Foster and Allen
Mick Foster & Tony Allen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mick Foster & Tony Allen |
| Occupation | Singers |
| Website | www.cmrrecords.ie |
Foster and Allen are a musical duo from Ireland consisting of Mick Foster and Tony Allen.
History
Foster & Allen began back in the seventies when Mick and Tony were playing in Country Music bands around Ireland. In 1975 they formed a small group and went over to the UK to work the Irish music venues on a short tour.
Mick & Tony had at this stage the idea of working together as a duo, playing ‘easy listening’ music with a touch of traditional Irish instrumentals. When their UK tour finished they decided to let the band return to Ireland whilst they stayed behind to try and break into the public eye. They played several venues in the London area and the reaction was very favourable; so much so, they decided to remain as a duo and Foster and Allen was formed.
It was difficult at the beginning and after a time working around the circuit in the UK and Ireland, they released their first single record The Rambles of Spring. This made a good impact on the Irish market and Foster and Allen were soon in demand for cabaret venues all over Ireland and to a lesser extent the UK At the end of 1978 Foster and Allen released the single A Bunch Of Thyme in Ireland, which entered the Irish charts and became their first top-selling No. 1 single.
It was not until 1982 that this single was released in the UK. It was played by all the radio stations in Britain and was soon in the pop charts. It climbed rapidly to number 18 in the UK Singles Chart. At the time, Mick & Tony were in the U.S. on a tour. They were contacted and told to fly back to Britain immediately as they were required to appear on television’s Top of the Pops.
Demand for Foster and Allen's services at venues all over Ireland and the UK increased at this point. They released another single "Old Flames" which also made its way into the UK Charts. They did their first concert tour of the UK in 1983 and this tour was boosted even more by the release of another single Maggie. This reached number 27 in the UK singles chart and, along with A Bunch Of Thyme, these became the signature tunes for the duo. Since then they have toured the UK twice each year.
In addition to the UK tours, Foster and Allen have toured the U.S.A, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They had five No. 1 Hits in Australia/New Zealand. They have also appeared on numerous TV shows in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales as well as Australia, USA and Canada, and they have had their own TV series on RTE Television in Ireland.
In the early days Mick & Tony performed on stage as a duo, but in 1982 (when the concert tours started) they added a band to their show thus giving a much fuller sound to their program. On the recording front, Foster and Allen have to date released a total of 27 albums, all of which have gone into the British charts. This is a great achievement for a middle-of-the-road ‘easy listening’ act.
As well as the albums, they have released thirteen videos, again all of which have entered the British charts. The video "Souvenirs and Memories" reached No. 3 in the British charts around Christmas 1991, the "By Request" video went straight into the No. 1 spot in 1993 and their latest DVD/Video release "After All These Years" was a Top 10 Chart Release in the UK. To date Foster and Allen have achieved album and video sales in excess of 19 million worldwide.
Foster and Allen celebrated their 30th Anniversary together in the music industry with the release of their new album "Foster & Allen Sing The No. 1’s" which was a Top 30 Chart hit in the UK during Christmas 2005 bringing the sales of their last three albums in the UK and Ireland to over 500,000 units.
The duo recently completed their “World Concert Tour – 2005/2006” which took them on tour to the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, U.S.A., Australia and Ireland.
Tony Allen
Tony was born on 24th February 1952, the youngest of a family of nine children. He was very keen on music from an early age, and was very much encouraged by his parents and teachers. His father Patrick was a fiddle player while his mother was a singer. Tony started playing the accordion after one of his brothers brought him an accordion home from England. It wasn’t too long before he joined the Mary Landers (a local band) and in turn joined the Kieran Kelly Band replacing Brendan Shine. It was another Moate man, Kevin Sheeran, an accomplished musician and songwriter in his own regard who recommended Tony for the job in this band. They used to play mostly around the Midlands and a residency in the Irish Club, Parnell Square, Dublin every Tuesday night.
Tony opened a recording studio in Moate, named Roseland Studios and most major acts in Ireland record their albums there. He is motivated by music and with having the studio he is now directing his interests into the technical side of the business.
Mick Foster
Mick was born in 1947 in County Kildare, in sight of the Curragh. He now lives in Mullingar and has a small farm where he spends all his time, when not touring, looking after his horses and some cattle.
Mick is very keen on his music, and states that his accordion would probably be the last thing he would be prepared to give up. He has also said that from an early age he was influenced in his music by the famous Jimmy Shand and another all time great accordion player Will Starr. Mick was taught to play the accordion by a Westmeath nun and a local hero Frankie Gavigan. Mick has recorded a song The Old Button Box which is a tribute to the one and only Will Starr. He has a unique style of playing his accordion and a singing voice which suits the type of songs he sings.
Trivia
Foster and Allen have been mimicked by Irish comedy puppet duo Podge and Rodge. The characters are called "Fester and Ailin'" and have been seen on Irish television satirically arguing with Foster and Allen with each claiming the other copied their act. Fester and Ailin' claim to be the originals with Fester claiming "(he) came out of the womb with that accordion on (him)". Fester and Ailin' also claim that Foster and Allen's song "Bunch of Thyme" was in fact a stolen copy of their original work "Bunch of Lesbians". Fester and Ailins other songs include "Tropical Diseases", "The Monkey Song" and "Doing the Wife's Sisters on the Sly"
They are also the inspiration for Vic and Bob's deranged folk duo, Mulligan and O'Hare, though Mulligan (Vic) also bears a striking resemblance to Terry Wogan.