October 3: singer-songwriter Danny O'Donoghue of The Script is 31-years-old today.

 

Daniel John Mark Luke O'Donoghue was born in Dublin, Ireland. He met Mark Sheehan in a club in The Liberties area of Dublin, Ireland near the Guinness brewery. They became friends because of their similar taste in music, in particular a love of American soul and R&B. Mark and Danny were formerly part of a band called Mytown.

Striking up a songwriting and production partnership, O'Donoghue and Sheehan's talent was recognized early, and found themselves invited to Canada to collaborate with some of their production heroes, including such legends of modern R&B as Dallas Austin, Montell Jordan and Teddy Riley.

The duo were based in the U.S. for many years, but moved back to Dublin where they recruited drummer Glen Power for their new band. He had been playing sessions from the age of fifteen, using the money to work on a solo project in his home.

Glen, Mark and Danny produced three songs in one week. The band signed to Phonogenic in 2005, and released an EP on Last.FM. The band's influences include a diverse group of artists that include U2, The Police, The Neptunes, Timbaland, and Van Morrison, all of which contribute to their distinct sound. O'Donoghue also made a reference to Amy Winehouse and Stevie Wonder while discussing his personal voice while singing. He stated that the instrument he attempts to imitate is a violin, based on the string arrangements of Stevie Wonder, while Amy Winehouse is similar to a saxophone.

In the beginning years of the band, Mark Sheehan's mother fell terminally ill, and affected Sheehan's writing. With such strong emotional tension, the songwriter found new lyrics every day. Sheehan said that "That was the time when it finally came home to me how important music was to me, cos in my darkest moments that's what got me through."

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After Sheehan's mother's passing, ten months after her diagnosis, Danny's father died four months later of a heart attack. Even with such trying moments in their early years, the band was able to rise out of it, albeit with somewhat bleak lyrics in several songs.


The Script's first single "We Cry" was written about James's Street in Dublin and the different types of people there. The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their first top 20 single. The track also performed well on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at number 9 and giving the band their first top ten single in their home country.

Their second single, "The Man Who Can't Be Moved," was released on 15 September 2008. The single reached number 2 in Ireland, Denmark, and the UK. The band released their debut album, The Script, on 11 August 2008. Following the success of "The Man Who Can't Be Moved," the album entered the UK Album Chart at number one.

The band's third single, "Breakeven," was released in Ireland in November 2008 and in the UK in December 2008. The single was an instant success on the Irish Singles Chart. After entering the chart at number forty, it spent one week before entering the top ten at number ten giving the Script their third top ten single in Russia.

The single has, to date, spent 4 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 21. The band's fourth single "Talk You Down" was released in March 2009.

The Script received an award at the World Music Awards for 'Best Selling Irish Act' of 2008 and in February 2010, they won 'Best Live Performance' at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards.

The Script announced a new album and single on their website in July 2010. The first single from the album Science & Faith was the song, "For the First Time." Science & Faith was released in September 2010. "For the First Time" entered the UK charts at #5 and moved up to #4 the following week and entered the Irish charts at #1. The music video features Bono's daughter Eve Hewson.

The Script recorded their album in London, and vocalist Danny O'Donoghue says that the economic crisis in Ireland is "a microcosm for the rest of the world." He talks about people being stripped of everything that they own and how it inspired the band to write the songs for the new album.

"We're dealing with complex emotions in the simplest of ways, that's what we battle with in these songs," said O'Donoghue. He added that while the subject matter might sound bleak at first, Science & Faith is about optimism. "With Irish people, no matter how bad things get, you always pick yourself up and carry on."

Science & Faith entered the Irish Album Chart and the UK album chart at no.1.

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