Irish rock band The Script lead a talk and a Q/A session on Friday 9th February, leading to a packed-out Theatre L (a rare sight this far into the semester!). The band strolled in to a roar of applause and the occasional ‘woo’ from an over enthusiastic fan. The three lads in the band Danny, Mark and Glen got up in the centre of the stage in the auditorium and started by making a few jokes and livening up the crowd.
The band gave their best advice for aspiring musicians and anybody with a passion in their life. Sharing one of their core insights to their work, guitarist Mark Sheehan said: “We don’t know the recipe for success, but we know the recipe for failure, and that’s trying to impress everybody – that’s our ethos from the start.” Other key bits of advice they shared were expressions like: “Keep your head down and stay laser-focussed,” “Believe it, put the work in and do the next right thing.”
The band are currently on tour, having played the 3Arena in Dublin the previous night. Their success to date is quite astounding and through a Q/A session they talked about how they got to where they are now. On music, the band believe that “Music isn’t really a choice, it’s a vocation.” Music has always appealed to them as a way to express themselves, especially with regards to their feelings and emotions. Lead singer, Danny O’Donoghue joked about girls being the reason why he got into music but on a more serious note he stated: “We’ve always know that we wanted to entertain people. I wanted to be seen and wanted to be heard. Music was an outlet for me to express myself – it was a release.”
As musicians in Ireland, it can be tough making your mark on the industry. They explained how honoured they feel to have even made it out of Ireland, never mind the fame they’ve achieved across the world. Drummer, Glen Power approached music in a more personal manner in how it benefited his life: “Music is the one way for me to find freedom from my head.” He feels like he’s the best version of himself when he plays music – it was never about fame, it was about himself: “If you follow your feelings you’ll end up where you want to be, don’t listen to your head, listen to your heart.”
They spoke about their lyrical influences, namely for the song ‘Hall of Fame’, which peaked at number 1 in Ireland. The song served as a sort of ode to the everyday heroes in our lives that don’t get the recognition that they deserve, in comparison to movie stars in Hollywood do.
Their long rise to fame was skyrocketed by their debut album ‘The Script’, which went to number 1 in both Ireland and the UK. The band were the first to achieve this milestone with a debut album since U2. Danny admitted that he wept once hearing of their long-awaited success that so many told them they couldn’t do, namely Glen’s school guidance councillor who tried to convince him out of pursuing music as a career. The band told the audience their favourite songs to play: ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ and ‘For The First Time’.
After a relatively short talk and Q/A session, the band had to get back to touring business. They were presented with an honorary membership of UCD LawSoc. Danny tried on the famous LawSoc medallion and posed for the photos which got a good laugh from the crowd. The lads left the theatre to a much deserved chorus of cheers and applause, which undoubtedly awaits them at each stop on their tour.
Conor Capplis – News Writer
