“Totally missed the mark” – Dave Fanning apologises for Christy Dignam remarks

"Incredibly ill-timed and poor taste."

Music journalist Dave Fanning has apologised to the family of the late Christy Dignam after comments he made about the Aslan frontman, last week. Dignam passed away last Tuesday, June 13, and Fanning was asked onto RTÉ's Today with Clare Byrne to give his perspective on the Dubliner's life and music career. While there were some segments of his interview with Byrne that showed a warmth and fondness to Dignam, Fanning was not for sugar-coating. He said:

"I know this is a time for eulogising but I don't want to deify the guy either - he [Dignam] blew it royally. "He would say later on that: 'Because I was abused at the age of six by a neighbour and there was this hole in my life for ages so I filled it, not by trying to get high with heroin, but just by filling it with heroin to keep myself away from the memory of it.' And I remember saying to him: 'Are you sure about that now, Christy? Are you sure you're not trying to pull the wool over my eyes?'."

Dave Fanning issues apology

During that Claire Byrne interview, Dave Fanning spoke of Aslan never really kicking on after the initial success of their song, Crazy World.

"It kind of went downhill after that in terms of major success... They had a lot of fights and a lot of things went wrong and I think it maybe could have gone a bit better if, I don't know what, if they just kept their heads together," he commented.

Fanning also said that, in his opinion, Aslan "never made it outside of Ireland" and that "they didn't mean a thing elsewhere". Following the segment, many fans of Aslan and Dignam took to social media to voice their frustration with Fanning's comments. There was a groundswell against Fanning, in recent days, and the long-time DJ and TV presenter has clearly taken some time to reflect. In a post on Twitter, he stated:

'I listened back to my bit on the radio about Christy Dignam feeling that it wasn’t perhaps as bad as some comments have made out. Comments were right, I was wrong - it was bad. 'I was trying to highlight some deeper issues in Ireland during the eighties and I totally missed the mark. Incredibly ill-timed and poor taste. I really didn’t intend to come across that way. 'Christy was honestly one of the nicest and most genuine people I met in the music business, as are all of Aslan, and I have said that many times down through the years. I particularly want to apologise to his family. Christy was ALWAYS a gentleman who deserves better than that from me.'

https://twitter.com/davefanning/status/1671176692008624128 In time, that furore will be forgotten and the music of Christy Dignam and Aslan will endure. Read more:

• Huge crowds line the streets to pay respects to Christy Dignam
• Christy Dignam: Tributes pour in for the late Aslan frontman
• Christy Dignam: Aslan frontman and Irish rock legend has died aged 63

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