Paul Dempsey
Canberra Theatre Centre
18 July 2026
What makes a song your own? Does writing give you ownership? It certainly helps, but it’s not the only way of owning a song. For instance, Sinead O’Connor owns Nothing Compares to You even though she didn’t write it. There’s no doubt she has recorded the definitive version.
Another question. What makes an evening in the theatre listening to someone do a set entirely of cover versions different from listening to a busker do covers in the street?
What Paul Dempsey did was play familiar songs but show them in a new light. He played the entire show solo, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. It wasn’t just the simple presentation of these songs that made them new, it was how he interpreted them. The way he phrased the lyrics, drawing particular attention to certain lines and with his excellent guitar playing it really fleshed out the music.
Particular highlights were Ship of Fools and Boys of Summer. Both interpretations made me think of familiar songs in a new way, but these weren’t the only highlights.
To answer the second question, I think the difference between listening to a covers band in a pub and Paul Dempsey’s covers is talent. He’s an incredible singer, a great guitarist and a world class interpreter of songs. Which leads back to the original question. What makes a song your own? His interpretation of these standards made you feel like he definitely owned them. They were his songs. It’s just that someone else happened to write them.
