Foster and Allen to share their golden hits

They are well known internationally for their hits like, Maggie, When you were sweet sixteen, Edelweiss and Dannyboy.

Foster and Allen will be performing at Emperors Palace on April 4.

The story of Mick Foster and Tony Allen began back in the ’70s, when they were playing in country music bands around Ireland.

In 1975, they got a small group together and went over to the UK to work the Irish music venues on a short tour.

Mick and 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 out the ‘Duo’ on the public.

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 “Forster and Allen” was formed.

It was difficult at the beginning and, after spending time working around the UK and Ireland, they released their first single record The Rambles of Spring.

This made a good impact on the Irish market and Foster and Allen were soon in demand for cabaret venues all over Ireland and, to a lesser extent, the UK.

At the end of 1978, Foster and Allen released the single A bunch of thyme in Ireland, which entered the Irish charts and became their first top selling number one single.

It stayed in the Irish charts for 40 consecutive weeks, re-entering for a further 13 weeks. However, at this stage, this was only in Ireland.

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 the top half of the British Top 20.

At the time, Mick and Tony were in the USA on a tour and it came as a great shock to them both when they were contacted and told to fly back to Britain immediately as they were required to appear on television’s Top of the Pops.

Things started to happen very fast for the duo and the demand for their services at venues all over Ireland and the UK increased immensely.

They released another single, Old Flames, which also made its way into the UK charts and Foster and Allen were on their way to stardom.

They did their first concert tour of the UK in 1983 and this tour was boosted even more by the release of another mega hit single, Maggie.

Since then, Mick and Tony have toured the UK twice each year, playing sell-out concerts wherever they go.

In addition to the UK tours, Foster and Allen have toured the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.

On the recording front, Foster and Allen, have to date, released a total of 30 albums, all of which have gone into the British charts.

Since their inception, they have achieved album and video sales in excess of 19 million worldwide.

South Africans can look forward to a wonderful production of Foster and Allen with full band and excellent sound and lighting.