Robert Arkins is an Irish musician and actor who played the role of
Jimmy Rabbitte, the manager of the Commitments, in the 1991 film The
Commitments directed by Alan Parker.A native of Drumcondra, Dublin,
Arkins has been a professional musician from the age of 15. He left
school at 17 to front his band, Housebroken. He is a vocalist,
songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who counts piano, bass and
trumpet in his repertoire. Housebroken won the Sunday World Bandslam
competition in 1988, after only having been established for three
months.With no prior acting experience, Arkins heard of the filming of
The Commitments from his sister. Following seven auditions, Arkins was
cast as "Deco Cuffe", the band's lead singer, but was replaced in that
role after Parker discovered newcomer Andrew Strong. Despite not
featuring as a singer in the film Arkins did provide lead vocals for
two tracks â€" Treat Her Right and Slip Away â€" on the accompanying
soundtrack album.Following the release of The Commitments Arkins moved
back into music and signed a record deal with MCA Records in 1993,
although he did not finish recording the consequent album. He has
composed and produced work for a number of commercial clients,
television projects, and for two short films. In 1998, he briefly
returned to acting, in a short film entitled What Are You Looking At?
In 2011, he joined fellow various cast members from The Commitments to
perform a series of concerts across Ireland, to celebrate the film's
20th anniversary. This was followed by three dates in the UK in 2012.
Jimmy Rabbitte, the manager of the Commitments, in the 1991 film The
Commitments directed by Alan Parker.A native of Drumcondra, Dublin,
Arkins has been a professional musician from the age of 15. He left
school at 17 to front his band, Housebroken. He is a vocalist,
songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who counts piano, bass and
trumpet in his repertoire. Housebroken won the Sunday World Bandslam
competition in 1988, after only having been established for three
months.With no prior acting experience, Arkins heard of the filming of
The Commitments from his sister. Following seven auditions, Arkins was
cast as "Deco Cuffe", the band's lead singer, but was replaced in that
role after Parker discovered newcomer Andrew Strong. Despite not
featuring as a singer in the film Arkins did provide lead vocals for
two tracks â€" Treat Her Right and Slip Away â€" on the accompanying
soundtrack album.Following the release of The Commitments Arkins moved
back into music and signed a record deal with MCA Records in 1993,
although he did not finish recording the consequent album. He has
composed and produced work for a number of commercial clients,
television projects, and for two short films. In 1998, he briefly
returned to acting, in a short film entitled What Are You Looking At?
In 2011, he joined fellow various cast members from The Commitments to
perform a series of concerts across Ireland, to celebrate the film's
20th anniversary. This was followed by three dates in the UK in 2012.
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