Always nervous on a Sligo return
HAVING performed in front of audiences all around the world, returning to the Sligo stage for a night is always a prospect Tommy Fleming relishes.
The Aclare native returns to his home county on Saturday, February 15 th as part of his Irish tour when he performs at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Rosses Point.
Having spent time in late 2019 touring Australia and New Zealand, the well-known singer is currently in the midst of an Irish tour before crossing the Irish Sea to the UK later this year and then performing a series of shows in America next October.
It’s a grueling schedule, but one that he is enjoying.
“I’m loving it,” he says. “I’m back doing songs I haven’t done in years.”
“It’s kind of a world tour we’re on at the minute – we were in Australia and New Zealand before Christmas, and we’re going to the USA later in the year in October.”
So where does the visit to Sligo rank amongst this busy programme?
“It’s the most nerve-racking,” he says. “You know most of the people there and you just want everything to be right. I haven’t played Sligo in almost three years, so it’s a homecoming of sorts. I was born and reared here, live here, so it means a lot to me. I still get nervous.”
Hailing from the Yeats County means Tommy’s initial years trying to make it as a singer are littered with interesting anecdotes as he made his way in the world of entertainment.
“It’s hard to believe but it’s nearly 30 years since my first recording. I still remember my first audition was in Sligo for Oklahoma in RTÉ. Every time I drive past the Hawk’s Well I think of it.
“I did anything that paid me in the early years,” Tommy recalls.
“I could have had two or three jobs and then doing gigs at night. I was gigging in The Leitrim Bar on The Mall and TD’s on Union Street, it was a huge grounding for me and people were so good to me. It was a brilliant time because we had our whole life in front of us.”
Reflecting on his success in the music industry, Tommy says he could never have anticipated the success he has enjoyed over the course of his career when he set out 30 years ago.
“It was never the goal. I would’ve thought ‘ that’d be nice’ and that, but I wouldn’t have known.”
“It’s a very different business now, the 1990s are very different to now.
“Technology has changed a lot. For example, social media now – when I started to advertise you’d be looking at radio and papers and that. We still do that traditional advertising, but social media is such a big thing now.”
As for future plans, he says he is always on the lookout for new projects, with some exciting plans in the pipeline.
“I’m currently working on a show with a view to jumping back into theatre and acting,” he says.
“There’s a project with the play The Kings of the Kilburn High Road that I’m working on. I’m constantly looking at other projects, but it’s very much a thing of tr ying to pick what to do.”
As for the life of touring and performing, Tommy says he continues to relish the challenge.
“It’s tiring. Australia was a huge one before Christmas. I’m 50 next year so it does take a lot out of you.
“But when I’m touring, it’s every two or three years. You need the downtime and time to work on a new album or show. But you’re better off to be busy. I’m loving it!”
There are still tickets available for Tommy’s show at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Rosses Point on Saturday. Go to www.ticketmaster.ie or www.tommyfleming.net for more details.