Declan O'Rourke
| Declan O'Rourke | |
|---|---|
|
Declan O'Rourke on stage at Sligo Live, June 2006. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Acoustic, folk, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar, mandolin, ukulele, piano |
| Years active | 2004- |
| Labels | N4, V2 |
| Website | Declanorourke.com |
Declan O'Rourke is a singer-songwriter from Dublin, Ireland.
Career
At the age of 13, when living in Australia with his family, O'Rourke was given his first guitar by a priest in Kyabram who recognised his potential and love for music, hence the title of his debut album Since Kyabram, released in October 2004.[1]
The album's launch took place over three sold-out nights in Whelan’s of Wexford St, Dublin and was broadcast live on national radio. Since Kyabram entered the official Irish album charts at Number 5 and was the only new Irish entry in the Top 75 album chart that week. Since Kyabram quickly went gold, then achieved double-platinum status. Since the release of the album, O'Rourke has completed multiple sell-out nationwide Irish tours, the second of these culminating in a full capacity show in Dublin's Olympia Theatre in March 2005.
O'Rourke has been among the few solo performers selected to appear on both the second and third TV series of Other Voices. O'Rourke tracks were included on the #1 selling compilations Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2 and Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 3 in aid of The National Children's Hospital in Tallaght and Tsunami Relief Fund.
O'Rourke performed at the first Irish Woodstock in Inistioge, Kilkenny. He has played guitar on stage with Bic Runga on her European tour, Snow Patrol on the UK and Irish legs of their 2006 tour, including performances at Wembley Arena and their sold-out December performance at the old Point Theatre in Dublin. O'Rourke opened multiple shows for Planxty during the come-back concerts at Vicar Street, Dublin. He performed on the same bill as Bob Dylan for three consecutive shows while playing guitar with Paddy Casey. O'Rourke played guitar for Snow Patrol during their Oxegen Festival performance in Ireland in July 2007. Snow Patrol's lead singer, Gary Lightbody, gave a very positive review of O'Rourke's second album, a preview copy of which, he revealed, the band had been listening to backstage.
O'Rourke attracted praise from Paul Weller for his song "Galileo (Someone Like You)" (co-written by Seamus Cotter) which he cited in an interview with Q Magazine as the song he most wished he'd written from the past twenty years; he later included O'Rourke's recording of the song on an album of his favourite songs included with a special edition of the magazine dedicated to him. Weller invited O'Rourke to perform at the 100 Club in London. And, on his recent mini-residency at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Weller invited O'Rourke on stage as a special guest to perform a duet of "Galileo". Other notable fans of O'Rourke are Rolling Stones guitarist, Ronnie Wood, Chris Rea, and Paul Brady who describes O'Rourke as a "most talented singer-songwriter... [possessing] a rich, soulful, musical voice and a brilliant instrumental ability". Eddi Reader once said that he was "one of the finest songwriters on the planet".
In October 2007 Declan released his second album, Big Bad Beautiful World after performing selected tracks on Irish radio. Big Bad Beautiful World beat its forerunner by debuting at number 4 in the Irish charts, but unlike Since Kyabram it was released in Ireland alone. O'Rourke released two singles from the album, the title track 'Big Bad Beautiful World' and 'Whatever Else Happens', both of which are performance standards for him. Following the album release, O'Rourke was nominated for Best Irish Male at the 2008 Meteor Ireland Awards. O'Rourke completed limited tours of South-Eastern Australia in 2008 and 2009, finishing the latter tour with a sold-out performance at Sydney's The Basement venue, which was filmed for later broadcast by ABC Australia.
In October 2010, O'Rourke was invited to open shows for American singer-songwriter John Prine in Virginia. Since 2006, in addition to Prine and Snow Patrol, O'Rourke has completed tours with Paulo Nutini, Paul Weller, Paul Brady, The Cardigans, and Nizlopi, among others.
Notable recordings by other artists
Scottish songstress Eddi Reader recorded "Galileo (Someone Like You)" for her 2007 album Peacetime and O'Rourke's anthem "Love is the Way" on her 2009 album Love is the Way. Jacqui Dankworth, daughter of Jazz legends Cleo Laine and the late Sir John Dankworth recorded O'Rourke's "Galileo (Someone Like You)" for her 2009 album Back To You. Swedish multi-platinum selling pop singer Peter Jöback recorded O'Rourke's "(I Can See) A Little Something" for his eleventh studio album East Side Stories released in 2009. Josh Groban recorded "Galileo (Someone Like You)" on his fifth studio album Illuminations released in November 2010. In November 2011 the album This is the Moment recorded by Paul Byrom, formerly of Celtic Thunder, included "Galileo (Someone Like You)."
Discography
- 2004 Since Kyabram
- 2007 Big Bad Beautiful World
- 2011 Mag Pai Zai
- 2015 Gold Bars in the Sun
References
- ↑ "Declan O'Rourke". Sydney Morning Herald. April 10, 2008.