First encounters: John McColgan and Colm Wilkinson

John and I met through my wife Deirdre who, like John, was a vision mixer in RTÉ. He was the DJ in the RTÉ club in Ely Place. He says it was the Clontarf cricket club? It could have been, John has a better memory than me. I thought he was very outgoing, full of personality and energy. He was always interested in music. When he got promoted in RTÉ, he was one of the first guys who took me seriously. He put me into a programme to do my songs: it was a huge leap of faith on his part. He always had this idea that I had talent that could be nurtured.

John is always full of energy, of positivity. He always sees the glass half-full, I’m inclined to see it half-empty.

When I went to do Les Mis in London, I stayed with John and Moya: I was just so fortunate to be with them. I was very nervous about doing this huge mega-musical with the Royal Shakespeare Company – but he’d be saying, “it’ll be great, don’t worry”, giving me all sorts of positive thoughts.

John is a super-generous person in every way and always was. He’ll be quite embarrassed at me saying this but he does a lot of really good work that people would never associate with John McColgan. Any of his friends will attest to how generous he is, especially people who are not well or going through a rough time – he is always there for them.

I was just so fortunate to meet him and to have him as a friend, a guy who trusted me and respected what I did. He’s also a great storyteller, has a great sense of humour, is fun to be around at parties.

I went out to Toronto to be in Phantom of the Opera for six months at first, and we’re here 23 years later. As a journeyman singer, I have to go to where the work is. Would I come home? Not for good, although I’d like to spend a lot more time with people like John and Moya and my other friends. But I’m still touring; Deirdre comes out with me on the road. Like Moya and John, we’re a team. John and I were both fortunate to find two great women to spend our lives with.

I admire John’s ambition, his tenacity and strength, his total devotion to his family, I admire where he came from and what he’s done, his generosity to his friends, including myself. My family weren’t rich, but we weren’t poor, and John’s the same. He’s a great guy and I love him dearly.

Colm Wilkinson’s Bring Him Home tour begins in Cork on June 6th. He will go on tour, playing in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin on June 10th, 17th & July 7th; in Limerick on June 13th & 14 and in Belfast on July 10th. For details, see
colmwilkinson.com