- Music
- 20 Jun 17
Francie Conway enlisted the help of Queen producer David Richards to record ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ – but Richards sadly passed away in 2013. Only now has the Irish songwriter been able to finish recording what is a very special song for him.
Francie Conway, the well-known Irish singer songwriter, has released a song about Princess Diana. Entitled ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’, the song was inspired by a line from Alastair Campbell’s book The Blair Years. Campbell and Conway are old pals, having busked together many moons ago. The former press secretary to Blair has already tweeted his approval, encouraging his Twitter followers to listen to the song.
"David Richards often spoke about how difficult it was to finish the Queen album 'Made In Heaven' after Freddie passed away,” Francie Conway explained. "Little did I ever imagine that I would be in the same heartbroken situation, as David sadly passed away in December 2013. This is the first song from the music files of David and I to be finished."
The song is co-credited to Conway and Richards, who also co-produced and mixed records by David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Feargal Sharkey and Duran Duran. The writers are also credited as co-producers, with Moving Hearts drummer Matt Keleghan also sharing the production credit. The track was recorded at the Queen-owned Mountain Studio in Montreal, and Tempo Studio in Dublin, and was mixed by Daire Winton at Beechpark Studio.
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Francie Conway is originally from Kerry and has played extensively on the continent, including Switzerland and Holland, where he lived for eight years, as well as Ireland and the UK. His songs have been recorded by Dolores Keane, Steve Wright (The Easybeats)and The Fureys, amongst others, and he was worked with some of the most widely respected musicians in the business, including Russ Ballard (Argent), Jan Akkerman (Focus), Tim Renwick (Pink Floyd/ Mike and the Mechanics), Finbar Furey, Christy Dignam of Aslan, Altan, Kila, Dervish and the late Ronnie Drew (The Dubliners), among many more.
Francie is a founder member of The Rock School in Ballyfermot, and is a songwriting coach there.