Mary Dunne

May 9th 2010
Members $7 Non-members $12

Singer-songwriter, Mary Dunne was born in County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland, spent most of the 1990s in Japan and now makes her home in Christchurch in New Zealand.

As a teenager, Dunne sang with a number of rock bands in Ireland before venturing to London in the late 80s where she switched to signing the country-jazz style that was popular in many North London wine bars at the time. After moving to Tokyo Dunne joined a traditional Irish ensemble, but eventually formed “Paddy’s Cure”. This modern, folk-influenced four piece band quickly became a sought after feature of the Tokyo live music scene.

Dunne also pursued a number of solo projects including appearances before Japan’s Royal family, guesting on vocals for Jimmy Angel and arranging the traditional score of a major studio movie. Dunne’s time in Tokyo culminated in the release of her 1997 solo album, Coolatee making her probably the first foreign performer to sign with an independent Japanese label in order to release an album entirely in English.

Leaving Japan coincided with the birth of her first son but she still found time to fit in a promotional tour and an appearance on the top-rated, late night Irish TV talk show, Kenny Live.

Now the mother of two boys, Dunne has forged another new career direction – this time in the field of music therapy. Using music and rhythm as the key, Dunne works to unlock the talents trapped inside children with specific learning difficulties.

While her day job is very rewarding, live performing and song writing have never been far away. Her new album, Over the Water will be publicly released with a gig at the Dux-de-Lux on May 9th, a performance that will feature many of Christchurch’s prominent musicians who guested on the album.

The 'band' on the night will be Davy, John Sanchez-Lloyd, Graham Wardrop and Peter Brocklehurst.