‘I still don’t know what to say about it,’ Gavin tells U2.com’s interviewer, then proceeds to talk about his 50th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall for quite a bit:

Question: What have Laurie Anderson, Andrea Corr, Courtney Love, Lydia Lunch, Maria McKee, Shane MacGowan and Rufus Wainwright got in common with Larry, Bono, Edge and Adam. Answer: They’re all fans of Gavin Friday and they’re all taking part in a one-of-a-kind show in New York next week, set to raise funds to combat AIDS in the poorest countries.

An Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends, on Sunday October 4th at Carnegie Hall in New York, is curated and produced by Hal Willner, someone with an unrivalled track record in one-off musical events inspired by maverick artists from Leonard Cohen to Kurt Weill, Tim Buckley to Thelonius Monk.

Gavin, of course, has been hanging out with the members of U2 since before they were the members of U2 and is invariably to be found with them in the studio when an album needs to be finished… or out on the road, when a tour is about to kick off. Right now, he’s working on songs for his own next solo album due in 2010. We caught up with him in Dublin to find out more about the Carnegie Hall show:

“Believe it or not, this was not born in my head. I think I was on some kind of TV show, maybe 12 years ago, and I was asked about my musical ambition and I said I’d love to play Carnegie Hall before I’m 50. That was the seed of all this. Then earlier this year a gang of us went away for a day to celebrate the 50th birthday of Guggi and at the party, Bono, who turns 50 himself next May, said to me, ‘Do you know what you’re doing for your fiftieth ?’ I said I didn’t have a clue and that I’ll probably run away to avoid the attention. He said he did know what I was doing, that I was playing Carnegie Hall.”

PDF-file of an interview Gavin did with Markus Kolodziej for OX Magazine (German)

When did you first become aware of Scott Walker?
“Away from some of the Walker Brothers hits.. I’d say i first became aware of Scott Walker via Bowie in the early to mid seventies… it wasnt until early 8o’s when his music truly kicked in for me… Scott Walker sings Jacques Brel was a real touchstone.”

You’ve sung Walker’s song ‘The Plague’ live a few times. Any other Walker songs you’d consider covering?
“Thats a tough one …they are so very much swamped in his own uniqueness …. I’ve always wanted to cover ‘Plastic Palace People’.. of his later music… maybe ‘A Lover Loves’, but lets see how I get on in the next few weeks.”

You are thanked in the sleeve notes of the album ‘Scott 3′. How did that come about?
“Cally Calloman, the designer, was putting together the artwork for the re issues of the early Scott Albums at the same time he was working with me on the artwork for ‘Adam ‘n’ Eve’… and I threw in my twopence worth here and there regarding the Scott re issues.”

How did Gavin Friday get involved in the Drifting and Tilting production at the Barbican?
“I got a phone call from the Barbican saying Scott Walker had requested my involvement in the project.”

What can we expect from you at the shows?
“Something extraordinary…”

Irish singer, songwriter and composer Gavin Friday is no stranger to film. Since founding Virgin Prunes (legendary avant-garde post-punk group), in 1977, he (with music partner Maurice Seezer), has composed various albums and soundtrack, for films like ‘Short Cuts’, Jim Sheridan’s, ‘In the Name of the Father’ and Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’ (in which he also starred). Here, we chat movies with Mr Friday.

Q: How often to you get to sit down and watch a movie?
I am a frequent moviegoer and am addicted to watching DVD’s on my laptop.

Q: Tell us about the last movie you saw?
Mysterious Skin’ on DVD. A great movie…very heavy subject matter that is dealt with in a very real/surreal and uncompromising yet moving way… beautifully acted and wonderfully directed….

Q: What is your favourite Irish movie and why?
It’s a throw up between ‘The Butcher Boy’ and ‘My Left Foot’…Both truly wonderful in their own unique way…

Q: What is your favourite movie of all time?
Impossible question….Two movies I always come back to are The Night of The Hunter and Taxi Driver….thats not to mention anything by Fellini or Fritz Lang

Q: What movie could you never sit through again?
TITANIC….It bored the arse off me

Q: Describe your ideal movie cast… (actor, actress & director)
Oh…maybe Peter Lorre , Jessica Lang directed by Fellini.

Q: Have you ever cried during a movie? Which one?
Yes I have cried many times during a movie….the last one could have been ‘The Sea Inside’

Q: Favourite movie snack?
A bottle of still water.

Q: Favourite TV programme?
I have given up on Television…. Of recent times I had a fondness for ‘Six Foot Under’

Q: Who would play you in the movie adaptation of your life?
You would have to ask my mother that question…..