TV turmoil forced me to change the Script, says Danny O’Donoghue
HE WAS a mentor on series one of The Voice — but The Script frontman Danny O’Donoghue has revealed life was far from rosy behind the scenes.
He says he quit after coaching partially sighted singer Andrea Begley to success on series two because he was ‘burned out’.
‘It was difficult to get the artists a record deal,’ he told Guilty Pleasures.
‘The Script, meanwhile, had one of our biggest hits — Hall of Fame — when I was on the show. But I was struggling.
‘I was burning the candle at both ends. Eventually, you run out of wax.
‘The band were doing a world tour. I was writing and producing, then my mum fell ill. She had a brain aneurysm. That was behind my decision to leave.’
Danny, like many musicians, suffers from anxiety but is grateful to bandmates Mark Sheehan and Glen Power for being there to ‘pick me up when I am down’.
‘We are ordinary people thrust into this extraordinary life,’ added Danny, who is sad he is unable to share his success with his father, who died nearly ten years ago of a stomach aneuryism.
‘I have had so much success since he died. It’s bitter sweet, because my father was a musician. For me, Christmas is a time for family and if you are missing somebody that is tough. But, on Christmas Day, the one thing that changes the energy for me is I go from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon to visit sick kids at the Temple Street children hospital in Dublin. Then I go home to be with my three brothers and two sisters and all of their kids.’
Danny hasn’t ruled out a return to TV and recently thrilled fans when he posted a picture of him with The Voice coaches Tom Jones and Will.i.am.
But he stresses: ‘It wasn’t a Voice reunion. It was because the Black Eyed Peas are having a 20-year anniversary. They asked me to sing a song called Big Love with them, but I would never say no to going back on The Voice.’
Danny is currently writing material for The Script’s new album and 2019 UK tour.
It ends with a gig for The Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall on March 30, 2019.
‘It is something I have always wanted to do and all the proceeds go to such an amazing charity,’ he added.
For tickets, log on to royalalberthall.com.
Author: Andrei Harmsworth
