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~ Settled back in Jersey, heart still in Ireland….

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Category Archives: Music

Gigs I’ve attended

03 Friday Dec 2021

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music, Writing

≈ 27 Comments

Watching the Alan Hull documentary the other evening got me thinking about music gigs I’ve been to over the years. Really there haven’t been that many. I’m very much a ‘stay at home’ type, not interested in travelling very far afield. Neither am I a musical connoisseur. Most of my contemporaries could produce lists of many pages of gigs they’ve attended. These are the ones I remember, in no particular order:

Lindisfarne (first gig)
Tom Paxton
Dubliners
Marillion
Chieftains
Eagles
Fleetwood Mac
Steeleye Span
Elkie Brooks
Joan Armatrading
Ray Davies
Van Morrison
Rolling Stones
Meat Loaf
Thin Lizzy
Unthanks

That first one, Lindisfarne, was about 1971. They were on the cusp of the big time but it was still early days for them. They played in the indoor shopping centre in central Birmingham. I recall little or nothing of the music. (The band lives on, though with only one of the original line-up.)

Thin Lizzy were in Tralee in the west of Ireland in 1980. It was the only time they played in the town I think. The legendary Chieftains played at the Opera House in Cork. There was dancing in the aisles from the opening number, the poor staff finally giving up telling people to sit back down. Elkie Brooks saw an early panicked escape by about a dozen elderly folk from the front rows as she launched her show with one of her old, raunchy and loud numbers. Biggest gig was the Stones in Parc des Princes, Paris. The very last one was a few years back, the Unthanks in Cambridge.

The best one? If I had to choose it would be the Mac in Dublin in 2009. The classic line-up of Nicks, Buckingham, Fleetwood and John McVie (missing only Christine McVie) were magnificent.

Artistes I wished I’d seen? Maybe Mott the Hoople/Ian Hunter, Rory Gallagher, Black Sabbath, Fairport Convention.

So what was your favourite ever gig?

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Songs for my Funeral

15 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music, Writing

≈ 21 Comments

Not that I’m expecting it or anything, but neither was Gary Burgess and he’s way younger than me.

I’ve not been to too many funerals in recent times but it seems that, generally speaking, you (or your family) can have a say in how the ceremony goes. And I believe the general idea these days is that funeral clothes and black ties are no longer à la mode.

My Mum is having a good go, like Eleanor of Aquitaine, in outliving her children. In which case I’ll be upsetting her by rejecting a Catholic funeral and going Humanist. These affairs, I understand, don’t include religious content, including traditional hymns. But, for starters, let’s have a look at the most popular, traditional hymns taken from a random website.
1. Amazing Grace
2. Going Home
3. Abide With Me
4. How Great Thou Art
5. All Things Bright and Beautiful
6. The Old Rugged Cross
7. Morning Has Broken
8. Great is Thy Faithfulness
9. What a Friend We Have in Jesus
10. Be Thou My Vision

Umm, no, though presumably I’ll not be that bothered on the day.

So what are my picks? I’ve always had two in mind but today I added a third possible. The two are
1. Rest In Peace, (Mott the Hoople). Written in 1974, it was already a retrospective. It has stood the test of time and, as the original members of the band have started to pass on it has gained in poignancy.
2. Meet on the Ledge, (Fairport Convention). It wasn’t written as a song about death, but it can be beautifully imagined as such.

And the third, the one I decided on earlier. Another Mott the Hoople number performed here by leader Ian Hunter, now 81. Saturday Gigs is an old Mott fans’ favourite and is rich with nostalgia.

Which might leave me with two more picks, not sure how many are allowed. I might go back to my teen years for the first. Clear White Light by Lindisfarne, the folk/rock band which has achieved sainthood in the north-east of England. This was one of their signature songs.

Finally, one I doubt would get the nod even from the most liberal of celebrants and tolerant of family and friends. Black Sabbath were a shock metal band from Birmingham, playing the pubs and clubs when I was in my final years at school. Ozzie and mates have apparently played their last after a mega career, but Sleeping Village (and its iconic cover, below) remains one of their best songs. (On re-listening, maybe best played quietly in the background as the few mourners arrive.)

So, have you thought about your selection?

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Pierce Turner (2)

18 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music, Writing

≈ 13 Comments

It was 10 years ago, during my Irish years, that I first blogged about singer/songwriter Pierce Turner. One of Ireland’s most talented, original and prolific musicians, Turner remains a niche performer, unheard and unappreciated by most, even in his native land.

He has released his latest album which I commend to you. It’s entitled Vinegar Hill, which was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 Rebellion. The site is in Turner’s native county Wexford.

The production of the album was largely crowdfunded, Turner’s fans bunging in a sum of money in return for various goodies. One of those was an offer by Turner to handwrite the lyrics of one of his songs. Here is my prize of the words to Moonbeam Josephine, from Turner’s signature album from 1995, Mañana in Manhattan.

Moonbeam Josephine

Here’s the link to the song itself.

The Mañana in Manhattan album set the bar high and Turner has not always cleared it since. Yet he works on in the studio and sparingly in concerts in New York (where he lives) and in his native country to a devoted audience.

With his new album Vinegar Hill, Turner takes some old Irish songs and tunes, throws them skywards, retains melody and words but reworks the arrangements in a rollicking manner that might outrage the traditionalists.

Maybe in another 10 years I’ll let you know what the latest is with Mr Pierce Turner.

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The Day I Met…

23 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music, Writing

≈ 15 Comments

Jimi Hendrix is acknowledged as one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. His fame with the Jimi Hendrix Experience lasted a very short space of time, from late 1966 until his death in 1970.

During that period his band members consisted of Englishmen Noel Redding (bass guitar) and Mitch Mitchell (drummer). And, like the Rolling Stones, they were a bit wild. Respectable grown-ups disliked them – they weren’t like those nice Beatles or Monkees. But they made great music.

Mitch Mitchell1

LtoR – Redding, Hendrix, Mitchell

Mitch Mitchell3

After Hendrix’s death both Redding and Mitchell continued their musical careers, though with much lower profiles. In the mid-eighties I wandered into the Anne Port Bay Hotel, a quiet bar on Jersey’s east coast. It was quieter than ever that evening, just one chap sitting in the corner reading his paper. I was introduced to him, quietly spoken, wet-fish handshake. He said hello politely and the former hell-raising drummer Mitch Mitchell returned to reading his newspaper.

Mitchell died in 2008, five years after Redding.

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Too old for change

24 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music

≈ 25 Comments

Back in 2011 I blogged about my favourite female vocalists. And, re-reading the post and listening to the sample song of each that I chose, I haven’t changed my mind. Each of them is – or was – truly unique and exceptional. Eva and Sandy have long since flown this life to meet on another ledge but Stevie, Adele, Carol and Elkie are still with us and are still actively performing.

Do you remember when we were very young and we changed our minds every time the wind changed direction? We’d have our favourite pop group or singer for a week or two before shamelessly changing horses the minute a new lot took our fancy. Then, in our teens, we grew to appreciating particular musical genres and tended to shape our own lives around them. In my school there arose a serious division between Progressive Rock nerds and the Tamla Motown crowd.

Then we grew up and our musical tastes firmed up. I, for one, am pretty stuck with those artistes I grew to admire in my 30s and 40s. Few newcomers disturb these tranquil and comforting waters.

Though now a couple more female artistes have barged in. The Unthanks have been around for a while now and I’ve admired their take on traditional folk songs. Then I was lucky enough to catch them in concert in Cambridge recently. So here are Rachel, Becky and the gang with not an instrument in sight – what do you think?

Unthanks

Tar Barrel in Dale

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‘Signatures’ – John Sheahan

31 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Ireland, Music, Writing

≈ 25 Comments

It’s not really my thing, poetry. Like the scrum in rugby it’s a mystery to me therefore I don’t appreciate the processes and skills involved.

But I watched the docu-film ‘One Million Dubliners‘ yesterday. It’s all to do with Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. I absolutely commend this to you.

During the film, John Sheahan, the surviving member of the original ‘Dubliners’ band recites his poem which I thought I’d share with you on this last day of 2014. Happy New Year everyone.

john sheahan

The ploughman leaves his trace on field and furrow
The sculptor’s mark is etched in chiselled stone
With sheaves of gold the thatcher’s name is written
In rings of clay the potter’s name is known

When day is done and evening firelight beckons
When tradesmen all are free from toil and care
I linger in the shadows with my fiddle
And softly leave my signature, in air

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Fleetwood Mac, O2 Dublin, October 2009

13 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music

≈ 19 Comments

The end of 2009 was a pretty sad and emotional time for me. My ambitions to live and work permanently in Ireland were falling to pieces after less than two years. I was on the verge of cutting my losses and heading back to Jersey to try to pick up the threads there again.Fleetwood Mac

Before I did that I headed back to Dublin for a last time with my old friend Deirdre from Cork to see Fleetwood Mac in concert at the old Point Theatre, newly refurbished as the O2. Here is my review written the following day.

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Jersey Folklore Festival Day 2

02 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music

≈ Leave a comment

I’m not in love, but I’m open to persuasion

I arrived in Jersey 35 years ago today – just in time to watch Borg beat Connors in five sets in the Wimbledon singles final. At much the same time, back in Birmingham, a black girl was having a smash hit called Love and Affection. Joan Armatrading had arrived in Brum with the early wave of West Indian immigrants and was brought up in Stechford, just up the road from me – not of course that I realised that until later.

Yesterday evening Armatrading arguably stole the show from the headline act Ray Davies. She is by now of course a legend of British music and she has a firm following in Jersey. No fuss or frills, baggy trousers and an old top with butterflies on it. But she is a performer who radiates enjoyment and endears herself to her audiences. Yesterday evening she alternated between her back catalogue and some of her new stuff, all of which was well received. I must admit I didn’t realise that she could rock hard and loud as well as captivating the audience with her soulful stuff. Starlight is the title track of the new album and it was well received. But of course All The Way From America, Me Myself I, Drop The Pilot, Call Me Names and her signature song went down best. Versatility is her game and she and her excellent band blasted through their last two numbers leaving me dazzled and in need of a steadying pint. Brilliant from the Brummie chick.

By 1977 by comparison The Kinks had had their glory days. They plodded on before disbanding in the ’90s. Now amazingly 68, Ray Davies reprises those glory days with his own band. And does he do it with panache. He let it rip last night with energy and loudness, goading the Jersey audience into greater clapping, waving and singing efforts. Where Have All The Good Times Gone opened the show. All Day And All Of The Night, See My Friends, Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, Sunny Afternoon, Dead End Street and others followed. The gorgeous Waterloo Sunset was done as an acoustic break from the rocking. I was puzzled as he sang the wimpy Kirsty McColl song Days until learning it is in fact a Davies composition – I listen to it with new ears.

I thought his best song of the night was 20th Century Man , and Davies ended a great set with the deadly You Really Got Me which will once again have sent some local residents scurrying for the telephone even though both evenings finished bang on 10 o’clock, but that’s Jersey.

A great two days. Ticket sales weren’t as high as expected but, if the promoters do it again this festival is destined for repeated success.

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Jersey Folklore Festival Day 1

01 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music

≈ 2 Comments

Off to People’s Park wondering how to look cool. I needn’t have worried – it was pretty much a regular middle-aged Jersey crowd made up mainly, it seemed, of ex-cricketers. I missed the early stuff and it was Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry first up for me. I guess this was pretty much a first for Jersey, a pure, laid-back reggae beat pounding over the west of the town. Perry is a legend and went down well with many in the crowd. I’m less of a music connoisseur though and the whole thing was a bit too one-paced for me. And when the band was forcibly removed to allow set-up for the next act Perry was still under the illusion that he was in Dublin, if I interpreted his Rasta-speak correctly.

So onto Nouvelle Vague who, frankly, I’d never heard of. But they’ll have gained a few extra Jersey fans with this knock-out performance. Their specialty is in covering New Wave numbers with drive and not a little flair. Visually it’s all about the girl singers. Apparently the girls vary but this lively pair were a mixture of Agnetha, Anna-Fried and Liza Minelli. They sang brilliantly, interacted and danced together and put on a great bit of theatre. Behind them a keyboard and a heavy rhythm section drove the whole thing along. A great set including the Dead Kennedy’s Too Drunk To Fuck which the crowd thoroughly enjoyed singing along to. I hope the Bailiff doesn’t hear about it. These guys will be welcome back any time.

I was necking a beer in the hospitality tent when the opening bars of Brown Eyed Girl struck up, sending us all scurrying for the main tent. The Man Himself was in town. And he didn’t disappoint. Complete with cravat, dark glasses and trilby the legend that is Van Morrison was playing the People’s Park, a bit surreal in itself. Backed by half an orchestra, heavy on the brass, Morrison gave a great show. No chatting, no banter with the audience, just 90 minutes of his back catalogue which, of course, we were there to hear. Going way back to his Them days many of his classics were there; Bright Side Of The Road, Days Like This, Moondance, In The Midnight Hour, Whenever God Shines His Light, my favourite Have I Told You Lately and many more. 

Morrison’s voice is as good and strong as ever. He has no chat but he gives his performance all he’s got and the excellent band play no small part in the deliverance. And, having opened with BEG there was never a doubt what was going to close the show. As The Man disappeared offstage, never to reappear, a stunning, loud Gloria outro by the band will have kept the neighbours awake a while longer.

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Clear the dance floor

28 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by Roy McCarthy in Music

≈ Leave a comment

Gonna hear me some good music this year! A great start on 30th June/31stJuly with the Jersey Folklore Festival featuring Van Morrison, Joan Armatrading and Ray Davies. An eye-watering £105 for both days but you’d kick yourself were you to miss these legends.

Van the Man

I’ve just booked to see Ian Hunter and his Rant Band in Birmingham in October. Hunter was of course the front man for Mott The Hoople and he’s done some fabulous work in a long, solo career since.

Ian Hunter

I’m going to try and catch Carol Decker (T’Pau) and Richard Digance in the UK somewhere along the way this year as well. I’ve a fancy to attend the Cropredy Festival in August, the Fairport Convention celebration of folk music where Digance always has a spot. Trouble is I’m hardly festival material, preferring my comforts. We’ll see.

Richard Digance

You don’t get major bands in Jersey – the economics don’t permit it. One of the benefits of living in Dublin for a while was to be able to see The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac at a venue within walking distance.

But Jersey have hosted some good bands in the past. I suppose my favourite gig was Marillion at the Fort, performing their Misplaced Childhood album. The Dubliners, Steeleye Span, Tom Paxton. But generally promotors have caught too many colds by mis-reading the fast-changing trends in modern music and booking popular acts too late, once their star has fallen. 

You’ll never lose money promoting the legends though and the Warrens are doing brilliantly in presenting top acts at Jersey Live and now the Folklore.

Where are my beads and kaftan?

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