Paul McLoone

Paul Martin McLoone (born 11 February 1967) is an Irish musician, former radio producer, voice actor, voiceover artist and radio presenter from Derry, Northern Ireland. He is perhaps best known for being the co-creator and co-writer of the Irish comedy sketch series, Gift Grub. He is also the lead vocalist/frontman of the Northern Irish pop-punk/new-wave band The Undertones,[1] having permanently replaced Feargal Sharkey when the band reunited for a series of live appearances which occurred in November 1999.[2] He hosts the weekday evening/night-time radio programme on the Irish national and independent radio station, Today FM titled "The Paul McLoone Show" which broadcasts from Dublin every Monday to Thursday from 10 pm to midnight and which focuses on less-known Irish solo singers or bands, as well as those from other countries who are popular in the alternative and indie rock world, but who have yet to crack the mainstream line of the music industry.[3]

Paul McLoone
Paul McLoone performing on stage with The Undertones in Holmfirth, England, United Kingdom on Saturday 14 July 2012
Background information
Birth namePaul Martin McLoone
Born (1967-02-11) 11 February 1967
Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
GenresPunk rock
Pop punk
Occupation(s)Musician, radio producer (formerly), voice actor and radio presenter
InstrumentsVocals
Acoustic guitar
Years active1985 – present (radio)
1980s/1990s – present (music)
November 1999- present (The Undertones)
1980s/1990s - September 2008 (radio producer with BBC Radio Foyle, Today FM and RTÉ)
September 2008 - present (radio presenter with Today FM)
January 2015- February 2016 (radio presenter with TXFM)
March 2012- March or November 2016- (M.C./Master of Ceremonies for the main awards ceremony of the Choice Music Prize)
LabelsCooking Vinyl (with The Undertones)
Associated actsThe Undertones

McLoone also hosted a radio programme titled Another Side[4] on TXFM (formerly Phantom FM), a radio station that broadcast to Dublin City and its surrounding areas and which was also a sister station to Today FM. The programme, which first began airing on Saturday, 17 January 2015, and which finished airing on Saturday, 2 July 2016, was dedicated to giving an in-depth profile of a single major musician or band by playing various songs associated with the band or musician's career, including ones that may not have been released as a single. The show aired for one hour at 6 pm to 7 pm every Saturday on TXFM and was repeated every Sunday night from 10 pm to 11 pm with fellow radio presenter John Caddell who was also the producer for the show filling in for McLoone.

From March 2012 to March 2016, McLoone served as the main presenter for the main awards ceremony of the Choice Music Prize, an annual awards ceremony that takes place in Dublin every year; it started in 2005 with the Choice Music Prize being awarded to a band or musician from Ireland whose album is deemed worthy of the prize by a panel of judges composed of various people from all aspects of Irish media. McLoone was originally involved in the background running of the awards before making his debut as M.C. at the 2011 prize ceremony which took place in 2012, a role he held for five years before it was announced in November 2016 that the Choice Music Prize would be broadcast on RTÉ 2FM from 2017 onwards.

Career

Radio

A native of Derry City and having grown up in the Bogside, McLoone originally began his radio career back in the late 1980s. He first appeared on Gerry Anderson's show on BBC Radio Foyle in 1985. While on the show, McLoone successfully impersonated Prince Charles in a radio interview with Anderson which in turn launched McLoone's own career in radio with Anderson also serving as McLoone's radio mentor.

McLoone later performed in one band, The Carrellines alongside future Undertones band member, drummer Billy Doherty in the late 1980s with McLoone serving as the main frontman/lead vocalist and guitarist for the Carrellines. Despite gaining praise from the Irish media, the Carrelllines broke up after releasing two singles, "Bridesmaids Never Brides" and "Credence", a b-side to Bridesmaids Never Brides. After that, McLoone managed another band, Schtum which disbanded while the group was touring America.

As such, McLoone eventually became a radio producer and was later involved in producing various programme's for the BBC, including his own satirical sketch series McLoone which ran for three series in the early 1990s on BBC Radio Foyle.

In March 1999, McLoone moved to the Republic of Ireland, settling in the capital city, Dublin. He later joined the national independent radio station, Today FM, originally called Radio Ireland before its name-change and relaunch in 1998. He subsequently became a producer on The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, for Today FM.

During his time on the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, McLoone produced the show and also co-created and co-wrote the comedy Irish sketch series, Gift Grub, alongside Irish comedian/impersonator, Mario Rosenstock. The pair also participated in sketches either together or separately.

In 2004, after having worked on the Breakfast Show for five years, McLoone resigned from Today FM.

For the next year, McLoone went freelance, working with various TV/radio stations where he produced numerous programs including for the Irish national broadcaster, RTÉ. McLoone also worked on its two popular radio stations, RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ 2fm including the RTÉ Radio 1 daytime radio program, Liveline.

In late 2005/early 2006, Tom Dunne, frontman with the Irish band, Something Happens asked McLoone to produce Dunne's own music show on Today FM, "Pet Sounds".

Two years later in August 2008, having hosted "Pet Sounds" for nine years, Dunne quit Today FM to join national independent radio station 'Newstalk'. McLoone switched to radio presenting. At first, his role was intended to last for three months, until a new replacement could be found. However, due to the increasing popularity of McLoone's unnamed show, he replaced Dunne on a permanent basis, and "The Paul McLoone Show" was launched in September 2008.

For the first five years, the show aired from 7 pm to 10 pm, later 7 pm to midnight, and from June 2012, 9 pm to midnight.

In an April 2014 interview for the Derry Journal, McLoone explained why he's an "accidental radio star".[5]

A regular nominee, McLoone won two PPI Radio Awards in 2012, a gold for Specialist Music Broadcaster Of The Year, and a bronze for New Irish Music/Musical Talent Programme in his role as organiser and also as the main presenter of the annual Meteor Choice Music Prize awards ceremony held in Dublin, and a silver in the Specialist Music Programme category in both 2013[6] and 2014. In 2016, he won Silver in the Specialist Music Programme and Gold in Music Special/Music Event Category for his work on the Choice Music Awards Live Special he presented along with fellow Today FM colleague Alison Curtis which was held at Vicar Street in March 2016.

McLoone's interviewer from In Dublin magazine for Radio Month 2014 introduced him as "one of the most instantly recognisable voices on Ireland's airwaves".[7]

Television

McLoone has been a writer and creative consultant on the Jam Media series Funky Fables, and their BAFTA Drama Award-winning series, Roy (both for CBBC).[8]

McLoone provided the voice of "Baboon", the secondary villain in the Cartoon Saloon-created Irish cartoon series Skunk Fu! which aired from September 2007 to September 2008 and he will return to voice the character Baboon in Castaras, a dark cartoon crossover that is set to air in or around 2016 or later.

Four years after appearing in "Skunk Fu", McLoone also appeared in the Cartoon Saloon animated film, "Moon Man", voicing an unnamed father with the movie itself being released in 2012, based on the 1966 book, "Moon Man" by French artist Tomi Ungerer.

McLoone also appeared in the film, Sunset Heights as Dingo Green. The movie which was released in 2002 was also featured in a Top 100 list for IMDB.[9]

He stars as an aspiring Elvis impersonator in the music video for Cherry Bomb, a song by the Irish rock band, The Minutes which was released in March 2014.

The Undertones

After splitting in 1983, the Undertones chose to reform in November 1999 but when original frontman Fergal Sharkey turned down the offer to join the band, McLoone was asked to join the group and accepted, resulting in McLoone becoming the new frontman and lead singer for the Undertones. The band with McLoone at the helm then played their first gig at the Nerve Centre in Derry which took place on 19 November 1999. As such, intermittent live appearances followed including a concert in Termon Hall, Donegal in 2001. McLoone had previously fronted a hotly tipped band with Undertones drummer, Billy Doherty, in the late 80s, which was called the Carrellines. Doherty and McLoone partnered again as producers at their recording studio, Big River Records in Derry, facilitating local punk band Schtum to make several acclaimed singles before their 1995 signup with Columbia/Sony.

McLoone later went on to record two studio albums with the Undertones, Get What You Need (2003) and Dig Yourself Deep (2007). For Record Store Day, 20 April 2013, the band released a new single, "Much Too Late"/"When It Hurts I Count To Ten". To coincide with the 2013 release of their CD/DVD An Introduction to the Undertones, the band undertook a European summer tour. 2016 was the band's fortieth anniversary which was celebrated with live dates and a book by founding member, Michael Bradley.

Since reforming in November 1999, the Undertones have continued to perform regular gigs all over the world with McLoone as the band's new permanent frontman. They also retain a considerable live following at their concerts, which usually take place at weekends around members' day jobs, as McLoone explained for a lengthy 2015 blog interview. Audiences are typically receptive towards McLoone as the band's current frontman.[10]

Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
2002Sunset HeightsDiego GreenCameo.
2012Moon ManFather (voice)Animated movie.
TV
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Skunk Fu! Baboon (voice) 26 episodes.
Music Video
Year Title Band Role
2014 Cherry Bomb The Minutes Unnamed Elvis Impersonator.
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References
  1. Live review: The Undertones, Playhouse, Whitley Bay Archived 2 February 2013 at Archive.today - The Shields Gazette
  2. "The Undertones-Official Website". Theundertones.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  4. "Another Side With Paul McLoone | TXFM". Web.archive.org. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  8. Hennessy, Michelle. "Irish animation company wins BAFTA for children's show". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  9. "The Best/Top 100 Irish films". IMDb.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  10. "The Undertones : Return of the Jump Boys : Soul Shine Magazine". Soulshine.ca. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
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