Showband hits take centre stage

RONAN COLLINS, the broadcaster and TV presenter, cannot wait to go back to his roots this month.

He misses the buzz, the adrenalin rush and the crowd’s anticipation, waiting for him to take to the stage to sing those classic showband hits.

“I love doing it,’’ he says. “It is very nostalgic, that’s what it is. It is looking back to a different time, when Ireland was a different place. We try to recapture it all with a terrific band and all those great songs.

“The adrenalin rush is a shock, as I don’t do this regularly. But to have such a warm reaction is just fantastic. I love it and to bring people back to a time where they have all those happy memories is very special. Once I start a song, the audience simply takes over. It’s terrific, great fun.’’

Collins will take to the stage on Thursday, Oct 17, at the National Concert Hall, Dublin to sing the showband hits, including several of Joe Dolan’s classic songs. He will also be joined by his special guests, Karen Black and The Sugercubes and The Eugene McCarthy Big Band.

Now 61, Collins admits that he has no plans to retire from his day job, hosting the country’s number one music lunchtime show on RTÉ One.

“I have been with RTÉ for 35 years, which is extraordinary to me. I think it is all down to my listeners rather than me,’’ he explains.

“I am lucky enough to bring a bit of lightness in the middle of the day to people. It can’t be politics 24 hours a day, especially now that the country is going through a rough time. I try to lift people’s spirits and I love doing it. Yes it’s a job, but it is never a chore.’’

Interestingly, Collins says he is not tempted to do a ‘Pat Kenny’ and jump ship.

“I am in the lucky position that I am allowed to get on and do what I do here, I enjoy it. I have the biggest audience and ultimately that is what you are judged on.’’

Collins readily states that he became more health conscious 10 years ago when he was diagnosed with diabetes.

“It was a great wake-up call. I tried to make a lot of changes then, when I was in my 50s, so that I would see the results coming through in my 60s.I changed my attitude, in terms of eating. I probably eat a third of what I use to eat,’’ he says.

A non-drinker, Collins says one of his biggest lifestyle changes was to cut out fizzy soft drinks.

“They certainly weren’t good for me. I believe they were the catalyst that brought on my diabetes. When I got rid of them, it made a big difference to my life.

“I had all the symptoms of a Type 2 diabetic, the tiredness, the perspiration, the lethargy, the thirst, tingly fingers and tingly toes. And certainly four of those have now gone. I don’t perspire like that anymore, I have more energy and lost weight,’’ he says.

A father of three grown-up children, next year Collins will celebrate his 36th wedding anniversary with his wife Woody. So what is the secret of a happy marriage?

“I am very much in love with her,’’ he says simply. “It’s ying and yang, backwards and forwards, but it works for us. We have been very lucky.’’