On Friday the 6th of December, Rob Strong will perform at Rua Red in Tallaght. He may be 72 years old this year but Rob Strong, as his name suggests, is still going strong! The Derry native with the sensational blues/soul voice, is celebrating an amazing 55 years on the road this year! Rob first started out as a bass player with the Polka Dots and then progressed to front The Plattermen, one of the biggest showbands in the 1960s, managed by Jim Aiken. Rob played with the band for six years and he and the overdrive brass section of the band laid down some of the funkiest sounds ever heard in Ireland. In the early 1970s nobody in Ireland personified the raw energy of rock and blues music like Rob Strong, one of the most unique voices of the era. He even once turned down the offer of joining the world-famous Deep Purple! In 1974, as the disco music began to replace the showbands, Rob formed The Rob Strong Band, who later became The Rockets in the late 70s. In 1986 Rob Strong’s iconic album “Hollywood Nights” was recorded LIVE in The Coconut Grove. The LP achieved the amazing distinction of being the longest album sleeve in the world – a three-metre long gatefold containing signatures of 6,000 adoring fans. It is available on Spotify today.
To say that the musical talent runs in the Strong family is a huge understatement! Rob’s father, Robert, was an accomplished accordion player while his son, Andrew Strong, hit the big time at the tender age of 17, when he wowed audiences all over the world with his rendition of ‘Mustang Sally’ in the smash hit 1991 movie The Commitments. Rob was vocal coach for Andrew and the singers in the band and occasionally plays bass guitar with Andrew’s band today. Nowadays his daughter Niamh sometimes guests with Rob but is making waves in the industry in her own right and has just started touring theatres with her Eva Cassidy Show, to rave reviews.
For booking see – www.ruared.ie.
