Former Sacre Bleu Singer Ak Kennedy Has Died

Hot Press is very sad to learn of the death of Ak Kennedy, the former lead singer with Dublin band Sacre Bleu.

Originally from Clonmel in Co. Tipperary, Anthony Ak Kennedy had been the subject of a missing persons alert earlier this week. He had not been seen at his home in Whitefriar Street, not far from Sth. Great George’s Street in the centre of Dublin, since around Monday February 21.

People had been asked to contact the gardaí in nearby Kevin Street. However, the search is now over, following the discovery of the body of a man in the Grand Canal, on Dublin's south side. No information is yet available concerning the circumstances of his death.

Sacre Bleu were considered real contenders on the Irish scene in the late 1970s. They played a fiery brand of rhythm ’n’ blues, and were seen by many as logical heirs to the mantle of The Boomtown Rats, as the latter took international flight. They worked with some of the best operators in the business, with the late Dave Kavanagh – who later handled the affairs of Clannad and then Celtic Woman – in the managerial seat. They also had U2 manager Paul McGuinness as agent, before his main charges took off.

However, Sacre Bleu's early promise didn’t lead to the kind of major label deal that would have set them on the high road. The band split up – some would say prematurely – in 1980. Ak Kennedy went on to front the very well named Original Sins and also Three Blind Mice. However, none of his later musical adventures rekindled the kind of momentum that Sacre Bleu had achieved.

In addition to his role as lead singer, Ak played harmonica and flute with the band – with the latter featuring prominently on the 1979 single ‘Broken Promises’, which was very highly rated among rock cognoscenti at the time, its pop-tinged chorus making it powerfully radio-friendly. The single was released on the Polydor label, but this was via a distribution deal with the Irish arm of what is now Universal Music and the band were never officially signed. The artwork was provided by Jim Fitzpatrick, whose work had famously helped to shape the visual identity of Thin Lizzy.

The original line-up of Sacre Bleu also included Dick Doyle on guitar, Frankie Morgan on keyboards, Pat Courtney on bass and Albert Cowan on drums. The band released a second single ‘Move It’, which was produced by Donal Lunny, and released in October 1979, again on Polydor.

A remix of 'Madamoiselle Goodnight’ – the b-side of their first single – appeared on the Just For Kicks album – the legendary Irish rock compilation which also contained ’Stories For Boys’ by U2, ‘Lady Loves to Rock’n’Roll’ by Rocky de Valera and the Gravediggers, ‘Somethings Better Than Nothing’ by Teen Commandments and the fondly remembered 'Treasure on the Wasteland’ by The Atrix.

However, as proved the case with so many impressive bands of that era, it just wasn’t to be for Sacre Bleu, and they split up permanently the following year…

“There were lots of hugely talented musicians on the Dublin scene at the end of the 1970s,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes recalls. “Ak was one of them. Sacre Bleu had real potential – but sometimes rock’n'roll bands don’t blossom to their full extent, because of circumstances that are completely outside anyone’s control. The dividing line between what – and who – is successful, and who isn’t, is often paper thin. Ak and the band fell on just the wrong side of that divide.

“Ak always looked like a rock star anyway," Niall added, "dressed in black and with the skinny jeans that were de rigueur He was a hugely well known – and widely loved – figure around Dublin. He was highly intelligent, with his own very individual Ak-take on the world. I always enjoyed the banter with him, whenever our paths crossed, and the big toothy grin that accompanied it. He will be great missed by the musical troupers from that era, as well as by the regulars in Simon’s Place, where he enjoyed hanging out and shooting the breeze. In moments like this you realise that life really is far too full of sadness and heartbreak.”

Ak Kennedy is survived by his daughter Emilie, her mother Eki, and his brothers Pascal and Brendan, as well as by a wide-ranging community of musicians and rockers across Ireland. RIP.