 and you're welcome back and don't forget before we go tonight a 10 George Huston will be joining us and looking forward as always to having a chat with George but I have three gentlemen in front of me here now tonight and delighted to have them and we've got it's Don Ponsonby and Don is here and Liam Bradley and of course Puddy Rooney from the Friends of the Lerakene Hospital Puddy and you're very welcome first of all thank you very much Don we're here we're here we probably didn't think we'd be having an event like this but we are and it's it's all as a recognition and support for yourselves I suppose and raise a few pounds as well and it's in memory of course if your brother Ted who sadly passed away not so long ago how's things been well that's up and down about you know we're just you see different videos of him on playing and he's just like he's gone like he's just so hard to take it in like you know me and him sort of working together from I was about 11 and we started in the in the band when he had a break away from the Ponsonby band and we're looking for a drummer and I thought maybe I could do this we in the rascals too it was in the rascals yeah I left him in 75 packed it on many different things were happening maybe now I was dancing these anyway probably but they were doing big stuff like they were doing good stuff all over the place it was it was a pleasure to to be sort of working with Ted and me and him run about when I was seven or eight I don't know we was five years older than me we still run about together and on different things you know was music in the house Don music was basically in the house my dad was was a bit of a drummer in the early days and then he'd on a wee bit of guitar and then he went on to a wee bit of banjo but it was always always music some kind going on even in the wireless I remember a wireless up on a bracket up on the corner what did you what instrument did you go into first I went on the drums right on the drums right I hadn't the the good sense I was just so much in the drums I had the good sense to say we were sitting at dance halls for hours before anybody would come Ted gone show me a few chords teach me how to play the guitar and I regret that so much I really really regret it just but equally and we were just talking talking off air there's a great video up if you uh when was that done that was on the 8th was it Sunday the 8th of of october or october yeah well if you just want to check it out it's the main benders and 30th anniversary 30th it's not what it was it just that's what it was well come here you're doing the drum solo and it's it's something else now look you can only do your best all the night it's all there's nothing planned on that I just sort of go on that as Liam probably will be telling you we don't like to sort of plan a drum solo yes I know sort of do what happens and see what sounds you can get out of the kit that might sound nice or might you know was that your own kid as my own kid was it your own kid it's a lovely kit and I just love it what makes that it's a dw oh very good but it's just so nice it was the first time I've seen it in the shop on Dublin this is you have to have it I need to get that how how you hold that that gets probably 12 15 years at least the sounding is good a sound not too bad well we're we're here to talk um as I say you have great memories a lot of people ourselves uh as well absolutely for as I say I I knew Ted before Ted knew me as I say about uh I knew Ted yes because of the rascals and the name and and you know the following and that and I heard him doing support the different people down through the years and then when I got to know we got to know him very well and we enjoyed we enjoyed his company we loved his company and strangely enough myself and Jimmy and Mark McLean were talking and we were we were we were in the process of having a night for Ted yes before he passed away you see and because he's 60 years or more and the buzz was like and we said but this is you know we have to get this and unfortunately the circumstances debate um went a different direction but because we were discussing it how to Tesla somebody just turn and say I'm looking up I'm not you're not doing something for me and we didn't know how we would put it out I know that was that put it on me wherever we are now he has no choice now we just that's that's now do you think of it what would he say to this he would enjoy I would say he would enjoy it I you know because just it was it was such a humble person really it was very much he helped so many young musicians like but you know Don you see that yourself and I'm sure you've agreed with me I I never seen as many knowledge ones from young singers performers and record artists and it's one thing that struck me you know which is great like and it gives us a lift to see that of course you know the family just and that that means you know the room of course of course it does Liam Bradley you're very welcome for me it's a pleasure to see you because I have followed your career quietly in the background looking and amazed by your but there's one question I want to ask you and what's the difference between a drummer and percussionist is it a difference that's a hard one that's a hard one well a drummer obviously plays a drum kit a traps kit yeah and a percussionist well I've got great advice off I got called no legals who's the principal percussionist in the national symphony orchestra and I was asking him I said you know percussion he said percussion is anything you can hit shake or scrape right so when I noticed that because I described it as what you're saying and I remember you and I was trying to think coming down I think it was Mary Black and the I don't know but in the real world but it was definitely in the forum and I think you were accompanying her in that train and your name was brought up but I in my head I went percussionist must be somebody else but you had a while other well it's funny because the guy that got me into percussion was a guy called Dave Early and Dave Early was Mary's drummer he was Mary Black's drummer he was actually Shade's drummer back in the 80s he was an Englishman from London and he married a girl from Lurgan and I was playing in the memory show band in the Ashburn hotel in Lurgan did you play with the memory I did way back that was my first professional gig I was 21 and the boys were all in their mid 30s I was telling Don earlier I thought they were a man I know we had what what he called me the morning a couple of years ago before the pandemic he brought them together again he's living in Spain now hi Tim Jimmy Barry Jimmy fantastic singer so it was Dave this guy this local drummer said to me Shade's drummers in the audience and I'm going what would Shade's drummer be doing in the audience sure enough this boy comes and he said we small fellow very funny guy and he says to me he said you do two things if you do three things you'll never be able to work and I'm like what do you mean you sing and you play drums but if you play percussion and he handed me a tape how to play congas and it was via Dave then that I ended up meeting Arty McGlynn and all sorts I started deppin for Dave Dave early much later and the percussion thing allowed me it gave me a route into folk music and so I ended up playing with up you know Dolores and all those people yes because because because I could play percussion I actually couldn't play percussion to the start yes I owned percussion that didn't mean that I could actually play it you're not a you're not a tree and you're not trained anything yourself didn't you but I'm not trained anything but that was very much the case in our in our time you know I don't know there are colleges and there are different routes for people to become professional these days and our day it was an apprenticeship that's right you kind of picked stuff up as you went along you know it was whatever was in your dad's radiogram yes it was top of the pops on a Thursday night or whatever it was trying to tape things off the radio trying to glimpse why did you do that and because you never quite got you know you couldn't cover a thing exactly right so you ended up doing your own thing and so I think everybody had their own unique way of playing you know that's right excellent now you you record you played on the Mary Black Circus album I think that was I did some backing vocals on that that was me and Ted where I was on the road with somebody else I can't remember who it was right to me that's your finest album I know so I did a few bvs and stuff on that and then you probably you probably and I don't want to sound that I'm not we're talking about the gig you know we're shut away we'll definitely talk about the gig and party will get chatting to you as well so the way but you were you covered me van Morrison a lot of times and sort of Ted you know Ted played with van you know I didn't do any live stuff but he recorded with him and he did an awful lot of rehearsals with him up in banger and Ted was Ted with van was there was just a match made in heaven but a bit Ted in a very typical Ted fashion would have been everybody was everybody's happy playing in the corner of the bridge bar yep as he would be playing with someone yeah I was thinking about this since Ted passed and it was a massive shock to everybody because there was something about you when you knew the Ted was there it was a very comforting thing you know we said that on one of your shows very comforting thing known that knowing the Ted was there and he was in your life you were safe I've been sitting here you know I'm not joking you know Liam I've been sitting here you saying we have to send somebody's coming up my life but maybe somebody and I wouldn't have known you know you don't know what style they're gonna have so you'd be sitting here to get chat and using and looking at the young folks coming on saying that Ted's behind the mask they don't press it off my head you know and that's in a good way I think this might have happened up here because Paul Casey was telling me that party Nash had rung Paul when he heard about Ted and you guys were doing a session up here Ted was in with Paul and then party came in and they'd never met and Ted had never met Paddy didn't know his music oh is that right and then all of a sudden Ted just joined in and Paddy was amazed at this that he'd never heard the music and he just and he said it was incredible no one agreed on 13 hours oh absolutely absolutely so the whole point that what I was thinking about Ted was that it's this enormous effect on people and I think I come to the conclusion that Ted Ponsonby was the is the only person I've ever met that was entirely his own man every waking hour of the day you can say that about most people have a public and a private face yes Ted had a face do you know you're right and you know who Ted was all the time exactly he stood with no artifice at all and if Ted if Ted Ted wanted to do something to do it with gusto if Ted didn't want to do something she could quite well if I rather be sitting watching Star Trek in the house you know as playing you know as playing on the the the the the the Royal Albert Hall we used to wind them up with the ukulele you say such is coming out such is coming on now playing the ukulele you go what I know it was just like it was you know but this night and I as in the uh it's in the the clan re here on a sunday the sixth it's just a fortnight and uh I think it's a brilliant idea and uh the funds anything that's been raised party we can bring you in here and thanks for joining us by the way you probably but patty your your role as your PRO for the hospital and what is that involved party just basically you know well I suppose uh before I get on to that I can see that you followed Dawn and Liam's musical career it's a good job you didn't follow mine when I was seeing the seats lined up here I thought I was going to have to pay an instrument well the the friends of the hospital um is it's a registered charity even though all of the the money that we raise that comes our way it all goes into the hospital but we're a registered charity we're we're actually separate from the hospital we have our own governance structure and all that and I have to say I suppose at the outset that uh you know I'm highly appreciative of of Dawn and Liam and Sarah as well Sarah that it's that it's organizing this and I suppose the wider possibly family for thinking about us the friends of the hospital because there's a lot of charities out there Paul and we're all sort of fishing out of the same so that's nice for us to you know for them to to think about us it's a harder claim it is it's hard work but uh I suppose there's a couple of things we were talking in the anti-room there before we came in about uh I suppose in the latter years of his life um Ted used a lot of the services in the hospital so it's nice from our point of view that uh you know that the family are shown appreciation that's nice that is nice it is it's lovely to think about that you know it's lovely well um on the night uh Liam can you give us a list now this is a who's who basically and I would say you're probably going to be able to have somebody out here at home well we decided to give it a kind of a a nod to Ted to Ted because Ted was known as in in our circle as Ted Ponsonby because he was very quick with a pun and he was very good yes TV show was bad the album that he had with with Sarah was called break and try so we've decided to call this night wake and Ted so and it is kind of you know there wasn't really an opportunity for people to be in a room and tell all their stories about Ted yes it's about it's about people getting together and sharing all all those funny stories that you normally get at an Irish wake yes yeah so it's going to be a very grand Irish wake wake and we're going we're going to have two two stages and I like this was Dawn's idea uh an electric stage and an acoustic stage but really it's a stage that has a drum kit on it and then the other one doesn't have a drum kit on it so uh John John knee is going to is going to emcee it excellent kind of no you know we're going to try and put some structure on it but no doubt that will fall asunder pretty quickly and that's okay we're going to open it with a piece that's been written by a faker trans user a really famous string arrangers that did all like I've told you lately all the strings all the van morris albums faker did all those he was a big friend of Ted's and Dave Winters and he's written a lovely piece that dedicated to both Ted and and Dave so we're going to open with that it's lovely have you heard it Dawn I have heard it yeah beautiful beautiful you know that's that's the last thing you're going to have it's going to be a great last memory that's great and even Sarah as well she wrote a wee tune that's right she played after the information there lovely beautiful that'll be emotional absolutely well we're hoping it's going to be great fun oh it's going to be great fun well he would absolutely you know I'm only a blowing when it comes to knowing Ted I've only known him since 1990 I've been laughing ever since yes yeah and you know I owe that man an awful lot you know he was just like a musical daddy to me so we're gonna we're so I'll a quick rundown the mindbenders obviously yes because dawn that dawn's gonna and they'll they'll finish the night off mark black hockey talk heroes storm chaser Frankie Robinson faker trans will obviously open it hopefully Errol Walsh calling Henry and Joe Murray will be there they're not back to me at the minute raw hopefully the Henry girls Hugh McLean Geno LaParis Brandon Quinn Tanya McColl Paul Casey Martin McGinley etc and many many many many many more a martin's brother was here playing just prayer to us there's a connection I mean the idea I can initially we kind of thought we'll give everybody three tunes each I think if we did that now we'd be playing through the following Monday yes against you so it'll it'll work itself out on the night so absolutely now the way it works Liam there's no set fee there's no fee come along enjoy yourself swap stories about Ted meet your friends bring as many people as you want and Paddy and his guys will be there and they'll be collecting donations you know that's a lovely gesture all right well that's you know just got confirmation from the rednecks there they're playing so uh so we're still we're still we only started asking people about this a few days ago so you know have you noticed it kind of oh I absolutely I think the only thing that'll keep people away is if they're just physically not here yes the governor's as well the governor's as well the governor's we're always going to run to the problem of of leaving somebody out there's a brief story about about about the governor's they took over the name rascals Ted gave them and that's right I remember that I remember they stopped and he helped those guys a while a lot them boys have great appreciation for him they his name is mentioned obviously I was handedly drummed for them after I left actually the name was mentioned because Alan wasn't it Alan was up here and well there's a long there's a daughter yes Chloe and she's an amazing singer but we're like yourselves the conversation drifted into the airport because you like to get when somebody comes like we experience yes and he's sitting there you will you you go for it and you get it and he did he did acknowledge what you said John you know and which is lovely because they had a couple of good years out of the last year as well and they were brilliant as well all right and still the boys are still hanging about and doing their stuff so that's that's a format and it's unfortunately we'll be here but we're hoping that Jimmy will begin down and will be sort of back and forward so annoying people we will be great and we appreciate you doing this for us it's not very much appreciated I as me I totally appreciate what Ted was appreciate the whole thing me and as I say I could have I could sit and chat you for another couple hours about music and stuff because I kind of know your pedigree it's just just one notch off stocking yes yes you worked a lot of Van Morrison stuff I've bluffed on an awful lot of stuff no I have listen I'm still making it up as I go along well the thing about it's all very well and unfairness and unfairness as much as Van Morrison would be Van Morrison I don't think you're gonna bluff too much we have like well you know what honestly but you know what I'm standing on the shoulders of people like Ted Ponsomé you know it's meeting meeting people with his pedigree and the one great thing I learned about from Ted yeah was the most important thing on any stage is the number one not take it too seriously number two smile smile especially when things are going on and he was the first person I'd ever come across that and it's infectious it is there's no doubt about that well listen as I say people go along it's going to be you're going to hear more about it don't you know good luck dawn from the Woodville crew there you are thank you very much indeed so and one of last true gentlemen I met Liam when he played with Nathan Carter a few times one of the industry's finest from Barney Nathan's old tour manager hi good Barney good Barney you play with Nathan Carter as well I did in 2014 I got a call from his MD to say funny is that it's that percussion thing that I was talking about you see percussion and the job yes so I don't need a drummer we have a great drummer he said about do you need somebody play sleigh bells it's a Christmas tour so I've mostly played sleigh bells so you have the wee bells hanging there obviously that your normal running the middle drummer wouldn't have exactly that's excellent well listen I know it's going to be a success it's going to be because of the outpouring of the love and the shock of Ted's passing you know and I sat in the house and we went over things and we looked at videos and an old Ted would be looking down and supporting the dawn and out about that thanks very much to yourself I didn't get much of a conversation have you had a brother guitar with you yeah absolutely no it's it's it's lovely anyway Paul because a lot of the funds that we get are actually unsolicited funds it's like what dawn and Liam and Sarah are doing here they just do things I suppose as a show of gratitude for our services in the hospital or whatever we don't have to do anything only go out and and lift it so like hats off to the guys who are thinking about us you know well done to yourself too before we get a few pounds and continue success of what you're doing because it's hard I know that you know we're different things you get involved in it's very hard to pull on money but dawn it'll be a great night it'll be it'll be as you said yourself and now when we're here now when we're here we want to wish you all the best for tomorrow because there's people who've made commitments to come up here but not the day before they get married so the best of dawn the best and uh no if it's still going at 10 o'clock we'll be doing after 10 o'clock I will we'll be popping on for a bit just to see them no it's a foam stegoria as is him as the rest it's awakened Ted it's on the 5th of November 6th of November a bigger partner sit the first 30 year old one of the six this day two weeks and I don't have to say too much about it it's going to be a brilliant night of music and I just want to thank you very very much um uh Paddy and Liam and uh dawn thank you so much that I slowly to have these up for a bit of crack in the chat and you're working at the moment Liam are you I am doing uh I was with Mary Black in Killarney at the weekend and then next weekend we're Limerick and Don Leary excellent excellent any new music coming from her I'll ask her I just say just say there's a bio pair and Donny Goll wants to know what you're making any new music I'll ask her but we'll finish with a piece of music uh and dawn this is this is uh the story behind this just amazing it's a Ted and Eric Walsh and you wouldn't believe many nights we get asked completely to John Donny Walsh to John Donny Walsh and you know what we'll just let it speak for itself thanks very much and thank you thank you