The Priests
In an industry ravaged by illegal downloads, competition from computer games and general public apathy toward the crowded market place of selling music, a million selling act is a jewel in the crown.
Where once it was a foregone conclusion that any new artist, with all the power, pomp and circumstance of a major label behind them would reach out to a million and one souls, in 2009, it is a feat very few achieve. Duffy, Leona Lewis, The Killers. It’s a list that can be counted on one hand.
So then, even in an industry that prides itself on having no rules, few pundits would have predicted that an unknown middle aged vocal group of Roman Catholic priests from Northern Ireland, Fathers Eugene O Hagan, Martin O Hagan and David Delargy would become million sellers.
This is an overnight sensation that has been 30 years in the making. It’s industry gold! This is a dream story of world class talent wrapped up in an amazing true story spanning a turbulent lifetime of service and faith and music. Faith and music have been at the heart of their story from the beginning and it’s that truth that brings us to this moment.
Their success is not just confined to the UK and Ireland. Signing their record deal less that a year ago, they have topped the charts from America to Australia to Sweden. They became Guinness World Record holders. By September 2009 they will have seen their debut album released in over 40 countries. They will have travelled three continents and with worldwide record sales approaching 2 million, this is just the beginning.
The Priests have gone from performing in their local community centres to announcing shows in arenas, venues usually reserved for the likes of Take That, Girls Aloud and Coldplay. There is the book and the merchandise deal and there is no doubt that a film offer is looming. All this, and they have still kept their ‘day jobs’ as parish priests. Unusually for the music business, The Priests have insisted from the start that celebrating regular Mass, weddings, funerals, baptisms and all the community work – that real life comes first – this goes with their calling. It was a prerequisite they insisted on before signing a contract with Sony Music.
They have been true to their calling, true to their music and problematic for an industry used to compliance and conformity. Who imagined that three priests could make an international label ‘think outside the box?’ But that is just what has happened.
Their admirers are varied, but how many music sensations can count Prince Charles, your mum, your dad, Aunty Mabel and The Pope on their mailing list?
Why the success? There were no stylists whirring like hummingbirds, no make up artists spinning like tops, no image consultants fighting loosing battles with cameras and lights which seem intent on advertising the work of the surgeon’s knife. No stunts, no spin, no audio trickery. There is also no desperate headlong grab for fame here, they simply do what they have always done. They sing!
Actually, they do more than sing. Fathers Eugene, Martin and David say ‘when we sing, we pray’ thus they do adhere to one of the oldest music industry mantras of ‘keeping it real’. And if the music industry prides itself on having no rules…it overlooks a fundamental one. Talent will out.