Boy on Bridge – Alan Doyle Alan Doyle Always Loved the Spotlight
Boy On Bridge – Alan Doyle Alan Doyle always loved the spotlight. Although he was inclined to be the leader in anything he did, there was no place for a singer or guitar player in the Petty Harbour, NL school band, so he learned drums, all the better to make the maximum impact. He was just a teenager when he left home and moved to Newfoundland’s capital, St. John's. Although Alan pursued a BA in English and religion at Memorial University, music was his real passion. He honed his performing skills as a solo artist in the city’s pubs, standing on miniscule stages, belting out folk songs and the classic rock for the rowdy patrons. It was a rough musical education, but one from which he graduated with honours, developing the thick skin, utter fearlessness and iron larynx needed to go with his natural talent. In 1993, he joined forces with fellow pub warriors Sean McCann, Bob Hallett, and Darrell Power, and together they started Great Big Sea, where they fused Newfoundland traditional music with their own pop sensibilities. Doyle assumed the role of lead singer, and the band-mates began to assault the music business from their Newfoundland base. 19 years later, the band continues to astonish crowds around the world with their energy, musical skill and an ingrained inability to take themselves too seriously. A major band in Canada for a generation, their nine albums and two DVD releases have been declared Gold or Platinum. In the United States they are considered a major concert attraction, and play sold out theatres and hockey arenas across the continent.
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