MUSIC: Legendary Irish group to play Liverpool Philharmonic

Feb 22 2008 by Lew Baxter, Liverpool Daily Post

Lew Baxter talks to members of Clannad, one of Ireland’s legendary folk groups

THE flippancy will probably be dismissed as impertinent sophistry by his publicists and pals, but the “entertainer” and bombastic pursuer of worthy causes Bono is rather prone to “over- egging” his eulogies, so his portrayal of the sound delivered by fellow Irish troubadours Clannad as akin to that of angels singing could prompt a whiff of parody from those less exalted.

Certainly the haunting, almost spiritual, nature of the music delivered by this largely close-knit family unit, who all hail from the wee parish of Gweedore, in Donegal, Ireland, has earned them a worldwide following and a clutch of awards.

These include an Ivor Novello and a BAFTA for their Legend album, which was the soundtrack for the television series Robin of Sherwood, and followed their hit Theme From Harry’s Game, the backdrop to the unsettling trio of television dramas of the same name about the “troubles” in Northern Ireland.

But, steady on Bono, old son, angels is pushing it a bit, despite the whispery, ghost-like vocals of lead singer Moya Brennan, which sent Americans in particular into a reverie when the Harry’s Game theme was featured in the no-nonsense film, Patriot Games, starring Harrison Ford.

The original line-up that enchanted audiences, featuring complicated harmonies with a mesmerising blend of joyous celebration and melancholic arrangements took in Moya, who then used the Irish spelling of her name Maire, with brothers Ciaran and Paul as well as uncles Noel and Padraig Duggan.

Later, the younger sister Enya, known then as Eithne, briefly joined them before heading off to become arguably Ireland’s best-selling solo artist, chased for popularity by maybe only Sinead O’Connor, although displaying perhaps fewer of the furies that drive the latter.

The twin brothers Duggan had joined the siblings, who had sung and played in their father Leo’s bar since they were knee high to hamsters, just before they won a talent contest in the nearby town of Letterkenny in 1970; a victory that pushed them into a much wider arena than the small, if passionate, communities of rural Ireland, and led to their first album three years later.

They went on to stamp their mark both as members of Clannad and individually for close on 30 years until they went their separate ways towards the end of the 1990s. Moya formed her own band and carved a hefty reputation, while Noel set up the traditionally reflective Norland Wind combo in Germany. Now, to the delight of fans, Clannad has bonded again and is engaged in the first UK tour in a decade.

As he gets hyped up for the rehearsals prior to the first date in Gateshead on March 2nd – with the final concert at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall two weeks later – Noel Duggan relates how, when they got together a while back, in appropriately Letterkenny, the reaction sparked thoughts of making it a regular habit.

“Then we did the Celtic Connections in Glasgow last year and the buzz was incredible,” he says, explaining that Moya – his sister’s daughter – is taking a break from her own band to help promote the revival of Clannad.

“And I’m stepping back from Norland Wind for a period, although they are actually booked to appear at the Irish Club in Liverpool some time in August,” comments singer guitarist Noel, who with his brother was raised – like the rest of the family – on music and song since childhood in the mostly Irish-speaking village.

“Sure enough, it’s in the blood and we are hoping to put together a new album for later this year,” said Noel, who has also been writing a book about the band which he hopes will be ready for the tour.

This will be, one presumes, a populist tome, featuring many photographs and anecdotes tracing the band’s history back to its formation, unlike Moya’s own “autobiography” – The Other Side of the Rainbow – which apart from telling the story of her talented family’s rise to celebrity status, revealed how the excesses of that success caused her much heartache and pain, resulting, as she confessed, in a “loss of self-esteem”.

Some 15 years back, they had consolidated their hold on a section of American society – and other parts of the world – in thrall to all things Irish when, in 1992, they provided the soundtrack for the Last of the Mohicans movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis.

At regular intervals, those in the mainstream music industry will waffle on about the “trail-blazing” efforts of traditional singers and instrumentalists and how there is a “new” upsurge of interest in the Celtic and Gaelic zeitgeist, referring to the considerable talents of fiddle players, pipers, flautists and that ilk.

Paradoxically, considering their heritage, Clannad – while hewn from the same clay – were never really lined up with the more feral interpreters of the traditional muse, like The Bothy Band, Altan or Planxty and latterly Dervish or Solas, the young Irish-related fast-paced buckaroos from Canada.

Theirs was, and remains, a more considered and cerebral approach to ancient sounds and languages – much like Scotland’s Capercaille – as though emanating not from the flesh and blood of mortals but more, if you’ll pardon the pomposity, the spirits of land and sea.

In 1985, they did kind of set the heather ablaze with the astonishing Macalla album that wove more electronic bits into the arrangements and which actually featured Bono teaming up with Moya for the duet In A Lifetime, which as you might expect when released as a single bounced into the charts, not once but twice – in 1986 and 1989.

It was the first of numerous collaborations, another being with Paul Young on Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.

“It is a grand, nostalgic journey for us and I think the time is perfect, and we feel right about it,” adds Noel, although he does confide that Paul Brennan hasn’t signed up for the whole package; maybe just for the mid-tour gig at the legendary London Palladium.

* CLANNAD play the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Friday, March 14.