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Luke Kelly - The Performer [DVD]   •   Luke Kelly

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  • Luke Kelly - The Performer
    • 2005 - Celtic Airs CACD0202 DVD (IRL)
  • Tracklist
    1. Whiskey in The Jar (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Bourke. Sheahan) — The David Frost Show, 1968, USA
    2. Muirsheen Durkin (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Bourke. Sheahan) — The Ed Sullivan Show, 1968, USA
    3. The Black Velvet Band (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Bourke. Sheahan) — The Talk Show, 1970, UK
    4. Monto (Hodnett) — The Talk Show, 1970, UK
    5. Hand Me Down Me Bible (Coulter) — Whittaker's World of Music, 1971, UK
    6. Kelly The Boy from Killane (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Bourke. Sheahan) — Musikladen, 1973, Germany
    7. Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Bourke, Sheahan) — Snus Extra, 1973, Sweden
    8. Scorn Not His Simplicity (Coulter) — The McCann Man With friends, 1974
    9. The Town I Loved So Well (Coulter) — The Dubliners In Concert, 1974, Belgium
    10. Dirty Old Town (McColl) — Tavastia Club, 1976, Finland
    11. The Rocky Road to Dublin (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Sheahan, McCann) — Tavastia Club, 1976, Finland
    12. Farewell to Carlingford (Makem) — Liedercircus, 1976, Germany
    13. Raglan Road (Kavanagh, Trad Kelly, O'Donnell) — The Humours of Donnybrook, 1978, Ireland
    14. Paddy on The Railway (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Sheahan) — The Dubliners At the Gaiety, 1979
    15. The Auld Triangle (Behan) — Liedercircus, 1976, Germany
    16. The Hot Asphalt (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Sheahan) — Pop '79, 1979, Germany
    17. Come to The Bower (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Sheahan) — Vienna Folk Festival, 1980, Austria
    18. The Night Visiting Song (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Sheahan) — The Music Show, 1983, Ireland
    19. The Wild Rover (Trad. Arr. Drew, Kelly, McKenna, Sheahan) — Don Lane Show, 1983, Australia
  • Credits
    • Executive Producer: Shay Hennessey & Fiachra Sheahan
    • Written, Produced & Directed by Michael Feeney Callan
    • Music Remastered & Produced by John Sheahan
    • Associate Producer: Ree Ward Callan
    • Artwork: Nina Hockenhull at gcuk-Design
    • Archivists: Jimmy Whelan, Per Jappée & Dr Gerhard Braas
    • Research & Clearances: Alan Hennessy
    • Director of Photography: Tim Lawless & Joe Edwards
    • Second Unit cameras: Connall McGarrigle & Jim Corcoran
    • Sound: Rat Doyle & Brendan Campbell
    • Make-up design: Valerie Patterson
    • Editor: Mark Quinn
    • On-line editor: Derek Jones
    • Assistant Editors: Ruth Treacy & Colin Campbell
    • Post-Production Supervisor: Louise Curran
    • Facilities: High Wire, Dublin
    • Sound Mix: Keith Alexander
    • Assistant sound engineer: Ciarán Mulligan
    • Sound facilities: Lime Street Sound, Dublin
    • Location coordinators: Gail Smith & Geraldine Dolan
  • Notes
    • This same clip of "Scorn Not His Simplicity" was included in The Late Late Show Tribute (1987) and subsequent commercial release.
    • Otherwise, these performances are previously unreleased (commercially).

Sleeve Notes

Donovan saw him as a poet in the bardic tradition. Ralph McTell was "terrified" by the power of his voice. Mary Black saw him as a cornerstone of the global Celtic revival. Luke Kelly, the legendary co-founder of the Dubliners, was many things to many people. But he is most cherished as a performer. Here, sourced from around the world and gathered together for the first time, is a collection of 19 inimitable live performances with commentary contributions from Luke's famous contemporaries, and from the newer generation of artists who embrace his legacy.

LUKE

An Ancient Voice … that Speaks to Tomorrow

When they started in 1962, they were the Ronnie Drew Ballad Group (or "Ballet Group" as some deaf misprinter had it). Barney McKenna, admittedly jealous, would have preferred the Barney McKenna Group. Finally, in a quiet Dublin pub on a wet afternoon, the debate was settled. Luke was reading — as ever — and threw his book down. It was James' Joyce's Dubliners … and the legend was born. You only have to ask to hear a story of Luke's sharpness. Heckled on stage as "ould Woolly Head", he shouted back, "At least mine's only woolly on the outside!" He was as witty and literate as he was compassionate and inquisitive. But he was also unique. The Dubliners were unusual," says Barney, "because they all, individually, contributed different types of music to the blend," Luke's was the music of the street, first learned in the congested alleys of Dublin's inner city, then honed in the companionship of Ewan McColl, and the socialist activists of the fluxing sixties. "Listening to the songs Luke brought home awakened our sensitivity to social issues," says Ronnie today. And there was more than just the power of content There was the power of interpretation. "He was like a jazz singer," says John Sheahan. "He never sang a song the same way twice. It was always new."

It remains "new". Donovan, whose music heightened the spiritual sensitivities of the sixties' popism, rates Luke and the Dubliners as major contributors to the yet-to-be-fully harvested Celtic revival. "He is more than a folk singer or a pop icon. He is ah Ancient Voice mixing love ballads with social reportage to speak to Tomorrow".