Blog
Article in Ireland’s Own magazine
"Ireland's Own" - as they say themselves "the week wouldn't be the same without it". I'm sure that rings true for many a household. I know I've seen it around for as long as I can remember. Imagine the changes that have taken place in the world since it was first...
Happy New Year – Compassion (guide word)
Happy New Year - Compassion [guide word] So, here we are again, ringing in another New Year. What will this new year hold for us? As I have been doing for many years now, I have picked a word that I will use as my guide word for this year. This year that word is...
New Spotlight Magazine
Since I added the "New Spotlight" section to the website, I've been contacted on a regular basis by: people looking for info on some of the musicians and bands mentioned (as in, do you know where they are now), people who used to buy Spotlight every week themselves,...
Horslips – Live in Germany
They came, they saw...and they spoke German! Well, Jim did anyway and it sounded very fluent to me. However, we weren't there for their linguistic skills, we were there for the music. Where is there? There was...well, probably still is...Bad Rappenau, in southern...
Songs From The DVD – (01) I Wonder
OK, let's kick this series off and start with the first song on the "Troubadour" DVD, which is "I Wonder". I remember rehearsing one evening with the band and right at the end of the session I ran through a very rough idea of what I thought "I Wonder" should sound...
Songs From The DVD – (02) Alberta
The second song on the Troubadour DVD is “Alberta”, the old Snooks Eaglin song but I have to admit I was introduced to it via Eric Clapton. Eric played “Alberta” on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977. I didn’t catch the show the first time around but did get to watch...
Songs From The DVD – (03) If I Were A Carpenter
The third song on the Troubadour DVD is "If I Were A Carpenter", a beautiful song written by the late Tim Hardin. Now this is a song you don't decide lightly to cover. Why's that I hear you ask? Good question and the answer is because it's been done so many times that...
Songs From The DVD – (04) Crazy Love
This week's blog is going to be about "Crazy Love". I already tell a background story on the DVD, so I won't repeat that here. So for something different, I want to take you to the time when we cut it originally for the "Beyond The Tears" album. I'd only played it...
Songs From The DVD – (05) Fine, Fine, Fine
The fifth song on the DVD is "Fine, Fine, Fine", so we're half-way through the DVD already. The original title of this song is "You Ain't Nothin' But Fine", written by Sidney Simien aka Rockin' Sidney and it was written in a Zydeco style as opposed to a rock ‘n' roll...
Songs From The DVD – (06) Nobody’s Girl
Song six on the DVD is "Nobody's Girl", a very beautiful song written by Larry John McNally, a songwriter based in Nashville, USA. He's had quite a bit of success in getting other artists to cover his songs. Probably the biggest two are "For My Wedding", which was...