Damien Leith, one of the most successful winners of television’s Australian Idol, has gone on to earn a host of awards, sold more than 800,000 albums and even turned his hand to writing children’s books.
In September he’ll be visiting Perth with a 35-piece orchestra to perform classic Irish songs.
But along with success has come sadness. His father died last year after a six-year battle with Parkinson’s; something that has prompted Damien to become an ambassador for Parkinson’s Australia.
At his concerts Damien performs Neil Young’s song Old Man as a tribute to his dad, which allows him to speak about the illness that claimed his father.
“It’s a horrendous illness. It was heartbreaking for all of us. We were a very close family. Sadly, in the case of dad, he didn’t have it for very long. He only had it for six years, which highlights that we don’t know much about Parkinson’s,” Damien said.
“For my whole family, having gone through it with Dad, we discovered that throughout the whole journey, the treatments are difficult, and the symptoms vary for everybody who gets Parkinson’s. There’s nothing really set in stone.
“I decided that after his passing, I just wanted to try and create more awareness, help out wherever I can and help create better knowledge of the disease.”
Damien said his involvement with Parkinson’s Australia started with the charity’s website which he said provided a spectacular knowledge base.
“Rather than going on to Google and looking around, you go to Parkinson’s Australia and they have the definitive and most current information.
“My main role is helping them out with some major events this year. There’s one in Canberra, which is going to be their first convention; it’s a three-day convention that kicks off on April 6.
“They’re getting doctors in, they’re getting the public, and it’s a whole bunch of talks, creating more awareness and understanding of the disease. Our main aim is to spread the word that they’re a source of information and I’m going to be helping them with that event.
“I do a very special song during the show. It’s a song called The Old Man. It’s a beautiful song and that’s for my dad. I mention Parkinson’s Australia as well. I just encourage people to check them out if you feel like you might be going through anything like that. There’s a lot of people experiencing it, a lot more cases than you would think.
“We find as we talk to so many different people, they all have different symptoms. Dad couldn’t sleep, he got the tremors, then he got the Parkinson’s dementia. He got hit with it all in six years, and then he lost his ability to swallow and it was horrible.”
Family has always been a major part of Damien’s life.
He’s just spent five weeks catching up with family in Ireland and is ready for a big year ahead.
“This year especially, I’ve gone back fully into the arts: singing, writing and touring. Over the last couple of years, I was doing radio as well. I did breakfast radio for six years, but I decided at the end of last year I wanted to focus more on music again.
“I loved radio, but it just took up so much time that I wasn’t doing anything else.”
Freeing up some time will allow him to do two tours this year, one performing solo with his own music and the other, Ireland Orchestrated, a concert featuring Irish classics and accompanied by a 35-piece orchestra.
The show will kick off in April, touring major cities across Australia, including Canberra, Adelaide, Sydney, Tasmania, Melbourne and Perth where he will perform at the Regal Theatre on Saturday, September 19.
The concert will feature Irish classics, including Danny Boy, Molly Malone, The Fields of Athenry, Tell Me Ma, You Raise Me Up, and many more with arrangements by award-winning composer Emma Greenhill.
Born in Ireland, Leith’s engineer father worked overseas and the family spent 13 years living in Africa.
After meeting his Australian wife-to-be in Ireland, the pair married and came to Australia. The couple have two sons and a daughter.
“It’s been an amazing move and it’s been a great country for us, so we’re very lucky.”
Damien hasn’t forgotten his Irish heritage though.
“That’s one of the great things about Australia. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been an Australia Day ambassador and each time I do it, a lot of people who become citizens bring up the fact that Australia embraces them for who they are and doesn’t expect them to completely alter their entire lives to become part of the community. Instead, it’s just like, let’s all blend together, which is great.”
He’ll bring that Irish heritage to Ireland Orchestrated.
“I just thought, this year I’m going to celebrate Irish music, but I’m going to do it with an orchestra. So, let’s do something of an extravaganza. It’s not just traditional Irish music, it’s the full orchestra and a traditional band with incredible Irish classics.”
The music is blended with cinematic segues that lead from one song into the next.
The only non-Irish song in the show is Hallelujah which Damien says audiences always demand.
For tickets to Ireland Orchestrated go to www.damienleith.com.
