This much I know: Robert Ballagh

Growing up, I wanted to be an artist alright. A rock and roll artist.

Music was my real passion as a kid, ever since my father took me to see Rock Around the Clock in the Carlton cinema in 1956. That was an epiphany for me. I was blown away by this new music and determined to become part of it. I got a guitar, taught myself to play and got into the music business while I was still in school.

My mother was clear my parents would be happy to support me in any career, as long as it wasn’t art. The main subject in our house was sport. My mother played hockey for Ireland and my father played cricket and tennis for Ireland. I was madly keen on sport but I was tiny and short-sighted, not useful things in a rugby playing school like the one I attended, Blackrock College. I packed it in by 13.