Lucy Gaffney

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Lucy Gaffney- Irish musician and songwriter

Interview conducted on Feb. 25, 2020

by Dan Locke

Happy belated Birthday. Since your birthday is the beginning of the year. Do you celebrate both at the same time?

Lucy Gaffney: Yeah, it’s a great excuse for a double party at the start of the year with my family which is really nice!

What was your upbringing like?

Pretty creative in terms of the music and art I was exposed to fairly early on in my life. I spent most of my free time drawing and painting and my parents were always taking me to art exhibitions and gigs.

How did you discover music?

MTV, long car journeys and my parents’ tape cassette/CD collection pretty much. Seeing the music video for Coffee and TV in ‘99 blew my mind when I was 6!

At what age did you start performing with your brother Thomas?

I think I was 15 and we busked on Fountain Street in Belfast playing our own songs.

What happened to the band Southern?

My brother was ill for a while after a lot of touring we’d done in Southern and we were in a pretty bad record deal that we wanted out of so we decided to take a ‘long’ break

Back in 2010, you were in a contest to win an open spot on the tour of Snow Patrol. What happened?

It was an Irish competition sponsored by Guinness, kind of a ‘Battle of The Bands’ type of thing in a pub in Belfast. I think I was 16, sufficient to say we didn’t win!

How did you get your first guitar and do you still have it?

I spent years never owning my own guitar because I always borrowed one of my brothers. In the last few years, I got a Martin D28 from ‘Matchetts’ in Belfast. It’s my pride and joy, sounds like a dream and I write everything on it.

How is the music scene in Liverpool?

I have so much love for Liverpool’s music scene! I don’t think I’ve ever been to a city where music’s such a huge part of day to day life, it’s awesome

How are you treated as a female trying to make it into music?

It’s got its pros and con’s in this job. I guess there’s an element of being judged twice as hard for attempting a genre or having a persona on stage as a woman and on social media, it’s easier to be pigeon-holed or scrutinized, but on another level because it’s more rare to see a woman holding a guitar or playing alternative music it’s maybe easier to get your music out there and get noticed? Kind of a catch 22.

First and the last concert you went to see someone to perform?

Well, my mum took me to see The Cure when she was pregnant with me, does that count? Pretty epic first gig. Otherwise, the first concert was Zero 7 at the Mandela Hall in Belfast. The last concert was Liam Gallagher in Amsterdam in February 2020 at the Ziggo Dome.

You are an Irish songwriter. I am going to ask you about some other Irish guitarists, I would like to say something about each if you can.

Rory Gallagher- Total god in our house! My mum’s claim to fame is that she jumped on stage and kissed him at his Ulster Hall gig back in the ’70s!
Eric Bell- Thin Lizzy- I had to sing Thin Lizzy’s ‘Whiskey in The Jar’ for a school performance when I was a kid, kind of been hooked on them ever since.
Van Morrison- Van Morrison and Belfast go hand in hand. We love him the way The Liverpudlians love the Beatles. Astral Weeks is my favorite song and Album.
Gary Moore / Vivian Patrick Campbell – It’s hard to Believe so many genius guitarists cane out of Belfast in the ’70s. There must be something in the water.
Jim Corr- Love The Corrs, great band!

How was the Skeleton Coast Festival?

Awesome, really brilliant festival in this cool mini castle, every room had a gig on! Mega after party!

How was it to support She Drew the Gun and Bill Ryder-Jones? Did they teach you anything about music and touring?

I learned a lot on those tours and had a hell of a lot of fun! You pick up tricks on how to lose yourself in your own performance every night rather than dwelling on every tiny detail of your gig.

Do people mix you up with Lucy Gaffney (the Chairperson of Communicorp, an independent radio group with 25 radio stations in four countries

Haha! It hasn’t happened yet!

Do you think that England’s exit from Brexit will affect how bands tour Europe?

Well, I’m Irish so I won’t have that problem, fortunately! The UK’s always been such a massive hub for music things will never be too bad, I hope!

How do you feel about streaming music?

I still religiously listen to the radio and will always love a record store but I’ve definitely succumb to the ways of the modern world. Steaming will never be as cool as vinyl or seeing a real gig though!

How is your new cd coming along?