Roscrea's Donie O bringing the good times back with new single

DONIE O  has announced a return to the airwaves with the news of a brand new single set to drop next month. The Tipp entertainer will release his version of Dave Sheriff's  Good Time Country Music Show on September 8. 

Speaking about his first new music since his take on the George Strait classic  Amarillo By Morning  last year, Donie O confirmed that while  Good Time Country Music Show would be hitting radio a little later than previously planned, taking the time needed to attain his usual 'sound' and have it just right on the new record was all a part of the process. 

"Having worked with my producer Peter Maher for so long now, we both have a very clear idea of what kind of songs suit my style, but also how they need to sound when they carry my name. I've never been one to go into a recording studio and simply replicate an earlier or original version of a song. That approach has never appealed to me at all". 

Donie O continued,  "When you listen back to anything from my first album (Dreaming My Dreams), and any of the singles already released from my forthcoming second collection, the instrumentation and arrangements present a very clear link between each record, I think. We wanted to make sure that sense of identity was unmistakable on Good Time Country Music Show as well. There's always at least a few different ways to go about achieving that. Sometimes you know early on which one you prefer, and other times - as in this case - you find yourself more delicately poised between a couple of choices". 

"But as always when working with Peter",  observed Donie O, "I'm delighted with the direction we took the song in. So it's a great feeling to finally be sending some new music out to radio again in the shape of Good Time Country Music Show , a brilliant song from Dave Sheriff." 

Good Time Country Music Show will be the fifth single taken from the Roscrea man's second long-player collection. That project, which will also feature  A Picture Of You,  Early Mornin' Rain,  Back In '68,  and the aforementioned  Amarillo By Morning, is now scheduled for a late summer release in 2024. 

~  Good Time Country Music Show , the NEW single from Donie O and the latest taken from his forthcoming second album, is at radio now, and available on all platforms from Friday, September 8. 

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NORMAN AND SABRINA SING GEORGE AND TAMMY

As he continues to celebrate the recent release of his latest album,  Norman Broland  will soon return to the airwaves once again with his third single of the year from that long-awaited long-player.  It's an Old Love Thing the track that gets the show underway on Norman's  A Country Singer Singing Country Songs collection, will be available on all platforms from Friday, September 8th. 

Now, if you happen to be  familiar  with the original recording of that 1995 number from the pen of Kenny Cornell, you'll probably know that it came from the ninth and final album -  One  - from the late country legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette. So naturally  enough, this was a song that Norman was going to need some company on too. And in country newcomer  Sabrina Kane, he knew he had the very woman for the job! 

"I became a fan of Sabrina's voice from right about the second line of the first song I ever heard her sing", recalls Norman. 

"Everything about her voice is country to a tee. Her timing, her phrasing, and maybe most importantly of all, the feeling that she puts into whatever song she sings. She's really something else, and I think she's going to win herself a lot of fans as she becomes more widely known on the country scene. When it came to possible duet partners for putting my spin on this George and Tammy number, my only worry was that Sabrina might turn me down!", laughs Norman. 

"I always had this one in mind as the song that was going to open the album, so I wanted to make sure we kicked things off in style. So that made Sabrina the perfect choice for leaving listeners in no doubt that the album was going to start country, and stay country!" 

Norman launched  I'm A Country Singer Singing Country Songs   with a celebration night in Letterkenny's  Mount Errigal Hotel on July 27th, where he was joined by special guests Sabrina, Mick Flavin (who also duets with Norman on the song  The Little Mountain Church), Louise  Morrissey, Shawn Cuddy, Rachel McConnell, and Gavin McAloon. The event was hosted by Highland Radio's Tommy Rosney, while the Brian Kerrigan Band backed all artists on the night. The album, including new single  It's An Old Love Thing, was also produced by Brian Kerrigan. 

Speaking about the album, Norman shared his pride at finally having this body of work out in the world...

"This album is really a document of my career over the last three or so years, so finally having all of these songs together in one place for fans to enjoy, that's a very satisfying feeling, I have to say. There's only one song on the album that won't have been a single in its own right along the way, and that's Stuck On You, so that's the one that closes out the whole thing. I know in days gone by most albums would have a good few 'album tracks', as they used to call them. Not just there to make up the numbers, but they wouldn't ever be singles either." 

Norman continued,  "I've kind of done it the other way around, in that every song on the album - except 'Stuck On You' - actually was a single! And 'Stuck On You' could have been too. It's another brilliant song, and I'm really happy with how it came out. That's why it has the honour, if you like, of being the last song on the record. I think the first and last songs are so important. One sets the tone for all that follows, while the other becomes the listener's last memory."

Norman's new single,  It's An Old Love Thing, which is also the album's opener, featured on  One, the final studio album from George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Not only was it that incredible duo's first collaboration in fifteen years at the time of its release in 1995, it also proved to be Tammy's last studio album before she passed away in 1998.

For Norman, the release of this duet with Sabrina marks the closing chapter of his I'm A Country Singer Singing Country Songsproject, but serves as the perfect reminder to country music fans everywhere of an album that is proudly, and unmistakably country from first breath to last. 

And the next one is going to be exactly that too, as Norman laughs,  "We're about three or four cuts deep into the next album already! I just couldn't help myself! So hopefully, come winter-time or thereabouts, we'll be able to share the first taste of what we've been working on". 

~ It's an Old Love Thing,  the new single from Norman Borland with special guest Sabrina Kane, is at radio now, and available on all platforms from Friday, September 8 

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THE KILLERS ON STRADBALLY SIDE OF TOWN

The Killers surprised fans ahead of their headline show at Electric Picnic last weekend with the release of a brand new single,  Your Side of Town, released on Friday, August 25th.  Your Side of Town  sees The Killers reunite with Stuart Price and Shawn Everett, who also co-produced last year’s standalone single,  boy, with the band.

The Killers introduce the single:  “With much excitement we present you with Your Side of Town. It’s got the ghosts of a lot of the synth music that inspired us over the years. And yet, somehow, feels completely our own. Now it’s yours! Turn it up.”

The Killers’ current tour dates mark a return for the band to headlining the recent Reading & Leeds Festival for the first time since they topped the bill in 2008, and was also their live debut in the Scottish capital on August 29th. The shows follow last year’s massive, sold out stadium tour, which saw them play to 400,000 fans at shows including two euphoric nights at London’s Emirates Stadium.

Since the release of their 2004 debut,  Hot Fuss, The Killers have sold 30 million albums, headlined stadiums and festivals worldwide and won dozens of accolades globally. Their last release,  boy, became a longstanding U.S #1 alternative airplay track. It followed the albums,  Imploding The Mirage  in 2020, and the 2021’s  Pressure Machine, which gave the band their record-breaking sixth and seventh consecutive UK #1s and their most critically acclaimed to date.

~  Your Side of Town, the new single from The Killer sis out now.