1. This Is It (Your Soul) 3:53
2. One Tongue 4:29
3. An Emotional Time 4:27
4. Be Good 3:52
5. Good For You 4:04
6. Isn’t It Amazing 5:48
7. Thing Of Beauty 5:26
8. Your Nature 5:07
9. Spirit Of The Land 4:18
10. Gypsy Fair 3:47
11. Stand Beside Me 6:35
All songs written by Hothouse Flowers except tracks 1 & 3 – Hothouse Flowers/Dave Stewart. Track 10 written by Ó Maonlaí /O’Toole/O’Braonain/Jennings.
THE LADS AND WHAT THEY PLAYED
Liam Ó Maonlaí – Lead and backing vocals, Piano, Hammond Organ, Wurlitzer, Low Whistle, Bodhran, Yodaki (Didjeridoo) Fiachna Ó Braonáin – Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Bouzouki, Backing Vocals Peter O’Toole – Bass Guitar, Bouzouki, Backing Vocals Leo Barnes – Saxophones, Hammond Organ, Backing Vocals, Wurlitzer Jerry Fehily – Drums
Produced by Stewart Levine Recording & Mix engineer Daren Klein Dempsey – Cover Design Mark Farrell – Studio Personnel Mark Irwin – Studio Personnel Daren Klein – Engineer, Mixing Darren Kline – Engineer, Mixing Stewart Levine – Producer Dan McLoughlin – Studio Personnel Lewis Mulatero – Photography Marnie Riley – Assistant Engineer Matt Snowball – Studio Personnel Todd Vos – Studio Personnel John Yates – Assistant Engineer
– – – – –
Once again when we came off the road we went into The Factory for a period of time. Soundcheck tapes were listened to and any hint of an idea was worked on. At this stage the idea of co-writing came up.
Liam, Peter and Fiachna went to Los Angeles to meet possible producers and to write with a man called Will Jennings.Will already had a long list of hits including the award winning ‘You Lift Me Up We Where We Belong’, ‘Streetlight’ and ‘You Might Need Somebody’. The man surprised us. A Texan with a real love for good coffee, W.B Yeats, rebel yell and, of course, music. He told stories that made us laugh, sang songs that made us cry and brought out a side of us that was suppressed. A new way of writing and we wrote ‘Gypsy Fair’ with Will. Also he played us demos he had done with Roy Orbison just before he died.
Will suggested we meet Stuart Levine while we were in L.A. Stuart produced most of Simply Red’s stuff as well as The Commodores, Lional Richie, Hugh Masacala and more. He listened to our stuff with great enthusiasm and had some very positive energy that felt fresh. Maybe it was the jive talk which he is famous for. So we went home feeling good with new songs, a possible producer and a new lease of life. Co-write number two was with Dave Stewart. He came over to Dublin with a riff in his head. Started playing it and suddenly ‘Your Soul’ was on the go. He is forever being creative – be it music, photography or practical jokes. A fun person. ‘An Emotional Time’ and one other song were composed.
So eventually we split the recording into two sessions, taking a break for some other committee to approve or not. To get the ball rolling we set off to London to Air Studios’ top floor which overlooked Oxford Street. Here we set up with Stuart Levine who grooved in the playing room with us. We spent most of four weeks here, away from the hustle of the street below, a much more relaxed session compared with our first visit years beforehand while working on ‘People’. Next stop was upstate New York. Woodstock to be precise. Here we lived in a five-bedroom bungalow just outside of Woodstock. The studio was called Dreamland and was a renovated church with stained glass windows presence and had loads of great instruments to inspire. But in after thought I feel we were only going through the motions. Getting as good a job done in the time we were there. Tiredness and frustration hovered. Loneliness and yearning. Thank God for the Tinker Street Cafe in Woodstock town. We used to go there after a day’s work, have a few drinks and get up and play some songs.
Here we met Hugh Masacala who came to blow on ‘One Tongue’. Eventually, it was mixed and we moved on across the globe again singing our songs until one day the stop sign went up and we were able to walk by ourselves for a while….
– – – – –
COMMENTS
See also the story behind ‘This Is It (Your Soul) here.
1. Hardstone City 3:45
2. Give It Up 3:30
3. Christchurch Bells 3:54
4. Sweet Marie 6:06
5. Giving It All Away 3:49
6. Shut Up And Listen 4:04
7. I Can See Clearly Now 4:52
8. Movies 4:38
9. Eyes Wide Open 3:15
10. Water 4:09
11. Home 4:27
12. Trying To Get Through* 4:23
13. Dance To The Storm* 4:10
14. Seoladh na nGamhna 0:40
* only available on CD version.
All titles composed by Hothouse Flowers except 7. Johnny Nash and 14. Trad.
Hothouse Flowers
Liam Ó Maonlaí – Vocals Piano, Hammond Organ, Bodhran Fiachna Ó Braonáin – Guitar – Electric, Acoustic. Bass Guitar in ‘Shut Up And Listen’, Vocals Peter O’Toole – Vocals, Bass, Bass Guitar, Bouzouki, Mandolin Leo Barnes – Seimer Saxophones, Paris. Hammond Organ, Organ, Vocals Jerry Fehily – Pearl Drums and Zildjian Cymbals, Percussion, Vocals
Additional musicians
Noel Eccles – Percussion Claudia Fontaine – Background Vocals Luis Jardim – Percussion Carol Kenyon – Background Vocals Andy Darker – Viola Aisling Drury -Byrne – Cello Wilfred Gibson – Violin Garfield Jackson – Viola Nawalifh Ali Khan – Fiddle Daniel Lanois – Dobro, Producer Martin Loveday – Cello Steve Nieve – Hammond Organ, Organ, Piano, Arranger, String Arrangements Andrew Parker – Viola Andy Parker – Viola Steve Wickham – Fiddle Gavyn Wright – Violin
Robbie Adams – Assistant, Assistant Engineer, Mixing Paul Barrett – Engineer, Producer Ian Bryan – Engineer Malcolm Burn – Engineer Ciaran Byrne – Assistant Engineer Stewart Day – Assistant, Assistant Engineer Geoff Foster – Mixing, Mixing assistant Gary Langan – Mixing, Producer Clive Langer – Mixing, Producer Steve Lipson – Mixing, Producer Willie Mannion – Assistant, Assistant Producer Patrick McCarthy – Engineer Shane McCarthy – Photography Heff Moraes – Engineer, Mixing Paul Mortimer – Mixing assistant Peter Mountain – Photography Paul Nickson – Assistant, Assistant Engineer Steve Orchard – Assistant, Assistant Producer Ren Swan – Assistant, Assistant Engineer Norman Verso – Producer Alan Winstanley – Engineer, Producer Donovan Wylie – Photography Paul Young – Engineer Tim Young – Mastering
– – – – –
We toured non-stop for the next year and a half. During every sound check we could groove till we got tired. The tape machine was always recording. It had to be. We had a lot of wild music happening and not enough memory power to store it mentally. Soon it was time to think of our next recording adventure.
We spent some time at home eventually, but it was mainly spent in a new rehearsal complex in Dublin called The Factory. We worked on songs and jammed on a daily basis for quite a while – it must have cost a fortune and we wanted to work with Clive Langer who produced our first record but to try a different engineer. Pat Mc Carthy had been around Dublin working with The Waterboys in Windmill Lane where Peter and Liam spent a magical night jamming alone under the invitation of Mike Scott. Pat was quick in the studio capturing the moment with ease. We hired a house in Borris, Co. Carlow, and brought a mobile studio along. It was a very large house with a few hundred acres of forest and farming land. We ate too much, drank way too much, but in our madness we decided to balance all the opulence with an early morning jog every day. Some were better than others at this.
Some took it seriously while others didn’t do it at all. We all grew beards, played some hurling and recorded six songs of which two made the album. The sound in the house was brilliant. The two songs were ‘Water’ and ‘Eyes Wide Open’. The committee wanted more variation. We went touring around the States where we met Don Gainman who had produced ‘Lonesome Jubilee’ for John Cougar Mellencamp. It was a good day. We wrote a song called ‘If I Could Fly Away’. We also did some demos with our live engineer, Norman Verso, in New Orleans. Two songs from this session ‘Hardstone City’ and ‘Giving It All Away’ are on the album. While in New Orleans we got an invitation to Kingsway Studios which is owned by Daniel Lanois, the producer and musician. He was in the middle of recording with Bob Dylan but on a day off. So here’s a studio full of instruments set up for live recording and oozing with character. We got the nod. Liam sat at the piano. Peter picked up the nearest guitar. Fiachna played bass. Gerry played drums, Leo played Hammond and Daniel played the dobro while Malcolm engineered ‘Shut Up And Listen’. We’re even forming sub committees within the band now. As expected, we didn’t produce much from this session except a lesson in what it is to communicate.
It was back home to Dublin. Temple Bar in Dublin used to be an artist’s playground. To this day, painters work from their studios upstairs overlooking Temple Bar Square and the River Liffey. These buildings have now been rebuilt with bigger windows and cleaner interiors with more heating for the winter. Years ago you couldn’t walk around Temple Bar without being treated to some up and coming new bands latest songs, blasting from the collection of cheap rehearsal rooms scattered around the area. Like most European cities, Dublin has been redeveloped and cheap rehearsal rooms soon became valuable property on the market and had to close down. One such place was STS Studios which was above Claddagh Records in Temple Bar. A feast of artists recorded here including us. Paul Barrett was co-owner who also played and produced. We knew Paul and it didn’t take long before a working relationship was formed.
With Ian Bryan engineering we started arranging some songs and here we recorded ‘Christchurch Bells’, ‘Home’ and ‘Trying To Get Through’ for the album. We did another brief session with Clive and Alan recording ‘Movies’ and ‘Give It Up’ in Westside Studios, London. So what did we have? Lots of tracks recorded at various times in various studios with various producers and engineers. We needed a common thread to tie it all together. We brought in Gary Langan who was a mixing engineer. We spent about 10 days in Metropolis Studios in London with Gary and Paul Barrett. The album was number two in Australia, and did really well in Britain and all over the globe.
– – – – –
COMMENTS
‘Home’ was released during the summer of 1990, did well in the UK and went to No. 2 in Australia. The band recorded and wrote all over the world; Dublin, Carlow, New Orleans and London.
HARDSTONE CITY
This song was written well before the recording sessions took place for the album. From the sleeve notes it ‘was written a long time ago’.
GIVE IT UP
Recorded in Westside Studios, London with Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. Released as a single in May, 1990, ‘Give It Up’ reached No. 30 in the UK charts. CHRISTCHURCH BELLS
This song was recorded in STS Studios, above Claddagh records in Temple Bar with Ian Bryan as the engineer. This was the opener on all the UK Tour shows of 2002. Halfway through the tour the band decided to play the first verse with just Liam playing the song on acoustic guitar.
SWEET MARIE
LIAM:When that song came up I could almost see the mood that was in it. I’d gone beyond all that sadness and pain anyway. So I was filled with this tremendous melancholy. Real happy-sad. That’s a precious feeling. It’s a moments like that when I feel like performing or writing the most. (Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
PETER: ‘Sweet Marie’ is a favourite. It feels great when we sing the chorus together. (Speaking to HFLIVE in 2002).
SHUT UP AND LISTEN
LIAM: We wrote and recorded ‘Shut Up And Listen’ in just one afternoon when we went to visit Daniel Lanois in New Orleans. It was great, we were there and we just started playing, we finished the whole thing in a couple of hours – a sort of back to basics approach.
I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW
On the live stage, the song runs on and on and incorporates all sorts of endings – Elvis’ ‘Mystery Train’ and Harry Thacker Burleigh’ gospel song ‘Motherless Child’, for example. This song was originally recorded by Jimmy Cliff and written by Johnny Nash. (It seems Jimmy’s music obviously is well respected – Madness covered Jimmy’s ‘The Harder They Come’.) Incidentally, Neil Finn has recorded a version of this song for the ‘Antz’ movie soundtrack. Released as a single in July, 1990, ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ reached No.23 in the UK charts and stayed in the charts for four weeks.
EYES WIDE OPEN
MATT: (Question via email) Is ‘Eyes Wide Open’ about Mother Teresa?
LIAM: She’s in there. And Pamela Anderson! Actually, Halle Berry! (Liam answering questions to HFLIVE in 2002.)
WATER
FIACHNA: When we were in Borris, an Australian didgeridoo player called Philip Pike, happened to be in town and Clive Langer, our producer had an Indian fiddle player over, so they both came along and joined in on that track.
HOME
PETER: Well, we liked the idea. It’s simple, and we like the word, and the place.
SEOLADH NA NGAMHNA
FIACHNA: Seoladh na nGamhna. It means ‘The Herding of the Calves. It’s a love song, although the fact that it’s called ‘The Herding of the Calves’ may sound a bit unromantic.
This song tells exactly how, when I was, while I was
Sitting back on my deep pile reclining chair
Thinking about my life and all the good things that happened
Well it just came to mind to me that
Yeah came to mind to me that
I ain’t been treatin her too bad…too well too well
No I been pushin’ her ’round
And you know
There comes a time in every mans life when he’s got to
Look over his misdemeanours, misgivings, misfortunes and
Miss Whatever her name is ha ha
I’m sorry I’m sorry
Yeah and say you’re sorry, so I say, I’m sorry
‘Cos I been telling you lies, standing on your face
I been making you cry all over the place Lord
I should have known (known) should’ve known better
Well I could not phone (phone) but I could
I’m sorry
You know I’m crazy sorry sorry sorry baby
I think it’s time I realised get down on my knees
And apologise
Oh Lord
I didn’t know when I hurt you
I didn’t know when you cried
I didn’t know when you screamed Lord
I didn’t know when you stopped to cry
I didn’t know when you called
I didn’t know when you hurt
I didn’t know sweet Mama
I didn’t know I should
I am
Liam Ó Maonlaí – Vocals, Bodhran, Hammond Organ, Harmonica, Marimbas,
Piano, Vibraphone Fiachna Ó Braonáin – Background Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Sitar Peter O’Toole – Background Vocals, Bass Guitar, Bouzouki, Electric Guitar, Mandolin Leo Barnes – Background Vocals, Saxophone Jerry Fehily – Drums, Percussion
Additional musicians Claudia Fontaine – Background Vocals Jimmy Helms – Background Vocals Jimmy Chambers – Background Vocals Luis Jardim – Percussion Gary Barnacle – Brass John Thirkell – Brass Peter Thoms – Brass Lovely Previn – Fiddle
Producer and engineered by Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer.
Photography by Amelia Stein.
Design by Steve Averill.
– – – – –
Blackrock, Co. Dublin.
Engineer Chris O’Brien set up a small but funky recording set up in the front
room of the house and recorded a few songs namely ‘Fatman’, ‘My Baby’s Coming
Home’ and ‘Show Me’. This was all around the time of the Magic Carpet gigs.
Then through a man called Lorcain Ennis we did some demos in Strand Studios
off Caple Street in Dublin. Leo Barnes was invited to play some sax on a song
called ‘Out Walking’ which literally blew us all away. This is where the first
demo of ‘Love Don’t Work This Way’ was recorded.
A tall man with U2 connections called in one evening and picked up a copy of
the tape and pretty soon the phone was ringing wanting a meeting with the band.
In the mean time, gigs were happening in places like the Colony Restaurant,
Timmerman’s, The Chicken Club at the Pembroke Bar, various gigs in Trinity and
U.C.D and of course in the Risk night-club. It was in the Risk night-club that
the famous friends started coming to see us. It was here that we hit something
musically, that was to send out waves around the globe.
U2 at this stage had set up a record label to help Irish artists. We were offered
a one single deal for the song ‘Love Don’t Work This Way’ which we recorded
in Windmill, with Flood as an engineer/producer. It was really a tiring day
but a very professional experience, which felt like a stepping stone for all
of us. The record got great airplay and reviews and it was important to have
such a recording to send to various record companies whom were intrigued by
the band’s sound. Finally, after touring for a while and rehearsing a lot, we
went over for a meal organised by London Records. This was a strange event at
the time. Almost like being courted, where the other person is eager to impress.
Anyway, we ate a lot and drank too much and made no promises to anybody. Eventually,
the paperwork was right and we signed
our first recording contract with London Records.
So many names were put forward to work with that we were dreaming names at
the end. They were stressful days where it was hard to know where it was all
going. Eventually we played with U2 in Dublin sometime between late ’87 and
early ’88. Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley came to see us. What we liked was
their versatility; they had worked with (Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Madness, and
David Bowie) to name a few. We did a good week of rehearsals and reshaping and
we then went to London to record. It was put together in
Westside Studios near Notting Hill Gate and we did some overdubbing in Townhouse,
in Battersea (once owned by Pete Townsend). We felt good in Townhouse with their
selections of pianos/organs/ercussions/vibes/marimbas, etc. It was a very soulful
session meeting the various people involved like the Jimmy’s (Helms/Chambers)
who did some backing vocals, Luis Jardin with his big fat cigars who played
percussion and Claudia Fontaine who’s voice changed the shape of the album so
wonderfully. We ate a lot of Indian food and drank a lot of beer, wine and whiskey.
There was a lot of coming and going on behind the scenes with a whole sub committee
making the album, too. I remember Clive was on the phone a lot. We eventually
mixed in Westside, we had the company of people in Archies bar, while Alan Winstanley
did the mixing on the album which came to be called ‘People’.
1988’s ‘People’, was the most successful debut in Irish history. Even before
the release of ‘People’, expectations were high. Rolling Stone magazine said
they were the ‘best unsigned band in the world’. The album’s original sleeve
is shown above – now a collector’s items. CD’s were starting to hit the market
and subsequently, to get the market going for CD’s rather than lovely old crackly
vinyl, extra songs tended to be added to the CD that weren’t on the vinyl version.
‘Lonely Lane’ and ‘Saved’ being the bonus tracks for ‘People’. (The Limited
Edition Import listed below with a different catalogue number is no different
to the normal CD). After it was released the band were said to be the next U2
– which was highly unfair to both Hothouse Flowers and U2. They were, after
this release, probably as big, if not bigger than U2. The album reached Number
2 in the UK chart and Number 1 in Ireland.
PETER: People forget that there’s plenty of room for U2 and
us. They assume neither of us can stand each other and that we live in this
huge shadow but it’s nothing like that. (Speaking in 1988).
I’M SORRY
( The song was released as a single.)
LIAM: Things out there
are very hard to understand. I find it hard to give my understanding to what
is going on in the world. I’m trying to do that through the songs. Putting my
finger out. Trying to make contact. Let some people know that somebody wants
to understand. Saying sorry is a hard thing for some people to do. It’s a human
frailty. Not being able to do it. Surrender? Yeah, it’s like that. Especially
to say sorry when it would be easier not to. (Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
LIAM: ‘I’m Sorry’ isn’t too personal.
It’s meant to be taken at face value. It can be about anything. It’s up to the
listener. (Speaking in 1989).
DON’T GO
(There was once a time, believe it or not , when they didn’t play it! The video
is slightly different as there is no mandolin in the intro, a count in on the
drumsticks by Jerry and a shorter run by Leo on sax before the last verse. The
song was released as a single.)
LIAM: I like the idea that somebody could take ‘Don’t Go’ as a straight love plea. The night before last, I looked out into the audience and saw this couple. There was something in the way they were looking at one another which told me they were thinking of splitting but when the chorus came in, they both started smiling. Quite a story. The song could be for anyone. Parents, exiles, sons and daughters. For me, it’s a very personal thing, the death of my friend, Eamon. The day he died. A beautiful spring day, otherwise. A slow death. One year long. So much pain for the people around him. It’s not a difficult song for me to sing though. It’s a rejoicing song, in spite of everything. Just like ‘If You Go’ which is about the same thing, written in the same mood and the same day. ‘Don’t Go’ is here and now. Immediate. I like to think the present being more important than the past or the future. More important than looking forward to things. Most people waste too much time looking ahead or looking back. Living in the moment can be too difficult, too painful. It has to be learned continually. (Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
LIAM: That song was written about
a friend of mine who was in a motor bike accident. And he was in a coma for
about a year and one day I was inspired to write this song for him because it
was one of those beautiful days and the sky was so blue and so I thought to
myself, “Please don’t go.” It was my personal plea to him because
I realised how precious life was and how beautiful it could be. I didn’t want
him to die. (Speaking to Beat magazine in 1989).
FORGIVEN
LIAM: The light, I suppose, is whatever
anyone believes to be God. Whatever anyone believes to be God. Whatever anyone
believes to be the light. It could be love. It could be some kind of escape.
I had to leave that line open. To me, it is God and salvation. God is there…
it is nothing to be fathomed. Nothing I could fathom. I could find no justice
in saying who or what it is. It might become clearer to me. There will always
be ups and downs. Even the most pious and the most wise will have their confused
moments. There are wise people who become children again, going back to enjoy
the wonder once more. Knowing how to remain a child is a wise thing in itself.
(Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
IT’LL BE EASIER IN THE MORNING
(This version starts with a verse – but later versions on the ‘Home’ tour started
with a chorus. The song was released as a single.)
LIAM: An obvious song. Sleep
is an amazing thing. The idea that you will wake up and things will be different.
Sometimes, they might be worse. Looking to a new day. Offering words as a kind
of solace. That’s all. The best songs are the ones an audience can empathise
with. I think we want to offer something. But that’s not all. A song’s objective
is also to stir something in a listener. Perhaps to bring some kind of relief.
People have come up to me and said they needed this song. That’s the
best kind of flattery. (Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
LIAM: Well, actually, ‘It’ll
Be Easier In The Morning’ is about when I was younger. You see, when I was younger
I used to have trouble sleeping. But, I learned from this experience, that if
anything gets you down never lose sleep over it. There’s always a new day.
LIAM: We made ‘Don’t Go’, and somebody said, ‘We really like
that; would you like to be played on The Eurovision? We’d make a video for you.’
And we thought, ‘Yeah, Planxty had done it, so it’s not a sick thing to do.
They’ve done it well, it’s a cultural event. It mightn’t be everybody’s cup
of tea, but it’s an opportunity to do some good art.’ So, we did it. We spent
a really hard-working two weeks travelling all over Europe, places we’d never,
ever been before. We were playing on the streets, doing gigs, and it became
almost all of the time. It was very heavy on us, but of course, the results
were immediate attention from all the world. We were in America in no time.
We were all over Europe in no time, we were on ‘Top of the Pops,’ we were on
telly.
HALLELUJAH JORDAN
This song has been a mainstay of the set since its beginnings. It gives the
opportunity for Liam to stretch his fingers on an acoustic guitar. During the
intro, when they supported INXS at Wembley Stadium in 1991, he said it was for
an old man he saw sleeping at the bus station he saw last night. The song has
gone through some changes from the original. On the LIVE
album, the song has altered to a more funk feel with a muted guitar constantly
holding the rhythm. Each line has a longer separation, too.
LIAM: He’s hoping to be saved every night
when he goes there. I was thinking a little of all those characters you see
in the corners of Irish pubs. A lot of people who would devote their lives to
the bottle would once have devoted their lives to something else. Somebody
else. It’s a long road from there. It’s quite a nice side-step from life though.
Something to revolve your life around if you can no longer handle revolving
around it, around a woman or a god. (Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
IF YOU GO
Trivial Fact: Fiachna breaks a string
during the live performance of this song on the video ‘Take A Last Look At The
Sun’ and still plays on…
LIAM: The desire to reach the other side. There’s an ambiguity about
it. Like ‘Don’t Go’, it can be taken as a love song, though it’s another song
about Eamon passing away. I’m not sure if I know what Heaven really is. It might
depend on my mood on the day. Sometimes I feel more… um, enlightened. Sometimes
Heaven might be a place on Earth. A new life. The promise of something new.
A possible Heaven. A Heaven where there are no bodies so man and woman, man
and man, are the same, almost merging their souls. (Speaking to Melody Maker
in 1988).
LIAM: It’s a last farewell – ‘if you go, I hope you get there, if you
get there, I hope you like it’ – kinda like a hail and farewell to someone who’s
going for the last time. By the same token it’s saying ‘don’t go easy -fight!’
People connect with that and take from it what they want. The feel of the song
is greater than the words sung. (Speaking to New Musical Express in 1988).
THE OLDER WE GET
LIAM: It’s like walking. The way it moves. Like the sea too, perhaps.
When I sing, ‘like a child touching age’, it’s a child touching adolescence.
Finding the first moments of adolescent knowledge. Thinking it’s going to be
easy now you’ve grown up. That’s my own experience. Then we’re proven wrong.
You can’t predict things. You can choose what colour slippers you’re going to
wear, but you can’t know when somebody is going to walk out of your life. You
just assume that they won’t. Finding perfect love. That’s one of the real answers.
I’m not sure it’s the only answer. There’s a lot of unattached people who find
a meaning to life in solitude. People who are willing to live with themselves,
alone. It’s terrifying. When I talk about searching out the answers, I’m thinking
about other people too. Most people are, I’m sure, searching out the answers
to mysteries. They fall in love with mystery and that’s a trap. We’re all led
by mystery. Money is a mystery to us. We don’t know what the mystery is until
we have money. Then we find out it’s not a mystery at all. Neither does it solve
everything. Playing the Eurovison thing had mystery, but it had more to do with
going to Europe to do the video. The travelling. The adventure, if you like.
(Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
LIAM: ‘The Older We Get’ is about a specific issue – how society treats
older people, marginalises them. (Speaking to New Musical Express in 1988).
YES I WAS
LIAM: It’s also self-reassurance.
As much as reassuring someone else. Even when there’s pain to consider. Yeah,
devotion. A very personal one. (Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
LOVE DON’T WORK THIS WAY
(This version is not the same as the single version which Maria Doyle Kennedy
appears on. This version was recorded for the album. The single being recorded
with Mother Records. Check out the 1998 version (very different) which appears
on the B-side of ‘You Can Love Me Now’.)
LIAM: A more negative
look at love, sure. The idea that you can’t fall in love with mystery. That
you simply have to fall in love wit her, you’re only in love with what you don’t
know about her. The beauty of summer is only what you missed in that summer
gone. People putting love on a pedestal. Not meeting love head on. That comes
back to mystery. (Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
LIAM: The turning point was the single. ‘Love Don’t Work This
Way.’ (Speaking in 1989).
LIAM: Just before we got together as a band, my friends were
listening to Joe Tex, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and the whole Motown thing –
we were all dancing to it. That was a big inspiration for the music that I wanted
to do. When we started, I sang with this black soul voice and ‘Love Don’t Work
This Way’ came out of that inspiration. (Speaking to Hot Press in 1998).
BALLAD OF KATIE
LIAM: The set is almost Hollywood. You can imagine the sand. The saloon
bar. The silence as he moves in. Yul Brynner could be that man. What a man,
Jesus!The man is told to leave. He’s very understanding. He leaves. I don’t
know if it is right to tell him to leave. Everyone has a right to arrive. I
have a feeling though that guy in the black boots is a happy-go-lucky. He might
just fall in love with the girl for one night and leave her, hurt. I see bits
of myself in both these characters. I don’t know if I was trying to work something
out writing the song. Jealousy is in there. That horrible feeling. The feeling
you sometimes can’t do anything about. (Speaking to Melody Maker in 1988).
FEET ON THE GROUND
(The song was released as a single.)
LIAM: It does take on a lot. It does sound quite anthemic at times.
The essence of it, for me, is in the chorus. The importance of maintaining a
direct link right down to the roots, to the ground. Times are changing and things
are moving faster. My head isn’t exploding now. I haven’t come across anything
worse now than I found before. I guess I’m saying that I want to know, that
I want to understand. Dealing with times of trouble… this song might be a
way of pinning things down. Reminding myself what it’s all about. We need anchors,
yeah. That’s what is good about a wife or a close partner. Someone who will
tell you when you’re wrong. Someone to straighten your tie. (Speaking to Melody
Maker in 1988).
– – – – –
Label: SIRE/WEA
Release date:
UK 1st January, 1988.
US CD 25th October, 1990.
‘People’ Japanese release without ‘Lonley Lane’ and ‘Saved’
Promotional sample LP with lyric insert, picture sleeve and matching obi-strip
Catalogue Number: L28P1265
‘People’ audio tapes
‘People’ Songbook
Conversation and Music with Hothouse Flowers – US promotional release 12″
vinyl.
Dave Fanning interviews the band between songs
01. Don’t Go (excerpt of busking version)
02. Kansas City (excerpt of busking version)
03. It’ll Be Easier In The Morning (excerpt of album version)
04. Feet On The Ground (excerpt of album version)
05. Don’t Go (excerpt of album version)
06. I’m Sorry (album version)
Label: London Records
Catalogue Number: SA085
‘People’ Sampler (UK) 5 track promotional release 12″ vinyl. Same track
listing on both sides
01. Don’t Go
02. Easier In The Morning
03. I’m Sorry
04. Hallelujah Jordan
05. Ballad of Katie.
Label: London Records
Catalogue Number: HOT-1 or LONLP58, 828101-2.
Words and music by Peter O’Toole/Fiachna O’Braonain/Liam O’Maonlai/Dave
Clarke
I’m going back, to the places I come from
I’m walking away, to somewhere I belong, yeah
I’m going down to where we used to hang around
Watching the daytime roll away
Me and you, there was so much for us to do
Your beautiful smile, underneath the sky so blue
Running around believing everything was true
Watching the daytime roll away
I’m gonna be alright, going to make it through the night
I’m gonna be alright, alright
I’m gonna be alright, going to make it through the night
I’m gonna be alright, alright
Down the park running in between the trees
Watching the clouds blowing in the summer breeze
Running around believing everything was free
Watching the daytime roll away
I’m gonna be alright, going to make it through the night
I’m gonna be alright, alright
I’m gonna be alright, going to make it through the night
I’m gonna be alright, alright
And when the morning comes too early
And if the nighttime ever ends
And when the morning comes too early
And if the nighttime ever ends
(D)And your (G)feet are covered in dust (D)And your (G)eyes are welling up in tears (D)Something (G)from you has been lifted (D)You haven’t (G)felt as ?????? as this in years
(D)And the (G)air from the hills (D)Reminds (G)the body that the soul is still flying (D)And the (G)air from the hills (D)Reminds the (G)body that the soul is still flying
(F)And as you pass (C)by (F)I caught a sparkle (C)in your e(DG 4x))ye
And you are still singing songs
Still inspiring generations
And your vision is still strong
You never fail to break expectations
And the air from the hills
May it flow gently through you
So we breathe in our fill
And we glide on a trail
And we raise a glass to you
Starman: The David Bowie Project
Réaltneach: Tionscadal David Bowie
Liam Ó Maonlaí & Brad Pitt Light Orchestra
Starman features Irish language versions of Bowie’s best work, transcreated by Gabriel Rosenstock, performed by Liam Ó Maonlaí and The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra. The show includes screen projections by Margaret Lonergan. Produced by IMRAM Irish Language Literature Festival.
Hothouse Flowers with Special guest Lisa Lambe
Starman: The David Bowie Project