They definitely won’t be giving up the day jobs but three practicing Roman Catholic priests from Ireland will today take the first steps to mixing musical superstardom with vocational calling when they sign up to global recording giants Sony BMG on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, London.
Fathers Eugene (aged 48) and Martin O’Hagan (aged 45), who are brothers, and David Delargy (aged 44) has each achieved the ambitions nurtured when they were at school together of having their own parishes in the Northern Ireland diocese of Down and Connor where they tend to the spiritual needs of thousands of devout parishioners.
Today they formally begin their work as The Priests, a group whose singing talents record executives believe will, with or without divine intervention, make them a best selling band when their debut album is released this autumn. The music will be religious and spiritually inspired classics including Ave Maria and Panis Angelicus.
The Priest’s extraordinary combined talents were first recognised while they were at school at Garron Tower, at Queens’s University in Belfast and while they were training for the Priesthood at the Irish College in Rome. Following further vocal training in Rome, they were frequently invited to sing for the Pope and, since returning to their vocations in Ireland, they have sung together many times always to the appreciation and enjoyment of their audiences.
Last year they were heard singing together by an Irish pop musician who asked them to make a demo which he immediately took to Sony BMG. So impressed was Nick Raphael, MD of Epic Records, part of Sony BMG that he immediately began long and secret negotiations to persuade them to sign for the label which is understood to have committed a £1 million investment to The Priests..
Uniquely, the recording contract which they signed yesterday on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, London allows them exemption from any promotional or recording duties in the event, for instance, of the death of a parishioner over whose funeral they may be required to preside.
It also specifies that none of the three will ever be obliged to take part in any performance or commercial activity which they may feel conflicts with their religious beliefs and that their debut album must be released in Vatican City as well as more familiar global territories such as the UK, USA and Northern Europe.
Additionally, the three have stipulated that a percentage of the proceeds of record sales will be go to a charity of their choice.
Nick Raphael, (SonyBMG), said: “These are three extraordinary men blessed with a stunning musical talent which we believe will cross any divides and appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. The integrity of Eugene, Martin and David is reflected in their music and we are delighted to have signed what is, in any terms, a unique recording contract with them.”
The Priests are already in negotiation with a US broadcasting network for a concert to be broadcast coast to coast from New York’s St Patrick Cathedral and are the subject of a major ITV documentary to be shown later this year.
The Priests debut album will be released on Sony Classical in the autumn of 2008.
