Niall Purcell

Niall Purcell - is a self-taught musician, songwriter, sound recordist & performer.

        Personal Information

• Birth name:  Niall Purcell
• From:  Antrim (in the occupied North of Ireland)
• School:  St Malachys' High
• Height:  5ft 6"
• Sign:  Aries
• Hair:  Dark brown (with some greys)
• Eyes:  Hazel (green/brown)
• Instruments played:  Piano, synth, organ, guitar, digital drums
• Band memberships:  NRG, Eternia, Denial, Peach, Pulse, Purcell White
• Favourite colour:  Yellow
• Favourite novel:  Pride and Predjudice
• Favourite film:  Wuthering Heights
• Favourite outfit:  The sky or the sea
• Likes:  Truth, freedom, nature, compassion, good manners, beauty, romance & gentleness
• No time for:  Materialism, envy, lies, aggression, authority, scientism, status-seekers, schemers, control-freaks
• Favourite quote:  “Lighthouses are not there to draw attention to themselves - they're there to shine.” - Erwin & Preston
• Outlook:  People can 'believe' anything  but only the truth can be 'known'.
• Philosophy: The nectar of truth can't be found all in one place. In reality it's scattered like pollen, & we must work like bees to find it.

After playing up & down Ireland & the UK for many years, keyboardist Niall has released several albums, EPs & singles.

The song ‘Spirit in the Dark' won the 1995 ISR/Radio Limerick One international song competition resulting in radio airplay across Europe plus four American states.

Quote: "The overwhelming consensus is that Niall has a very unique voice and a great songwriting talent" - Dr John Moloney, RLO (Radio Limerick One).

Much of Niall's early years in music were spent struggling to assemble & keep bands together.

The original idea was to form a soulful hard-rock band  with a focus on emotionally charged  melodic phrases coupled with poetic lyrics, flamboyant performances,  but in a traditional 5-piece live band set up.

However, this proved difficult, as he had to learn the hard way  that opposition  (and "promotion")  often appears behind a "friendly"  face, full of apparent ambition . . . with a lot of empty promises!

He also encountered much opposition over his commitment to playing original songs, something which is hard to understand considering the high quality of his work.

Eventually (albeit reluctantly)  going solo, over time Niall's music developed into a kind of electronic rock,  & it was this approach that allowed him to achieve way more than any  "band"  would have ever allowed or made possible, beginning with his debut album 'Tales of Passion'  which was originally released in 1998.
 

Above: Debut album 'Tales of Passion' 1998 

To date, Niall has recorded six studio albums, two EPs & he indicates that he's still writing music,  & still has many unrecorded songs.  

Pretty serious efforts for someone that many people wished to dismiss as nothing more than a  pipe dreamer.

However, Niall's desire to record & perform completely live & in real-time (with or without a band)  has driven him away from 'electronic' music,  in favour of a more traditional, singer-songwriter-keyboardist approach.

As with his debut album (above) Niall now performs & records all his music tuned to 432Hz.

All composition, instrumentation, arrangement, recording, mixing & mastering is entirely his own work.

Now all that's left to complete this bio is to invite you to check out his music for yourself & make up your own mind as to what kind of artist  Niall Purcell  is.

Enjoy listening.

Bio by April Smyth