FOLK legend Brendan Shine who, from his heyday of the 80s and 90s onwards, has helped shaped Irish country music, comes to Haverhill Arts Centre tour as part of a national tour Old Shiner , as Brendan is often known, has a large repetoire of hits inclu

FOLK legend Brendan Shine who, from his heyday of the 80s and 90s onwards, has helped shaped Irish country music, comes to Haverhill Arts Centre tour as part of a national tour

'Old Shiner', as Brendan is often known, has a large repetoire of hits including Do You Want Your Old Lobby Washed Down, Grandad and I'm a Savage for Bacon and Cabbage and is as well known for his accordian playing as he is for his distinctive singing voice.

Tickets for the event on Friday November 6 at 8pm are �18.50 and available from the box office, 01440 714140 or the website www.haverhillartscentre.co.uk

Born in Athlone, Roscommon, in 1947, Brendan showed an interest in music from an early age and joined his father's country band twice a week at an open-air dance, The Maypole, in Summerhill.

In secondary school he was invited to take part in a gig with Kieran Kelly's Ceilidh Band, thus setting him on the road to becoming one of the biggest stars Ireland has ever produced.

During the early years, Shine worked on a vegetable van during the day which would be transformed into a tour bus by night and was joined by his brothers Johnny and Owen as they played to pubs and clubs around Athlone.

After years of low-key gigging, Brendan teamed up with music promoter Noel Carty and became increasingly popular throughout Britain, Australia, Canada and America, eventually in the 1980s getting his own television show.

There is a story that Shine is so well known that he once received a fan letter, with no delay, addressed to Brendan Shine, Side of the Road, Ireland.

Terry Wogan was also an influence in Shine's career, playing The Lobby Song on BBC Radio 2 almost daily, and ensuring that it remained in the top 75 for seven weeks.