Northern Irish classical singing trio, The Priests, hit the # 1 spot with their DVD - The Priests, In Concert At Armagh Cathedral, gaining the number 1 position on National ARIA DVD charts this Mothers Day. Further to this, The Priests self titled debut album also moved up to the # 6 (from # 27) position on the National ARIA album charts this week. The # 1 chart position followed on from The Priests first ever trip to Sydney last week which saw them perform their biggest concert to date, performing to over 3000 fans at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The Priests performed beautiful renditions of Catholic classics such as Ave Maria, Pie Jesu and Panis Angelicus as well as popular Irish songs, which they performed with a spectacular 30 piece orchestra and 20 person choir.
In addition to the Sydney show, The Priests conducted promotion with national television programs, national radio programs, press & online outlets. Whilst in Sydney, The Priests were presented with platinum awards for their debut album, The Priests & The Priests in Concert at Armagh Cathedral DVD, by Denis Handlin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand.
The Priests self-titled debut album was released in 2008 to more then 40 countries across the globe. The recordings for the album were made with two Vatican choirs in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Priests have also recently released a live DVD, where they performed an hour long concert at Armagh Cathedral, Northern Ireland. In Australia, the Armagh Cathedral concert was broadcast across the Ovation Channel on Foxtel and was one of the most watched Ovation specials in the channels history.
The Priests signed a unique recording contract less than a year ago, which ensured that their day jobs would never be interfered, no matter what the scale of their musical success. Their priestly duties are enshrined in a contract which includes a clause freeing them from any promotional or recording commitments – parish duties always take precedence. “Weddings, funerals, baptisms – all of these things must go on and will always come first for us” says Father Eugene.
Their debut album is already a record breaker, with 1.3 million sales of the album (and counting!) officially being the fastest selling debut by a classical act. The album sold over a million copies worldwide in just 7 weeks, achieving platinum status in the UK, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and outstandingly the album is 7 times platinum in Ireland. The album was produced by music legend Mike Hedges, the man responsible for hit albums by U2 and Manic Street Preachers.
