Foster & Allen

Presented by Adrian Bohm

Foster & Allen began back in the seventies when Mick & Tony were playing in Country Music bands around Ireland. In 1975 they formed a small group and went over to the UK 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 UK tour finished they decided to let the band return to Ireland whilst they stayed behind to try and break into the public eye. 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 UK & Ireland, they released their first single record The Rambles of Spring. This made a good impact on the Irish market and Foster & Allen were soon in demand for cabaret venues all over Ireland and to a lesser extent the UK. At the end of 1978 Foster & Allen released the single A Bunch Of Thyme in Ireland, and it entered the Irish charts and became their first top-selling No. 1 single.

It was not until 1982 that this single was released in the UK. It was played by all the radio stations in Britain and was soon in the pop charts. It climbed rapidly to number 18 in the UK Singles Chart. At the time, Mick & Tony were in the U.S. on a tour. They were contacted and told to fly back to Britain immediately as they were required to appear on television's Top of the Pops.

Demand for Foster & Allen's services at venues all over Ireland and the UK increased at this point. They released another single Old Flames which also made its way into the UK Charts. They did their first concert tour of the UK in 1983 and this tour was boosted even more by the release of another single Maggie. This reached number 27 in the UK singles chart and, along with A Bunch Of Thyme, these became the signature tunes for the duo. Since then they have toured the UK twice each year.

In addition to the UK tours, Foster & Allen have toured the U.S, Canada, South Africa, Australia & New Zealand. They had five No. 1 Hits in Australia/New Zealand. They have also appeared on numerous TV shows in Ireland, Scotland, England & Wales as well as Australia, USA & Canada, and they have had their own TV series on RTE Television in Ireland.

In the early days Mick & Tony performed on stage as a duo, but in 1982 (when the concert tours started) they added a band to their show thus giving a much fuller sound to their program. On the recording front, Foster & Allen have to date released a total of 27 albums, all of which have gone into the British charts. This is a great achievement for a middle-of-the-road 'easy listening' act.

As well as the albums, they have released thirteen videos, again all of which have entered the British charts. The video Souvenirs and Memories reached No. 3 in the British charts around Christmas 1991, the By Request video went straight into the No. 1 spot in 1993 and their latest DVD/Video release After All These Years was a Top 10 Chart Release in the UK. To date Foster & Allen have achieved album & video sales in excess of 19 million worldwide.

Foster & Allen celebrated their 30th Anniversary together in the music industry with the release of their new album Foster & Allen Sing The No. 1's which was a Top 30 Chart hit in the UK during Christmas 2005 bringing the sales of their last three albums in the UK & Ireland to over 500,000 units.

The duo recently completed their "World Concert Tour - 2005/2006" which took them on tour to the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, U.S.A. & Australia.