The Commitments Reunite After Twenty Years

The cast of the hit movie "The Commitments" are reuniting for a one-off tour next Spring - singing together for the first time in almost 20 years.

The 1991 film, directed by Alan Parker and adapted from Roddy Doyle's novel, was a smash hit around the world, raking in almost €15 million in the United States box office alone.

The soundtrack sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.

Now the gang - Andrew Strong, Angeline Ball, Bronagh Gallagher and even Oscar winner Glen Hansard - are taking to the road again.

Only backing singer Maria Doyle Kennedy, now star of the Showtime TV series The Tudors, will be missing - but even she is reported to be supportive of the idea of the reunion.

Robbit Arkins, who played the band's manager Jimmy Rabbitte in the movie, is also among the ten-strong band taking part.

The hilarious movie tells the story of a hard working band from Dublin, trying to make it at during Ireland's deep recession of the 1980s.

It featured many classic soul hits including "Mustang Sally" and "Try a Little Tenderness".

"We've all grown up and we've all gone off and done our own thing," said Hansard, who now fronts The Frames, and won an Oscar with Marketa Irglova for the song 'Falling Slowly' from the movie Once.

"It's great to come back and say - you know what? This is worth celebrating. It's something that was a really good thing in our lives."

Angeline Ball, who played Imelda Quirke in the movie, said: "We thought we were making a small little film with good music in it. We all worked extremely hard but we never thought it would be as big as it's become. It's almost like a cult now."

The Commitments will play four concerts in Castlebar, Killarney, Belfast and Dublin.

A donation will be made for each ticket the Irish Cancer Society, and the members hope to raise up to €30,000 for the Irish Cancer Society.