Paul Linehan on his favourite books, music and the best gig he ever went to

Paul Linehan, from Cork, is the singer and bass player of The Frank & Walters. On Friday, May 10, the band headline the entertainment at the Barry Group Race & Taste Festival which takes place at Cork Racecourse Mallow on May 10 and 11.

Best recent book you’ve read:

Ruby: The Autobiography, by Ruby Walsh.

Best recent film you’ve seen:

Apart from kids movies, recently The Favourite.

Best recent show or gig you’ve seen:

Duchess Says, Cologne 2018.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old):

Chet Bakers album Chet Baker Sings.

First ever piece of music or film that really moved you:

‘When Love Breaks Down’, by Prefab Sprout.

The best gig or show you’ve ever seen (if you had to pick one!):

Spiritualised in the top of the World Trade Center, New York, in 1997.

Tell us about your TV viewing:

I like to watch the History Channel and Sky Arts, mainly. A bit of horse racing. I also like Match of the Day and Mastermind.

Radio listening and/or podcasts:

I switch between Lyric fm, RTÉ Tadio 1, Red fm and 96fm.

Your best celebrity encounter:

Probably Paul McCartney. Met him on Top of the Pops in 1993 as his dressing room was just across from ours. I’m a big fan of the Beatles so I was so excited to meet him and he didn’t let me down.

You can portal back to any period of human cultural history or music event — where, when, and why?

I’d like to go back to the 1950s to the night my mother and father first met in St Francis Hall Cork. I’d like to see how my mother and father were in their youth and I really like the 1950s era and fashion.

You are curating your dream festival — which three artists are on the bill (living or dead)?

Elvis. Joy Division and Prefab Sprout.

Do you have any interesting ancestors or family?

I don’t have famous ancestors that I know about but I do find my siblings, my father and mother and my grandparents very interesting people. My family have a tradition of furniture making in the city since the 1950’s and continues today with Linehan’s Design in Grattan Street, Cork.

Unsung heroes:

Mothers. The work mothers do is so enormous, words can’t come close to describing it. The sacrifices they make for their children and the hard work they do, day in day out is so admirable. Fathers get away lightly in comparison. When I see a woman with a large family I feel humbled.