Gordon Barry Singer/songwriter
AWARD-WINNING singer-songwriter Gordon Barry has much cause for celebration at the end of 2017, a year he says he will ‘remember fondly’.
In May, Gordon joined the ranks of musicians like Gotye, Passenger and Gregory Porter when he won the International Song Competition in Nashville for his single, ‘ The Devil & St Jesus’. The competition was judged by Tom Waits, the late Chris Cornell, Lorde, Rickie Lee Jones, Donovan and others.
Gordon remarked: ‘It’s such a well-known and esteemed competition all over the world - it opens doors that would not have been open before and also puts you in good company with the previous winners.’
The winning song had actually been written seven years earlier, on Wexford Quay on Christmas Day while the dinner was cooking!
‘It’s funny the trajectory of things - to think you write something out walking and seven years later you are chosen from over 22,000 people worldwide as a winner. It was a little bittersweet too because the day I got word of the win was also the day Chris Cornell died - he was one of the judging panel but also one of my songwriting heroes growing up. I studied his lyrics when starting out myself so that was strange in a way and sadly ironic.
‘Nevertheless, the thought of him reading over my words brings a smile to my face.’
Turning his thoughts to 2018, a new single is on the horizon. Gordon plans to release and promote the recently recorded single before hopefully moving on to record album number two as soon as possible: ‘All of the songs are already written so the hardest part is done.’
He added: ‘Other resolutions will be the usual ones - turn into the fittest man on earth, run ultra marathons, climb mountains, create the next great invention and stop being a grump - none of which will get any further than January but I’ll have fun telling everybody again!’
‘But seriously, all you can really hope for is that you and your family and friends keep good health and anything after that is a bonus. Happy New Year.’