Darren Holden (musician)

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Darren Holden
Darren Holden, 2011.jpg
Background information
Born (1972-07-04) 4 July 1972 (age 49)
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Years active1998–present
LabelsPolygram Records, Crashed Records, ARK21/Universal Records, EMI Records, EMI Manhattan, Universal, Sony Records, Celtic Collections, Caroline Records
Associated actsThe High Kings, Boyzone, Billy Joel
Websitedarrenholden.net

Darren Holden (born 4 July 1972)[citation needed] is an Irish singer-songwriter who has performed on Broadway as part of Riverdance and Movin' Out and in the national tours for both shows. His debut album, Suddenly, released in Ireland and Europe in 1998, contained three Top 30 hit singles. He currently sings as part of the Irish folk group, the High Kings, along with Finbarr Clancy and Brian Dunphy.

Rhythm of the Dance, Riverdance and Movin' Out[]

Darren Holden was born in the County Kilkenny town of Mooncoin in Ireland.[1]

Holden toured extensively with the Dublin group Boyzone from 1995 to 1997.[citation needed]

He joined the new Irish dance/musical Rhythm of the Dance as lead vocalist in 1999 and spent 10 months performing in Scandinavia, Germany, Hungary, Belgium and Yugoslavia. He joined the Broadway production of Riverdance in February 2000 as a featured vocalist. The show ran for 18 months and included promo slots on NBC's Today Show and CBS' Early Show.

While in New York City, New York Holden teamed with country music producer Don DiNicola and recorded an album of contemporary/traditional country tunes. Recording took place in New York as well as at OmniSound in Nashville. Featured musicians included members of the Dixie Chicks. US country radio embraced the album, and by the end of 2003, three of the tracks had featured heavily on the airplay charts including "Blood and Smoke", which was released by Universal Records, with Miles Copeland's ARK 21 label releasing "Wherever You Are" (a number 17 hit) and "Ecstatic Electricity". Rodney Crowell once referred to Holden as an Irish Bryan White and invited him to Nashville. He co-wrote the song "Wendy's World" with Crowell.[citation needed]

Holden left Riverdance in June 2003 and moved directly back to Broadway as the lead piano man in the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp rock musical "Movin' Out". He was hand-picked for the job by Joel. He performed the role on Broadway for six months before originating the lead role for the US National Tour, which ran from January 2004 to January 2007.[2] He appeared on hundreds of early morning TV and radio shows during this period including NBC, FOX, ABC and CBS.[citation needed] The show also performed in Toronto and Japan.

In August 2006 he released a CD called Roadworks, much of which he wrote himself. It was produced by Bryan Steele and Tommy Byrnes (Billy Joel, Stray Cats) The album was distributed by Columbia in Japan where after a huge TV and radio promotional campaign it sold in excess of 30,000 copies. The album sold a further 20,000 copies in the USA.[citation needed]

Holden has performed with Paul Young, Belinda Carlisle, and Bonnie Tyler.[1] In addition, he has worked with such bands and artists as Boyzone, B*Witched, Peter Andre and Backstreet Boys.[citation needed] His rendition of the The Star-Spangled Banner garnered such respect that he was invited to sing it for President George W. Bush at the White House.[1]

The High Kings[]

In June 2007,[citation needed] Holden was invited to become a member of the High Kings, then a new Irish ballad group featuring Brian Dunphy, Finbarr Clancy and Martin Furey.

Their debut CD was released on EMI in February 2008 and hit No. 2 on the Billboard world music charts,[3] as well as hitting the top spot on various Amazon Music charts. It reached No. 7 in their native Ireland and has since been certified platinum. There have been three sold-out tours of the US and Ireland.[citation needed]

Holden performed solo in March 2009 with the Kilkenny Gospel Choir, at St Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny. He endorsed Optilase Laser Eye Clinic[4] in a TV advertisement shown on MTV, Sky TV, Channel 4, E4 and TV3. In August 2009, the Sunday World and Daily Mirror newspapers reported that Slash was headhunting Holden to replace Scott Weiland as the new Velvet Revolver lead vocalist. Sources close to the LA-based group confirmed that Holden had been in talks and material had been recorded.[citation needed]

Around 2009, Holden joined his former Boyzone pals, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham, on a charity mountain trek in Peru, to raise funds for Autism Action Ireland.[citation needed] He was approached to secure the use of his compositions by the games Rockband game and the newly issued Wii Fit Family Fun.[citation needed]

At the Keith Duffy Masquerade Ball on 5 December 2009 in Dublin, Holden one of the performers, as were Aslan and Keith Barry.[5]<--blogspot not accepted by WP[6]-->[citation needed]

Holden mentored Irish ballad group "Na Fianna" for The All Ireland Talent Show.[citation needed]

On 9 October 2009 Holden was one of seven Irish celebrities to spend a week in Tanzania while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. He completed the climb in 5 days and commented that "it was the most physically and mentally challenging week of his life".[citation needed] An RTÉ television documentary on the event was recorded for broadcast in 2011. The documentary was shown on RTÉ 1 television on 18 July 2011 and ratings showed that in excess of 500,000 viewers tuned in.[citation needed]

The High Kings released a charity single "Whiskey in the Jar" with 8-year-old Adam O'Sullivan, who suffers from a benign brain tumor, with all proceeds going to Crumlin Hospital and Temple Street Children's University Hospital. The song was launched with another appearance on The Late Late Show with O'Sullivan and Holden chatting with host Ryan Tubridy after the performance.[citation needed]

On 11 July 2012, The Daily Star reported that Holden was on an intense vocal course to combat a vocal fold nodule, that, if not addressed properly, could have a drastic effect on his singing voice.[citation needed]

The High Kings album Friends for Life was released in 2013, and the opening track was a Holden original called "Oh Maggie", which became the most-played and downloaded song from the album in Ireland, the UK and particularly Germany.[citation needed] The album reached number 5 in the Irish Top 40, Number 3 on Billboard's World Albums chart.[citation needed]

Due to the successful performance of the album around the globe, the band recorded a live album and concert DVD titled Four Friends Live. The show was recorded in Derry, and after Holden's performance of "The Town I Loved so Well", the audience rose in unison and gave a standing ovation for more than two minutes.[citation needed] The album has reportedly sold in excess of 100,000 copies since its release in November 2014.[citation needed]

The High Kings were asked to sing a new version of "Ireland's Call" for the Sony Music official Rugby World Cup album, and Holden was featured as the group's spokesman in a one-hour TV special on TV3, which delved into the song's illustrious history and provided an insight into the recording of the brand-new version.[citation needed]

On 1 July 2016, Holden filmed a video to launch himself as the first Irish artist to play an acoustic guitar built especially for him by Donegal-based company "Emerald Guitars". The company contacted Holden and presented him with the instrument before a High Kings show in Donegal. He is now an official ambassador for Emerald. The video went live on 5 July 2016.[citation needed]

On 30 January 2017 at the Sunday World Entertainment Awards, the High Kings were presented with the final award of the night: "Outstanding achievement in Irish Music around the world". TV3 quickly invited Holden back to The 6 O'Clock Show for a fourth time to discuss the award.[citation needed]

Holden presented some upcoming episodes of the SKY TV Channel 389 series Keep it Country which is broadcast in Ireland, the UK and the US. He interviewed some of his industry friends, as well as numerous singer/songwriters.[citation needed]

SKY reported that more than 100 thousand viewers tuned into all four episodes of Keep it Country with Holden in the presenter's chair, and announced that he would be back for more episodes very soon.[citation needed] Amongst the guest stars on his show were Eurovision Song Contest legend Johnny Logan and singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy.[citation needed]

After the High Kings played to a sold-out Drexel Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, on 8 March as part of their 2017 US tour, Kansas City Star entertainment correspondent David Freese said that Holden's vocal on "The Town I Loved so Well" was "nothing short of sensational".[citation needed] Standing ovations for Holden's version of this classic song continued across the USA throughout the tour, particularly in New York City on 12 March when the applause lasted more than 3 minutes according to The New York Times correspondent Jim Fuselli.[citation needed]

On 28 April 2017, Holden was once again front and centre on National Television, as he was invited to lead the panel on TV3's award-winning daytime show The Elaine Show hosted by Elaine Crowley. He was introduced to an estimated 300,000 viewers as "the High Kings leader", a tag which The Evening Herald suggested "has been gaining obvious momentum and apparition in recent years" whilst reviewing the episode.[citation needed]

On 24 May 2017, Holden was once again honoured by his home town of Mooncoin, when he was invited to attend and present the "Student of the Year Awards" at his former secondary school "Collaiste cos Siuire" (high school).[citation needed] The Munster Express, Kilkenny People and Irish Times carried coverage of the event. He has now been invited back to both his former schools in Mooncoin since 2014.[citation needed]

On 24 August, Crashed Records rereleased Holden's "Lady", marking the 20th anniversary of its initial release in 1997. It was dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. Originally a top-20 single, the reaction from fans to the Holden-penned tribute and video sent it to Number 3 on iTunes, the first solo chart placing for Holden since becoming a High King.[citation needed]

Following the untimely death of Eamonn Campbell of legendary band The Dubliners on 18 October 2017, a heartfelt tribute from Holden was included in Irish and UK news bulletins, including BBC News, RTÉ News and Sky News, as well as The Irish Independent, The Sun and The Daily Mirror.[citation needed]

On 2 November Holden appeared yet again on the TV3's The 6 O'Clock Show, marking his sixth appearance on the show, talking about the High Kings' new album Decade: The Best of the High Kings. The album was released on 3 November and quickly rose to Number 1 on iTunes.[citation needed]

RTÉ Radio 1 began playing "The Town I loved So Well" and praising the direction the band took with this version, citing Holden as a superstar of the genre after one morning broadcast.[citation needed]

Holden and Dunphy appeared once more on TV3's The 6 O'Clock Show couch to talk about life on the road and the band's brand new album. Decade went straight to the top of the Irish album charts on 10 November and stayed in the top 20 for seven weeks.[citation needed]

The Decade Irish tour opened in Mooncoin on 8 December and Holden said on Facebook that it was one of the most special nights of his life and career. The Mooncoin GAA club presented Holden with a framed club hurling jersey to commemorate the event. Most of his family members were in attendance on the night, two of whom joined him on stage for the last song. An official club statement said it was "A highly emotional and well deserved welcome home for this great ambassador for Mooncoin and Kilkenny for many years."[citation needed]

Holden was featured on much of the High Kings' press activities during their 2018 tour and also reportedly collaborated on six new songs with various writers around the world.[citation needed]

The band kicked off an Irish tour at the end of March and on 5 April Holden once again settled into the couch on TV3's The 6 O'Clock Show to chat about himself and the band.[citation needed]

On 7 June Holden and The High Kings were nominated for Best Album at the Irish Post Awards at the INEC in Killarney.[citation needed]

The band were joined by Phil Coulter for a live performance of their hit "Hand me down my Bible" which was written by the songwriting legend. On Coulter's request, Holden joined him at the end of the show to play accordion on his song "Thank God this was My Life".[citation needed]

Following another sold-out UK tour in November and a high-profile televised award show in London, Danny O'Donoghue, lead vocalist with The Script, spoke on UK radio, hailing Holden as one of his favourite Irish vocalists.[citation needed]

Charting singles[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "On the Couch With High King Darren Holden". RTÉ Guide. 25 February 2019.
  2. ^ Fleming, John. "Show gets cast rockin' on their toes" (St. Petersburg Times, 9 January 2005)
  3. ^ Sinkevics, John (14 September 2008). "Kings continue strong Irish singing tradition". The Grand Rapids Press. Mlive.com.
  4. ^ Maguire, Stephen. "Laser Eye Surgery in Ireland". The Irish Times.
  5. ^ "Boyzone's Keith Duffy: Pain over Stephen Gately death is 'easing only slowly'". Belfast Telegraph. 20 November 2009. The event is held on Saturday December 5, at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin, with special guests Aslan and Keith Barry.
  6. ^ "Keith Duffy Ball". Social Dublin. blogspot. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2021. ...guests enjoyed a four-course meal with entertainment by a host of celebrities and stars including Keith Barry and Darren Holden.

General sources[]

External links[]

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