THE Fureys provided the soundtrack to many a couple's early days of romance and, later on, raising a family, so there's likely to be two to three generations of fans in the audience when they play Belfast next month – something which delights original founder-members George and Eddie Furey.
The first Irish folk band to have a UK number one hit, with When You Were Sweet 16, the veteran family-based outfit are returning to the Waterfront Hall, when they're sure to run through some of their impressive back catalogue.
The list includes hits that have become Irish standards, including I Will Love You, The Green Fields Of France, The Old Man, Red Rose Café, From Clare To Here, Her Father Didn’t Like Me Anyway and Leaving Nancy, songs that have been played by the band in its various forms all over the world for nearly four decades.
The Dublin musicians, now grandparents themselves, have continued the band's success after brother and piper Finbar and singer Davey Arthur left and brother Paul died from cancer. They say playing Belfast is like coming back home.
"It's a great place to be and it's like a second home to us," George says as he and his brother pose for publicity photos ahead of the gig. "We played here loads over the years and it's great that it's not too far from Dublin."
The brothers say that over the years their audiences have come to know what to expect from them and have passed on their love of the Fureys' music.
"All the people who used to come to our concerts and buy our records played them to their kids and now them kids come to see us, and not only that, the grand-kids come to see us," says George.
The Fureys have eased up somewhat since the days when they toured Australia and the US every year; that said, they still criss-cross back and forth from Ireland to England and they'll be performing 52 nights between now and June.
Eddie jokes: "We're only doing a 280 gigs a year now. We still play a bit in Europe, in Belgium and Holland, and sometimes in America, but you know we did 22 different tours of Australia, so we've really seen everything and want to slow down a bit down."
But as retirement is a dirty word to the Fureys, they have no intention of slowing down too much, having seen too many of their good friends, both in the music business and outside, leave what they are good at.
"You want to keep going. It's terrible if a man is good at his trade and then stops. It keeps the mind fresh," George suggests.
The pair finished writing a new album just before Christmas, one of many they have produced, with the intention of releasing it in 2018 to coincide with their 40th anniversary.
"While most of our songs, such as Steal Away, have to do with emigration or drink," laughs Eddie, "the new album will be a bit different from us – all acoustic – and we hope our fans will like it when it comes out."
They released a new CD, The Times They are a changing, last September which boasts some great covers, including of The Proclaimers' Five Hundred Miles, Bob Dylan's Mr Tambourine Man, and Blowing in the Wind, and Roberta Flack's The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
Performing on stage is what they love to do and the brothers say it's their job to make their fans happy.
George says: "We love enjoying ourselves and we love making them happy because at the end of the day, they come out to enjoy themselves for a night. They're got a hook to drag us off the stage."
:: The Fureys, the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Saturday February 4. Tickets from www.waterfront.co.uk or call the box office on 028 9033 4455. See www.thefureys.com for more tour dates.
