The Script are back; 'You’d swear we’d never been away'

After an extended layoff due to nodules on Danny O’Donoghue’s vocal chords, the trio are back with a new album and tour, writes Ed Power.

On stage in Dublin recently, The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue looked like he was holding back tears. “It’s great to be home,” he told the audience. Rock stars spout this sort of guff all the time. O’Donoghue, though, appeared genuinely overcome.

It’s just over two years since the Dublin chart-toppers headlined Croke Park. Playing to 80,000 fans, with millions more watching via a live webcast, should have been the highlight of their careers. Instead, it plunged the three friends into the biggest crisis in their decade as a band. Once you’ve scaled Everest, what do you do for an encore?