"ONLY brilliant" was the conclusion of the adolescent audience at the debut concert of new boy band Only Us in Dublin's Olympia theatre last Sunday night. The group is jointly managed by Julian Benson, (celebrating his 25th birthday the following morning), whose choreographic talents were visible at the show, and Mark Dunne, 22 year old son of Ben and Mary Dunne, both of whom were spotted in the auditorium.
"I always had some inkling that I wanted to be involved in the entertainment business," says young Mr Dunne, even though after school at Castleknock College he went to work in the family business for two years. After studying marketing, advertising and public relations at LSB College, last summer he teamed up with his cousin Brian McManon's good friend from UCD, Julian Benson, to form Merlin Winters Management. The name was chosen because Mr Benson lives on Merlin Road and his partner in Winterwood House.
"We've been working on Sunday's show for about the last six months," is how Mark Dunne explains the capacity crowd at the Olympia the two managers had sent the band out to girls' schools over recent weeks to drum up interest in the concert.
"A nationwide tour is definitely on the cards but first we're going to bring out the band's first single We Are Young in the next couple of weeks." Mr Dunn says that in addition he and Julian Benson have "a couple of other acts in the works". However, for the moment given the momentum of Only Us Merlin Winters will be concentrating on them.