Full Album show of
January 15, 2021
Album: Hidden Gems
Artist's Biography
Irish musician Francie Conway has been having hits and playing festivals
across Europe for 40 years.
Francie Conway first came to prominence in Ireland during the 1970s as
founder of the band ‘Clutch’. By 1980 he had signed as a solo artist to RCA
Records, with The Zombies’ Chris White as his producer. The first few
singles were popular with radio, due in part to the all-star group of
musicians used and some excellent songs, but failed to chart in the UK.
His early career was spent busking with his someone he describes as “the
best busking partner I have ever had”. It was Alistair Campbell, the man who
would later go on to become Tony Blair’s Director of Communications. They
are still in touch today.
In 1984 Francie Conway wrote all of the material for his debut album, and
had a major hit single in Europe with ‘To The Edge Of Time’. It led to a
career defining headline appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where he
also met long time collaborator (Queen’s producer) Dave Richards.
Although the song missed the charts in the UK, it provided the platform for
a long and successful career and raised his profile to such an extent in his
native Ireland that his next full-length release (Wake Up LP) spawned cover
versions of 7 of the tracks. The Fureys, Stevie Wright, and Dolores Keane
(amongst others) recorded successful versions of ‘Somewhere In Heaven’,
‘Striking It Rich’, and ‘Walking On Seashells’.
Since then there have been regular releases from Francie for a number of
different projects. Some with his band ‘The Works’ and other work
commissioned, including the ‘Worth The Wait’ compilation album made for
Guinness and used in their campaigns across Scandinavia, Benelux, and Asia.
About the Album
Brand new (2021) release from Francie Conway. Hidden Gems is a collection of
singles, rarities, and some new recordings. Rock, pop, and oldies.
This brand-new album is a compilation of Hidden Gems, rarely heard material
from across Francie’s career. Most of it released but long since deleted,
this is the first time they have been made available as one collection. It
is available as a digital download and on CD, with vinyl to follow soon..