Tommy Fleming (musician)

Tommy Fleming
Tommy Fleming, 2014
Background information
Born	(1971-05-15) 15 May 1971 (age 45) Aclare, Sligo, Ireland
Genres	Folk music
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Website	Official site

Tommy Fleming (born 15 May 1971) is an Irish singer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s after he was asked to tour the US with Phil Coulter. He soon established himself as a solo artist and found his greatest success singing traditional Irish music, both old and contemporary. Fleming has toured extensively throughout Ireland, UK, United States, the Netherlands and Australia. When Fleming was asked how he would describe his genre of music he confessed that it is not opera nor rock 'n' roll. He said that he is just "very traditional and likes a song with a good story". When he is touring, he is accompanied by David Hayes, who plays piano and keyboard. Hayes produces Fleming's albums and is the musical director of his shows.

From an early age Fleming's natural singing talent was on show in local talent competitions and concerts. He sang in public for the first time in 1978 at a concert put on by Kilmactigue National School, which he attended. After finishing secondary school in 1990, he played the local scene with a couple of bands, but it was his meeting with composer Phil Coulter in Westport, County Mayo, that changed his career. Within a few short months of this meeting, he appeared at the Cork Opera House, and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. He then went on a tour of the United States, which included appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Boston Symphony Hall.

After his return to Ireland, he joined the group De Dannan. (Mary Black, Maura O'Connell, and Dolores Keane had been previous lead vocalists of this group.) He performed his first show with De Dannan in the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow in January 1994. With De Dannan, Fleming's voice was brought to Australia, China, Hong Kong, and, once again, the United States.

Tommy Fleming is currently living in Enniscrone, County Sligo, with his wife, Tina. He met her at a funeral two days after a tour in the late 1990s. This was soon after the accident Fleming was involved in where he crashed his car and broke his neck. Fleming has described Tina as "a great woman very strong and a great organizer".