The Dubliner And De Dannan

Duets, it seems are all the rage these days. Whether it’s Ronan and Elton, Kylie and Robbie or Tom Jones and Cerys who are getting it together and pooling their collective talents.

One of the more unlikely match-ups currently doing the rounds is that between former Dubliner the legendary Ronnie Drew and ex-De Dannan chanteuse Eleanor Shanley. Recalling Tom Waits’ memorable collaboration with Crystal Gayle on the timeless One From The Heart movie soundtrack, Ronnie and Eleanor’s musical marriage is based on the well-founded theory that opposites attract. Certainly the combination of Drew’s trademark gravel and grits vocals and Shanley’s sweet but fulsome tones has weaved magic on songs like, ‘A Couple More Years’ the title track from their album which also includes classics such as Bob Dylan’s ‘Boots of Spanish Leather’ and Christy Moore’s ‘Viva La Quinte Brigada’.

“I think the two voices work very well together,” offers Drew, relaxing over a cup of tea in a Dublin hotel. “We can do a lot of songs that otherwise wouldn’t work in a solo context for either of us. Eleanor has a lovely melodic, gentle singing style but my voice gets rid of any maudlin, pseudo-sentimentality that might come across in the songs.”

Shanley agrees. “I think it makes absolute sense musically but we’ve been careful to choose the right songs. We deliberately didn’t want to do songs that have already been done as duets by other people. ‘A Couple More Years’ which was recorded by Waylon Jennings and Dr Hook was never done as a duet before as far as I know. But not every song lends itself to being performed as a duet.”

The pair first met in the early nineties when De Dannan guested on the Dubliners’ anniversary album 30 Years A Greying. They subsequently met at a festival in Denmark where they discovered a mutual musical compatibility. Since he left the Dubliners in 1995 Drew had been doing his own show with Mike Hanrahan – a combination of storytelling and songs that he’d been associated with down through the years. Shanley was and still is pursuing a successful solo career while occasionally performing with De Dannan – “Whenever they’re stuck for a vocalist!”

“We’ve no real long term plans but we’ll keep it going as long as it works,” Drew offers. “For me it’s completely different to the old days. We never rehearsed anything back then but we’ve put in a fair bit of effort in making the show work. I usually do a few of me own songs, a bit of storytelling a few yarns and Eleanor does a few of her own songs then we come together. The audiences seem to love it.

“There are loads of lovely new venues around the country that are perfect for what we’re doing,” adds Shanley. “Galway has the Town Hall theatre, Tallaght has a lovely new theatre where we’ve played a few times. Almost every town has a decent venue today completely different from even five years ago. They have these amazing things like dressing rooms! It’s not that all that long ago where you generally changed in the toilets or in the backroom where they stacked the chairs.”

A Couple More Years is out now on Pinorrekk Records. Ronnie Drew and Eleanor Shanley will be touring Ireland throughout May