MUSICAL icon Gavin Friday will headline Dolans Warehouse on Wednesday February 18, marking his return to the Limerick venue where he previously performed during his Catholic Album tour.
The 64-year-old singer, composer and visual artist, who founded the canonically transgressive post-punk band Virgin Prunes in the late 1970s, (who played the top floor of the old Savoy in Limerick) will be supported by DJ Eoin Devereux.
The concert comes as Friday promotes Ecce Homo, his first album in 13 years, which has been described as an engrossing culmination of his singular career.
The album toggles between thundering electronics that recall the power of Virgin Prunes and exquisite acoustics reflecting his recent solo work and soundtrack compositions.
Ecce Homo began over a decade ago following a surprise email from Dave Ball, the Soft Cell co-founder who produced Virgin Prunes 40 years ago.
The pair collaborated on the bulk of the album’s music in London before Friday expanded the sound in Dublin with familiar collaborators including Michael Heffernan.
The album addresses themes of anger and independence, love and loss, solidarity and nostalgia. Tracks range from the pulsing title track, which confronts enemies of inclusion and liberty, to the wistful “When the World Was Young”, dedicated to longtime friends Bono and Guggi and their youthful posse Lypton Village.
Friday began questioning Catholicism more than half a century ago at his strict Catholic school, just before witnessing the rise of glam and punk. His career has encompassed acts of rebellion and interrogation as a singer, composer, visual artist and actor.
The album was delayed when Covid-19 arrived in early 2020, with Friday vowing to revisit it only when he could make sense of the world. During that difficult period, his mother died, as did Hal Willner, one of his closest collaborators, and one of his two beloved dogs.
Friday has described Ecce Homo as the most honest album he has ever made, calling music “the release where I could bleed publicly” and crediting it with saving his life.
Speaking to Limerick Post this week Professor Eoin Devereux assessed the influence of Gavin Friday in music and culture – “Gavin has made an immense contribution to Irish cultural life.
“As founder of the avant-garde group The Virgin Prunes, as a solo artist in his own right in addition to his considerable creative collaboration with U2, Gavin has created some of the most important music to emanate from Ireland in recent decades.
“He is best described as a Polymath. Friday has acted, painted, written film scores and collaborated with such greats as The Fall. I have been fortunate to have worked with Gavin on a number of projects including a monthly radio show – the Cedarwood Chronicles – for U2X Radio.”
Gavin Friday will headline Dolans Warehouse on Wednesday February 18, Tickets at www.dolans.ie.