Music with Eddie Rowley

IT’S hard to believe that Christy Moore, one of Ireland’s most compelling and inspirational singers, has been touring for 50 years.

His latest album, On The Road, features 24 live favourites, from ‘Ordinary Man’ and ‘Ride On’ to ‘Lisdoonvarna’ and ‘Cliffs Of Dooneen’.

“I consider myself very fortunate to have new generations coming to hear the songs,” says Christy.

“Many of these listeners were not even born when I first began recording some of the tracks. It’s a great buzz for me to have such great listeners and to be still out here on the road. Many enquire about a collection of the most popular songs.”

On The Road, recorded in the last three years, is the answer to that question. “It features new versions of the most requested songs,” adds Christy. “They were recorded at 17 different venues in Ireland, England and Scotland.”

Talking about the song, ‘Joxer Goes To Stuttgart’, Christy says: “Has a goal ever been more celebrated than Ray Houghton’s? There are some who come to a gig mainly to hear this song.

“I wrote it very quickly on the way home from a gig in Kerry back in 1989. We took on a nail outside Portlaoise and the spare was also punctured. Without that nail, Joxer might never have gone to Stuttgart.” It was Christie Hennessy’s song, ‘Don’t Forget Your Shovel’, that gave Moore his big break as a solo artist. “Before recording it, I was a ballad singer working around the ballad lounges and folk clubs,” he says.

“I covered Christie’s song in 1983 after leaving Moving Hearts.”

Christy adds that it was Ronan Collins who helped make the song a hit by playing it for weeks on his radio show. He has gone through life hearing fans shout: “Don’t forget your shovel, Christy!”