Barry Devlin (Horslips) to receive this year’s Legend Award

Barry Devlin (Horslips) to receive this year’s Legend Award + Perform at the Northern Ireland Music Prize on Wednesday 16th November 2022 at the Ulster Hall, Belfast

Barry Devlin (Horslips) to receive this year’s Legend Award + Perform at the Northern Ireland Music Prize on Wednesday 16th November 2022

The Oh Yeah Music Centre is delighted to announce that this year’s Legend Award recipient is Barry Devlin. The presentation will be made at the Northern Ireland Music Prize on Wednesday 16th November at the Ulster Hall, Belfast.

 

Following the presentation to Barry Devlin, fellow musicians and Horslips friends Jim LockhartRay Fean and Fiach Moriarty will join Barry on stage for a few of the bands best known songs. The NI Music Prize is an annual awards night for music from the North and will include sets from shortlisted acts including Album, Single, Live and Newcomer as well as this very special Legend performance.

Barry Devlin originally from Ardboe in Co Tyrone is a musician, bass player, singer and frontman with Horslips. They have been described as the founding fathers of Celtic Rock that defined a sound and style making them one of Ireland’s greatest bands. Barry is also an accomplished writer and director, having written for TV shows such as Ballykissangel, as well as directing several music videos for U2 in the 1980s.

Barry Devlin humbly said of the award: ‘Undeserving but thrilled” and went on the say. “I know the whole band will be delighted. Horslips always had a strong emotional connection to Belfast: we did the Whitla Hall and the Ulster Hall by turns (and in the early days the McMordie). But our final gig first time round – back in 1980 – was in the Ulster Hall, an emotional night when Charles O’Connor famously threw his fiddle into the audience. So it’s a nice piece of circularity to be able to scramble up on that hallowed stage one last time and run through a few old favourites.”

Paul EvansChair of Oh Yeah Music Centre said: “In the 60’s and 70’s, as young musicians tapped into Ireland’s legacy of traditional tunes and song, none did it with more swagger and sheer joy than Horslips and the man from Ardboe, Barry Devlin. The velvet loons belied the creativity and respect they brought to that heritage, opening musical avenues to those not familiar with the tradition, myself included. Barry has had a long and distinguished career since but, as well as his music, this award marks how he and Horslips kept the faith as they helped keep music live on northern stages during some of our worst days. And for that, we music fans of a certain age remain forever grateful.”

The Horslips story is well known. They formed in 1970 and after a dozen albums (and an anthemic single “Dearg Doom”) as well as countless gigs in Ireland, England, Europe and the USA, called it a day in 1980.

After ‘the longest fag break in history’, they opened part two of the saga with a raucous sold out gig in The Odyssey in 2009 and in the years in between have played gigs in the Waterfront Hall (with the NI Symphony), Dunluce Castle, The Mac and Black Box Belfast among others.

A 35 CD box set called ‘More Than You Can Chew’ is due out in December, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of their first album ‘Happy To Meet – Sorry To Part.’ “Another nice piece of happenstance’, says Devlin.

The Oh Yeah Legend award is presented annually to an individual or band that has made a significant contribution to the world of music. Previous recipients include ASH, Snow Patrol and Gary Moore (Posthumous).

A very limited amount of tickets will go on sale on Monday 22nd August at 10am from the Ulster Hall and Waterfront website. https://www.ulsterhall.co.uk/what-s-on/

 

All info relating to the NI Music Prize can be found at www.nimusicprize.com

  • The Northern Ireland Music Prize honours and celebrates the very best of new, emerging and established Northern Irish music.

  • It is an annual awards night organised by the Oh Yeah Music Centre and takes place during Sound of Belfast Festival every year.
  • The NI Music Prize was set up to support the growth and build the profile of NI Music. It aligns with similar events in other parts in the UK and Ireland (Choice Music Prize, Mercury Prize, Scottish Album of The Year etc).
  • The NI Music Prize includes awards for Album, Single, Live Act, Newcomer and Outstanding Contribution To Music as well as the Oh Yeah Legend Award.
  • The NI Music Prize is supported by Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, YouTube Music, Help Musicians, PPL and PRS for Music.

About Oh Yeah 

 

Oh Yeah Music Centre –  ‘Open Doors To Music’

 

The award winning Oh Yeah Music Centre is Belfast’s dedicated music hub. Established as a charity in 2007, it is a resource for music makers, fans, audiences, community and the business of music. The ethos is all-inclusive. The central pillar of Oh Yeah is that music is one of the great resources of NI, a catalytic agent that changes lives for the better.

The mission statement is ‘Open Doors To Music’. It combines the verve and resourcefulness of the music industry with a programme of social value. The building contains affordable rehearsal space, a live venue, a music exhibition, a café/bar space, a recording studio, song-writing rooms, office units and workshop spaces.