It will be 23 years since we lost the late, great Michael Hutchence on November 22, 1997. It must have been nerve-wracking for Northern Irish Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Ciaran Gribbin to step into his enormous shoes. But that he did back in 2011, becoming the new lead singer of legendary Australian band INXS, a gig previously held by Jon Stevens and J.D. Fortune.
Shimmying into a legacy that has shifted some 70 million + albums worldwide, Gribbin's tenure was short but glorious, curtailed by the band’s indefinite hiatus. He has struck back out on his own again. As part of the push for post-lockdown Sydney to regain its 24/7 city status, he’ll perform an intimate gig at the Vanguard in Newtown on Saturday, October 24.
He’ll launch new single ‘Let’s Change the World’, co-written with Francis Rossi and Bob Young from Status Quo, and dive into his solo work alongside revealing tales of his adventures in the music business. Cutting his teeth gigging in no-nonsense bars of Belfast and Derry, where the feedback was instant and unsparing, was the best training Gribbin could hope for.
He went on to warm up for the likes of Paul McCartney, Crowded House, Gotye and Snow Patrol, plus wrote songs for U2-backed feature film Killing Bono. He even penned a number for Al Pacino to sing in movie Danny Collins and co-wrote ‘Celebration’ with the material girl herself, Madonna, and producer Paul Oakenfold.
We can’t wait to hear what he has in store for us. There will be two sessions, one at 6pm, followed by another at 9.30pm. You can opt for dinner and a show with the earlier slot. “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to step on stage again after a long break,” Gribbin says, pointing to the prolonged shutdown. “It’s brilliant that the Vanguard is bringing live music to the people of Sydney again in a safe environment. It’s going to be a great night.”
Music your jam? Listen in to this Opera House sesion from Modfather Paul Weller.
