Foster and Allen play at Shamrock Lodge

Irish music legends Foster and Allen are on their way to the Shamrock Lodge Hotel tonight (Wednesday) for what promises to be another great concert in Athlone. Foster and 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. 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 and Tony were in the US on 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. In addition to the UK tours, Foster and Allen have toured the USA, 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 RTÉ. In the early days Mick and 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 13 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 1s, 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. Tickets priced at €30 each are available from hotel which can be contacted on 090 6492601.