Lisa Lambe

Irish singer and actor Lisa Lambe is best known for singing with the massively successful Celtic Woman ensemble, and for her many celebrated performances on the Irish stage over the last decade. Lambe’s debut album, Hiding Away, was released on February 6th 2015 in Ireland, and was met with widespread acclaim. Recorded in Nashville, it features multi-Grammy-winning musicians, with songs written by Lisa herself, American songwriters and the legendary Paul Brady. Lisa is currently Artist in Residence at Killruddery House County Wicklow and is writing her second album.

Photo credit: Mark Nixon

Raised on an eclectic musical diet of traditional Irish music, language, and song, Fiachna Ó Braonáin’s teenage years brought him into the wild waters of blues guitar and rock 'n roll. From then on, jumping between jigs and reels and sean nós, to stripping paint off the walls with electric guitar solos became the order of the day. Fiachna has gone on to work with African gospel singers, Moroccan tribesmen, Texan swingers and Irish balladeers as well as performing with his own band Hothouse Flowers for over thirty years. He released his first solo album, Bougainvillea, in 2010.

Fiachna has also recently worked on several Irish and American television shows as featured guest and presenter and has produced several award winning music documentaries. He is currently a presenter on Ireland's national broadcaster, RTÉ Radio 1, and recording an album with Lisa Lambe and fellow Hothouse Flower Martin Brunsden.

Photo credit: Marcelo Biglia

In the words of Peter O'Toole, himself:

"The soundtrack to my youth was a mixed bag of different styles of music. My Dad had 3 large cassette tapes for his car which were A Feast Of Irish Folk, Perry Como and Kris Kristofferson. We had some great trips away listening to them although it must have been crazy for my parents because there were a lot of people in the car on those trips…Mam, Dad, Gran, and 5 twitchy kids all arguing and shouting in an old Kadette Estate!! Herman’s Hermits, The Kinks, The Beatles, Springsteen, Clash, Gang of Four, Planxty, Bothy Band, Clannad, De Dannan, Ry Cooder, Rory Gallagher, Human League, Bowie, Mick Hanley and Freddie White...Big selection and lots left out...Our house was the Hub for us all and sometimes there might be 10 teenagers in our front room all listening quietly to the music and partaking in study groups...!!! Yeahhhhh. Great days indeed... 

I am a member of Hothouse Flowers. 

We learned our trade in the Magic Carpet Bar and on the streets of Dublin as a busking band, thrilling audiences with a whacky take on blues and soul tunes with a large influence of traditional Irish music thrown in. Later in the evenings we became a sophisticated backing band to diners in the Colony and Timmerman restaurants, earning our dinner for the day before retiring to Risk nightclub where we transformed into a wild jam band into the early hours entertaining the barflies and creative people of the night. Dublin in the late '80s was an amazing place and Hothouse Flowers never stopped performing at any opportunity, be it on the streets or in the Universities and clubs around Dublin. A lot has gone unpublished but it was a vibrant city and a vibrant time.

After a one-off single on the Mother Record label (U2’s development label for young Irish bands) this track called "Love Don’t Work This Way" attracted the attention of companies worldwide with the help of a very verbal Bono, who described the Flowers as the "best unsigned band in the world" in Rolling Stone magazine. A lot of phones started ringing after that! An appearance as special guests in the interval of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest performing our song "Don’t Go" in a video which was shot all around  Europe gave the band a route into the lives of millions of viewers and kick started a very successful and enjoyable career for us. We took our music to venues all over the world...even got to play with some amazing musicians including U2, Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, The Dubliners, Indigo Girls, Michelle Shocked, Midnight Oil, INXS, Dire Straits, Tina Turner, John Martyn, Gavin Friday, Sharon Shannon, Mike Scott, Steve Wickham and many more. We toured the world with Rian, a contemporary dance show conceived by Liam Ó Maonlaí and Michael Keegan Dolan and Fabulous Beast Dance Company which won the prestigious New York Bestie Award. When this ended I recorded an album with the musicians from the Rian show called Ré. This band is still touring and features myself and Liam from Hothouse Flowers, Eithne Ni Cathain, Cormac Begley and Maitiu O Casaide. Then there's pending albums from Hothouse Flowers and myself in the near future. 

An appearance on the very first opening scene of the motor show The Grand Tour has reignited interest in the bands music and I am looking forward to going back to the USA with Fiachna O Braonain from Hothouse Flowers and the very talented and beautiful singer songwriter Lisa Lambe."

Photo credit: Tara Keane