Hi Christy,
Hope all is well with you and yours.
Just a quick question on the song “The City Of Chicago” that your brother Luka wrote. I’ve been singing this almost nightly since you brought it to our ears. Do you know where the story/inspiration came to him. Why did he choose both Donegal and Chicago? Just curious. Thanks for all your inspiration and music through the years. Thanks. Sláinte, Pat
Christy's reply
Luka wrote Chicago when he was living in USA…..I cant answer your question as he is currently gigging in Switzerland…..
I suspect the used Donegal and Chicago for purely poetic reasons…it’s more about emotion then location…under a different sky it might have been Gdansk and Galway or Abuja and Athenry
I note you are singing it nightly…me too…for the last year I have opened every single gig with Luka’s song…it is perfect…audiences everywhere relax and sing with us … its also a perfect vehicle for the band to settle in, provides nice breaks for the Sound Engineer to tweak the board… it sets us all up for what might follow…its a beautiful song
over the years I’ve covered other songs from our brother…”Wave Up TO The Shore” “Section 31” “Remember The Brave Ones” “Bogman”
Dear Christy,
Hope all is well. It took a while but eventually I’ve got the opportunity to thank you for the two Magic Nights in Cappoquin and Clonmel. We enjoyed both gigs thoroughly and were enchanted by the rare Gems you sang. So wonderful to hear Only Our Rivers again and Galtee Mountain Boy, Spancilhill, Hurt … even Little Musgrave appeared – Amazing!!!
Also like your new song The Clock Winds Down to Zero, but I have to hear it more often to get familiar with it.
A special Go Raibh Maith Agat for welcoming us with beautiful Motherland!
Sorry to miss Bundoran this time (too far away) but hopefully we’ll see you again up north later this month.
Btw: You always fulfilled our expectations at each and every gig over the decades.
Have a great night in lovely Donegal!
Traudel + Horst
Christy's reply
Lorenzo never showed up but we had two great nights in Bundoran….
I had hoped to include Musgrave again after its rare appearance in Clonmel but the opportunity never arose…
“Clock winds down” was sent to me by Jim Page..he who wrote “Hiroshima” and “Landlord” on Moving Hearts 1981 album….he has allowed me the liberty of arranging a new version..its evolving with every performance…its not quite there yet but I feel its getting close…dedicating it to Greta Thunberg creates a receptive atmosphere, gives it perspective…(the world appears is divided regarding climate, the audience too)….
Thoughts turn now to two Concerts in England…perhaps my last gigs there before before it separates itself from Europe…..hope you are enjoying your time SouthWest
Hello Christy,
Vishva and I are still recovering from your wonderful concert at Bundoran last night. Made even more special when you dedicated a song to Vishva’s birthday. Yes Black is the colour of my true loves hair and I do love the ground on which she stands. What a great birthday gift. A personalised song from you. Thank you. I hope tonight goes just as well for all those attending. They are in for a treat. You seem to get better with age. Don’t ever stop. Live to you and all your colleagues and friends. Tom and Vishva.
Christy's reply
glad to read that it went well…from the stage `I caught a glimpse of you both…
I like that room, it always delivers a lively ambience…Saturday night was a few notches up on the lively scale!
On my way back to the middle of the Island, still on a high following your wonderful Gig last night. Thanks Christy, for taking us to that lovely space away from the outside World for 2 hours. The High sustains us going forward. Thanks too to your amazing team, on and off stage who help to make it all happen. We listeners , are indeed privileged.
Ride inn
Patsy
Christy's reply
Twas fairly leppin last night Patsy..’twas like a 3 Mile Chase at Kilbeggan…..I’m really enjoying this leg of the journey…the ballads are just flowing…so many I’d like to have sung last night but time caught up with us…..there was a great line of 4711ers across the room last night…..Beautiful Bundoran
Another magic night…… bundoran always seems to hit the spot . A rip roaring finale of No Time for Love….. and a beautiful rendition of Spancil Hill (Gers favourite along with Only Our Rivers )were highlights among a great set list. Conor was with us for the gig after a long absence and the magic is still there for him…. he truly loved every minute of the show. We like the new song too….. need to hear it a few times I think but the message is strong.
Soft Morning thank God……
Christy's reply
The new song is from Jim Page who penned “Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette”….. great to see ye again
a grand day here, no sign of Lorenzo….I’d nearly go out for a round of Golf if I played Golf, or Surf a few Waves if I had a Surf-Board, maybe I’ll just have a lie in before tonight’s shenanigan…..theres a few quare hawks heading this way tonight, I’ll need to be on my toes….. happy to read that a pair of Ger’s favourites featured last night
Hi Christy, I hope all’s well ! I had a grand plan to see a few gigs on the UK tour but sadly I cannot make it. Anyway I hope you love the last of the pre Brexit UK gigs and I’ll kick my visit down the road a bit and surely see you soon. Also I had a curious question about Riverdance, I just watched the Late Late celebrating the 25 years of Riverdance and it prompted me to pull out the old 12” Vinyl Single of Timedance for a look, the B Side is Nancy Spain…lovely ! The cover lists Bill Whelan as Keyboards and writer with Donal of course but I wonder what you recall of that piece. The jacket lists yourself, Liam, Donal, Andy, Bill and Nollaig Casey {who played later with Arty McGlynn). On a side note, my five sisters danced with the O’Shea School for years and I did myself for about a week when I was 7 ‘(cause the couldn’t leave me at home alone) and many years later I opened an Irish Pub in New York next to the Gershwin Theater when I heard that Riverdance was coming to Broadway in 2000, I met Bill a couple of times then, seemed like a nice man and obviously such a talent. Unfortunately Riverdance on Broadway was no match for the business vultures and economic demands of Broadway and so it receded to it’s success of international touring and the theater went dark. Two weeks later 9/11 hit New York and the world changed. Life is passing through us, too fast some times, see you soon Christy, Brian.
Christy's reply
I have fond memories of that Planxty line up and the Timedance experience….little did we know where that would lead… I still see Bill occasionally along the road….met Arty & Nollaig this year at a concert celebrating the life of Liam Óg, the Piper of our time….Donal & Andy are playing some gigs together at this time…last week they performed in the Seamus Heaney Centre in Bellaghy….
Never had you down as a “Hoofer” Brian….if you had’nt opened that pub at The Gershwin you probably would have given Flatley a challenge for his laurels
My brother was found dead in a homeless shelter in Kevin’s street 10 years ago…we played the voyage at his funeral but that was more for us than him..he lay in his room dead on st Patrick’s day 2008 for over 12 hours with ur song on repeat..THE CONTENDER…..christy everytime I listen (It’s really hard )..But it’s him..God love him he listened to the lyrics which touched him but I/ we couldn’t…..anyway…when in gorey please dedicate that song to him because he came down and lived with me here for a while before he died…ur sold out but it doesn’t matter if I’m not there..he’s buried In courtown..4 miles away. He was 32..loved u and ur music xx
Well I think every performer has his own distinct style, down through the years when I’m writing a song I think of what artist it may suit.some have the sentiment of a country song some have the story of a ballad more cross over to whatever pace or chords that will fit. case in point.. 25 years ago I wrote a song for my good friend that died tragectly.. called.”come day in gonna go away.” It was a country ballad, I could never imagine it being anything else until I sent it to my friend in Nashville.he asked a soul singer to record it when I say I was floored it’s an understatement.totally blew me away..so I suppose pigeon holen someone’s talents does not always work..anyway the song ” good news don’t sell” was written as a country ballad, my question to you is “with all respects,” could you really see it fitting into anything else.. especially with the American lingo. SORRY FOR GOING ON .one…
Christy's reply
style, genre,tack, approach, its always interesting….while some are laid back others employ dramatic projection,whether its funk or country, blues or jazz ,
folk or trad,crossover handbag or garage rap, someone somewhere will lend an ear, will find comfort or solace in our determined warblings…..I like how himself described himself all those years ago….”I’m more of a kinda song and dance man myself”
Hi Christy
My mother Joan Campbell and two sisters are for your show tomorrow (Saturday) in the great northern. Would be great if you could play The Voyage and dedicate it to my father Tommy campbell who passed away in March this year, he was a great fan.
Just watching local news about protest outside Wright Bus…following the loss of 1200 jobs in Ballymena. Controversial because the founders’s son and major shareholder directed fifteen million to build a church of which he is the lead pastor on part of the site. The protestersrs are being supported by musicans and the singer was belting out an ordinary man! Your song never loses its impact. Go well.
Christy's reply
I wish them well and hope their jobs can be saved….15 million skimmed off the top for a prayer hall…sounds par for the course
Hi Christy, though I am in Ireland from time to time, I always seem to pick the wrong dates to go to one of your concerts. So the big question is, if there is any chance that you might come for a few gigs to Germany?! All the best, Patrick
The names of the men who are seeing you for the first time on Sat 5th are Ryan Murphy, Cahir Murphy and Martin Bradley. No worries if you can’t mention them. Good luck!
Heading to Bundoran tomorrow night Saturday 5th for your show. Bringing a few brothers, cousins and family friends who are seeing you for the first time. I’ve been to about 15 of your gigs over the years and you’ve been the biggest inspiration of my own musical career. They are supremely excited about what I’ve told them about you. Listened to your early albums and tapes from the early 80s onwards.
Would love a shout out to the Dungiven Crew (Kevin Lynch country). Incidentally, I lost my wee dog this week through illness after 7 years and the form is slowly picking up, so really looking forward again to your show. If you can, ‘The time has come’, or ‘Butterfly’ would be brilliant.
Good man for all the years, stamina and vast inspiration, a legend who can’t be followed!!
Eunan Murphy
Christy's reply
Eunan….Dungiven will be quiet tonight ….hope ye have a good run over to Bundoran….we had a good night last night,great audience from all over…Melbourne, Warwickshire,London,Tralee,Glenties, even a few rapscallions from Kildare (who sounded like they dont get out too often) ….but now I’m turning my attention to tonights episode….its gonna be hot tonight in the Great Northern….Lorenzo might have given it a miss but we are gonna howl tonight….I’m soon to get up outa bed here and start meditating upon tonights set…I’m kinda gettin “supremely excited” myself here…a condition I’ve not previously encountered
“I’ll wear no prison uniform nor meekly serve my time
that England might brand Ireland’s fight 800 years of crime”
You’ve reminded me of Joe & Anne Brolly’s great song from the mid 1970s…it was included on the album H Block in 1978…
Also you remind me of our Dog Gypsy….She travelled with me all over Ireland for 17 years….I had an old Peogeot 404 Diesel and it was her private domain…she was only a small black half-cocker but she made more noise then an army if anyone came near the Van….she died in my arms at the Vets back in 1987 and we have’nt had a dog since….
Hi there Christy
Frigiliana is a distant memory now. Back at work. Bollocksed and bored. Oh how I wish I wasn’t here. I mean work , not on this planet of course. I hear a whisper you are over these parts in a couple of weeks. MIght get myself a ticket to lift the spirits.
A friend of mine who is big Beatles nut has just come back from a short trip to Hamburg. He was telling me how exciting it was to visit clubs and streets the fab Four had toured and lived in for a while. I felt it too when I visited Greenwich Village a few years back and walked along the pavements once trod by my hero Dylan. Sometimes I felt that the music of the early sixties was trapped in the brown bricks of the large houses of McDougall and Bleeker St. It got me thinking. In recent years I have been able to do a little bit of driving around Ireland, and when I see sign posts or pass through towns mentioned in your songs, I have a little chuckle to myself. As the townsfolk go about their daily lives they have no idea that I am passing through singing about their town. Sometimes the towns seem to fit perfectly to how I imagined. Sometimes they come as a great surprise. And the music will stay forever in these towns as the likes of you and the great music world out there keeps singing along.
Look after yourself and yours
Best wishes Frankie
Christy's reply
sorry to hear that work is doin your head in…its a hard stationwhen the work is pullin you down…I greatly appreciate having work that I love for its a priviledge I greatly enjoy…..I had other jobs in earlier years that were ball breakers, but I was able to bail out cos I was foot loose and fancy free …I was a Bank Clerk for 3 years..before that I did stints in Walls making pies, EMI pressing records, a bit with Wimpey, and few weeks with John Laing, with Sisk in Ireland, 3 months on the Orion, a rig in the North Sea, drove a vegetable van in Rochdale, was a Box Jumper in a waste paper factory at the back of Cheetham Hill…since 1966 I’ve stayed in the one job and I’m enjoying more then ever…my heart goes out to you….
every town village county and place evokes a memory..even Frijiliana..I wrote some of Quinte Brigada there…
here in Bundoran now getting ready for tonights gig…met a man on the way in who is here from Melbourne with his brother..their visit to Ireland built around the gig…
looking forward to our gigs in Liverpool and United City in 10 days time…
Hi Christy, in the reaganville chat can i say Easkey’s recommendation of the great Blaze Foley is good, folks may also like North of Ireland singer songwriter Matt McGinn’s song ‘trump’ , but waking early i turned to your ‘Traveller’ album, and find that 20 years on ‘urgency culture’ is more apt than ever.
Bundoran is almost within touching distance now.
Regards
Rory
Christy's reply
Thanks Rory…
I appreciate how you reference songs that never recieved much attention….I liked making that album….it came at a time when I thought my playing days were done…it came about in unplanned, organic,spontaneous manner….just myself and Leo Pearson down the garden.I had a bunch of songs, Leo had a few black boxes and a recording technique I had not previously encountered…..
some nice pickin there Marty…keep up the good work…good song
your mention of “style of song” is interersting…..
there are so many songs I love to hear, love to sing,
curious to know what “style” of song is your “Good News Dont Sell”
Tommy Emmanuel
Thu 23 Jan 2020 @ 8:00 pm
Vicar Street, Dublin.
If your in the mood for some serious finger picking. Tommy is amazing..
I’ll try and get along to that….
Hi Christy,
Hope all is well with you and yours.
Just a quick question on the song “The City Of Chicago” that your brother Luka wrote. I’ve been singing this almost nightly since you brought it to our ears. Do you know where the story/inspiration came to him. Why did he choose both Donegal and Chicago? Just curious. Thanks for all your inspiration and music through the years. Thanks. Sláinte, Pat
Luka wrote Chicago when he was living in USA…..I cant answer your question as he is currently gigging in Switzerland…..
I suspect the used Donegal and Chicago for purely poetic reasons…it’s more about emotion then location…under a different sky it might have been Gdansk and Galway or Abuja and Athenry
I note you are singing it nightly…me too…for the last year I have opened every single gig with Luka’s song…it is perfect…audiences everywhere relax and sing with us … its also a perfect vehicle for the band to settle in, provides nice breaks for the Sound Engineer to tweak the board… it sets us all up for what might follow…its a beautiful song
over the years I’ve covered other songs from our brother…”Wave Up TO The Shore” “Section 31” “Remember The Brave Ones” “Bogman”
Dear Christy,
Hope all is well. It took a while but eventually I’ve got the opportunity to thank you for the two Magic Nights in Cappoquin and Clonmel. We enjoyed both gigs thoroughly and were enchanted by the rare Gems you sang. So wonderful to hear Only Our Rivers again and Galtee Mountain Boy, Spancilhill, Hurt … even Little Musgrave appeared – Amazing!!!
Also like your new song The Clock Winds Down to Zero, but I have to hear it more often to get familiar with it.
A special Go Raibh Maith Agat for welcoming us with beautiful Motherland!
Sorry to miss Bundoran this time (too far away) but hopefully we’ll see you again up north later this month.
Btw: You always fulfilled our expectations at each and every gig over the decades.
Have a great night in lovely Donegal!
Traudel + Horst
Lorenzo never showed up but we had two great nights in Bundoran….
I had hoped to include Musgrave again after its rare appearance in Clonmel but the opportunity never arose…
“Clock winds down” was sent to me by Jim Page..he who wrote “Hiroshima” and “Landlord” on Moving Hearts 1981 album….he has allowed me the liberty of arranging a new version..its evolving with every performance…its not quite there yet but I feel its getting close…dedicating it to Greta Thunberg creates a receptive atmosphere, gives it perspective…(the world appears is divided regarding climate, the audience too)….
Thoughts turn now to two Concerts in England…perhaps my last gigs there before before it separates itself from Europe…..hope you are enjoying your time SouthWest
Hello Christy,
Vishva and I are still recovering from your wonderful concert at Bundoran last night. Made even more special when you dedicated a song to Vishva’s birthday. Yes Black is the colour of my true loves hair and I do love the ground on which she stands. What a great birthday gift. A personalised song from you. Thank you. I hope tonight goes just as well for all those attending. They are in for a treat. You seem to get better with age. Don’t ever stop. Live to you and all your colleagues and friends. Tom and Vishva.
glad to read that it went well…from the stage `I caught a glimpse of you both…
I like that room, it always delivers a lively ambience…Saturday night was a few notches up on the lively scale!
On my way back to the middle of the Island, still on a high following your wonderful Gig last night. Thanks Christy, for taking us to that lovely space away from the outside World for 2 hours. The High sustains us going forward. Thanks too to your amazing team, on and off stage who help to make it all happen. We listeners , are indeed privileged.
Ride inn
Patsy
Twas fairly leppin last night Patsy..’twas like a 3 Mile Chase at Kilbeggan…..I’m really enjoying this leg of the journey…the ballads are just flowing…so many I’d like to have sung last night but time caught up with us…..there was a great line of 4711ers across the room last night…..Beautiful Bundoran
Another magic night…… bundoran always seems to hit the spot . A rip roaring finale of No Time for Love….. and a beautiful rendition of Spancil Hill (Gers favourite along with Only Our Rivers )were highlights among a great set list. Conor was with us for the gig after a long absence and the magic is still there for him…. he truly loved every minute of the show. We like the new song too….. need to hear it a few times I think but the message is strong.
Soft Morning thank God……
The new song is from Jim Page who penned “Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette”….. great to see ye again
a grand day here, no sign of Lorenzo….I’d nearly go out for a round of Golf if I played Golf, or Surf a few Waves if I had a Surf-Board, maybe I’ll just have a lie in before tonight’s shenanigan…..theres a few quare hawks heading this way tonight, I’ll need to be on my toes….. happy to read that a pair of Ger’s favourites featured last night
Hi Christy, I hope all’s well ! I had a grand plan to see a few gigs on the UK tour but sadly I cannot make it. Anyway I hope you love the last of the pre Brexit UK gigs and I’ll kick my visit down the road a bit and surely see you soon. Also I had a curious question about Riverdance, I just watched the Late Late celebrating the 25 years of Riverdance and it prompted me to pull out the old 12” Vinyl Single of Timedance for a look, the B Side is Nancy Spain…lovely ! The cover lists Bill Whelan as Keyboards and writer with Donal of course but I wonder what you recall of that piece. The jacket lists yourself, Liam, Donal, Andy, Bill and Nollaig Casey {who played later with Arty McGlynn). On a side note, my five sisters danced with the O’Shea School for years and I did myself for about a week when I was 7 ‘(cause the couldn’t leave me at home alone) and many years later I opened an Irish Pub in New York next to the Gershwin Theater when I heard that Riverdance was coming to Broadway in 2000, I met Bill a couple of times then, seemed like a nice man and obviously such a talent. Unfortunately Riverdance on Broadway was no match for the business vultures and economic demands of Broadway and so it receded to it’s success of international touring and the theater went dark. Two weeks later 9/11 hit New York and the world changed. Life is passing through us, too fast some times, see you soon Christy, Brian.
I have fond memories of that Planxty line up and the Timedance experience….little did we know where that would lead… I still see Bill occasionally along the road….met Arty & Nollaig this year at a concert celebrating the life of Liam Óg, the Piper of our time….Donal & Andy are playing some gigs together at this time…last week they performed in the Seamus Heaney Centre in Bellaghy….
Never had you down as a “Hoofer” Brian….if you had’nt opened that pub at The Gershwin you probably would have given Flatley a challenge for his laurels
Hi Christy
My brother was found dead in a homeless shelter in Kevin’s street 10 years ago…we played the voyage at his funeral but that was more for us than him..he lay in his room dead on st Patrick’s day 2008 for over 12 hours with ur song on repeat..THE CONTENDER…..christy everytime I listen (It’s really hard )..But it’s him..God love him he listened to the lyrics which touched him but I/ we couldn’t…..anyway…when in gorey please dedicate that song to him because he came down and lived with me here for a while before he died…ur sold out but it doesn’t matter if I’m not there..he’s buried In courtown..4 miles away. He was 32..loved u and ur music xx
May your Dear Bro Rest in Peace
Sorry ,. SOME DAY IM GONNA GO AWAY”
https://youtu.be/QmvdcHoqV6A this is the original version. I don’t have the soul singers version..
Well I think every performer has his own distinct style, down through the years when I’m writing a song I think of what artist it may suit.some have the sentiment of a country song some have the story of a ballad more cross over to whatever pace or chords that will fit. case in point.. 25 years ago I wrote a song for my good friend that died tragectly.. called.”come day in gonna go away.” It was a country ballad, I could never imagine it being anything else until I sent it to my friend in Nashville.he asked a soul singer to record it when I say I was floored it’s an understatement.totally blew me away..so I suppose pigeon holen someone’s talents does not always work..anyway the song ” good news don’t sell” was written as a country ballad, my question to you is “with all respects,” could you really see it fitting into anything else.. especially with the American lingo. SORRY FOR GOING ON .one…
style, genre,tack, approach, its always interesting….while some are laid back others employ dramatic projection,whether its funk or country, blues or jazz ,
folk or trad,crossover handbag or garage rap, someone somewhere will lend an ear, will find comfort or solace in our determined warblings…..I like how himself described himself all those years ago….”I’m more of a kinda song and dance man myself”
Hi Christy
My mother Joan Campbell and two sisters are for your show tomorrow (Saturday) in the great northern. Would be great if you could play The Voyage and dedicate it to my father Tommy campbell who passed away in March this year, he was a great fan.
We’ll do our best….
Just watching local news about protest outside Wright Bus…following the loss of 1200 jobs in Ballymena. Controversial because the founders’s son and major shareholder directed fifteen million to build a church of which he is the lead pastor on part of the site. The protestersrs are being supported by musicans and the singer was belting out an ordinary man! Your song never loses its impact. Go well.
I wish them well and hope their jobs can be saved….15 million skimmed off the top for a prayer hall…sounds par for the course
Hi Christy, though I am in Ireland from time to time, I always seem to pick the wrong dates to go to one of your concerts. So the big question is, if there is any chance that you might come for a few gigs to Germany?! All the best, Patrick
Europe, Here We Come,we gotta stick together
Christy,
The names of the men who are seeing you for the first time on Sat 5th are Ryan Murphy, Cahir Murphy and Martin Bradley. No worries if you can’t mention them. Good luck!
Eunan Murphy
fair play 2 U
Christy,
Heading to Bundoran tomorrow night Saturday 5th for your show. Bringing a few brothers, cousins and family friends who are seeing you for the first time. I’ve been to about 15 of your gigs over the years and you’ve been the biggest inspiration of my own musical career. They are supremely excited about what I’ve told them about you. Listened to your early albums and tapes from the early 80s onwards.
Would love a shout out to the Dungiven Crew (Kevin Lynch country). Incidentally, I lost my wee dog this week through illness after 7 years and the form is slowly picking up, so really looking forward again to your show. If you can, ‘The time has come’, or ‘Butterfly’ would be brilliant.
Good man for all the years, stamina and vast inspiration, a legend who can’t be followed!!
Eunan Murphy
Eunan….Dungiven will be quiet tonight ….hope ye have a good run over to Bundoran….we had a good night last night,great audience from all over…Melbourne, Warwickshire,London,Tralee,Glenties, even a few rapscallions from Kildare (who sounded like they dont get out too often) ….but now I’m turning my attention to tonights episode….its gonna be hot tonight in the Great Northern….Lorenzo might have given it a miss but we are gonna howl tonight….I’m soon to get up outa bed here and start meditating upon tonights set…I’m kinda gettin “supremely excited” myself here…a condition I’ve not previously encountered
“I’ll wear no prison uniform nor meekly serve my time
that England might brand Ireland’s fight 800 years of crime”
You’ve reminded me of Joe & Anne Brolly’s great song from the mid 1970s…it was included on the album H Block in 1978…
Also you remind me of our Dog Gypsy….She travelled with me all over Ireland for 17 years….I had an old Peogeot 404 Diesel and it was her private domain…she was only a small black half-cocker but she made more noise then an army if anyone came near the Van….she died in my arms at the Vets back in 1987 and we have’nt had a dog since….
Great
“Great Balls Of Fire” sang Jerry Lee Lewis all those years ago….I had 12″ drainpipes and could not be prised away from the old joanna….
Hi there Christy
Frigiliana is a distant memory now. Back at work. Bollocksed and bored. Oh how I wish I wasn’t here. I mean work , not on this planet of course. I hear a whisper you are over these parts in a couple of weeks. MIght get myself a ticket to lift the spirits.
A friend of mine who is big Beatles nut has just come back from a short trip to Hamburg. He was telling me how exciting it was to visit clubs and streets the fab Four had toured and lived in for a while. I felt it too when I visited Greenwich Village a few years back and walked along the pavements once trod by my hero Dylan. Sometimes I felt that the music of the early sixties was trapped in the brown bricks of the large houses of McDougall and Bleeker St. It got me thinking. In recent years I have been able to do a little bit of driving around Ireland, and when I see sign posts or pass through towns mentioned in your songs, I have a little chuckle to myself. As the townsfolk go about their daily lives they have no idea that I am passing through singing about their town. Sometimes the towns seem to fit perfectly to how I imagined. Sometimes they come as a great surprise. And the music will stay forever in these towns as the likes of you and the great music world out there keeps singing along.
Look after yourself and yours
Best wishes Frankie
sorry to hear that work is doin your head in…its a hard stationwhen the work is pullin you down…I greatly appreciate having work that I love for its a priviledge I greatly enjoy…..I had other jobs in earlier years that were ball breakers, but I was able to bail out cos I was foot loose and fancy free …I was a Bank Clerk for 3 years..before that I did stints in Walls making pies, EMI pressing records, a bit with Wimpey, and few weeks with John Laing, with Sisk in Ireland, 3 months on the Orion, a rig in the North Sea, drove a vegetable van in Rochdale, was a Box Jumper in a waste paper factory at the back of Cheetham Hill…since 1966 I’ve stayed in the one job and I’m enjoying more then ever…my heart goes out to you….
every town village county and place evokes a memory..even Frijiliana..I wrote some of Quinte Brigada there…
here in Bundoran now getting ready for tonights gig…met a man on the way in who is here from Melbourne with his brother..their visit to Ireland built around the gig…
looking forward to our gigs in Liverpool and United City in 10 days time…
Hi Christy, in the reaganville chat can i say Easkey’s recommendation of the great Blaze Foley is good, folks may also like North of Ireland singer songwriter Matt McGinn’s song ‘trump’ , but waking early i turned to your ‘Traveller’ album, and find that 20 years on ‘urgency culture’ is more apt than ever.
Bundoran is almost within touching distance now.
Regards
Rory
Thanks Rory…
I appreciate how you reference songs that never recieved much attention….I liked making that album….it came at a time when I thought my playing days were done…it came about in unplanned, organic,spontaneous manner….just myself and Leo Pearson down the garden.I had a bunch of songs, Leo had a few black boxes and a recording technique I had not previously encountered…..
https://youtu.be/Jh-mLpaMKiI. It’s not you style of song, I figured you would appreciate the sentiment anyway.
some nice pickin there Marty…keep up the good work…good song
your mention of “style of song” is interersting…..
there are so many songs I love to hear, love to sing,
curious to know what “style” of song is your “Good News Dont Sell”