June McDonnell chats to the Irish music legends whose popularity here and around the world has endured since they first took to the stage half a century ago.

 

They have album and video sales in excess of 20 million worldwide, most of which have made the U.K. album charts; singles too numerous to mention, with several making the U.K. top ten. They have toured the U.K., USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and appeared on Top of the Pops. On another occasion they were invited on TOTP but couldn’t appear ‘live’ as they were on tour, but their single was featured showing the cover of their latest LP at the time. Over 50 years together. Who am I talking about?

A good question for a pub quiz. Of course, I’m referring to the legendary Foster and Allen. I was lucky enough to chat to Mick and Tony recently and congratulate them on their worldwide success over the last 50 years.

“Do you know our paths crossed when I was about 17 and Tony a few years younger,” Mick Foster tells me. “I was playing trad music with a group called ‘The Black and Amber Céilí Band’ and Tony was filling in occasionally with a local band called ‘The Marylanders’.

“I too joined ‘The Marylanders’ in 1965 playing saxophone and electric mandolin, although my main instrument is the piano accordion. It was around the same time that Tony left them,” – “but I later rejoined”, Tony interjects “when they offered me a full-time position.”

“You didn’t stay that long with The Marylanders,” he reminds Mick. “You were more interested in playing traditional music.”

Mick continued playing traditional accordion music and in fact issued an LP record entitled Traditional Irish Music with Mick Foster, All Ireland Champion.

After leaving The Marylanders Tony played with the well-known Kieran Kelly band until they broke up.

“At that stage I decided to form my own band along with my brother Tom, better known as T.R. Dallas, and another three musician friends. We called ourselves ‘The Prairie Boys’,” Tony recalls.

“We did well for a while, but it was difficult to keep a five-piece on the road and earn some money at the same time. Around this time Doc Carroll and the Royal Blues also split and Doc formed a new band called ‘The Nightrunners’ and invited me to join them.

“We worked well and got plenty of gigs for about eighteen months but we were a showband and the cabaret scene had begun to take over. Doc saw the writing on the wall and decided to leave.
“I was looking around for some new talent to join us and remembered Mick from ‘The Marylanders’. So Mick joined ‘The Nightrunners’ as the saxophone player.”

“I only joined to convince Tony to form a two-piece but he was having none of it. I had seen the Alexander Brothers on the Late Late Show and was convinced that Tony and myself could become the Irish version of them. It took some convincing I can tell you, but I was right as usual,” Mick teases.

“I was enjoying ‘The Nightrunners’ and that’s where I saw my future. Mick was still niggling me about his idea of the Irish Alexander Brothers. I asked him to give The Nightrunners six months and if it didn’t work out we would go on the road on our own, just the two of us. We had a deal.

“Mick was happy with the arrangement,” Tony recalls. “The Nightrunners got a week-long tour in England, but at the end of the week we had no gigs lined up for when we got home. As luck would have it a guy we had played for during that week asked us to stay around and play in his pub, The Prince of Wales, in Kilburn Park, North London. The other band members went home and Mick and I stayed on.

“We had a great week, the music went well with Mick belting out the traditional tunes on the accordion. He was delighted that he was finally getting his two-piece. I had reservations initally but then began to think maybe he was right!”

“Of course I was right, when am I ever wrong?” Mick asks, adding “it took me from 1968 to 1975 to convince him. That week in London we were billed as Mick Foster and Tony Allen. Ireland looked as if it was finally getting it’s Alexander Brothers.”

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own