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All Music Guide:
The Priests are exactly that, three Roman Catholic priests from Northern Ireland, Father Eugene O'Hagan, Father Martin O'Hagan (they're brothers), and Father David Delargy, who just happen to have three tenor voices that fit together magically. Their talent emerged when all three were attending Queen's University in Belfast and continued while they trained for the priesthood at the Irish College in Rome, and it was during this time that they were invited to sing for the Pope in the sacred liturgy. Returning to Ireland to work in their separate ministries, the three stayed linked and continued to sing together while still fulfilling their duties as full-time parish priests. Their ability to absorb and render sacred music, classical arias, and traditional Irish songs with a kind of rare accessibility led to a recording contract with RCA Victor, and after the trio worked with famed producer Mike Hedges, their debut album, simply titled The Priests, was released in 2008. The album was a phenomenal, if unlikely, commercial success, charting high on Billboard's Classical Traditional and Christian/Gospel charts, and amazingly, hit the number one spot on the Top 200 chart. In true priestly fashion, the trio's share of the proceeds from all this success went to their parishes and to support retired priests. A second album, Harmony, appeared in 2009.
Wikipedia:
The Priests are a classical musical group made up of three Roman Catholic priests all from Northern Ireland. Fr Eugene and his brother Fr Martin O'Hagan are originally from the village of Claudy, County Londonderry with the family now residing in Derry whilst Fr David Delargy is from Ballymena, County Antrim.
Early career
The trio have been singing together since they boarded as students at St MacNissi's College, Garron Tower, County Antrim. After signing a record deal with SonyBMG in April 2008 the priests, all from the Diocese of Down & Connor, recorded their debut album in Northern Ireland and Rome, with the unusual honour of having been allowed to record in St. Peter's Basilica, The Vatican.
Career
2008: The Priests
Their debut album was produced by Mike Hedges and Sally Herbert. Mike Hedges has worked with, amongst others, U2, Dido and Manic Street Preachers. The eponymous album was released in Ireland on 14 November 2008 by Epic Records and has since been released worldwide in over thirty countries and preceded by an ITV documentary and PBS special in the United States. The initial idea for making of an album involving a priest was put in motion by Hedges himself. The original idea developed into a project involving the three priests after he and Epic Records head, Nick Raphael, saw a video recording from a mobile phone of them singing. In December 2008 they scooped the Guinness World Record for ‘Fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act’. The album has turned Platinum in Ireland, UK, Sweden, Norway as well as going Gold in New Zealand, Canada and Spain. The group's concert schedule will not follow the usual band format as clauses in their bespoke contract places the emphasis on them continuing their pastoral work in their respective Parishes and in the Diocese of Down & Connor. In the 21 March issue of The Tablet, it is claimed that the album has sold more than 1 million copies in Ireland alone.
2009 – present: Harmony and Noel
In August 2009, they began recording their second album, entitled "Harmony", under the same production team. It was released in November 2009 and has reaped platinum awards in Ireland and Sweden, where the album reached the No 1 spot in the Swedish charts just before Christmas 2009.
The trio completed a very successful concert tour of UK & Ireland playing to packed houses and ending with a homecoming concert in Belfast's Waterfront Hall. Their concert itinerary also took in two concerts in the Millennium Forum in the City of Derry, the first concert coinciding with the release of the Saville Report on Bloody Sunday. They noted that it was an auspicious day for the City and for the future.
The trio have recently released their first Christmas album, Noel, which was released 2 November 2010. The album debuted at #3 on the US Top Classical Albums Chart and #18 on the Top Christian Albums Chart. In Canada, the album charted on #100 on the Canadian Albums Chart and #8 on the Canadian Classical Albums Chart.
