Our secret? We’re no one-hit wonder
When Fionnuala Sherry and Rolf Løvland came together as Secret Garden they had almost instantaneous success at the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest, winning for Norway with Nocturne. That achievement was nothing compared to what they achieved with You Raise Me Up, written by Løvland and Brendan Graham. Since its release in 2002, it has become one of the most recorded and beloved songs of modern times.
The duo’s retrospective, is unsurprisingly, called You Raise Me Up - The Collection but Fionnuala is keen to stress that they have not sustained a career of almost three decades on that song and one Eurovision win.
‘I think we have released over 100 songs as Secret Garden,’ she says. ‘There is a lot more to us than You Raise Me Up. We are still primarily an instrumental act and my role on violin is still effectively in lieu of a singer. But we don’t feel confined because of that. We approach each album as a blank page, a new musical adventure. We are known for You Raise Me Up but we feel it’s a song that belongs to everybody – it doesn’t feel like it belongs solely to us any more. When it comes to doing a concert it is only one song out of maybe 20 or 25 songs on a given night.’
The 55-year-old Kildare woman confirms that Secret Garden are working on an album of new material that she hopes will be released early in 2019. But unlike Johnny Logan – who recorded the original version of You Raise Me Up with Secret Garden and who plays the Throwback Stage at the Electric Picnic festival tonight – it might be a while before you see Secret Garden at an Irish venue.
‘When we will play in Ireland is a good question,’ she says.
‘It depends on the promoter and we don’t seem to get asked. One wanted us to do a condensed version of what we do when we play elsewhere but I want to bring the entire show with a full orchestra. For a long time, promoters, record companies and agents didn’t really know how to market us. In some countries, they market us as world music. In others we’re classed as easy listening, classical or just folk – it does make it difficult. We don’t feel affiliated to any particular category.’
Fionnuala says their last couple of albums were not widely available in Ireland but the current collection is, as will their next original album.
‘Our record company is pushing this Best Of collection and will promote the next one too. I think they realised that we still sell very well and we were surprised to find that we have been very successful through Spotify. You make little money out of that but it showed the record company that there was still a big demand for what we do and we were worthy of pushing. Having said that, there is also nothing about our personal lives that you can hang a story in a newspaper around to get a bit of attention. We’re quite private people.’
Unfortunately, Fionnuala did hit the headlines in 2013, when she fell and broke her arms, while walking her dogs. At the time she feared that she might not have the use of her arms again, let alone play the violin.
‘I had operations in both arms and I could do nothing for months,’ she says.
‘I had to learn to play in a new way. I had to adapt how I used my bow arm. The only analogy I can make is that it would be like telling a professional golfer to hit a ball the same distance with a shorter club. I am proud of myself
‘After I broke my arms I could do nothing for months. Then I had to learn to play in a new way’
for coming through it. It’s amazing what you can get out yourself if you really have to.
‘We made a live CD and DVD shortly after I came back and nobody could tell that I had broken my arms.
‘I’ve taken up golf, so that is why the golf analogy is the one I think relates to it. Whacking that ball is good therapy!’
Secret Garden’s You Raise Me Up: The Collection is out now.