Robert Arkins

Robert Arkins
Robert Arkins
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	Musician; actor;

Robert Arkins is an Irish musician and actor^[1] who played the role of Jimmy Rabbitte, the manager of the Commitments, in the 1991 film The Commitments directed by Alan Parker.

A native of Drumcondra, Dublin,^[2] Arkins has been a professional musician from the age of 15.^[3] He left school at 17 to front his band, Housebroken.^[1] He is a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who counts piano, bass and trumpet in his repertoire.^[1] Housebroken won the Sunday World Bandslam competition in 1988, after only having been established for three months.^[2]

With no prior acting experience, Arkins heard of the filming of The Commitments from his sister.^[1] Following seven auditions, Arkins was cast as "Deco Cuffe", the band's lead singer, but was replaced in that role after Parker discovered newcomer Andrew Strong.^[4] Despite not featuring as a singer in the film Arkins did provide lead vocals for two tracks – Treat Her Right and Slip Away – on the accompanying soundtrack album.^[5] Treat Her Right was the song played over the opening credits of the film, but the video of the song appeared only as a bonus track on the DVD.

Following the release of The Commitments Arkins moved back into music and signed a record deal with MCA Records in 1993,^[6] although he did not finish recording the consequent album.^[7] He has composed and produced work for a number of commercial clients, television projects, and for two short films.^[8] He briefly returned to acting in 1998, in a short film entitled What Are You Looking At?,^[4] and again in 2018 in the lead role of the film .^[9] In 2011, he joined fellow various cast members from The Commitments to perform a series of concerts across Ireland, to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary.^[10] This was followed by three dates in the UK in 2012.^[10]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Wolf, Matt (9 August 1991). "Irish Robert Arkins finds fame after making his debut in movie". Reading Eagle. p. A9.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Milton, Stephen (2 October 2016). "He said it once and said it loud… So what became of Jimmy Rabbitte?". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ Schoemer, Karen (18 August 1991). "A Film Pursues the Redemptive Power of Rock-and-Roll". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Kendall, Paul (29 September 2013). "Whatever happened to The Commitments?". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
^ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD liner). The Commitments. Geffen Records. 13 August 1991.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Artist Profile: Robert Arkins". My Music Source. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
^ Martin, Paul (26 November 2001). "Soul searching 10 years on". The Mirror.
^ "Whatever happened to the other stars of the Commitments?". Independent.ie. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
^ Steven (13 July 2018). "Shane Conaty, Co-Director of 'The Comeback'". Film Ireland. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b McHarrie, Emma (5 September 2011). "The Commitments Reunion Tour 2012". Click Liverpool. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.