Jan 4: Van Morrison and Chieftains released Irish Heartbeat in 1988
Martin Fay (September 19, 1936 – November 14, 2012)
was an Irish fiddler and
bones player, and a former member of
The Chieftains.
In 1962 he became one of the founding members of The Chieftains. In
2001, he decided to stop touring with The Chieftains, limiting his
appearances with the group to events in Ireland. He subsequently retired
in 2002. He died in
Cabra,
Dublin,
Ireland. He had been ill for some time.
Martin Fay R.I.P.
George Derek Fleetwood Bell, (21 October 1935 – 17 October 2002) was an Irish harpist, pianist, oboist, musicologist and composer Derek Bell R.I.P
Van Morrison - lead vocals, guitar, drums-Paddy Moloney , uilleann pipes, tin whistle-Martin Fay , fiddle, bones-Derek Bell , harp, keyboards, tiompán-Kevin Conneff ,bodhran-Matt Molloy ,flute , -Seán Keane ,fiddle-Ciarán Ó Braonáin, bass
Raglan Road (heel bijzonder,Van op de drums)
In October 1987 traden Van & The Chieftains samen op in de Balmoral Studio in Belfast. Het concert werd uitgezonden op St. Patrick's Day in 1988.
Star of the County down
The Chieftains en Van Morrison hadden jaren eerder elkaar ontmoet op het Edinburgh rock festival. Ze troKken samen op in Belfast tijdens Morrison's No Guru tour en daarna ontstond het plan om samen een album op te nemen .Het resultaat was het prachtige album Irish Hearbeat,bestaande uit traditionele Irish songs en twee Van Morrison composities.
Celtic Ray
Quote Paddy Moloney:
I think at that time Van was searching for his Irish roots. It was this man of blues, of rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and more importantly soul, coming home to his Irishness with The Chieftains and the music we’d been playing for so many years. Musically we were going to meet each other half way.