Pat Byrne Vicar Street DublinThe hard work starts here. It might seem like something counter-intuitive to say about someone who has just released their début album; surely all the hard work is behind them. For a lot of artists, they can sit back and enjoy their début album and the fun of the live shows. For Pat Byrne, he has to break a trend of nearly eight years.

Having won “The Voice of Ireland”, Pat Byrne joins the growing list of acts to emerge the other side of a TV talent show as the winner, with high hopes and hopefully a pre-established audience. You don’t have to look much further than the X Factor to see that talent show winners don’t always have long, successful careers. It could be argued that Leona Lewis is the only one to achieve lasting success. Certainly when compared to the considerable shadows cast by JLS, Olly Murs and of course One Direction.

So what made Pat audition for the show? “I had gotten myself into a bit of a rut,” he said when he spoke to Goldeplec recently. “The gigs were getting boring and every night felt the same. I felt I had nothing to lose and just went for it. I had never been a huge fan of TV talent shows but this show seemed a lot more credible than others I have seen. I was a big fan of Niall Breslin and his involvement encouraged me to take the risk“.

It was a risky move with the stigma attached to most TV talent shows, but one he doesn’t feel will hold him back in any way – “I definitely think there is a stigma attached and it can be restrictive. But, if the songs are good enough, and the artist is convincing, I don’t see why any of that matters“.

Change and life upheaval followed swiftly after the victory, elevating Pat to studio recording and label management. How has he been adjusting to it all?  “My life is completely different now. It is so nice to have the freedom to write and sing what you want to a crowd that wants to listen. It’s also very nice to have support from the label and management. Before the show, I was a nobody, working hard to get gigs and lugging gear from pub to pub. Now all I have to do is write and perform.” The new album is out now, and the reactions and feedback have poured in, “The reaction has been great as well, everyone has been really positive and I am getting recognised all over the place, which is kind of nice“.

With influences like Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles among the acts inspiring him, alongside hometown heroes Mick Flannery, Declan O’Rourke and The Frames, he has a wealth of inspiring figures that could have affected the sound of the album, but was it tough churning out his first record? “I don’t consider it tough. I loved every second of it. As a musician, releasing an album has always been a dream and I consider myself very lucky to have gotten this opportunity. It was a long, exciting process that I hope to experience again and very surreal to be in the presence of some of the music industry’s big names, but I think I held my own. At first, I felt a lot of pressure. I hoped I would be allowed take me time and make an album I can stand by and I was lucky that Universal felt the same way. They gave me close to six months to produce a credible album“.

In building the album, he worked very closely with his mentor Bressie, something we don’t think Niall was obliged to do, but he did it anyway. “Working with Bressie has been amazing. He gave up a lot of his time to help write and produce on the album and he had no obligation to do so. I owe him a lot for what he has done for me and without him, the album wouldn’t be what it is. Being a mentor didn’t stop with the end of The Voice and I’m very grateful to have his support”. As with any album, you become more attached to certain songs, so we asked Pat if he had any special connection with specific tracks on the album, “I love all the tracks. Some of my favourites would be All For You, I Said It So I Feel It, All Or Nothing, and in particular Priceless which I feel has a beautiful message of unconditional love and how no matter what mistakes your family make, you’ll always love them“.

The album out, it’s now time to try build upon that hard work, producing something he is proud of, but turning this into a full-time career. He has a big show announced for January 31st 2013 in Vicar Street, but does Pat have any inkling of what is ahead? “To be honest, I’m not sure yet. I know we are touring, mainly in Ireland, in the New Year with a Vicar Street gig on Jan 31st. I’d love to stay working with Bressie. On this album I also worked with Danny O’Reilly form the Coronas, who is probably the nicest guy I have ever met! It was so cool to have him on board and his input was amazing. There are lots of Irish artists I’d love to work with. Some of my heros are Declan O’Rourke, Mick Flannery and Glen Hansard.” So high hopes for the future, and we hope he is able to buck the trend of talent show winners and become a mainstay Irish artist. He knows that the hard slog to get as far as a second album starts now: “I’d like my tour to be a success. I’d also like to bring my album overseas and try make it outside of Ireland. But first, I think it’s important to do well here because I’d love to release a second album which, less face it, won’t happen if I can’t do well at home. In the meantime, I’m going to keep writing and enjoy this incredible journey.