FOR over three decades Foster & Allen have gently ploughed their own furrow in the music business.

Now as they look forward to celebrating 40 years together they are out on an autumn tour, performing a string of hits including Bunch of Thyme, Maggie, After All These Years, and I Will Love You All My Life. And they roll into The Regent Centre, Christchurch, on November 8.

The Irish folk duo not only spend half their time touring the UK and Ireland each year but also Australia, New Zealand and Canada every two years to the delight of their loyal following.

And 2014 is proving another amazing year for Mick and Tony, who have a new TV series of The Foster & Allen Show on Sky channel 191. TV audiences have been enjoying a mix of easy listening, folk, country, Irish and traditional music and some new on-location videos.

And now we can expect a similar format on their Gold and Silver Days Tour. Speaking to the Daily Echo about their longevity and unique relationship, Mick Foster said: “Next year is our 40th anniversary and no one is more surprised than we are.

“When we started out our aim was to go professional and make a living making music but we could never have envisaged this.”

And he revealed the partnership has been both a long and happy one. In fact, he says, they have never had a cross word.

“We have a unique record in that we have never had an argument.

“Both of us are fiery enough and we couldn’t be any more different “But we never socialise together; we just work together and we both have the same ideas about music and what we should do and not do.

“And it’s always been at the end of the day, £10 is yours and £10 is mine.

“It’s like having two separate acts on the stage together.

“We do an odd song where I do a verse and he does another but there’s no harmony singing – the audience do that.”

Asked about the show, Mick says: “We do an hour and five minutes in each half. We don’t do support.

“We’ve done all the different support acts and no matter who we’ve had, no one was happy!”

“If they come and they like you, they stick with you.

“Most of them have been coming for 40 years. They bring their kids and grandkids.

“Retirement? It’s never going to happen.

“One of us is going to have to kick the bucket!”