RTE icon leaves fans crying ‘absolutely fantastic’ after surprise gig appearance

RTE icon Marty Whelan has left fans crying “absolutely fantastic” after he made a surprise musical appearance at a gig last night.

The legendary radio ace stepped out to a sold out crowd in the Board Gais Energy Theatre for the RTE Concert Orchestra show.

Marty sent fans wild as he took to the stage to perform a drum solo to the famous Phil Collins tune In The Air Tonight.

The Lyric FM host looked confident as ever as he joined the musicians for the musical number.

The 68-year-old stood beside a drum kit with sticks in his hands and nodded his head to the beat.

Once it was his time to shine, Marty played the renowned drum solo perfectly hitting every note.

The crowd began to clap and cheer as the TV star continued to proudly play along with the orchestra.

As a singer at the front of the stage walked over and pointed to Marty playing the drums, the crowd erupted into a big roar of cheers.

The iconic presenter beamed from ear to ear as he finished out his performance.

The official RTE Concert Orchestra page posted a clip of Marty’s appearance on their Twitter with the caption: “Well, they didn’t see that coming… @martylyricfm brings the house down joining the

“@rte_co for the famous drum solo in Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight!”

Fans all flocked to the comment section to gush over the host’s spectacular performance.

Anne wrote: “Absolutely fantastic, well done Marty, a cracking show from start to finish.”

Susan said: “What a lovely moment!”

Andy added: “Brilliant! Go Marty!”

And Anastasia joked: “Yes Marty, some man for one man.”

Marty celebrated 25 years at the helm of Ireland’s Eurovision commentary this year.

The 67-year-old’s Eurovision journey began back in 1987 when he hosted Eurosong in Dublin, the same year Johnny Logan won Eurovision for a second time with his song Hold me now.

Career highlight

He first graced the ears of our nation in 1979 working with the national broadcaster RTE to host a series of shows on 2FM.

In 1989 Marty left 2FM to join rival station Century Radio in 1989 for a short stint as the station subsequently failed by 1991.

However he returned to the broadcaster by the mid 90’s and has remained since, experiencing many career highs with RTE since his return in the mid 90’s.

Including presenting the Rose of Tralee from 1997 to 2003 only to be replaced by ex-RTE employee Ryan Tubridy.

Marty has become synonymous in Ireland for his coverage of the Eurovision.