Irish singer/songwriter Paddy Casey began busking on the streets of Dublin when he was 12. One of his street performances was heard by producer Muff Winwood, who signed him to S2 Records in the U.K. His debut album, Amen (So Be It), was recorded in just eight days and earned critical and chart success. It won a Best Album award from the Irish World Awards, Most Promising Act and Best Debut Album awards from Hot Press' year-end readers' poll, and reached the Top 20 of the Irish charts. Amen (So Be It) arrived in the U.S. in mid-2000 on Columbia.