Interview: Eamonn McNamee

Our blog correspondent Tony Black chats with Belfast musician and songwriter Eamonn McNamee about his upcoming concert and performance event, ‘The 25 Comeback Special,’ produced with countercultural icon and arch-provocateur, Bill Drummond.

The event takes place this Saturday, 30 August, 2025, at Cushendall Golf Club.

Tony Black (TB): The 25 Comeback Special. Just tell me all about it, everything.

Eamonn McNamee (EM): Well, it’s a triptych really, there’s three aspects to it - a film, a newly commissioned dance piece, and a live concert, at which the album Stay will be performed in full. That all happens on Saturday, 30^th August, in Cushendall Golf Club.

TB: Let’s start with the album, then. Who’s on it, how did it come about?

EM: It started for me when Mark [McCambridge, of Arborist] invited me to a night in Rattlebag. Mark and some other artists had been asked to write a song for an Elvis-related project of Bill Drummond’s, and were performing that night. Bill Drummond was there and we got talking, about Elvis and Graceland, and The Curfew Tower in Cushendall,

TB: Because Bill Drummond’s the cultural custodian of The Curfew Tower.

EM: That’s right, and I had stayed there and written songs there. Then we moved on to talking about music, Stax and Goldwax Records, and all the great soul music that had been produced in Memphis and that area.

TB: He’s a big fan?

EM: [Bill Drummond] loves it, and he’s really knowledgeable. So, we were just music fans talking. Then about a week later I got an email from him saying he’d listened to The Gold Tips. And he asked would I like to be involved in the project, initially to record a track for the album in the Curfew Tower. Then a week later he got in touch again and said he wanted the first side of the album to be big soul arrangements of the stripped back tracks on the second side. He wanted that “constructed” Stax sound, and he asked if The Gold Tips would be the backing band for the project and would I co-ordinate and produce it.

TB: And you said you’d need to think about it.

EM: Ha! I said yes, obviously, and that I thought the best idea was to get The Gold Tips and all the artists into the studio and just record my arrangements of the tracks as close to live as possible. It was a real challenge to arrange the different songs from all these diverse artists so that, as different as they were, they had a consistent sound.

TB: Yeah, I’ve heard the album obviously, and that’s true. As different as the original demo versions are from one another, the fully arranged versions sound really cohesive, like a proper album, which can be difficult for projects like these.

EM: The artists were given 45 minutes rehearsal time ahead of recording, and 30 minutes in the studio, maximum three takes, because that’s how it used to be done in the old soul studios in the Fifties and Sixties. We got everything recorded over a day and half, and Bill [Drummond] was there in the studio with us the whole time.

TB: So, who’s on the album?

EM: There’s The Gold Tips, VerseChorusVerse, Paula Flynn, Duke Special, Tanya Melotte, and Arborist. The Gold Tips also play a second track, a song of Bill’s, called True to the Trail. That’s a compliment and an honour in itself, to be trusted with that. So, it’s seven tracks, basic demo versions on one side, and the full band soul arrangements on the other.

TB: Where can we get the album?

EM: There’s only 1000 vinyl being pressed and once they’re gone, they’re gone. It’s been available to buy from Zippy in Kearneys Butchers in Cushendall since16^th August. Fans will know that’s the date Elvis died, or the date that the Ghost Of Elvis was born, as Bill describes it. The Ghost of Elvis now lives in The Curfew Tower, but will be exorcised and banished by the concert on the 30^th.

TB: And all the artists are playing at the gig on 30^th August?

EM: Yeah, they’ll all perform their song from the album and an Elvis cover of their choice. On the night, Act One is the premiere of the film Stay. It’s a 90-minute drama directed by Tracey Moberly. It’s set in the Glens and stars Tony Wright, who’s also on the album as VerseChorusVerse, alongside a puppet Elvis.

TB: I’ve only seen the trailers for that, but it looks fantastic. And the Glens look amazing. There’s a specially commissioned dance piece as well?

EM: Yes, that’s Act Two, another premiere. It’s a newly commissioned dance piece called ‘Into the Graceland’, performed by the Ariffe Dancers.

TB: So, the actual concert is Act Three of the night?

EM: That’s it, yeah. Everyone’ll perform their album track and a surprise Elvis cover, backed by The Gold Tips. By the end of the concert […] The Ghost of Elvis will finally have been laid to rest and from the next day, 31^st August, he’ll never again be spoken of.

TB: Well, I have my tickets bought.

EM: So, have I. There’s a Zero Guest List Policy, so even I had to buy my own ticket, and I’ll be on stage the whole time. It’s gonna be a hell of a night, and I look forward to seeing everyone there.

[end interview]

Tickets for ‘The 25 Comeback Special’ in Cushendall Golf Club on 30^th August are available here.

The album Stay can be purchased from Zippy in Kearney and Sons Butchers, Cushendall, and at the concert.

Eamonn McNamee is a Belfast musician and songwriter. His band The Gold Tips is working on their second album, Hope and Recreation, release date to be announced. 

Tony Black is a Belfast writer. His first collection of stories, Anything Strange or Startling, will be published by Yellow House Publishing on 29^th October, 2025.