Bronagh Gallagher Interview: "Music is one of the great forms of human expression" Bronagh Gallagher (2024)

Bronagh Gallagher Interview: "Music is one of the great forms of human expression" Bronagh Gallagher (1)

Bronagh Gallagher is a much recognised face in British TV and film, with roles in The Commitments, Pulp Fiction and of course Manchester’s very own Brassic, alongside roles in Star Wars and Sherlock Holmes. She also has a love of singing and has released three albums and is currently taking to the boards to promote this body of work with a date at Manchester’s Star & Garter this Saturday, 20th January.

Ahead of this, Louder Than War caught up with Bronagh to find out more about her career and what we can expect at her gigs.

Hi Bronagh, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us today, we wanted to catch up with you ahead of your show on Saturday at The Star & Garter, are you looking forward to the gig?
“Yes, we cannot wait, we are really looking forward to playing in Manchester this weekend, and what a venue it is too. It is The Smiths Bar and Carol Dennings local. If you watch Brassic on Sky TV, we film all the interior shots of The Crow’s Nest pub in there, so we spend a great deal of time leaning against that counter.

I have such a love for the people of this city and the unique brilliance of the Manchester bands, and I have made many friends here over the years. I am very grateful, and excited that they will come see me and the band play in Manchester for the first time.”

For anyone who does not know you, who is Bronagh Gallagher, where does she come from and what makes her tick?
“I am an actress and singer from Derry City in Northern Ireland, I grew up in a musical house full of art and creativity, we spent many nights going to shows and circus events in Derry in the middle of what was a war. We lived in a magical mad house in the Bogside, we had all manner of people, political activists, from all over Europe and beyond in our house, people who came to the city to get involved and learn from the civil rights movement. The education we received was from all over the world, it was civil rights, equality, fashion, and art, it was full of colour and life.

My parents are huge music fans, and we grew surrounded by the blues, rhythm and soul and rock and roll. My folks were mods in their younger year and were regulars at the clubs in Derry.My sister Louise and I are huge soul fans, you are talking Motown, Stax, Red Bird, all the great girl groups, icons like Aretha Franklin. It was what drove me to try for the role in the Commitments, I moved to Dublin after that film was released, and I have lived there ever since then; Dublin is home now and its where I do most of my work.

As for what makes me tick, great art and kindness, every time.”

You’ve released three albums and worked with some amazing artists over the years, like Brian Eno and Dave Stewart, what is next in line musically?
“There were a lot of songs written over lockdowns and a couple of singles released, one with Dave Stewart and Lucius, and one with Noel Hogan from the Cranberries, singles felt right with all the chaos, and they were a little simpler to put together.

With all that time off there were a few more songs written, the last couple of filming jobs have been hectic so we are just getting around to recording some of that now. There are plans in place to finish a record early spring and release it this summer so watch this space.”

You have been on screen a lot recently, from a guest appearance on Derry Girls and the new Netflix Film Dance First, about the life of Samuel Beckett, what is next for you on film?
“Dance First was only released properly before the Christmas holidays, but I have been working on a musical film this past year called The End. It is about a very rich family who went underground at the end of the world and there is a twist or two. It is directed by Joshua Oppenheimer and stars Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, Lenny James, George McKay, and Tim Mc Innerney, it’s an amazing cast.

We filmed a load of it in Dublin, so I was able to stay at home for a huge chunk of the process, then we moved to Germany and ended up spending far too much time in a salt mine in South Italy. We all went a bit feral after that…

There is one more in post-production, a film called Bird by Andrea Arnold, as with all Andreas films the storyline is a closely guarded secret, so you will have to wait to see what lands on screen!”

We noticed that a lot of people were surprised to hear your character in Brassic, Carol, singing, are there anymore crossovers that use your voice and your acting talent, should we expect to see Carol singing some more?
“Who knows!Apart from the music in The End there is nothing I can talk about yet; I love to sing whenever the opportunity arises and if it is helpful to the characters story and suits the piece then we’ll do it. I love to sing.”

Where did your love of rock, roll and soul come from, it feels like a seam that runs through your whole life?
“Yes! Music has always been a massive part of my family life growing up, my parents have impeccable taste and they educated us well. From The Commitments to the Old Vic and Girl from the County North and more recently The End, I love to perform in as many roles as I can.

Music is one of the great forms of human expression and my favourite type of performance, so it is a joy to be able to share that with people both on film and on stages too.”

Your lyrics are littered with characters and stories, where does that come from, is it real life or does the film and television part of your word bleed into those lines? “It is all from my head.

People watching and the experiences I have had in my own life and some from others close by, some friends, it all plays a part in the song writing process.

Sometimes it is about the state of the world, I wrote Heal Me in response to the horrible events at the Bataclan in Paris. I have not really brought lyrics from my television or film experience into my songs yet, you could say I’ve maybe sang about some of the the cities I’ve been in over the years, this work lets you travel a lot, so you gather experiences from all over the world.”

We will leave you with this, what can we expect on Saturday down at The Star and Garter, any surprises?
“It is an evening of original Irish soul, gospel and rock and roll… it’s a very enjoyable evening and I hear it’s very uplifting by all accounts!”

Bronagh Gallagher can be found on Facebook and X.

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Bronagh Gallagher Interview: "Music is one of the great forms of human expression" Bronagh Gallagher (2024)
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