Helped me understand how Viva La Quinta Brigada is such a favourite in Barrowlands. Amazing how so many people felt strongly enough to travel abroad to fight for what they believe in – bit of a contrast with the “Oblivious” attitude. Safe travels anyway, and hope to see you again soon.
Christy's reply
No Paseran sez Shuggie to Franco…..all good here Johnny Boy….Charlie Chan givin us a run for our money, we’re out -tooled but he aint got no ballads
Hi Christy …Hope the Buxton gig went well for all tonight ..I saw some photos of the venue and some 4711ers online earlier and all looked very good. I probably should have factored it in, but will have to settle now for the Philharmonic on Saturday night Got in from Knock this morning (God Bless Fr Horan) and had a good old ramble around town….still a great city oozing character and no small amount of scouse wit. Looking forward to the gig then, it is one of my favourite venues to have seen and heard you perform…..off to Anfield on Sunday as wel Christyl to throw an eyeball on Mr Klopp and his RedMen as they take on Southampton …fingers crossed for that one …safe travel down from Buxton …Love & Respect Martin Mac
Christy's reply
Enjoy the pool..give my love to Billy Fury…we are currently camped in Mancunian Way..I’m waiting for the boiled eggs…we had the Pres of China here last night..quare hawk him…the plague of Falun Gong and Dalai Lama.. him leaving a trail of Nuclear Power Stations in his wake…see you later Marty..we’re gonna take a ferry down The Madchester Ship Canal and hit The Mersey come 7.30….have the flags out auld stock
Excellent stuff Christy, I’m looking forward to next week’s Glasgow Concert Hall gig with rare excitement. I wish you and the travelling band good luck in England and fair wind as you drive across the border and up into the land of your Celtic cousins.
Meantime, don’t wear your voice out too much mate, Folk Tale’s chorus can stretch a tired man’s larynx if he’s not careful!
hello chisty, discovered your music just recently. no idea how you could hide it from me all the time. it´s great and a true comfort to me these days.
thank you
Christy's reply
it has been difficult hiding it from you… I knew you would seek it out….keep coming back
My Dad and I are coming to see you at the Barrowlands on Friday night, seeing as I’m 16 and probably one of your youngest audience members that will be there, I’d love to hear your live version of the song I was named after by Shane McGowan. Look forward to seeing you,
Aisling Doherty
Christy's reply
I’m gonna have to get practicing..its not been on the menu for a few years…its a good song that I should sing more often…its very different to Shane’s version…what a great writer is that Son of Tipperary…..one two three four telegraph poles….
Hello Christy,
Hope you’ll enjoy your time on the “Mainland”.
Very nice request here from David for “Folk Tale”!!
Also good to read of the filming on the boat – I’m already looking forward to the finished project. There were such great reports about last week’s special Lisdoon gig … Would have loved to be at the Royal Spa too … but it’s a long, long way from here to Clare.
Autumn greetings and Best of Luck to you and your companeros for your forthcoming gigs! Traudel
Christy's reply
the ball is in…the game is on…Buxton was splendid..perfect old Opera House in “The Peaks” of England. Beautiful Country. Audience came, like Lord Baker,from North South East and West.Year 50 of the tour is tipping along.Had my Sheffield Cousins in last night plus 4711ers from Glocca Maura to Doonaree….there were bouts of sacred silence interspersed with screeches,yelps,requests and yowls of laughter…Decky,Jimmy and I had ourselves a “reet good do,our lass “
my wife and I have tickets for the gig in Liverpool this coming Saturday in one of the boxes on the right as you look out from the stage . Sadly as I have recently undergone major surgery I will be unable to attend so my 16 year old daughter is going with her instead . When my girls were growing up we always used to play many of your songs as we as a family would be sat out in the garden on summer evenings . A particular favourite was “The Voyage” which was so relevant to us as a family and I can still remember the feeling of peace and happiness listening to that particular track . Is there any chance of you playing the song this Saturday please and giving a mention to my lovely wife Sonia and my daughters Kelly and Tara who have been looking after me so well during my illness . It would be a lovely way of them knowing how much I appreciate all they have done for me at what has been such a hard time for them .
Thank you for reading this and I hope to catch you on a future visit to these shores
kind regards
Peter Griffin
Christy's reply
I wish you a speedy and full recovery Peter…..have a large box of call-out requests for the Phil…gonna do the best can
Hi Christy, no Leonard Cohen tours this year so 12 assorted and converted Christy folks from around Europe are joining a few of your regular enthusiasts this Saturday in Liverpool.
We’re not really ‘shout outers’, but ‘The Well below the Valley’ would be much appreciated. Take care, have fun!
Christy's reply
if we find The Well we’ll drop the bucket and drink deeply of the pure drop
Well Christy my friend, as you suggested, I’m sticking my head above the parapet for the last time before the gig in Glasgow Concert Hall next week.
Last time I was here I watered the oul shoot that had sprouted up regarding the notion that you might find it in your heart to play a favourite song of mine of yours in Glasgow. Always assuming that the air is right on the night, of course.
I’m not a man to hold a man to anything he says but I’m in biblical mood so I’ll just gently remind you that you did say “this request will be almost impossible not to grant”.
I’m delighted to see that the shoot has now miraculously flowered into a lovely young tree and there’s some low hanging fruit all right, ripe for the picking. I see a ruddy cheeked apple with the song “Folk Tale” stamped on the skin just dangling there.
If you could see your way clear to plucking that apple and playing the song, I can confidently predict I’ll never request another.
If you manage it, you’ll make a bald man sitting front row and centre next week with his equally bald mate, very happy indeed.
Christy's reply
Morra David…you have given us a week to revive “Folk Tale”
I hope to tell them that you are young and beautiful
We landed in yesterday after a grand crossing on Irish Ferries. We did some filming on their boat “Ulysses”towards a film being made about the songs. Sang “Missing You” in the lounge, “Suffocate” on the car deck and “Hey Paddy” in the restraint room. I’ve no idea what the director will include. Seemingly they shoot,on average, 19 hours for every hour thats used…editing must be a nightmare
In Manchester now preparing to ascend to Buxton Opera House .This venue was suggested so often on this forum that we decided to take a look. Now I’m doing a concert there tonight. The power of the guest forum !
Well Christy,
Looking forward to heading down to Liverpool on Saturday to see you as I can’t make it to the Barras the following weekend. Would love to hear you the Barrowlands song if you sing it outside of the Barras.
Cheers,
Damian.
Christy's reply
Here is Our Lady of The Clyde,
There goes Jinky Johnson
Hello Christy and welcome to Blighty.
My dear old mum, Patsy Hurley, fighting fit and in her eightieth year, is heading across the Yorkshire border to salubrious Buxton tomorrow. Already a veteran of two dedications at Leeds Town Hall (where she did her courting!) she’s now on a hat-trick. I’ve said don’t get your hopes up, but you know how it is, a generation raised on rations now expects the world.
Parents thesedays, we spoil them rotten.
Hi Christy
Welcome ‘home’…..back to the old stamping ground.
In readiness for Buxton,I decided to play your contributions to several compilation albums.I put one song on repeat as it epitomised your capacity to ‘get inside’the mood of a tale…..’Bogie’s Bonnie Belle’ as featured on ‘Common Ground’,a real gem…..A great album too.
See you tomorrow! Dave
Christy's reply
found some new verses for Bogies…I heard it from Muriel Graves who used to run The Folk Club in Cockermouth…..her version may have come from Archie Fisher who might have collected it from either Jimmy McBeath or (old) Davy Stewart……I dropped into The Mudcat Forum last night and was delighted to read how often this great song has been recorded….the Mudcat is great entertainment of a sleepless night..it takes all sorts
Hi Christy. I got the tickets earlier this week for myself, Paul and Tomás (the two brothers) for your Vicar St gig on April 14th next year. It’ll feel a bit strange not to have a Vicar St gig from you to look forward to in the run up to Christmas but of course I can see how the postponement from the last time round would have an effect. I haven’t mentioned before the special place Nancy Spain (which I came across through you, like a lot of people) holds in our house. I sang it at the afters of a wedding on July 1st 2000, and it was at that wedding where I met my wife (we were married in 2003). She mentioned afterwards that my Nancy Spain rendition certainly helped to create a favourable first impression. It was the emotion and humanity in your performing of it that made a big impression on me and I’m sure that carried through into my own singing of it. I’m looking forward a lot to getting absorbed in your music and singing again in April. Good luck, Ciarán,
Christy's reply
one wedding leads to another…
decided to drop the Christmas gigs..over the past few years I have had throat and lung problems at this particular time..the trauma of having to cancel shows when people have gone to so much trouble to attend..I find it more debilitating then the illness itself ….
Nancy Spain took hold of me the same way..I still remember Barney Rush singing it in The Royal Hotel, St.Helier 46 years ago. I was smitten instantly. Still am. Not everyone feels the same way about it but there is plenty of room aboard. Its one of a small number of songs that are almost omni present in the set.
Hope we all make it through to next April, back to Old Vicar Street one more time.
Dear Christy,flying to Liverpool tomorrow ,and see you Saturday!!Looking forard, first time ever to see you.I hear you daily because my husband Jasper plays your songs ,he builds his own guitars.I gave him this concert for his 50th birthday..He is a big fan…he makes also bracelets from old guitar strings..it would be such a present to him if he could have your old guitar strings …is this maybe possible ??Hope so ..much love Anja
Christy's reply
Happy Birthday Jasper….hope you have a good visit to Liverpool..that you and Anja hear some favourite songs
I am looking forward to listen and see you playing in Liverpool on Saturday.
It is my first visit of one of your Gigs and I am very glad coming to Liverpool.
Since years I tried to visit your Gigs and now it’s coming true.
…welcome to this cabaret on Saturday night.
Christy
Hope you and your fellow travellers have a safe and successful trip across the Pond.See you by the Clyde??.
Ride on
Patsy
Christy's reply
on the pond now, its smooth and calm, the sun is shining on Dublin bay…just contemplating what lies ahead..Buxton is a new venue, the rest are all old favourites….see you in The East End of Glasgow
Hi Christy
Further to my earlier plea,I’m delighted to report that tickets became available for Buxton via unexpected generosity.Really looking forward to seeing you in such a terrific venue.
Best wishes for the tour of the “mainland” – keep the hard boiled eggs handy. I’m there in spirit with the travelling 4711ers. Enjoyed reading a wee booklet about the men from the Gorbals who fought in the Spanish Civil War http://www.derryjournal.com/news/the-tale-of-the-derry-man-the-gorbals-and-civil-war-in-spain-1-6952150
Helped me understand how Viva La Quinta Brigada is such a favourite in Barrowlands. Amazing how so many people felt strongly enough to travel abroad to fight for what they believe in – bit of a contrast with the “Oblivious” attitude. Safe travels anyway, and hope to see you again soon.
No Paseran sez Shuggie to Franco…..all good here Johnny Boy….Charlie Chan givin us a run for our money, we’re out -tooled but he aint got no ballads
Hi Christy …Hope the Buxton gig went well for all tonight ..I saw some photos of the venue and some 4711ers online earlier and all looked very good. I probably should have factored it in, but will have to settle now for the Philharmonic on Saturday night Got in from Knock this morning (God Bless Fr Horan) and had a good old ramble around town….still a great city oozing character and no small amount of scouse wit. Looking forward to the gig then, it is one of my favourite venues to have seen and heard you perform…..off to Anfield on Sunday as wel Christyl to throw an eyeball on Mr Klopp and his RedMen as they take on Southampton …fingers crossed for that one …safe travel down from Buxton …Love & Respect Martin Mac
Enjoy the pool..give my love to Billy Fury…we are currently camped in Mancunian Way..I’m waiting for the boiled eggs…we had the Pres of China here last night..quare hawk him…the plague of Falun Gong and Dalai Lama.. him leaving a trail of Nuclear Power Stations in his wake…see you later Marty..we’re gonna take a ferry down The Madchester Ship Canal and hit The Mersey come 7.30….have the flags out auld stock
Excellent stuff Christy, I’m looking forward to next week’s Glasgow Concert Hall gig with rare excitement. I wish you and the travelling band good luck in England and fair wind as you drive across the border and up into the land of your Celtic cousins.
Meantime, don’t wear your voice out too much mate, Folk Tale’s chorus can stretch a tired man’s larynx if he’s not careful!
please tell them that I am young and beautiful
hello chisty, discovered your music just recently. no idea how you could hide it from me all the time. it´s great and a true comfort to me these days.
thank you
it has been difficult hiding it from you… I knew you would seek it out….keep coming back
Hi Christy,
My Dad and I are coming to see you at the Barrowlands on Friday night, seeing as I’m 16 and probably one of your youngest audience members that will be there, I’d love to hear your live version of the song I was named after by Shane McGowan. Look forward to seeing you,
Aisling Doherty
I’m gonna have to get practicing..its not been on the menu for a few years…its a good song that I should sing more often…its very different to Shane’s version…what a great writer is that Son of Tipperary…..one two three four telegraph poles….
Hello Christy,
Hope you’ll enjoy your time on the “Mainland”.
Very nice request here from David for “Folk Tale”!!
Also good to read of the filming on the boat – I’m already looking forward to the finished project. There were such great reports about last week’s special Lisdoon gig … Would have loved to be at the Royal Spa too … but it’s a long, long way from here to Clare.
Autumn greetings and Best of Luck to you and your companeros for your forthcoming gigs! Traudel
the ball is in…the game is on…Buxton was splendid..perfect old Opera House in “The Peaks” of England. Beautiful Country. Audience came, like Lord Baker,from North South East and West.Year 50 of the tour is tipping along.Had my Sheffield Cousins in last night plus 4711ers from Glocca Maura to Doonaree….there were bouts of sacred silence interspersed with screeches,yelps,requests and yowls of laughter…Decky,Jimmy and I had ourselves a “reet good do,our lass “
Hi Christy
my wife and I have tickets for the gig in Liverpool this coming Saturday in one of the boxes on the right as you look out from the stage . Sadly as I have recently undergone major surgery I will be unable to attend so my 16 year old daughter is going with her instead . When my girls were growing up we always used to play many of your songs as we as a family would be sat out in the garden on summer evenings . A particular favourite was “The Voyage” which was so relevant to us as a family and I can still remember the feeling of peace and happiness listening to that particular track . Is there any chance of you playing the song this Saturday please and giving a mention to my lovely wife Sonia and my daughters Kelly and Tara who have been looking after me so well during my illness . It would be a lovely way of them knowing how much I appreciate all they have done for me at what has been such a hard time for them .
Thank you for reading this and I hope to catch you on a future visit to these shores
kind regards
Peter Griffin
I wish you a speedy and full recovery Peter…..have a large box of call-out requests for the Phil…gonna do the best can
Hi Christy, no Leonard Cohen tours this year so 12 assorted and converted Christy folks from around Europe are joining a few of your regular enthusiasts this Saturday in Liverpool.
We’re not really ‘shout outers’, but ‘The Well below the Valley’ would be much appreciated. Take care, have fun!
if we find The Well we’ll drop the bucket and drink deeply of the pure drop
Well Christy my friend, as you suggested, I’m sticking my head above the parapet for the last time before the gig in Glasgow Concert Hall next week.
Last time I was here I watered the oul shoot that had sprouted up regarding the notion that you might find it in your heart to play a favourite song of mine of yours in Glasgow. Always assuming that the air is right on the night, of course.
I’m not a man to hold a man to anything he says but I’m in biblical mood so I’ll just gently remind you that you did say “this request will be almost impossible not to grant”.
I’m delighted to see that the shoot has now miraculously flowered into a lovely young tree and there’s some low hanging fruit all right, ripe for the picking. I see a ruddy cheeked apple with the song “Folk Tale” stamped on the skin just dangling there.
If you could see your way clear to plucking that apple and playing the song, I can confidently predict I’ll never request another.
If you manage it, you’ll make a bald man sitting front row and centre next week with his equally bald mate, very happy indeed.
Morra David…you have given us a week to revive “Folk Tale”
I hope to tell them that you are young and beautiful
We landed in yesterday after a grand crossing on Irish Ferries. We did some filming on their boat “Ulysses”towards a film being made about the songs. Sang “Missing You” in the lounge, “Suffocate” on the car deck and “Hey Paddy” in the restraint room. I’ve no idea what the director will include. Seemingly they shoot,on average, 19 hours for every hour thats used…editing must be a nightmare
In Manchester now preparing to ascend to Buxton Opera House .This venue was suggested so often on this forum that we decided to take a look. Now I’m doing a concert there tonight. The power of the guest forum !
Well Christy,
Looking forward to heading down to Liverpool on Saturday to see you as I can’t make it to the Barras the following weekend. Would love to hear you the Barrowlands song if you sing it outside of the Barras.
Cheers,
Damian.
Here is Our Lady of The Clyde,
There goes Jinky Johnson
Hello Christy and welcome to Blighty.
My dear old mum, Patsy Hurley, fighting fit and in her eightieth year, is heading across the Yorkshire border to salubrious Buxton tomorrow. Already a veteran of two dedications at Leeds Town Hall (where she did her courting!) she’s now on a hat-trick. I’ve said don’t get your hopes up, but you know how it is, a generation raised on rations now expects the world.
Parents thesedays, we spoil them rotten.
Nice One
Hi Christy
Welcome ‘home’…..back to the old stamping ground.
In readiness for Buxton,I decided to play your contributions to several compilation albums.I put one song on repeat as it epitomised your capacity to ‘get inside’the mood of a tale…..’Bogie’s Bonnie Belle’ as featured on ‘Common Ground’,a real gem…..A great album too.
See you tomorrow! Dave
found some new verses for Bogies…I heard it from Muriel Graves who used to run The Folk Club in Cockermouth…..her version may have come from Archie Fisher who might have collected it from either Jimmy McBeath or (old) Davy Stewart……I dropped into The Mudcat Forum last night and was delighted to read how often this great song has been recorded….the Mudcat is great entertainment of a sleepless night..it takes all sorts
Hi Christy. I got the tickets earlier this week for myself, Paul and Tomás (the two brothers) for your Vicar St gig on April 14th next year. It’ll feel a bit strange not to have a Vicar St gig from you to look forward to in the run up to Christmas but of course I can see how the postponement from the last time round would have an effect. I haven’t mentioned before the special place Nancy Spain (which I came across through you, like a lot of people) holds in our house. I sang it at the afters of a wedding on July 1st 2000, and it was at that wedding where I met my wife (we were married in 2003). She mentioned afterwards that my Nancy Spain rendition certainly helped to create a favourable first impression. It was the emotion and humanity in your performing of it that made a big impression on me and I’m sure that carried through into my own singing of it. I’m looking forward a lot to getting absorbed in your music and singing again in April. Good luck, Ciarán,
one wedding leads to another…
decided to drop the Christmas gigs..over the past few years I have had throat and lung problems at this particular time..the trauma of having to cancel shows when people have gone to so much trouble to attend..I find it more debilitating then the illness itself ….
Nancy Spain took hold of me the same way..I still remember Barney Rush singing it in The Royal Hotel, St.Helier 46 years ago. I was smitten instantly. Still am. Not everyone feels the same way about it but there is plenty of room aboard. Its one of a small number of songs that are almost omni present in the set.
Hope we all make it through to next April, back to Old Vicar Street one more time.
Dear Christy,flying to Liverpool tomorrow ,and see you Saturday!!Looking forard, first time ever to see you.I hear you daily because my husband Jasper plays your songs ,he builds his own guitars.I gave him this concert for his 50th birthday..He is a big fan…he makes also bracelets from old guitar strings..it would be such a present to him if he could have your old guitar strings …is this maybe possible ??Hope so ..much love Anja
Happy Birthday Jasper….hope you have a good visit to Liverpool..that you and Anja hear some favourite songs
I am looking forward to listen and see you playing in Liverpool on Saturday.
It is my first visit of one of your Gigs and I am very glad coming to Liverpool.
Since years I tried to visit your Gigs and now it’s coming true.
…welcome to this cabaret on Saturday night.
welcome aboard Alex…hope you have a good gig
We’re coming to see you in Buxton. Don’t forget your shovel if you want to go to work.
on the Stena..they confiscated my shovel…..Irish Ferries in future….better buzz
Christy
Hope you and your fellow travellers have a safe and successful trip across the Pond.See you by the Clyde??.
Ride on
Patsy
on the pond now, its smooth and calm, the sun is shining on Dublin bay…just contemplating what lies ahead..Buxton is a new venue, the rest are all old favourites….see you in The East End of Glasgow
Christy
I know it’s a ways off but I’m doing a trip over your way July 2016, are there any gigs in the wind for this time mate?
Thanks
Groover
Hey Groover..there will be gigs around that time..dont have details just now ..keep in touch..check gig page in the new year…..whallup
If anyone has 2 spare tickets for Barrowlands for sale for Friday October 30th I would be most grateful – Laurence Doherty
Hi Christy
Further to my earlier plea,I’m delighted to report that tickets became available for Buxton via unexpected generosity.Really looking forward to seeing you in such a terrific venue.
All the best .Happy travels and see you Friday!!
Dave
whallup Dave…see you up the hills