Athlone singer Desi meets country legend and tastes success with 'Summer Wine'

Athlone singer Desi Egan recently had an encounter with the legendary songwriter Kris Kristofferson while both were appearing on TV show in Spain.

Desi told the Westmeath Independent that he and his wife Rowena enjoyed the banter backstage with the writer of songs such as Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down; Me and Bobby McGee; and Help Me Make It Through the Night.

"I do a lot of work abroad and we were in Spain doing a TV show. Kris was a guest on the show, and we had been chatting backstage so we decided to get a picture taken," said Desi.

"He's a very nice guy - a huge star in country music and a film star as well, obviously. I like him. He's a very unassuming person."

The Athlone man has also been enjoying some success in recent weeks with a version of Summer Wine, a song made famous by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood in 1967.

Desi's version was a duet in 2020 with the singer and TV personality Caitriona O' Sullivan, and it has spiked in popularity after being played on RTE Radio One earlier this month.

Their recording of the song has been played hundreds of times each day on YouTube in recent weeks, and has now accumulated close to 8,000 views. You can hear it here:

This week, Desi has also released an up-tempo dance remix of the song, which just went 'live' on YouTube yesterday (Tuesday).

The dance version of the song can be heard here:

Desi performed in Athlone's Shamrock Lodge Hotel with a Drifters tribute group in late May.

He is continuing to tour with The Songs of the Drifters, and also plans to perform in the coming months with a Jukebox Live show featuring musicians Greg Traynor, Billy Burgoyne, and others.