Citylife in Lichfield - Dec 23/Jan 24

Spotlight On…
Scott Doonican
Comedy folk band The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican is due to
play Lichfield Guildhall on Saturday 13th January. We caught up with
Scott Doonican, the founding member, singer, acoustic guitarist, mischief
maker and general ringleader of the band.
• Hi Scott. Can you tell us, in your own words, what it is you do?
The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican take songs you have known for
years, exchange the lyrics with comedy parodies on a range of subjects
and play them all on folk instruments. As well as playing theatres and
other ticketed venues, we’ve been on the UK’s festival circuit since 2012,
playing to crowds as big as 20,000 people at Fairport’s Cropredy
Convention (twice), Glastonbury, Beautiful Days, Cambridge Folk
Festival, Bearded Theory and even the amazing Lichfield Fuse Festival.
Alongside the band shows, I also do solo shows where I play the band’s
songs stripped back to just me on an acoustic guitar, a ukulele and my
1981 Suzuki Omnichord.
• How did you get into the industry? Has this always been a passion
of yours?
I was a primary school teacher for 11 years, but even in my first six
years of teaching infants, I was playing with the band on weekends, until
I quit the day job and decided to make a go of it as a full-time working
musician. It was a scary thing to make that leap of faith but it kind of paid
off… I don’t make anywhere near as much money, but I am a LOT
happier!
• Can you describe your musical style for us? Has this changed or
evolved at all over time?
It’s comedy-parodies of famous rock, pop, punk and metal classics
played predominantly on folk instruments… in gorgeous knitwear and
dodgy wigs. Most of the material is co-written by myself, and my partner
Amanda, as well as our accordion player Alan Doonican.
• Which artists inspire and influence you the most, both growing up
and now?
I love everything from Frank Sinatra to Slayer, but in terms of the
people who inspired and influenced the direction of the band, it would
be the comedy-folk antics of the likes of Mike Harding, Jasper Carrot,
Richard Digance, Billy Connolly, Tony Capstick and all the other funny
folkies who mostly became telly comedians in the late 70s/early 80s,
mixed with the overblown stage antics of the likes of Queen, Rammstein
and Slipknot. We like to put on a show. The late, great Val Doonican
himself once said, “When you entertain the public, it’s no good just
having good music or singing, you must also have entertainment value,
so people will go home having had a good time”. I totally subscribe to
that mantra.
• What motivates you to create your music?
Making people laugh is the most contagious and positive force in the
world. Smile and the world will smile with you. I want our shows to be
an escape from all the rubbish that is going on in the world. Life is hard
enough, so it’s good to have an escape for a few hours and have a good
laugh amongst like-minded people.
• How important do you feel that music as an art form is to society?
You must remember how horrible it was during the pandemic, when
all of the music venues, theatres and festivals were closed? That time
proved just how much as humans we need music and the arts as a way
of communicating, showing our feelings, as a medium through which
people share experience or enjoy a moment with friends. Without it, we
were all a little poorer. Amanda and I worked online for 68 Saturday
nights during that time, producing ‘Scott Doonican’s BIG NEET IN,
bringing a regular three hour long show into people’s homes, and people
still tell us how much of a lifeline it was. It was for us too.
• And finally, Lichfield holds a special place in the hearts of many.
What does the City mean to you?
It’s a great city and we have visited many times in the past. We’ve had
lots of fun and memorable moments, particularly at Lichfield’s amazing
free Fuse Festival, which I have had the pleasure of headlining in both a
solo capacity and with my band. I’m looking forward to returning to play,
so I’ll be starting the new year with a bang! It’s selling well too, so I hope
to see you there if you want an evening of silly songs, stories, singalongs
and shenanigans. It’d be lovely to see you all.
www.thebarstewardsons.com
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