The Swing Cats front man Luke Thomas plays In The Sun with Luke Thomas and Friends at the four-star Don Pablo hotel in Torremolinos, Spain from 16 to 20 October. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Luke and The Swing Cats play a blend of modern contemporary songs mixed with swing music taken from the Great American Songbook.
They have just finished a nationwide tour celebrating a Century of Swing and have sold out Shows at Vicar Street, The National Concert Hall, The Olympia Theatre and more.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I am a former Under-10 All-Ireland Lego Champion Of Ireland and it's one of my proudest achievements. I'm extremely hard on myself and find it tough to switch off as I work for myself I feel I'm always on, I have often gotten out of bed and wrote down things that I've been thinking so I didn't forget in the morning. Let me see what else, I love seeing hard work paying off and people doing well genuinely. I'm a fan of so many Irish artists and entertainers.
How would you describe your music?
I specialise in VINTAGE POP music, focused on the genre of Swing, Jazz and Big Band. I sing some of the greatest songs ever written and it's an absolute pleasure to do so in front of audiences up and down the country. Songs made famous by the likes of Fred Astaire, Bobby Darrin, Louis Armstrong are just timeless and there is a reason why there is still a huge appetite for them now.
Who are your musical inspirations?
I say this all the time - performers such as Elvis, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly always do it for me. I Just feel the level of talent needed to succeed back then was just extraordinary. Michael Jackson was another massive influence when I was growing up, he was head and shoulders above everyone else.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Michael Jackson at Lansdowne Road in, I think, '93. I was very, very young but I was so excited to see him. I remember wearing a red jacket similar to the Thriller one and singing every word of every song. A few years later I was so green with envy when my brother Ben was on stage with Michael Jackson during his show at the RDS.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Again, probably a Michael Jackson album. Maybe Bad or something. Would you believe I had it on cassette - not even CD, it was cassette. Wow I feel old haha. Back in the '90s when you bought an album or your parents bought one for you, it would have a booklet with song lyrics and pictures and I just loved that part of it.
What's your favourite song right now?
Orange Glow by Le Boom. Loving Irish dance music right now so many amazing acts out there make moves and filling venues. It's really great to see and I'm a genuine fan of so many of them.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis when I was dead broke man I couldn't picture this..." Haha by The Notorious B.I.G.! Ah, it just reminds me of summertime and having fun. People will think it's random as hell and it is, that's why I love it.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Everything by Earth Wind & Fire because they produce such happy uplifting music. So, to answer I'd pick any song from Earth Wind & Fire,
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Where can people find your music/more information?
Here or Instagram/Facebook @LukeThomas&TheSwingCats.
Alan Corr
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
