The CLUAS Archive: 1998 - 2011

03

Ireland's Greatest Living Musician

Steven O'Rourke posted on July 03, 2007 12:23
As part of the annual People of The Year Awards, the 2007 edition will see a special award being presented to Ireland’s Greatest Living Musician. The 15 most popular nominees, chosen by the general public, will be whittled down to one by a “top class adjudication panel.”
 
The People of The Year Awards website gives some indication as to what genres they think most people will look to when casting their vote. Amongst the names mentioned are Phil Coulter, Enya, Paul Brady and Ronan Keating, all, well, nearly all, fine musicians in their own right, and all appealing to a very particular demographic, “The Mammy”, or “Female 35-50” as I’m sure she’s known to the marketing department of the awards sponsors. 
 
Of course, the names above are also mentioned as they are almost guaranteed to get that particular demographic voting. I don’t see names like Richie Egan (Redneck Manifesto, Jape), Ollie Cole (ex TURN) or Kryz Reid (Fairuza), for all their musical ability, inspiring the same response. Other contenders deserving consideration, though equally unlikely to get a look in include Dave Geraghty (BellX1, The Rotators), Shane McGowan (depending on your definition of “Living”) and purveyor of all that is good about Irish music at the moment Duke Special.
 
It is with regret that I must exclude Van Morrison from the running for inflicting Brian Kennedy upon us.   Likewise, Sinead O’Connor lost her shot at it the first time she heard John Peel play Horace Andy. Therefore, my choice for Ireland’s Greatest Living Musician is Neil Hannon, and not just because he penned “My Lovely Horse”. 
 
Starting with 1990’s “Fanfare for the Comic Muse” Hannon, who essentially is The Divine Comedy, has produced a vast collection of work that circumvents the law of diminishing returns (something Ryan Adams should take note of). In February 2007 Hannon was awarded the Choice Music Prize for “Victory for the Comic Muse”, The Divine Comedy’s ninth studio offering, perhaps more in recognition of an outstanding career than that particular album.
 
However, I have feeling that Neil Hannon won't win.  One can only hope, therefore, that the voting for this award helps to raise a lot of funds and awareness for a worthwhile cause, to make up for what is sure to be a decision based more on popularity and the cult of personality than on musical ability.  Yes, I believe Bono will win.

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2001 - Early career profile of Damien Rice, written by Sinead Ward. This insightful profile was written before Damien broke internationally with the release of his debut album 'O'. This profile continues to attract hundreds of visits every month, it being linked to from Damien Rice's Wikipedia page.