Tommy Fleming has often been described as the ‘Voice Of Ireland’ and is one of Ireland’s top entertainers. After selling out shows across Ireland and the UK, Tommy Fleming is returning to Australia for the first time in four years, and is heading to Adelaide in November.
This will be Tommy’s sixth tour across Australia and coincides with the release of his new album. Tommy spoke to Glam Adelaide about his tour, some major life events and where his love of music grew from.
“The love, I guess, was always there. The love was just instilled from my parents, grandparents, and from my family. My whole family is musical. I grew up with music filling my house. Of course there was jamming at the corner pub with the family as well. From there, the performance bug came. You took your turn as a kid, you’ve grown up singing and all of that. It’s an addictive bug to get.”
Tommy’s whole career was suddenly put on hold when he was involved in a horrendous car accident. Whilst driving, he veered off the road and hit a tree, losing consciousness for some time. The car burst into flames and, with the driver door damaged, he escaped with more than mere luck. Tommy walked two miles, not realising the extent of his injuries, before being given a lift by a local couple. Presenting with severe neck pain, it was discovered he had sustained a broken neck.
“The process of it was horrendous because I didn’t know how to process it. I didn’t know what I was processing so the only thing I could do was to be optimistic. I’m very much a person that finds the half full glass rather than the half empty. I’d be very positive because I’m afraid that when I go down it’s not a good place for me to go. I could only find the good in what I was doing, and that put all my efforts into recovery rather than feeling sorry for myself. So that’s really what I did and that was how I processed it, to be honest.
“Can I believe this really happened to me? That was really the difficult part, that this actually happened and that my career could be over, that my life as such was going to be changed forever. But I look back on that. I look back on that now, and I say it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Lots of people find this a really strange thing for me to say. The reason I say it is because the accident happened when I was 27 and I was living in Dublin, having a great time. I was living in a big city. I’d moved out of my parents’ house when I was 18 and I was having a great time as a 27 year old. And when I was in the rehabilitation hospital, the conditions of it were almost like prison; the conditions of my release were that I had to move back in with my parents because somebody needed to take care of me. That prospect was actually worse than the actual accident itself. I only knew my parents as an 18 year old kid, and naturally they were a nuisance to me. And when I moved back in with them, I started to get to know them again. And that’s really what kind of changed everything.”
We asked Tommy if he finds it surreal that people on the other side of the world listen to his music and come and see him perform live when he’s here in Australia.
“In many ways, it is surreal to think that people will come to see a concert in Australia and hear me sing, without a doubt. Every time I step onto the stage, I’m never not surprised.”
Tommy shared with us what it is he loves about performing in Australia.
“Australia to me is a second home to a degree. I don’t spend enough time in my second home. However, I love the Aussies. I love their self-deprecating humour, because, just like us, the Aussies are very like the Irish — We have a good time. I have kind of pulled away from doing the American and UK tours. This current Australian tour is probably one of my last ones, but we’ll see.”
This tour could be the last time we see Tommy performing here in Australia.
“This time around, I’ve gone back to songs that I haven’t sung in many years. I’ve gone back 30 years on some songs, which is really strange for me. I’ve gone back to songs that I would never have touched in a million years on a new tour. It’s a very personal night with me. It’s like sitting in your living room listening to the show and having a good yarn. It’s going to be magical. I know it is. I can feel it in my water.”
Tommy Fleming is currently touring Australia.
Tommy Fleming: The Voice Of Ireland – In Concert
The Regal Theatre
Saturday 18 November at 8pm
https://markushamence.com/shows-and-events/ or https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/996862
Photo credit: supplied
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