a solo artist; I don’t have a band but what if you’re in a band about to go on the road?’
He continued: ‘[Irish band] The Coronas went around in an ice-cream van selling their album and I thought that was brilliant, but there’s only so many times you can do that.
‘So, we need great direction, we need the Government to absolutely put in place a financial package for
Kennedy call: In Mail this month the people who are worst hit by it.’
Brian sang the praises of his friend and fellow musician Mary Coughlan, who publicly shared her struggles since the pandemic hit, saying: ‘Mary was great to speak up because I think when you’re an established artist like Mary Coughlan or anybody like that, people just assume you’ve got loads of money and you’re fine.
‘Often times people who are household names are the opposite, because of generosity.
‘Also, let’s be frank as well, women have been earning a lot less money than men for a very long time. We have to put that right, too.’
As for how he’s coping himself, Brian revealed: ‘We’re learning as we go I think... I had Glastonbury and Edinburgh Festival coming up, and everybody’s diaries are decimated.
‘Thank goodness I don’t have a load of kids and I’m stuck in a wee flat somewhere with two Alsatians driving everybody mad, but at the same time, the only upside of being a musician and writer is that I’m quite used to spending a lot of time on my own. Isolation is not new to me. However, when it’s something that is compulsory and people say you can’t go out, then that makes it very different.’
One thing he is looking forward to is Concert4Cancer, a televised fundraiser he will be taking part in, which airs this Friday at 9pm on Virgin Media One. Anna Daly will host the event, featuring the likes of Gary Barlow and Ronan Keating, and it will be brought to viewers by the Permanent TSB Community Fund.
‘I’m lucky that I’m a solo artist’