FREDDIE WHITE
www.freddiewhite.com
Freddie White has long been synonymous with music of the highest quality.
Whether interpreting songs by his favourite writers, such as Randy Newman, Tom
Waits, John Hiatt and Guy Clark, or performing his own classy compositions,
Freddie’s live performances are nothing short of legendary.
Freddie has been part of
the fabric of the live music scene in
Ireland
since the 1970’s and his albums continue to sell well, amongst his loyal and
new-found fan base.
Born in
Cobh,
County
Cork
into a musical family, by age thirteen Freddie was playing in school bands and
by seventeen playing professionally. At nineteen, he moved to
London,
where he busked in subways, and developed his unique voice and guitar style.
In 1974, he was a
founding member of ‘Scullion’, together with
Philip
King and Sonny Condell. Later he formed ‘The Fake’, regarded as one of the
seminal Irish bands of the late ‘70’s. Next came The
Freddie White
Band formed in 1978, which toured with Eric Clapton that year.
His first album, Live on Tour,
recorded by Nicky Ryan while touring with Clannad, brought him national
attention. His second album, Do You Do, was
the biggest selling Mulligan Label album of 1981. With these early albums,
Freddie introduced an eclectic repertoire of music, which spanned musical genres
and eras, to an Irish audience.
Long Distance
Runner
was launched in 1985, and it featured original songs such as ‘Goodbye This
Time’, ‘Down Without A Fight’, and the hit single ‘Frozen Heart’, which was
co-written with Johnny Duhan. His fourth album, ‘Close To You’ continued this
trend, with most of the songs self-penned. In 1994, he released
Straight Up,
a collection of fourteen songs recorded live by DanDan Fitzgerald
My Country was released
in
Ireland
in May 1999. A collection of eleven songs co-written with Ann O’Sullivan and
based on the poetry of Don O’Sullivan. The album was co-produced by Freddie and
Declan Sinnott, renowned for his work as producer and arranger with
Sinead Lohan,
Frances
Black and Mary Black and as lead guitarist with Horslips and Moving Hearts.
In May 2002 the 2-CD set
Lost and Found
was released, comprising digitally re-mastered versions of two of Freddie's best
selling early albums, albums, namely, Live on Tour and Do You Do, under the
watchful eye of original producer PJ Curtis. The re-release was warmly welcomed
not only by the many whose original vinyl copies had long since worn out, but
also by those who delighted in discovering these classic recordings.
In 2004 Freddie released
an all-new studio album entitled Four Days in May.
Recorded in
Dublin
with some of
Ireland's
finest musicians over a four-day period, it showcases Freddie's songwriting
prowess and unerring choice of songs worthy of remarkable reinterpretation.
That same year,
Freddie
returned to
Ireland
after many years living in the
USA.
Since then he has
regularly toured
Ireland
and
Europe
and during the past year has dedicated himself to the development of his latest
recording, collaborating with songwriters Jimmy MacCarthy and Jim Barrett.
To be released on
February 1, 2008,
‘Stormy
Lullaby,
is a stunning collection of moody tracks in which
Freddie White’s
musicianship and voice shine through. He has once again teamed up with his old
cohort DanDan Fitzgerald to produce this gem. The album has an acoustic feel
thanks to the input of a small, tight group of musicians from his native
Cork.
‘Stormy Lullaby’ is a collection of eleven songs. Some tracks are newly written,
while others (not previously recorded by Freddie) have proven their worth by
becoming firm favourites with his live audiences.
