Salut! Live

As I indicated when making him my Artist of the Week at Salut! Live's Facebook group on October 2 2024, his triumphant battle against addiction is some blessing; modest as it was, it would probably otherwise have been a posthumous award.

Although it would be a gross exaggeration to liken the old Christy to the character depicted in Black and Amber, written by Brian (invariably referred to by Moore as Briany) Brannigan of the Dublin band A Lazarus Soul, the song's portrait of a boozed-up bar room braggart clearly touched a nerve. The new Moore could not be more different, or more grateful for the transformation he found the mental strength to undergo. 

Another aspect of Christy Moore's mellowing has been a marked move away from supporting the "armed struggle", as Irish republicans call it, or IRA terrorism, as others see it. I have written about the evolution of his outlook following previous interviews and, with the help of a quote from Hot Press, in my chapter for a book called Reporting the Troubles 2.

A Terrible Beauty is the striking phrase W B Yeats used when revealing, in his poem Easter, 1916, sharply mixed emotions stirred by the Irish rebellion. A non-violent nationalist, the poet knew leaders of the rising who featured prominently in the Easter rising, some paying with their lives for their involvement. His horror at the British authorities' savage suppression of the revolt and execution of its leaders led him to foresee, with great perception, the future development of nationalist feeling:

Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born. 

Rejection of violence is not the same as acquiescence in injustice and there is ample evidence on this album—due for release on November 1—of Moore's attachment to causes.

Palestine, a song written by a Seattle singer and campaigner Jim Page, has none of the even-handedness about two wretchedly belligerent adversaries that I would have injected. As a firm advocate of a two-state solution, I take a plague-on-both-houses approach but it is important to realise that Page wrote his song long before either the October 7 massacre or Israel's retaliatory atrocities inflicting death and destruction on Gaza and Lebanon.  

Lyra McKee is, without equivocation, the product of a heart in the right place. McKee was a promising young Ulster journalist shot dead while covering rioting in Derry, with suspicion falling squarely on republican dissidents, in other words those opposed to the peace process. James Cramer's song bears no hint of sympathy for those responsible for her death. And there’s no surprise that Moore wanted to write a song about McKee; the lyrics sound as if he might have composed them, so effectively does he make them his own (see below: this article ends with a live version).  

Although Moore says the album named after a painting by Martin Gale, it is difficult to distance the title from Yeats’s lines. Never in a million years, let alone the 108 that have passed since Easter, 1916, would the poet have been other than contemptuous of whoever killed Lyra McKee and whatever weasel words might be used to rationalise her undeserved death.

A lot of thought has gone into the making of A Terrible Beauty. Mike Harding’s poem Sunflowers, warmly recited, provides an eloquent, defiant evocation of the tragedy of Ukraine, a woman handing Russian soldiers seeds of her country’s national flower wrapped with solemn accusing words about Putin’s Hitleresque disgusting aggression:

That came out of the East, unwelcome and unwanted,

Destroyers of beauty, carriers of madness,

Cursed for all eternity.

And there is more, words Moore has written, words by others, sometimes augmented by him. Cumann na Mná delivers a sharp riposte the the Sky broadcaster Rob Wotton for his aggressive interview with the Irish women's national team midfielder Chloe Mustaki after players celebrated a victory with a chant including the words "up the RA [IRA]". The sentiments are pure whataboutery but also much less a pro-IRA rant than a reminder of aspects of colonial history that deprive Britain of high moral ground.

Broomielaw is as a tribute to the Irish musician and academic Mick Moloney (once of the Johnstons), who died last year and who used to sing the song. The Boy in the Wild, recorded by Moore with his son Andy on backing vocals, was sent by a friend, singer-songwriter and collaborator Wally Page shortly before Page’s own death and summons for Moore memories of his father, who died when was 11. The Life and Soul recalls the heartbreaking fate of Ann Lovett, who crept away to give birth secretly and alone beside a grotto in rural Ireland, aged just 15, in 1984; mother and baby both died.

That’s quite enough mortality. The album may not be uniformly cheering but is full of interesting, often necessary insights, a forthright collection of songs that stand as a commendable addition to Moore’s extensive body of work. At this link you will find Christy Moore’s own track-by-track description.

We should all be glad that he did what was necessary in the 80s to make such a long, productive professional life such a realistic prospect .

                                                                                Album cover painting by Martin Gale

Now for those questions and answers. The questions were submitted on Oct 7, hence the exchange you see below:

Salut! Live (SL): Black and Amber is such a striking,  moving and - as you say - raw song. For those unfamiliar with it, could you give a synopsis?

Christy Moore (CM): Written by Briany Brannigan from Dublin band, A Lazarus Soul.  The song encapsulates present day feelings towards a life once led. Back in the day when various pubs in different places became homes away from home. Time and money wasted in dark soul less places while families went without.

SL: You say it is especially pertinent to you in evoking what you are grateful to have left behind decades ago. You’ve always been very open about discussing those days; do you look back on it exclusively with regret or also as some kind of rite of passage?

CM: Certain regrets for missed opportunities but I tend to dwell on the positive aspects of those far off years…the friendships encountered, the music heard, the clubs played.

SL: I’ve now listened to the full album and am as impressed as I expected to be. Jim Page’s Palestine was an interesting song choice. Writing this question on Oct 7, I cannot help wondering whether you see any hope that we’ll live to see a solution. Your thoughts?

CM: Avoiding the question on Oct 8th…it is 68 years this day since my father died….just around this time in 1956….he fills my thoughts this morning. Andy Moore 1915-1956

SL: The album title, A Terrible Beauty, feels made for Sunflowers, evoking the tragedy of Ukraine, but even more so Lyra McKee, which I’d love to see used for classroom discussion. You’re already performing it live. What feedback are you getting?

CM: Lyra McKee has been in the set this past year. It usually stills the night and has been well received….. I’ve only recited Sunflowers twice… first at a concert in aid of Red Cross in Ukraine and then again in the recording studio. I've not yet found a setting for it. My gigs are all solo these times.

SL: We’re both of a certain age: each time I have an article published I wonder if it will be the last anyone will ever want. Is it the same for you as a singer or do you feel you have plenty more to offer?

CM: I hope to turn 80 next May. My current work is being very well received. I hope to continue for as long as the voice holds up, for as long as I can carry it. Since Covid I have gained new generations of listeners. During lockdown I put out eight concerts from the workroom here, my son and I on a smartphone. It caught about 2 million listens - new listeners perhaps.

SL:  At my folk music website salutlive.com, I recently named you as Artist of the Week at our Facebook group. Although that’s a modest enough accolade, is recognition important to you?

CM: Songs need singers, singers need listeners, listeners need songs,…..you have always been a good listener Colin, your feedback has always been appreciated, your criticisms too ( 1980s !!)*.

SL: Lots of artists, politicians, sports stars have a huge social media presence but show no interest in engaging with those who respond. You are incredibly rare in that you reply to people who post messages at your own website. Is it more a pleasure than a duty?

CM: I thoroughly enjoy the conversations that take place on my website. It has developed into a small community, certainly more a pleasure then a duty. It;s a relatively modest affair which I cherish and enjoy.

SL: Is there any artist or band you are listening to just now?

CM: Spent two hours last night listening to Rick Beato’s interview with  Rick Rubin [US record producer]. I rehearse for hours most days. I prepare carefully for every gig. This year  I average one gig a week. After that I dont listen to lots of music… talk radio, podcasts, Nic Jones, The Watersons, Chris Wood, Liam O’Flynn, Sean Keane, Patsy Cline.

SL: When you get an encore, you go home feeling like a king. But how you do you find the energy for such a demanding project as the 12 forthcoming Vicar St gigs in Dublin?

CM: Those 12 gigs are over 12 weeks. After each performance I go home and spend a week preparing for the next one. I once played 67 nights in a row back in 1969. Redcar, M'boro, Prudhoe, Alnwick, Darlington, Leeds, Halifax, Bradford, Sheffield, Doncaster (with Capstick!!), Hull, Beverly, Scunthorpe, Grimsby. What a privileged life I've had.

SL: It would take a fervent optimist to say the world had become a safer place - environmentally, or otherwise  - since Clock Winds Down on the last album.  Can you identify a single achievable goal that might make us feel less gloomy ?

CM: Third time lucky with the Donald 

SL: All Christy Moore fans have their favourites. . Joxer Goes to Stuttgart and Viva la Quinta Brigada - especially the live Glasgow Barrowland versions - are among mine. Do you have your own?

CM: Gortatagort, Beeswing, Lord Baker, Morecambe Bay, Lemon Sevens, John O’ Dreams, Dalesman’s Litany, Hattie Carroll, Good Ship Granma, No Time for Love, Come All You Dreamers.

SL: Finally, football. Has your soft spot for Leeds survived their decline from the lofty heights of the early 70s?

CM: I clearly recall all the grounds I visited during my six years “over”... from First to Fourth Division I visited any ground that coincided with with a Saturday night gig: Gigg Lane, Old Trafford, Maine Rd, Bramall Lane, The Shay, Roker. Leeds was  a favourite spot when Giles and Bremner were tearing around, Jinky Johnson at Parkhead, Tony Hateley at Anfield, Jimmy Conway at Craven Cottage.

Credit: Ellius Grace

* I was hoping to link from this item to a full-page feature in a major national newspaper but was informed Christy would do only a Q&A by email, fine for a website like this but unsuited to such an article. That is a shame. I have interviewed him four times or more over the years and he has never quarrelled with me on accuracy. One of our conversations even led to a reference in his autobiography, One Voice, published in 2008.

** A Terrible Beauty, released by Claddagh on Nov 1,  can be ordered at this link