THE ex-husband of Imelda May has revealed how the two reunited on stage to support the pal who first brought them together.
Dublin-born Imelda split with Darrel Higham back in 2015 — after being married for more than 13 years.
However, Darrel, 55, and Imelda, 50, who have a daughter Violet together, reunited on stage last week in front of 10,000 punters at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly weekend in the US.
Darrel told The Irish Sun: “I was delighted to be back up on stage playing with Imelda again.
“It was a special show where Imelda went back to her roots playing the rockabilly material she played ten years ago at the start of her career. Everybody loved it.”
Imelda and Darrel dedicated her biggest hit, Mayhem, at the Las Vegas show to their mutual friend, Dublin-born Reb Kennedy.
The record label boss — who first introduced the pair — went through his own mayhem last January when he lost his home and studio to the Californian fires.
Darrel told us: “Reb is a very special friend to myself and Imelda. Not only did he introduce us — we met in Reb’s house in Kentish Town — Reb has always had a very calming effect on both of us.
“It was just like family hanging out with him again.”
It was Coolock man Reb who booked Imelda for the Viva Las Vegas weekend — the biggest rockabilly festival in the world — which features several acts signed to his independent label, Wild Records.
Imelda previously played the festival ten years ago, but it was Reb’s idea to invite her back.
Reb told The Irish Sun: “Imelda has moved on to a more contemporary sound now, but I thought it would be great if she played the old material she was playing ten years ago at the festival.
“She was a bit nervous because it was songs she hadn’t performed in a long time. But having Darrel there with his band made a huge difference. The crowd went mental, and Imelda did six encores.
“After the show, Imelda spent about three hours meeting fans and signing autographs.”
LOSING EVERYTHING
The Liberties-born singer, 50, has been in daily contact with best pal, Reb, 63, since he lost everything — including his family home, recording studio, and master tapes — in the fires which swept California earlier this year.
Reb, his wife Jenny, and son Hayden were forced to flee their home in the Altadena neighbourhood, after it became engulfed in smoke. Burning embers carried by intense high winds later set the property alight.
After losing everything, the popular music man benefited from a GoFundMe page and music fans worldwide who hosted benefit concerts to help his label carry on.
He also received an insurance payment to help him rebuild the ruined family home in the exact same spot.
‘SO BIZARRE’
Reb told us: “From an Irish perspective, it might sound strange rebuilding our house on the same spot where it burnt down, but we have a good interest rate and can’t afford to build it anywhere else.
“I don’t think something like that will happen again, because the sequence of events where the whole neighbourhood burned was so bizarre.
“There’s also new legislation in California covering all the properties being rebuilt there to ensure they are made from fire-resistant wood and have sprinklers built into them.”
He added: “It was funny when Imelda dedicated Mayhem to me at the concert, because mayhem is exactly what I’ve been through over the last few months.”
‘VERY CREATIVE MAN’
Speaking previously about Reb in a documentary focusing on his ground-breaking label, Imelda said: “Reb is one of my closest and dearest friends.
“A very creative man, he continues to fly the flag for the music he loves with extreme passion.”
Dubliner Reb was part of a small group of people who started the punk scene in Dublin in the late 1970s, hanging out at Advance Records, just off Grafton Street.
He later joined up with Rough Trade Records in London and worked as a DJ and promoter, booking bands at the UK’s top rockabilly venues, such as 100 Club and Dingwall’s.
By the late 1990s, Reb had moved to San Francisco to become a promoter.
He later set up Wild Records, an independent Los Angeles label rooted in, but not limited to, rockabilly.
Reb said: “They call me the Irish Mexican (as most of the bands now on his label are Mexican).
“Mexican culture is very similar to Irish culture — music in their homes, lots of family get-togethers and drinking, the Catholic religion, and a love of ’50s and ’60s music. Doing this label has been my dream.”
Meanwhile, Darrel is staying on in California to record a new album with Wild Records.
