Irish musician Brendan Francis “Brush” Shiels from County Dublin, is best known for being the front man of Gary Moore‘s first band, Skid Row. An Irish blues rocker of the late ’60s and early ’70s, it was based in Dublin and fronted by bass guitarist Shiels. The band is particularly notable for being the one in which both Phil Lynott and guitarist Moore first played professionally.
Born October 24th, 1945, in Limerick, Shiels had a TV show on RTÉ called Off yer Brush and was twice managed by boyband mentor Louis Walsh. Providing musical accompaniment, he appeared regularly on the Joe Duffy Liveline radio program on RTÉ and performed live around venues in the UK and Ireland.
Brush also enjoyed a brief spell as a footballer representing Bohemian F.C. in the 1960s. Shiels has helped Bohemians recent times by making appearances at fundraising events to try and ensure the survival of his former club.
In 1971, Billboard praised Shiels, Bridgeman and Moore for their album 34 Hours suggesting the “lads will travel far.” That they did, in that Shiels played at such internationally known music venues such as Fillmore West and Whisky a Go Go. In 1986, he played at the Self Aid benefit concert for unemployed in Ireland. But in December 2012, he suffered a heart failure caused by a viral infection and was admitted to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown for two weeks In 2013, Brush was one of the legends from the Irish entertainment business to perform at the Philip Chevron testimonial. At 75, Brush is a survivor of Ireland’s rock heyday.