Folk singer Nathan Carter returns to Leeds Irish Centre for a friendly crowd

The folk singer and his band will perform at Leeds Irish Centre on Friday, September 15.

Originally from Liverpool, his family originate from Warrenpoint near Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Back in 2007, the Irish Centre’s manager of nearly 50 years Tommy McLoughlin booked Carter to play eight shows at a time when the teenager was still working as a joiner at his dad’s firm in Merseyside. "Tommy was the guy that gave me my first gig when I left school at 17 and he kind of introduced me to a lot of people around the country in different Irish centres and Irish bars and clubs, and kind of really championed me from a young age," says Carter.

Despite not being old enough to drink, he performed at the York Road venue about every two months and the advance he was paid for the shows helped him to buy a Ford Transit van to transport his equipment.

He ended up playing around 20 shows at the venue in those early years.

"The funny thing is, (from) when I started playing all them Irish centres, I'd say 80 per cent of them are (now) gone. Leeds is one of the only Irish Centres left in England. So to think that they're still going is a testament to Tommy and all the team," says Carter, 33. "It's still continuing to do more events and keep the place afloat and champion music and culture and all that type of stuff, so they've got to be commended for their hard work for sure."

Aged 19, he moved to Northern Ireland, settling in Fermanagh, and will be releasing his 12th studio album this Christmas.

In 2013, his album Where I Wanna Be reached number one in the Irish charts.

He has sung for Pope John Paul ll in the Vatican with the choir from his secondary school, St Francis Xavier's College in Liverpool, and, five years ago, for Pope Francis at Croke Park, Dublin at a showcase which also featured Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Riverdance and Daniel O'Donnell.

"About two weeks ago it popped up on my memories on Facebook," says Carter.

Speaking previously for Leeds Irish Centre’s 50th anniversary in 2020, Carter said: “As my band played the intro and I walked on stage at the world famous London Palladium to a full house, I thought back to just a few years ago when I was a teenager performing at the Leeds Irish Centre.

"A few children were running about the games room and the handful of customers stood at the bar seemed to be far more interested in the football on TV than the young lad who was singing on stage. Nevertheless I was so grateful that the Leeds Irish Centre had booked me so I gave it my very best.”

For tickets, visit www.nathancartermusic.com