Tony Walsh aka Longfella

Biography

One of the initial members of Write Out Loud, Manchester's Tony Walsh has become a poet with a growing national and international reputation, performing everywhere from Glastonbury Festival to The British Library, from the main stage of The Lowry to The Palace of Science and Culture in Warsaw, Poland. Now a full-time freelance poet and writer, Tony has picked up the stage name Longfella (he's six feet five inches tall) and launched his debut full collection, SEX & LOVE & ROCK&ROLL, with new indie press Burning Eye Books in Spring 2013. http://longfella.co.uk/sexandloveandrockandroll.html Tony's poetry has been published on both sides of the Atlantic, translated into Russian, and displayed with an LS Lowry image at both Tate Modern and The British Museum as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund "Best of British" exhibition. A multiple winner and finalist in top-level poetry slam competitions, Tony is the current Manchester Literature Festival Comedy Slam Champion and was the runner-up in "The Times" UK Allstars Slam Final at Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2008. In 2011 he was the official website Poet in Residence for Glastonbury Festival from where his work featured on BBC1, BBC Radio 2, BBC6Music and in Q music magazine. In September 2013 he performed at the BBC's legendary Maida Vale studios as part of Cerys Matthews' In Conversation With The Clash programme, broadcast on BBC6Music. In October 2013 he was commissioned by Trafford MBC to write and perform a tribute poem to Sir Alex Ferguson at the official re-naming of Sir Alex Ferguson Way, outside Old Trafford. Tony has successfully fulfilled a wide range of professional commissions and is eager to talk to you about * Performances and Readings * Festivals, Conferences and Events * Workshops, Youth and Community Projects * Films and Broadcasts * Ethical Promotions * Articles and blogs * Collaborations To contact Tony, to read his blog, checkout photos, videos and future gigs or to access all his social networking platforms checkout www.longfella.co.uk or call 07811 434061. Tony is a member of the National Association of Literature Development (NALD), The National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) and The International Songwriters' Association (ISA). He holds a current Enhanced-level CRB Check and £5m of Public Liability Insurance. Testimonials "He is the real deal." Benjamin Zephaniah "Fired and inspiring." John Hegley "Some poets can make you laugh, a few can make you cry but only a handful can do both. By all accounts, Tony Walsh is one such poet "...taking audiences on a rock 'n'' rollercoaster ride from comedy to tragedy, from the deadly serious to the seriously deadly." Splitting your sides AND breaking your heart? Be warned - this guy should come with a health warning!" Glastonbury Festival, 2011 "The Fly is a music magazine, for sure, but in Tony Walsh’s lone voice, we discover more music than a thousand orchestras could muster. Utterly mesmerising and unforgettable... " Stephen Brolan, The Fly, Big Chill 2009 "Masterful and empowering, a people's champion of poets, Tony Walsh is renowned as one of the UK's leading voices in performance poetry. Tony speaks to the heart of the nation with a Manchester twang and a touch of Indie wildness." conwyfeast.co.uk "Absolutely brilliant!" "Unbelievable!" Sir Alex Ferguson “Tony Walsh’s poetry picks you up by the scruff of the neck and shakes you till your teeth rattle. Brilliant stuff!” Felix Dennis - poet, publisher, Oz trial defendant " Tony Walsh jest jednym z najbardziej obiecujacych talentów sceny slamowej w Wielkiej Brytanii." The British Council, Poland “Tony is a versatile performer, who proves that there is no such thing as language barrier in poetry” Wojciech Cichon, The British Council, Poland "Tony Walsh rocks. And indeed he rolls!" Elvis McGonagall UK and World Poetry Slam Champion 2006 "There is formal skill from Tony Walsh...", Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy " You could have heard a pin drop. As moving a theatre experience as you can imagine." Prisons Columnist for The Guardian, Eric Allinson "...the towering wildfire that is Tony Walsh..." Spiel Unlimited "Hilarious..." bbc.co.uk "Very, very clever.” John DeLucy, The British Library “Tony Walsh – truly the Gods’ Pollocks of the spoken word!” Jeremy Myerson, The Royal College of Art "One of the best in the North West” The late, great Hovis Presley, 2005. "If poetry is the new rock and roll, Tony Walsh proved it..." Official Glastonbury Festival website review “Moved me like few artists before” Matt Hill aka Quiet Loner (No1 album – UK Americana chart) "Tony Walsh is a poet with a special way with words. In Nigeria, he would be hailed as 'olohuniyo' the honey tongued one." Bolton-based Nigerian poet, Abi Idowu. “The breadth and depth of Tony’s talent - in both his writing and performance – is amazing. He’s so good it’s almost rude.” Sean Kelly, Pure and Good and Right, Leamington Spa How can someone be so damned funny then turn on a sixpence and make my cry? Dick Leith, Pure and Good and Right, Leamington Spa “F*****g loved it!” Actor, Keith Allen (Lily’s Dad!) "Our audience loved him and you will too!" Wicked Words, Leeds Links: Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LongfellaPoet Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/tony.walsh.984 LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tonywalshlongfella Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tony-walsh Bandcamp: http://longfella-tonywalsh.bandcamp.com/

Samples

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.

Blog entries by Tony Walsh aka Longfella

Further Adventures in Poetryland (20/11/2008)

Further Adventures In Poetryland (19/11/2008)

Warsaw (24/03/2008)

Blog link: https://www.writeoutloud.net/blogs/tonywalshakalongfella