International recording artists Foster and Allen are celebrating their 40th anniversary together in the music business (during which time they have released more than 30 albums!) with a tour that brings them to the Brindley Theatre on Tuesday 30 October.

The popular easy listening duo have recorded with artists as varied as X-Factor winner Shayne Ward and Irish choirs.

They will be performing their hits including Bunch of Thyme, Maggie, After All These Years, Old Flames as well as some of their recent recordings like Gold & Silver Days, A Hug and songs from their Celebration CD.

They are known for their humour and recently released a song about ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’.

The story of Foster & Allen began back in the seventies when Mick & Tony were playing in country music bands around Ireland. In 1975 they got together a small group and went over to the U.K. to work the Irish music venues on a short tour.

Mick & Tony had at this stage the idea of working together as a duo, playing ‘easy listening’ music with a touch of traditional Irish instrumentals. When their U.K. tour finished they decided to let the band return to Ireland whilst they stayed behind to try out the duo on the public.

They played several venues in the London area and the reaction was very favourable; so much so, they decided to remain as a duo and Foster & Allen was formed.

It was difficult at the beginning and after a time working around the circuit in the U.K. and Ireland, they released their first single record The Rambles of Spring.

This made a good impact on the Irish market and they were soon in demand. At the end of 1978, they released the single A Bunch of Thyme in Ireland, which entered the Irish charts and became their first top- selling No. 1 single. IT stayed in the Irish Charts for 40 consecutive weeks, re-entering for a further 13 weeks.

However, at this stage, this was only in Ireland. It was not until 1982 that this single was released in the U.K. It was played by all the radio stations in Britain and was soon in the ‘pop’ charts. It climbed rapidly to the top half of the British Top 20.

Things now started to happen very fast for the new Foster and Allen and since then Mick & Tony have toured the UK twice each year playing to sell-out concerts wherever they went.

In addition to the UK tours, they have toured the U.S.A, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.

They had five No. 1 Hits in Australia/New Zealand. They have appeared on numerous T.V. shows in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales as well as Australia, USA and Canada and they have had their own T.V. series on RTE Television in Ireland.

On the recording front, Foster & Allen have to date released over thirty albums, all of which have gone into the British charts.

Tickets for the Brindley Theatre show are £26 from www.thebrindley.org.uk and the box office on 0151 907 8360.