Coronas' delight over McCartney gig

The Coronas' lead singer Danny O'Reilly said the band is "absolutely shocked and delighted" to be announced as the support act…

The Coronas' lead singer Danny O'Reilly said the band is "absolutely shocked and delighted" to be announced as the support act for Paul McCartney tomorrow night at the RDS.

O'Reilly said he had assumed that McCartney would not have a support act as he played for almost three hours at the O2 in December without one.

The band were due to play a concert at a festival in Scotland tomorrow, but cancelled after being confirmed for the RDS.

The proposal was only mentioned to the band on Wednesday evening and confirmed last night.

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The Coronas supported Paul McCartney's son James in London recently and the band and the former Beatles' share the same booking agent Marshall Arts Ltd.

"I still can't believe it. I hope we get to meet him. There is absolutely nobody in the world I'd rather support. I've always said in every interview that The Beatles are my favourite band. We are still in shock. My phone is hopping," O'Reilly said.

"I remember my mother (the singer Mary Black) and father buying me Revolver and I was blown away by the simplicity of the songs. It is hard to explain how big a deal this is to us. We're all massive fans."

The Coronas' have had a top five album in Ireland with their latest release Tony was an Ex-Con which was a surprise winner for best album at the Meteor Music Awards this year ahead of U2 and Snow Patrol.

The band have just returned from a tour of Australia and the Far East and will be spending the summer on the festival circuit.

The Coronas will be the second Irish band to support Paul McCartney recently. The Script supported him on his American tour last summer.

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times