Fantastic night at Warwick last night, made even more special thanks to you Christy.
It was our daughter’s (Erin aged 7) first show and she’d been so excited for weeks, always asking what songs you were going to sing She was so upset at the end as she had been waiting for her favourite, Black is the Colour. Thank you so, so much for singing it for her as your encore and also mentioning her during Ride On, she was over the moon! Also a big thank you to your friends who gave her the plectrum and took the photos of her, can’t wait to see them.
She couldn’t stop talking about it on the way back to the car and can’t wait to tell her friends who helped make your poster. Thank you so much you really made her feel special and she wants to see you again in the hope you’ll sing her other favourites, Natives and Chicago….so see you soon!
Good luck with the rest of your tour
x x
Christy's reply
Dear Erin,
Thank you for the poster you made for me,for all the care you took…It was lovely to have such a good listener and singer sitting in the front row last night. I almost forgot to sing your song…thankfully there was an encore….keep singing…
Well, it’s time for our annual jaunt to see you, Christy, this time in Basingstoke. My daughter will be hobbling in on crutches following knee surgery, but it will be worth it as we always enjoy the show. My current favourite song is North and South so hope it’s in the set list, being a mad footie fan, Georgina’s is Joxer goes to Stuttgart. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Christy's reply
we have parked our caravans on a free day, attending to wounds,washing sox, changing strings…in 24 hours, thoughts will turn towards The Anvil. We’ll don the clobber and face the music one more time…I hope Georgina has a pain free evening
Hi Christy, my partner and I had tickets for the Cardiff Gig but since we bought them last year we found out we are expecting our first child on the 16th so no chance of traveling down from Scotland. I guess I should thank you! Our first date was to your concert at the Millennium Center in Cardiff and we got engaged in Ireland when we came to see your gig in December 2013. So we have two tickets which the ticket company won’t refund even with insurance and I hate the idea of reselling your tickets, if you know anyone who would benefit from two tickets then let me know and it will be our way of saying thanks – hopefully we will catch you at the Barrowlands later this year.
Christy's reply
Thanks for sharing, glad to be a small part of your journey together….gonna try and sort this ticket thing for you….
Hi Christy, I am Les Alan of Nerja Radio Station 97.6 Coast Fm Gold. We have a great rapore with the Town Hall in Frigiliana (have I heard that in a song!) And with a strong Irish and British expat community, I have put on concerts at the Frigiliana football Stadium, the last one being ‘The Bootleg Beatles, which was a great success. Now comes my point…….do you fancy a bit of sun on your back and doing a concert here in southern Spain? I know your not wild on flying, but it is only 2 1/2 hours to Malaga and then 40 minutes by road to Nerja and Frigiliana.
Cheeky I know….but unless one asks! Kindest Regards, Les Alan
Christy's reply
morra Les and thanks for your post and invite..I will pass it on to the Foreign Office, they will have their people on it before you can say chips and mayonaisse….great memories of those parts..thats where I got the “Ride On” album into shape and also wrote “Viva La Quinte Brigada” ..who knows what lies ahead but remember…”some go to Frijiliana ,but I always head for Lisdoonvarna”
Just got in. What a bollocks of a place that was to get out of. I don’t have satnav thingy cos I never heard one I liked the sound of. Talk about a fecking fairy ring. Ended up in shaggging Birmingham and when I eventually found the M6 for up North it had a 10 mile diversion at Cannock.
Any hows a great gig. Front row seat right in front of Declan thanks to Jamie who got Quite excited when you played Lisdoonvarna for him. Mr Higgins on percussion is a star and miss Keating is not sore on the eyes. A glass of milk and off to the land of nod.
Thanks
Frankie
Christy's reply
we got hemmed in by the shams laying the hot asphalt…had to bribe the mush on the steamroller with a cassette of “The Shovel” ..things were a lot easier for me when our lads were laying the roads….some of these new navigators have no interest in the auld ballads..hope you got back to Owdham safe and sound…hi to all at The Morning Star, Rochdale where I learnt my dominoes
Well I better not stay away so long again. I’m worried I might find you fronting an Orchestra and throwing James Last shapes. Tonight was like coming home.
Glad to be back. Thankyou.
Christy's reply
tá failte romhat arais a cara…..played with James Last once…I dont think he noticed
Hi Christy
The first time I met you was at Kitlers Inn….you were in Planxty and I was 18
Time has moved on a little but your voice and music are still as powerful as ever. Wonderful concert in Warwick this evening
Christy's reply
The Old haunted Kytelers…you’re going back a fair bit there Carol….I played there a few times in the 70s…are you sure it was with Planxty ?…my mind set was all a bit erratic back then… some bad medications had me rambling…had to change my medicine man…The Marble City has always been a good gig town and remains so to this very day…had a stormer in the Lyrath a while back and before that at The Hub…may call the next album “Cowshite and Chandeliers” what ye think ?
Wonderful concert tonight.
I adored every minute of it.
I was passing through on my way home to the New Forest when You sent me your news letter and could not believe you were here…so I decided to stay on another night and come to the concert…..SO pleased I did…..may even be moved to come to Basingstoke too….tonight was so amazing
Belated birthday greetings to you
Thank you Christy, Declan and talented backing singer and percussionist
Christy's reply
Vickie Keating and Jimmy Higgins…Vickie backs and Jimmy bates
Thank you for such an amazing performance (as always) in Bristol last night.
I am sorry for the loss. Life can feel quite cruel at times. I hope you had a wonderful birthday and that everyone spoilt you.
Last night, being there and listening to you (and Declan and the others), just made everything feel ok. I lost my grandad on 9th May (the day before your gig). As soon as you hit those notes for Nancy Spain, my eyes were close to pouring.
Thank you for the music you play and the songs you sing. You really are a treasure! My other half had a lovely time too and he would and will be coming along again!
Much love.
Christy xxx
Christy's reply
I knew one of my Grandads…he passed 60 years ago…Jack Power was his name…I still chat with him, he always listens
“He’s travelled east and he’s travelled west, Half the north and the south also, Until he arrived into Coventry”. It seems a long time since I travelled anywhere to a gig. It must be 18 months since I saw the two of you – the longest gap for over 20 years – so happy to reconnecting this evening. I always like the vibe in the Butterworth Hall so hope tonight is another memorable one.
Christy's reply
welcome back Adrian,,,,thought maybe you’d run away with The Mumfords…good to be back in Warwick..they’ve had a re-furbish since I was last here…the”two of you” has grown to four…see what happens when you turn your back !
Hi Christy
Great gig last night at Bristol. Took my wife for a birthday treat and she shares your birthday! Some would say she is younger and prettier but I am not so sure! “Black is the Colour” went down well as did the whole night. Best of luck for rest of tour and hopefully we will see you play Cheletenham one day!
Christy's reply
stayed in Cheltenham last few nights…must try and rustle up a gig there…get Ruby Walsh to come along for the gallop
Hi there Christy.
A glorious sunny day in Oldham. Another hour or so to work and then off down the M1 to later relax and reflect in the mesmeric. Really looking forward to tonight. Good luck with the gig.
Frankie
Christy's reply
the hall is ready for your arrival..thats if you can find your way in…its a bit of a maze but grand when you unravel your destination..even our satnav was swearing
Imagine a stage played on by Charlie Chaplin…another common link is his biography and Lisdoonvarna, both published by Penguin. Waterville in Kerry was one of his favourite places, scored all the music for his films, directed, designed, stunts…so brilliant. He wrote the Nat Cole song ‘Smile’ ‘This is my song’ ( i serenade to you) and much more….honorary Oscar in 1972, died Christmas day 1977…he was in that hotel you often play in up in Newcastle , by the sea there…The Slieve Donard..his autobiography is excellent and worth a read…I’m currently dug into watching sketches by Abbott & Costello…pure class.
See how a mention of Chaplin starts a roll…
Let us know who played in the rest…i’d love to be in that Cambridge exchange, looks amazing…have a punt on the River Cam…good luck with rest of gigs. L
I have many ticket stubs over the years, gigs when I was young in the 80’s and early 90’s, the Point, the Olympia and a mad one at the festival in Tralee, but for me the most interesting is from a gig in a pub called the Lansdowne in the Bronx, New York 1997. A very intimate solo gig with only about two hundred or so folks in attendance. I moved here in the 90’s and that gig was a milestone for me, I thought well if Christy can show up every now and then maybe it’ll be ok!
I think that was your last year coming to the US and so about ten years ago I got pro-active and decided to travel to see some more, the first was in the Philharmonic in Liverpool, since then I have been with you whenever I can, in Inverness, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Donegal and Clare. My wife tells the neighbors “he’s on tour with Christy Moore”
Anyway, happy birthday and thanks. I am blessed to be going to the gig at the Cambridge Corn Exchange next Thursday and if the mood is right maybe you could sing The Magdalene Laundries and we’ll have a thought for Joni Mitchell and a good recovery.
Brian Connell.
Christy's reply
I remember that gig in Tralee…sure was a “mad one” ….The Rose Of Tralee annual beauty queen schimozzel (it still rolls on) I was booked to play a concert in the legendary Dome in the 80s….(upstairs in a tent, I started writing a song)) …that year the chosen queen was a policewoman from south Boston ( she came to a subsequent gig in Tommy McGanns, Boston fully tooled up..I thought I was getting lifted)…..thanks for all your long haul support…last time I played Cambridge “The English Patient” had just gone on release…its a nice old Hall…we’ll give Joni a spin, its a powerful song
I have been a fan for years and getting the chance to see you live as I did tonight was simply brilliant. The calmness in the arrangements, the vocals, the whole set up was first class. Thanks Christy for a wonderful evening, you and all the group were above excellent, just peeved I didnt grab a signed copy of a CD, teach me not to listen to my lad when he mentioned it. Thank you.
Christy's reply
a mighty night upon The Avon….used to like hanging out in Bristol, great City for a walk around, always good buskers…unfortunately the tour routing this time prevents it…
Good evening Christy from one Taurean to another, belated birthday greetings to you from me and thank you for a throughly enjoyable gig here tonight (my treat for my forthcoming birthday this Friday). I could have listened to you sing and play all night … the time just goes by far too quickly; you never disappoint. Fair play to you.
Enjoy the rest of your tour and take care of yourself.
Christy's reply
Since 1966 this country has always given me a good hearing…you excelled in Bristol last night…I could hear the price of a pin drop….thank you one and all
Evening Christy and a belated Happy Birthday. I am sitting here listening to Luke Kelly singing ‘The Night Visiting Song’ in the background. Something that you introduced me to ages back on one of your chats when you wrote about listening to Luke on You Tube while away on tour.
I only ever saw Luke and the Dubliners twice; once when my brother took me to the university in Coleraine and once in St Peter’s school on the edge of the Creggan in Derry. I think the Coleraine concert was in 1970 and the Derry one in about ’71. I remember that there was an evil atmosphere at the university as the locals weren’t too keen on allowing the Dubliners to perform in their backyard but perform they did.
During the concert in Creggan I remember Luke singing Joe Hill but the standout memory from the night that I can still see in my mind’s eye. It was a raucous crowd that night as we were starved of entertainment but there wasn’t a sound as Luke shouldered his banjo, like a rifle, and sang the ‘Peat Bog Soldiers’ unaccompanied, it made the hairs on my neck stand up. Although I was too young to realise it at the time, Luke was educating us, he was teaching us of social justice.
Did you ever sing with Luke?
Anyway, Christy here we are 42 years on from that first night I saw you with Planxty in St Columb’s Hall in Derry. Not sure how many times since I have been in your company but I do know that every concert has been a real joy that always lifts the spirits so really looking forward to seeing yourself and Declan tomorrow night in the Arts Centre. It will be a welcome respite from the weeks of electioneering that have blighted us over here recently.
It is hard to imagine that the Scots could realise their dreams of independence while we still wait for Ireland to be united. If only the descendants of the Planters had the same vision as their now distant cousins who stayed at home rather than come to Ulster.
I saw somewhere recently that the 11th of May is the anniversary of Bob Marley’s death 34 years ago but I don’t think you’ll be giving us a rendition of ‘No Woman. No Cry’ tomorrow night. Of course, something else was happening in May, 34 years ago. The Hunger Strike had reached that dreadful stage where Thatcher’s intransigence was causing men to die. By the 11th of May Bobby had been dead almost a week and Francis Hughes was enduring his final hours of life. It would be nice to hear The Boy From Tamlaghduff on Monday night in their memory and for the others too.
Our paths only ever cross fleetingly every couple of years but it is always a marvellous experience invariably imbued with a whole range of emotions as the set takes its course.
Cath and I will be there down the front tomorrow and I was going to say ready to be entertained but that’s not what you do Christy. Like Luke you give us so much more than a series of songs you give us an experience that makes us think about our world and our fellow human beings, you make us think and consider who we are and what we are about.
As ever, thank you for all that you give. We journey on.
Christy's reply
you stir the memory here..that concert in Columb’s Hall in ’73 also featured Seamus Heaney, Seamus Deane and Pumpkinhead…I still have the wee red programme somewhere in my scattered archive… I sang with Luke a few times. When Val and I got married Luke came to the hooley and we had songs..once Planxty and The Dubliners performed together in Galway,the finale was a ramshackle all-together-here-we-go….there used to be an annual gig in Dublin called “The Herald Boot Fund” and we sang together that night…these nights were long-since-forgotten ’til I read your post……
34 years ago Declan and I were playing together in Moving Hearts “on the 12th of May the black flags lay in 1981″…..different times now but the same hands still pull the strings….interesting times ahead with the outcome of recent elections….we kicked off in Bristol last night, great night in the old Colston Hall. Charlie Chaplin played there once, imagine that…..thanks for all these memories
Fantastic night at Warwick last night, made even more special thanks to you Christy.
It was our daughter’s (Erin aged 7) first show and she’d been so excited for weeks, always asking what songs you were going to sing She was so upset at the end as she had been waiting for her favourite, Black is the Colour. Thank you so, so much for singing it for her as your encore and also mentioning her during Ride On, she was over the moon! Also a big thank you to your friends who gave her the plectrum and took the photos of her, can’t wait to see them.
She couldn’t stop talking about it on the way back to the car and can’t wait to tell her friends who helped make your poster. Thank you so much you really made her feel special and she wants to see you again in the hope you’ll sing her other favourites, Natives and Chicago….so see you soon!
Good luck with the rest of your tour
x x
Dear Erin,
Thank you for the poster you made for me,for all the care you took…It was lovely to have such a good listener and singer sitting in the front row last night. I almost forgot to sing your song…thankfully there was an encore….keep singing…
Great gig last night at Warwick Arts. Thoroughly enjoyed it as usual. Loved the backing as well 🙂
good on you Cov Kim Bo
Great concert in Warwick last night. Thanks for playing Nancy Spain for Jenny. The mood was obviously good and the audience happy. Do come back soon.
a pleasure
Well, it’s time for our annual jaunt to see you, Christy, this time in Basingstoke. My daughter will be hobbling in on crutches following knee surgery, but it will be worth it as we always enjoy the show. My current favourite song is North and South so hope it’s in the set list, being a mad footie fan, Georgina’s is Joxer goes to Stuttgart. Looking forward to tomorrow.
we have parked our caravans on a free day, attending to wounds,washing sox, changing strings…in 24 hours, thoughts will turn towards The Anvil. We’ll don the clobber and face the music one more time…I hope Georgina has a pain free evening
How are you Big Man?
Seems like months since we bought the tickets for tomorrow night in Basingstoke. Looking forward to an evening of great songs and big laughs.
I could write a list of a dozen songs we would like to hear, but I think we will trust your judgement.
God bless
Paul & Stella Gibbons
very well thank you Funky, all things considered…I appreciate your attitude towards the set list…
Hi Christy, my partner and I had tickets for the Cardiff Gig but since we bought them last year we found out we are expecting our first child on the 16th so no chance of traveling down from Scotland. I guess I should thank you! Our first date was to your concert at the Millennium Center in Cardiff and we got engaged in Ireland when we came to see your gig in December 2013. So we have two tickets which the ticket company won’t refund even with insurance and I hate the idea of reselling your tickets, if you know anyone who would benefit from two tickets then let me know and it will be our way of saying thanks – hopefully we will catch you at the Barrowlands later this year.
Thanks for sharing, glad to be a small part of your journey together….gonna try and sort this ticket thing for you….
Hi Christy, I am Les Alan of Nerja Radio Station 97.6 Coast Fm Gold. We have a great rapore with the Town Hall in Frigiliana (have I heard that in a song!) And with a strong Irish and British expat community, I have put on concerts at the Frigiliana football Stadium, the last one being ‘The Bootleg Beatles, which was a great success. Now comes my point…….do you fancy a bit of sun on your back and doing a concert here in southern Spain? I know your not wild on flying, but it is only 2 1/2 hours to Malaga and then 40 minutes by road to Nerja and Frigiliana.
Cheeky I know….but unless one asks! Kindest Regards, Les Alan
morra Les and thanks for your post and invite..I will pass it on to the Foreign Office, they will have their people on it before you can say chips and mayonaisse….great memories of those parts..thats where I got the “Ride On” album into shape and also wrote “Viva La Quinte Brigada” ..who knows what lies ahead but remember…”some go to Frijiliana ,but I always head for Lisdoonvarna”
Just got in. What a bollocks of a place that was to get out of. I don’t have satnav thingy cos I never heard one I liked the sound of. Talk about a fecking fairy ring. Ended up in shaggging Birmingham and when I eventually found the M6 for up North it had a 10 mile diversion at Cannock.
Any hows a great gig. Front row seat right in front of Declan thanks to Jamie who got Quite excited when you played Lisdoonvarna for him. Mr Higgins on percussion is a star and miss Keating is not sore on the eyes. A glass of milk and off to the land of nod.
Thanks
Frankie
we got hemmed in by the shams laying the hot asphalt…had to bribe the mush on the steamroller with a cassette of “The Shovel” ..things were a lot easier for me when our lads were laying the roads….some of these new navigators have no interest in the auld ballads..hope you got back to Owdham safe and sound…hi to all at The Morning Star, Rochdale where I learnt my dominoes
Well I better not stay away so long again. I’m worried I might find you fronting an Orchestra and throwing James Last shapes. Tonight was like coming home.
Glad to be back. Thankyou.
tá failte romhat arais a cara…..played with James Last once…I dont think he noticed
Hi Christy
The first time I met you was at Kitlers Inn….you were in Planxty and I was 18
Time has moved on a little but your voice and music are still as powerful as ever. Wonderful concert in Warwick this evening
The Old haunted Kytelers…you’re going back a fair bit there Carol….I played there a few times in the 70s…are you sure it was with Planxty ?…my mind set was all a bit erratic back then… some bad medications had me rambling…had to change my medicine man…The Marble City has always been a good gig town and remains so to this very day…had a stormer in the Lyrath a while back and before that at The Hub…may call the next album “Cowshite and Chandeliers” what ye think ?
Wonderful concert tonight.
I adored every minute of it.
I was passing through on my way home to the New Forest when You sent me your news letter and could not believe you were here…so I decided to stay on another night and come to the concert…..SO pleased I did…..may even be moved to come to Basingstoke too….tonight was so amazing
Belated birthday greetings to you
Thank you Christy, Declan and talented backing singer and percussionist
Vickie Keating and Jimmy Higgins…Vickie backs and Jimmy bates
Hi Christy.
Thank you for such an amazing performance (as always) in Bristol last night.
I am sorry for the loss. Life can feel quite cruel at times. I hope you had a wonderful birthday and that everyone spoilt you.
Last night, being there and listening to you (and Declan and the others), just made everything feel ok. I lost my grandad on 9th May (the day before your gig). As soon as you hit those notes for Nancy Spain, my eyes were close to pouring.
Thank you for the music you play and the songs you sing. You really are a treasure! My other half had a lovely time too and he would and will be coming along again!
Much love.
Christy xxx
I knew one of my Grandads…he passed 60 years ago…Jack Power was his name…I still chat with him, he always listens
“He’s travelled east and he’s travelled west, Half the north and the south also, Until he arrived into Coventry”. It seems a long time since I travelled anywhere to a gig. It must be 18 months since I saw the two of you – the longest gap for over 20 years – so happy to reconnecting this evening. I always like the vibe in the Butterworth Hall so hope tonight is another memorable one.
welcome back Adrian,,,,thought maybe you’d run away with The Mumfords…good to be back in Warwick..they’ve had a re-furbish since I was last here…the”two of you” has grown to four…see what happens when you turn your back !
Hi Christy
Great gig last night at Bristol. Took my wife for a birthday treat and she shares your birthday! Some would say she is younger and prettier but I am not so sure! “Black is the Colour” went down well as did the whole night. Best of luck for rest of tour and hopefully we will see you play Cheletenham one day!
stayed in Cheltenham last few nights…must try and rustle up a gig there…get Ruby Walsh to come along for the gallop
Hi there Christy.
A glorious sunny day in Oldham. Another hour or so to work and then off down the M1 to later relax and reflect in the mesmeric. Really looking forward to tonight. Good luck with the gig.
Frankie
the hall is ready for your arrival..thats if you can find your way in…its a bit of a maze but grand when you unravel your destination..even our satnav was swearing
Imagine a stage played on by Charlie Chaplin…another common link is his biography and Lisdoonvarna, both published by Penguin. Waterville in Kerry was one of his favourite places, scored all the music for his films, directed, designed, stunts…so brilliant. He wrote the Nat Cole song ‘Smile’ ‘This is my song’ ( i serenade to you) and much more….honorary Oscar in 1972, died Christmas day 1977…he was in that hotel you often play in up in Newcastle , by the sea there…The Slieve Donard..his autobiography is excellent and worth a read…I’m currently dug into watching sketches by Abbott & Costello…pure class.
See how a mention of Chaplin starts a roll…
Let us know who played in the rest…i’d love to be in that Cambridge exchange, looks amazing…have a punt on the River Cam…good luck with rest of gigs. L
I have many ticket stubs over the years, gigs when I was young in the 80’s and early 90’s, the Point, the Olympia and a mad one at the festival in Tralee, but for me the most interesting is from a gig in a pub called the Lansdowne in the Bronx, New York 1997. A very intimate solo gig with only about two hundred or so folks in attendance. I moved here in the 90’s and that gig was a milestone for me, I thought well if Christy can show up every now and then maybe it’ll be ok!
I think that was your last year coming to the US and so about ten years ago I got pro-active and decided to travel to see some more, the first was in the Philharmonic in Liverpool, since then I have been with you whenever I can, in Inverness, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Donegal and Clare. My wife tells the neighbors “he’s on tour with Christy Moore”
Anyway, happy birthday and thanks. I am blessed to be going to the gig at the Cambridge Corn Exchange next Thursday and if the mood is right maybe you could sing The Magdalene Laundries and we’ll have a thought for Joni Mitchell and a good recovery.
Brian Connell.
I remember that gig in Tralee…sure was a “mad one” ….The Rose Of Tralee annual beauty queen schimozzel (it still rolls on) I was booked to play a concert in the legendary Dome in the 80s….(upstairs in a tent, I started writing a song)) …that year the chosen queen was a policewoman from south Boston ( she came to a subsequent gig in Tommy McGanns, Boston fully tooled up..I thought I was getting lifted)…..thanks for all your long haul support…last time I played Cambridge “The English Patient” had just gone on release…its a nice old Hall…we’ll give Joni a spin, its a powerful song
I have been a fan for years and getting the chance to see you live as I did tonight was simply brilliant. The calmness in the arrangements, the vocals, the whole set up was first class. Thanks Christy for a wonderful evening, you and all the group were above excellent, just peeved I didnt grab a signed copy of a CD, teach me not to listen to my lad when he mentioned it. Thank you.
a mighty night upon The Avon….used to like hanging out in Bristol, great City for a walk around, always good buskers…unfortunately the tour routing this time prevents it…
Good evening Christy from one Taurean to another, belated birthday greetings to you from me and thank you for a throughly enjoyable gig here tonight (my treat for my forthcoming birthday this Friday). I could have listened to you sing and play all night … the time just goes by far too quickly; you never disappoint. Fair play to you.
Enjoy the rest of your tour and take care of yourself.
Since 1966 this country has always given me a good hearing…you excelled in Bristol last night…I could hear the price of a pin drop….thank you one and all
Evening Christy and a belated Happy Birthday. I am sitting here listening to Luke Kelly singing ‘The Night Visiting Song’ in the background. Something that you introduced me to ages back on one of your chats when you wrote about listening to Luke on You Tube while away on tour.
I only ever saw Luke and the Dubliners twice; once when my brother took me to the university in Coleraine and once in St Peter’s school on the edge of the Creggan in Derry. I think the Coleraine concert was in 1970 and the Derry one in about ’71. I remember that there was an evil atmosphere at the university as the locals weren’t too keen on allowing the Dubliners to perform in their backyard but perform they did.
During the concert in Creggan I remember Luke singing Joe Hill but the standout memory from the night that I can still see in my mind’s eye. It was a raucous crowd that night as we were starved of entertainment but there wasn’t a sound as Luke shouldered his banjo, like a rifle, and sang the ‘Peat Bog Soldiers’ unaccompanied, it made the hairs on my neck stand up. Although I was too young to realise it at the time, Luke was educating us, he was teaching us of social justice.
Did you ever sing with Luke?
Anyway, Christy here we are 42 years on from that first night I saw you with Planxty in St Columb’s Hall in Derry. Not sure how many times since I have been in your company but I do know that every concert has been a real joy that always lifts the spirits so really looking forward to seeing yourself and Declan tomorrow night in the Arts Centre. It will be a welcome respite from the weeks of electioneering that have blighted us over here recently.
It is hard to imagine that the Scots could realise their dreams of independence while we still wait for Ireland to be united. If only the descendants of the Planters had the same vision as their now distant cousins who stayed at home rather than come to Ulster.
I saw somewhere recently that the 11th of May is the anniversary of Bob Marley’s death 34 years ago but I don’t think you’ll be giving us a rendition of ‘No Woman. No Cry’ tomorrow night. Of course, something else was happening in May, 34 years ago. The Hunger Strike had reached that dreadful stage where Thatcher’s intransigence was causing men to die. By the 11th of May Bobby had been dead almost a week and Francis Hughes was enduring his final hours of life. It would be nice to hear The Boy From Tamlaghduff on Monday night in their memory and for the others too.
Our paths only ever cross fleetingly every couple of years but it is always a marvellous experience invariably imbued with a whole range of emotions as the set takes its course.
Cath and I will be there down the front tomorrow and I was going to say ready to be entertained but that’s not what you do Christy. Like Luke you give us so much more than a series of songs you give us an experience that makes us think about our world and our fellow human beings, you make us think and consider who we are and what we are about.
As ever, thank you for all that you give. We journey on.
you stir the memory here..that concert in Columb’s Hall in ’73 also featured Seamus Heaney, Seamus Deane and Pumpkinhead…I still have the wee red programme somewhere in my scattered archive… I sang with Luke a few times. When Val and I got married Luke came to the hooley and we had songs..once Planxty and The Dubliners performed together in Galway,the finale was a ramshackle all-together-here-we-go….there used to be an annual gig in Dublin called “The Herald Boot Fund” and we sang together that night…these nights were long-since-forgotten ’til I read your post……
34 years ago Declan and I were playing together in Moving Hearts “on the 12th of May the black flags lay in 1981″…..different times now but the same hands still pull the strings….interesting times ahead with the outcome of recent elections….we kicked off in Bristol last night, great night in the old Colston Hall. Charlie Chaplin played there once, imagine that…..thanks for all these memories