Alan Thomas DoyleCMONL(born May 17, 1969)[1]is a Canadian musician and founding member of the Canadian folk rock bandGreat Big Sea.
Alan Doyle | |
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 Doyle in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alan Thomas Doyle |
| Born | May 17, 1969 Petty Harbour, Newfoundland |
| Genres | Folk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer, songwriter, actor |
| Instrument(s) | Singing, mandolin, acoustic guitar,bouzouki,electric guitar, |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Website | alandoyle.ca,greatbigsea |
Life and career
editAlan Doyle was born and raised inPetty Harbour, Newfoundland,[2]in aRoman Catholicfamily.[3]He attendedMemorial University of NewfoundlandinSt. John's,where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. It is also there that he metSéan McCann,Bob HallettandDarrell Powerwith whom he formedGreat Big Sea.He primarily plays electric and acoustic guitars, and thebouzoukifor live performances, but he has been known to play mandolin and banjo.
He is married to Joanne and they have one son.[4]
Doyle has also been involved with a handful of stage, television and film productions. As a child, he appeared as an extra in the movieA Whale for the Killing,based on Farley Mowat's book of the same name, which was filmed in his hometown. He has also hosted regional arts awards shows in Atlantic Canada, appeared as a presenter on the Juno Awards and done a turn onstage in his hometown's "24-Hour Musical" performance ofGrease.In 2005, he composed music for the CBC comedyHatching, Matching and Dispatching,which starsMary Walsh.In 2006, he worked on scoring the filmYoung Triffie's Been Made Away With,directed by Walsh.
Doyle has been linked toRussell Croweand his bands30 Odd Foot of GruntsandThe Ordinary Fear of God,having produced and co-written several songs on Crowe's album,My Hand, My Heart,and played several shows with Crowe. In 2011, they releasedThe Crowe/Doyle Songbook Vol.IIIwith 9 songs in both acoustic demo and finished format, for 18 tracks total. This friendship also led to Doyle's casting asAllan A'Daylealongside Crowe,Cate Blanchett,Kevin Durand,andScott GrimesinRidley Scott'sRobin Hood,released May 14, 2010.[5]He played Dingy in the filmWinter's Tale,also with Crowe and Durand, as well asWill SmithandColin Farrell.
He collaborated withLaw & Ordermusic composerMike Postand wrote and performed a song named "Middle of Nowhere", written for theLaw & Order: Criminal Intentepisode "Broad Channel".[6]
Doyle has guest starred on three episodes of theCBC TelevisionseriesRepublic of Doyleas the character Wolf Redmond. Season 2, episode 2 introduced him as an inmate sent to prison on charges ofB&Esand a few robberies. Doyle guest starred withRussell Crowe,Kevin Durand,andScott Grimeson the first show ofRepublic of Doyle's third season after the four had costarred onRobin Hood.His third appearance – the second with Grimes – was on season 4, episode 6. He appeared in an episode ofMurdoch Mysteries'tenth season.[7]
In 2012, Doyle released his first solo album,Boy on Bridge.The title is a nod to Doyle's credit as the "boy on bridge" in the movieA Whale for the Killing,when he was a young boy. The first single from the album is "I've Seen a Little" and the album features collaborations with Canadian musiciansHawksley Workman,Jim Cuddy,Ron Hynes,and actor-musicianRussell Crowe,among others. The video for the second single, "Testify", was nominated for a 2012Juno.The creation of the album was captured by a film crew, resulting in a documentary also namedBoy on Bridge[8]directed by Joel Stewart and John Vatcher.
Doyle, with Great Big Sea, was featured on Canadian country artist,Dean Brody's 2012 album titledDirt,singing on the track "It's Friday".
In 2014, Doyle released a book entitledWhere I Belong,about his youth growing up in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Doyle's second solo album, entitledSo Let's Go,was released January 20, 2015.[9][10]
In 2017, he guest starred in aMurdoch Mysteriesepisode, "A Murdog Mystery" as a man who claims to be a time travelling historian. Doyle reprised the role in theweb series"Beyond Time".
Doyle's third solo albumA Week at the Warehouse,was released on October 13, 2017. His second book titledA Newfoundlander in Canada: Always Going Somewhere, Always Coming Home,was released on October 17.
During the early days of theCOVID-19 pandemicquarantine, Doyle started remotely collaborating with several Newfoundland-based artists to create a special "isolation edition" EP entitled, 'Songs from Home', which was released in November 2020. Contributing artists includedFortunate Ones,Rachel Cousins,The Ennis Sisters,andThe Once.Per Doyle, 'Songs From Home' is all about making and keeping connections at a time when it was so difficult to be connected.
On June 14, 2022 he began starring in a musical comedy calledTell Tale Harbourat the 2022Charlottetown Festival.[11]The story is based on the screenplayLa grande séductionbyKen Scottthat was made into the 2003 award winning[12]filmSeducing Doctor Lewis.Doyle was co-writer of the production as well as co-writer of music and lyrics with Bob Foster.[13]Also credited as one of the authors for a book of the musical with award-winning writerEdward Riche.[11]
Doyle, with Keith Power, writes the music for the Canadian comedy seriesSon of a Critch,for which they have receivedCanadian Screen Awardsnominations forBest Original Music, Comedyin2023and2024.
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [14] |
US Heat [15] |
US Folk [16] | |||
| Boy on Bridge |
|
11 | 37 | 20 | |
| So Let's Go[9] |
|
13 | — | — | |
| A Week at the Warehouse |
|
26 | — | — | |
| Welcome Home |
|
— | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Extended plays
edit| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [17] | |||
| Rough Side Out |
|
2 |
|
| Back to the Harbour |
|
— | — |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country [21] | |||
| 2012 | "I've Seen a Little" | — | Boy on Bridge |
| "Testify" | — | ||
| 2014 | "So Let's Go"[10] | — | So Let's Go[9] |
| 2015 | "The Night Loves Us" | — | |
| 2017 | "Summer Summer Night" | — | A Week at the Warehouse |
| "Bully Boys" | — | ||
| 2019 | "We Don't Wanna Go Home" (featuringDean Brody) |
43 | Rough Side Out |
| 2020 | "What the Whisky Won't Do" (featuringJess Moskaluke) |
— | |
| 2023 | "Welcome Home" | — | Welcome Home |
Guest singles
edit| Year | Single | Artist | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country [22] | ||||
| 2017 | "Soggy Bottom Summer" | Dean Brody | 18 | Beautiful Freakshow |
| 2020 | "A Tennessee Whisky and a Newfoundland Song" | Various | — | Songs From Home |
| "It's OK" (isolation edition) | Various | — |
Music videos
edit| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "I've Seen a Little"[23] | Margaret Malandruccolo |
| "Testify" | ||
| 2013 | "My Day" | Shehab Illyas |
| 2015 | "So Let's Go" | Margaret Malandruccolo |
| "The Night Loves Us" | Shehab Illyas | |
| "1,2,3,4"(withEd Robertson)[24] | Sean Smith/Joel Stewart | |
| 2017 | "Summer Summer Night" | |
| 2018 | "Beautiful To Me" | Steph Young |
| 2020 | "It's OK" (Songs from Home)(withFortunate Ones,Rachel Cousins,The Ennis Sisters,andThe Once)[25] | Alan Doyle |
| 2021 | "Back Home on the Island"[26] | Cody Westman |
Honours
edit- Canadian Version of theQueen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medalin 2012.[27]
- Member of the Order of Canada(CM) on May 10, 2018.[28]
- Member of theOrder of Newfoundland and Labradoron October 4, 2022.[29]
References
edit- ^Doyle, Alan [@alanthomasdoyle] (October 20, 2018)."Me and @MaryBrowns. Both born in 1969"(Tweet).RetrievedNovember 18,2018– viaTwitter.
- ^Newman, Kevin (November 7, 2014)."Kevin Newman tours Alan Doyle's hometown".CTV.RetrievedNovember 18,2018.
- ^Krett, Kim (October 1999)."Great Big Sea blends 'the Rock' music with pop".The Carillon.Vol. 42, no. 7.University of Regina.Archived fromthe originalon June 15, 2009.RetrievedMarch 12,2007.
- ^"It's going to be a great big P.E.I. Summer for musician Alan Doyle | SaltWire".
- ^"Great Big Sea's Doyle lands role in Ridley Scott film".March 6, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on March 9, 2009.
- ^"Law & Order: Criminal Intent"episode," Broad Channel "(9.3, originally aired April 13, 2010)
- ^@alanthomasdoyle (September 20, 2016)."Early Rise for flight to 1890 or so and Murdoch Mysteries! Yeha. @CBCMurdoch"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^"Boy on Bridge (2013)".IMDb.RetrievedJanuary 14,2015.
- ^abc"So Let's Go".Alandoyle.ca.RetrievedJanuary 14,2015.
- ^abc"Alan Doyle - So Let's Go".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 14,2015.
- ^ab"Tell Tale Harbour World Premiere to Headline The 2022 Charlottetown Festival".Confederation Centre of the Arts.November 16, 2021.RetrievedApril 24,2022.
- ^Chamberlain, Mike (Spring 2004)."Ken Scott's Seductive Success".Canadian Screenwriter.Writers Guild of Canada.The W Files. Archived fromthe originalon June 24, 2004.
- ^"Tell Tale Harbour".Confederation Centre of the Arts.RetrievedApril 24,2022.
- ^"Alan Doyle Chart History – Canadian Albums".Billboard.RetrievedMay 24,2012.
- ^"Alan Doyle Chart History – Heatseekers Albums".Billboard.RetrievedMay 24,2012.
- ^"Alan Doyle Chart History – Folk Albums".Billboard.RetrievedMay 24,2012.
- ^"Changes Becomes Justin Bieber's Eighth No. 1 Album".FYIMusicNews.February 24, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 24,2020.
- ^"Rough Side Out by Alan Doyle".Apple Music.RetrievedFebruary 14,2020.
- ^Bjorke, Matt (February 25, 2020)."Top 10 Country Albums Chart in Pure Sales: February 24, 2020".Roughstock.RetrievedMarch 6,2020.
- ^"Back to the Harbour by Alan Doyle".Apple Music.RetrievedMay 21,2021.
- ^"Billboard Canada Country National Airplay - Week of February 1, 2020".Nielsen BDS Radio.The Nielsen Company.Archived fromthe originalon February 1, 2020.RetrievedJune 23,2020.
- ^"Dean Brody feat. Alan Doyle - Canada Country".Billboard.RetrievedJune 24,2020.
- ^"I've Seen a Little".Alandoyle.ca.RetrievedJune 18,2012.
- ^"1,2,3,4 – Alan Doyle".Vevo.RetrievedOctober 7,2015.
- ^"Alan Doyle - It's OK (Songs from Home)".YouTube.RetrievedNovember 14,2020.
- ^"Back Home on the Island".YouTube.RetrievedApril 26,2021.
- ^"Alan Doyle's Diamond Jubilee Medal Citation".Governor General of Canada.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
- ^"Alan Doyle's Order of Canada Citation".Governor General of Canada.RetrievedMarch 3,2022.
- ^"Latest Recipients of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Recognized".Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. October 4, 2022.
External links
edit
Media related toAlan Doyleat Wikimedia Commons- Alan DoyleatIMDb
- Photo portrait Alan Thomas Doyle on greatbigsearetrieved November 23, 2011
- Official Biography
- Official site for the albumMy Hand, My Heart
- INTERVIEW: Robin Hood's Merry Men | Rip It Up Magazine
- Alan Doylediscography atDiscogs
