Enigmatic showman, songwriter and Mullingar resident, Count Tornado is now the feature of a heartwarming documentary film about one man’s resolve and perseverance in attaining success in the Irish music industry.
With such classics as “Don’t Throw Rocks at my Door and “Electric Sewing Machine in Stephen’s Green,” Count Tornado/ David O’Byrne has a rich legacy of live performances at the finest venues throughout Ireland since the 1980s.
Now residing in Mullingar, Count Tornado’s avant-garde performances still draw critical acclaim, which he was recently featured in the Mullingar produced movie, “Music Tow.”
Known for his theatrical and industrious performances, the Count has been known to have worked his audiences into elated free-for-alls the length and breadth of Ireland.
With this in mind, up and coming documentary maker, Stephen Corri has been following the Count’s story for some time, and hopes to share the Count’s entertaining and poignant story of the man behind the cape and his quest for Irish chart success in a new documentary film called “Storm Warning.”
“I have been working as a cameraman and video editor in the television industry for five years now and after witnessing one of Count Tornado’s gigs and talking to him, I knew I had to make a film as there was such an interesting story to be told,” said Stephen, who described the fascinating research which was required for the upcoming production.
“After doing a bit of online research about him, I wanted to know more about this person, who has dedicated his whole life to his music. I can safely say it is probably the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard, and no matter what you think of his music, I have never seen anyone else entertain a crowd so well. Doing a bit more research I found out he had a huge following in the late 90s’ Dublin music scene and a number of high profile fans have agreed to appear in the doc talking about the Count, including Mik Pyro of Republic of Loose, Aidan Walsh: Master of the Universe, Dermot Lambert from 90s rock band Blink and Tim from the Hot Sprockets.”
Depending on demand, Stephen hopes to have “Storm Warning” released locally in Mullingar. The documentary is set to be showcased at the Stranger than Fiction, Galway Film Festival along with a host of film festivals this summer. “If there’s enough interest at the various film festivals, we’ll definitely look into having it shown in Mullingar,” concluded Stephen.
