FOSTER & ALLEN

Foster & Allen’s new album, is out on the 3rd March. The Gold Collection, is a 60 track offering on a 3 CD Set which includes their latest single “Mrs Browns Boys”, “Galway Girl” and a duet with Coronation St. favourite Shayne Ward, along with more than 20 songs and medleys that haven’t been available for years.

The Gold Collection really does go back into Foster & Allen’s deep and rich catalogue, delivering some of those long forgotten recordings which made them such household names in the 80’s and 90’s.

The story of Foster & Allen began back in the seventies when Mick & Tony were playing  in Country Music bands around Ireland.  In 1975 they got together a small group and went over to the U.K. to work the Irish music venues on a short tour. Mick & 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 U.K. 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 favorable; so much so, they decided to remain as a duo and ‘Foster & Allen’ was formed.

It was difficult at the beginning and after a time working around the circuit in the U.K. and Ireland, they released their first single record “The Rambles of Spring”.  This made a good impact on the Irish market and Foster & Allen were soon in demand for cabaret venues all over Ireland and the U.K.  At the end of 1978 Foster & Allen released the single “A Bunch Of Thyme” in Ireland, which entered the Irish charts and became their first top- selling No. 1 single. It stayed in the Irish Charts for 40 consecutive weeks, re-entering for a further 13 weeks. It was not until 1982 that this single was released in the U.K.  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. They released another single “Old Flames” which also made it’s way into the U.K. Charts and Foster & Allen were on their way to stardom!  They did their first concert tour of the U.K. in 1983 and this tour was boosted even more by the release of another mega hit single “Maggie”.  This proved to be a very popular song and, along with “A Bunch Of Thyme”, have become the signature tunes for Foster & Allen.  Since then Mick & Tony have toured the U.K. twice each year playing to sell-out concerts wherever they went. In addition to the U.K. tours, Foster & Allen have toured the U.S.A, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.  They had five No. 1 Hits in Australia/New Zealand. 


FOSTER & ALLEN have to date released over Thirty albums, all of which have gone into the British charts.  In 2015 they celebrated 40 years together in the music business.
Foster & Allen’s style and easy listening sound remains as fresh and exciting as ever.