Brendan Grace is set to appear from ‘beyond the grave’ at a tribute concert in his honour later this year.
When the Irish comedian passed away in July, his death brought about a wave of tributes and memories shared by fans and celebrities from Ireland and abroad.
The tribute concert will take place at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre and will feature some of the biggest names in Irish showbiz.
It will also feature a video of Grace singing the song ‘Thanks for the Memories’ from his hospital bed, recorded days before he died.
Documentary maker Brian Reddin produced Grace’s RTE show Funny Man last year.
He told the Irish Sun: “It was Brendan’s idea that footage of him singing would begin the finale of the Olympia concert with everybody joining. I’d say there won’t be a dry eye in the house.”
Reddin had suggested using Frank Sinatra’s My Way, but Grace said the song had one flaw that meant it couldn’t apply to him.
He continued: “Brendan said no because there’s a line ‘Regrets I’ve had a few’ in the song and Brendan told me he had no regrets about his life and didn’t want to sing that, he said he wanted his concert to be more of a celebration than a wake.
“He thought Thanks For The Memories was much more positive.”
Reddin was filming a documentary with Grace at the time of the star’s death. Instead, he now has footage of Grace’s family and friends sharing their stories and coming to terms with losing him.
He said: “Brendan’s family have been swamped with lovely messages. And so many people have emerged with stories about working with Brendan and knowing him down through the years. Everyone had a Brendan story.”
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Written by Michael Kehoe @michaelcalling
