Fergus O'Farrell passed away

Yesterday, another great man and musician, Fergus O'Farrell - lead singer of the band Interference - passed away. The Irish radio station RTE aptly named their documentary about this extraordinary man “a man with a talent for life” – and now he has left...

03. February 2016

Fergus became particularly famous with the song Gold, which was part of the Oscar-winning soundtrack for the film Once. The Irish radio station RTE wrote in their documentary about this extraordinary man: “Muscular dystrophy gradually took away from him the possibility to hold the guitar and put his hands on the piano, and strapped him to a wheelchair. It did not, however, take his will to continue to create, compose, sing, and work with many outstanding artists”. That is why the aforementioned documentary was named “A Talent for Life”.

Despite physical problems, Fergus played at many concerts and festivals. He was particularly fond of several events in Central and Eastern Europe. After Pohoda, he sent us a couple of very strong words, in which he thanked us and especially the great visitors of our festival. With his permission, we bring you an excerpt from his email to Michal:

The festival itself was the model of perfection. All staff were friendly and super efficient. As a wheelchair user I have never felt so comfortable at a concert. The wheelchair toilet, the ramps and indeed the fact that the ground was everywhere level made the going totally smooth for me. The quality of the sound both on and off stage was superb. The variety and quality of the acts, the funfair, the sling shot and all other unusual tents and events, the quality of the food and drink available, the good nature of the audience and the crowds.... I tried to express this to Martin by saying that the whole experience was like some kind of wonderful dream come true. Indeed that if there is a heaven for me and indeed all musicians, it would be to wander in wonder around an eternal Pohoda festival.