Alec Finn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rotherham, West Riding, England, United Kingdom
Oranmore Castle
Alec Finn | |
|---|---|
 Alec Finn on stage with De Dannan at the 1985 Trowbridge Folk Festival | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander J. Phinn |
| Born | 4 June 1944 Rotherham, West Riding, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 16 November 2018 (aged 74) Oranmore Castle |
| Genres | Irish traditional music |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Bouzouki, Guitar, Harmonica, Mando-cello |
| Years active | 1970s–2018 |
| Formerly of | De Dannan |
Alexander J. Phinn (4 June 1944 – 16 November 2018[1]), known professionally as Alec Finn, was a British-born traditional musician who is famous for his unique style of accompaniment on the bouzouki.
He was best known for founding De Dannan in 1974 with Frankie Gavin, Johnny "Ringo" MacDonagh and Charlie Piggott, after a series of music sessions at Tigh Hughes, An Spidéal, County Galway.
Finn took up the bouzouki in the 1970s, from a background of playing the guitar in skiffle and blues music.[2] In contrast to most Irish players, he played a round-backed Greek bouzouki, one of the older-style trichordo three course (six string) instruments tuned DAD. The Greek tuning gave him a versatile modal rhythmic background on which to create counterpoint to the melody.[3] He also continued to record as an accomplished guitarist, and played a variety of other string instruments.[4]
From the late 1970s and early 80s, he accompanied several prominent Irish instrumentalists including Frankie Gavin, Mary Bergin and Noel Hill. Many of the recordings he appeared on in this era have been highly acclaimed, and are thought of as influential within the Irish tradition.[2]
He performed with De Dannan up to its dissolution in 2003. After the dissolution of the group, Finn copyrighted the name De Danann (note the slightly different spelling). A dispute arose in July 2009 with his former colleague Frankie Gavin for using the name De Dannan for the Frankie Gavin Quartet, a group which had been in existence parallel to De Dannan since 1991. This resulted in an exchange of legal letters and a public feud (including a confrontational radio interview), and a souring of relations between the two musicians.[5]
Finn reformed a second, parallel version of De Danann with banjoist/keyboardist Brian McGrath, accordionist Derek Hickey, fiddler Mick Conneely, singer Eleanor Shanley, and fellow original De Danann member Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh on bodhrán. They recorded "Wonderwaltz" in 2010.
Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn eventually reconciled in 2016, resuming joint stage appearances and recording two further albums together.
