Master of all he surveys

Actor, singer, photographer, cameraman, promoter, Master of the Universe. Aidan Walsh has been all of these things in a wonderfully maverick career dating back to the 1980s.

Now he’s the inspiration for Aidan Gillen’s character in Treacle Jr., Jamie Thraves’ independent film, which premiered here last month in the Dublin IFI and has had critics drooling on both sides of the Irish Sea.
“I’ve known Aidan since he was 8 and an altar boy at Gardiner Street Church where I was living and working at the time under the guidance of Brother David,” Walsh tells us over tea and spag bol in his favourite D2 café. “We’ve been friends ever since and even though he’s busy with his acting still keeps in regular contact. He makes time for me no matter what.”
What does Walsh think of the movie he stars in by proxy?
“I’m very happy with it,” he enthuses. “It’s my voice that he’s doing, which is good advertising for me. They warned me what was going to be in the film and asked did I mind, which I respect them for. I could have said ‘no, forget it’ before it was shown to anybody, but I trusted them both to do me proud and they did.
“When I got to see the finished film I was stunned. It was like looking at the younger me in the mirror!”

While Aidan Gillen’s vocal impersonation of his namesake is spot-on, both parties emphasise that Treacle Jr. is a work of fiction.
“The film Aidan is a blue baby, but I’m not a blue baby,” Walsh resumes. “The film Aidan’s also good at playing the drums, but I don’t play the drums. There are lots of differences like that.”
The 58-year-old is keen though that the story of his at times difficult life – he was an orphan who spent his formative years in Cork’s infamous Lota School for Boys – be told.
“I’m looking for a sponsor and a ghostwriter to help me write a book about my life. Then I’d like it to be turned into a film. I’m also looking for a sponsor to fund an exhibition of my band photography in the Button Factory in Temple Bar. I’ve thousands of photos and hundreds of old rolls of film that still need developing. There could be all sorts of treasures in among them!”
Aidan’s musical allies down through the years have included The Divine Comedy; The Frank & Walters; The Stars Of Heaven; The Golden Horde; David Linehan who was the guitarist with his old band The Screaming Eagles and maintains his Facebook; and the late 2fm DJ Gerry Ryan.
“I was terribly sad when Gerry passed away,” he says, the smile leaving his face for the first time this afternoon. “He was the one who played my record every day on the radio and made things happen for me. Without Gerry I wouldn’t be sat here talking to you today.”

While no longer well enough to work – “I was in James’ Hospital for three weeks last year where they discovered three clots that I’m now on tablets for. I also had to go back into hospital for a lump on my neck and they got it out at the right time” – the Master of the Universe remains as passionate about rock ‘n’ roll as ever.
“I still tell young bands, ‘If you want to get to the top do the foundation work.’ It’s like a building – if you don’t do the foundation work, it’s going to collapse. Make sure you take proper legal and financial advice so you don’t get ripped off along the way.”
He’s also come up with a novel way to help those same up-and-coming acts.
“I’m asking them to send me CDs and videos of themselves so that if the film of my life gets made, I can pick one of them to appear in it. That’d be great, wouldn’t it?”

Contact Aidan Walsh at 3 F. Ross Road, Dublin 8 or [email protected].