Christy Dignam RIP

John_Rambo

Very sad. I think he met everyone in Ireland he was that accessible. A pure gent that will be well remembered.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120711531#Comment_120711531

There was - in The Point.

He was too ill to play it, unfortunately.

the 12 th man

Shocking comment ^^^^^

First time to see them was in the long gone "Danceline Club" in Nth Gt Georges St in Dublin IIRC,it was around 1988,absolutely mental gig,also saw them on a Halloween Night in the Drake Inn in Finglas yonks ago as well,2 whopper nights.

DBB

Aw feck. It kinda feels like a part of the life we took for granted in Ireland is gone... Aslan and Christy have always just... been there.

I don't know how many times I saw them over the years, and Christy always, always put his heart and soul into every song, at every show. I remember him climbing up and swinging from the scaffolding around the stage in a rural-ish venue, and he never missed a beat, singing perfectly the whole time 😊

Last gig I went to, we saw the band packing up at the back of the venue as we left... I couldn't pluck up the courage to say anything, but my friend called out to Christy, and told him I was a big fan but too shy to say hello... so Christy ran over to me, gave me a big hug, sang the chorus of Kajagoogoo's song "Too Shy", holding me and swinging me around the yard while the rest of the band laughed 😁

A lovely memory of him, and my heart is sore that he's not here any more 😔

DBB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120711875#Comment_120711875

Maybe just stop digging now, ffs.

Sephiroth_dude

Mod

@Dub. Show some respect, don't post in here again.

Dav010

Can’t remember how many times I saw Aslan play live, he was a hell of an entertainer, super live band. Just played their best on Spotify, songs stand the test of time.

cj maxx

RIP . Thats why Crazy World was playing on every radio station today.

Goldengirl

Lovely tributes here.

Only really listened to him sing in recent years I am sorry to say because I was into different music and missed their first heyday as was abroad.

Got fond of the man first, and loved to hear him talk on tv or on the radio .A genuinely nice man. And his infectious joy.

He had a beautiful voice and he could sing a till receipt and make it sound like a symphony.

Sincere condolences to his family , friends and colleagues and to all his many fans.

Rest in peace, Christy.

Terrontress

I know he hadn’t been well, and it was one of many battles he faced, but it still comes as a shock.

As a man of a certain age, I feel like a large part of the 80s and 90s, and my adolescent culture, has died with him. Everyone listened to 2FM constantly in those days and consumed all the same music.

Super voice. "This Is" is a fecking beautiful song.

Duvet Day

Great memories of De Lacey house in Cork many years ago when Christy played some fantastic nights..R.I.P.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120712243#Comment_120712243

Saw them in The Old Oak and hall in Newmarket as well, think it was late 80’s/early 90’s.

itac

They played that lovely night in Vicar st memory of Tony Fenton a few years back-the energy in the place as he sang “This Is” with Aslan again was just beyond powerful and is a memory I’ll treasure forever. RIP

taxAHcruel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofhao4SHXGo

Never seems to be a wrong place to drop this.

Xander10

...delete@dub 24

Xander10

Sorry, site not letting me delete. What I was trying to say to the actual poster, dub, maybe you know something from a long time ago, but I saw a man who matured into a wonderfully kind person and he left this crazy world much loved by many and rightly so

Baba Yaga

what a voice,what a talent,RIP

Tea_Lover

saw them in the harbour bar in rush in the late 90's , i got barred for copping off with an aulwan out the back of the pub , i was only like 17 and she was prob 40's ha ha , the good old days , thank for the memories and choons Christy

also saw them loads in my local in Finglas in the jolly toper when i worked there , absolute gent he was

padd b1975

Seemed to be a decent enough guy with more than his fair share of demons.

He did lose some credibility though in hilarious fashion about ten years ago. He went on a rant about the dangers of all thr X Factor type programmes that were popular at the time, a radio station decided to ring him up and offered 5k to Aslan to be the guest star on one of the Irish ones.

He accepted in a heartbeat.

miamee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120711407#Comment_120711407

This is the Christy I remember, the shirt swinging open, bare feet and the crowd in the palm of his hand. I first saw Aslan at the DIT Fresher's Ball in (I think) 1995 and saw them a few times after that but sadly not recently. Always a fantastic gig. I normally couldn't give a fig about 'celebs' passing away but this one I'm finding very sad indeed. RIP Christy. There will be some party in Finglas this week to send him off.

HildaOgdenx

Sad news, seemed to be such a lovely man who put his heart and soul into his music.

Gone far too soon.

May his gentle soul rest in eternal peace.

miamee

A nice mix of his performances over the years here: https://www.thejournal.ie/christy-dignam-aslan-performances-6092325-Jun2023/

greenspurs

I can remember seeing "Loving me Lately" on Saturday Beatbox (?) on rte television, and immediately noticed this lads voice singing " i walk with this fear alone"... such power and emotion...

Then "This Is" was around, and "Crazy World" ..... I was a big fan since then, and even when Dignam&Goff were going.

I was lucky enough to see them a few times (not enough) over the years, and the last time was on a beach in Lismore , Co Waterford.

We were delighted

to meet the man himself and get a pic with him and my two kids.

Aslan's Live in Vicar St cd was ALWAYS on in our car when we travelled around on day trips, as the 4 of us sang along and mimicked Christys actions...

My two lads still listen (on spotify now though) to their songs. Surely an indication of how great their songs are and will be.

Rest easy Christy, a true Irish music legend. RiP.

tesla_newbie

Poor man suffered a lot , anytime I recall him as a guest on shows this past twenty years, the discussion was more about what was ailing him than anything about his music career

DAngelo Bailey

The poor man went through an awful lot of trauma in his life and came out the other side. He truly sang from the soul. RIP Christy

Hurrache

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120713595#Comment_120713595

Was only thinking this yesterday evening, but I put it around 1993 (but not absolutely certain) as that's when I went to my first DIT ball and a classmate, when Christy was reaching out to the crowd, grabbed him by the hand and pulled him down off the stage.

When in college I used to work part time near Palmerstown and they played there regularly in the Silver Granite I think, saw them a fair few times on a weekend.

Sleepy

A genuine talent and an absolute gentleman to go with it.

When he was first diagnosed he wasn't up to doing the big Aslan gigs but he took on a few small nights with just himself and Joe Jewell backing him on guitar to keep the bills paid. The president of a sports club I help out behind bar in got wind of it and managed to book him for a night. We kept the bar closed during the performance, only re-opening for an intermission halfway through their set so the members refresh their glasses while Christy took a breather. He gave a mesmerising performance, full of anecdotes and stories between their hits, a few of their lesser known songs and a couple of traditional covers (Green Fields of France was one of the hightlights)

We learned later that he was so appreciative of our efforts to accommodate his illness and the respect shown to the performers by closing the bar that he'd told quite a few other artists and we've gone from having the occasional cover act to managing to book some of the biggest names on the Irish music scene off the back of that praise over the past few years. They played for us again back in 2019 and the tickets were sold out in minutes.

A surprising anecdote he told on one of those nights: despite probably being almost better known as a drug addict than a performer he was never a drinker of alcohol.

Foxhound38

Huge talent and by all accounts an absolute gent. I've heard so many stories about how generous he has always been with his time too - from random fans right up to up-and-coming bands. A huge loss to the country. I think a statue or something of the sort would be appropriate.

PTH2009

Remember one of the shows I saw them and just as 'Loving Me Lately' was starting someone fell in the front row and Christy stopped the song to make sure the fan was OK before restarting

Shows what kind of gent he was