The saviours of soul return…

Conor Keys and his ten-piece soul band will once again have the people of Omagh swinging when, this Saturday night, the lights are lowered in the Ballroom of the Silverbirch Hotel and The Committed step on stage.

When a few years ago Conor, a top Omagh comedian, announced that he would be surrounding himself with some of the town’s most talented musicians to perform a two hour musical performance inspired by the 1991 film The Commitments, people smirked suspiciously.

When he went on to explain that he was going to be the frontman, they burst out laughing.

But those same people are laughing no more…

That’s because, although The Committed have only performed two shows, one over Christmas of 2018, and another 12 months later, both were sell-outs, which quickly earned the band a devoted following.

In fact, for a few years, it seemed like The Committed had fundamentally changed the local Christmas calendar: When they announced a date, you couldn’t get a babysitter for love nor money.

A night at The Committed was becoming as indispensable a part of the holiday season as cutting the turkey and fighting with your family.

As sure as Santa would be squeezing down the chimney in the wee hours of the 25th, some Saturday night over Christmas, couples would be reelin’ and rockin’ to Conor and the Gang in the Silverbirches.

And it was by no means sheerly for the craic (which was in no short supply)… the music was unbelievable!

It turned out that not only could the big man sing, but he had more range, nuance and measure to his voice than anyone expected. A rasping rendition of ‘Mustang Sally’ didn’t come as a huge surprise, but a heart-melting performance of ‘Try a Little Tenderness’ did.

Strong jaws went slack and dry eyes were filled.

And this year, Conor has assured us that the standard hasn’t dipped at all.

In an act of near-magic, Conor has managed to reassemble the original supergroup: Jerome McGlynn (guitar); Stevie Chesters (bass); Aidan Dunphy (drums); Caolan McCarthy (piano); Niall Moore (trumpet); Brendan Bradley (sax); Michelle Owens, Cara McCarthy and Emma Millar (backing vocals).

Anyway, for a few years there, The Committed became another craic-casuality of the pandemic.

Conor told us, “It was all set to go ahead again this Christmas and then we had to cancel it a few days out because dancing was outlawed.

“We decided there was no point in playing if people couldn’t get up and dance – that’s what soul music is all about!”

“But now we have got the full go ahead and the place is going to be rocking,” he said. “Get your tickets in quick!”

l The Committed will be taking to the Silverbirch Hotel this Saturday evening (February 26) at 9pm. The night will be tickets only so get yours for £15 (including booking fee) from www.eventbrite.co.uk by searching ‘Omagh’ and ‘Committed’.