John releases new album – 40 years on

John releases new album – 40 years later


Country Roads
Michael Commins

THE man from Knock, John Kelly, was a 17-year-old teenager when he recorded his first single in Eamonn Andrews’ Studios in Dublin. That was back in 1967 at a time when he fronted the Niagara Showband. Now, four decades later, John is back on the recording scene with the release of a brand new album, ‘Pure Country, Pleasant Irish’.
John still harbours fond memories of that far-off day in Dublin when he made his recording debut. “It was a big thing back in those days for a young lad from Mayo to go to Eamonn Andrews’ Studios. There was a lot of excitement around the place and the Raidió Éireann Light Orchestra, under the direction of Noel Keelaghan, played on the two songs.
“The numbers I recorded were ‘Moonlight in Mayo’ and ‘The Isle of Inishfree’, two old favourites. Bill O’Donovan was the producer. Those were the days!”
After the Niagara members eventually went their own ways, John worked for a year as a printer with the late Seamus Mallee in Knock before heading off to Templemore to train as a garda. “While there, I started doing a big of singing again and performed at a few pioneer dances around Tipperary. But it was when I was stationed in Limerick that the music bug hit again. The Tops of the Town was a big thing in those times and I joined the Roches Stores team and performed on stage with them on several occasions.”
He recalls that he had ‘first offer’ on the song ‘My Lovely Rose of Clare’ but was unable to record it because of regulations governing his occupation at the time. It later went on to become a sizeable hit for Michael O’Brien, PJ Murrihy and others.
Later times saw John rekindle his passion for the music scene and he recorded a four-track cassette in Phil Munnelly’s Studios in Crossmolina. Two of the most popular numbers from the release were ‘My Own Annagh Rose’, composed by Michael Godfrey from Ballinlough, Roscommon, and ‘The Shores of Lough Brann’.
Another album followed in the 1990s which included such favourites as ‘Mountain Lady’ and a few other Johnny Cash songs. His version of ‘There’s Only One Reason’, a song written by Ian Betteridge from Australia, was to prove one of John’s most requested numbers of all. Later, he produced his debut video (now on DVD) which was shot on location around the Knock area with the narrative scripted by himself.
Under the direction of Gerald O’Donoghue, John recorded the new album in Greenfield Studios, Headford, where a reputation for top quality has long been a trademark. And with such fine musicians as Charlie Arkins, Frankie Colohan, Seamus Shannon, Johnny Scott, Willie Dunne, Gerald and Declan O’Donoghue and James Blenherhassett featured on the album, John has every reason to be proud of his new release.
“I spent a lot of time sifting through material before settling on the 12 tracks. We had a very good team working on the album and I’m very happy with the finished product,” he said.
The country numbers include ‘Forty Shades of Green’, ‘I Took A Memory To Lunch’, ‘Guess Things Happen That Way’, ‘Ride Me Down Easy’, ‘Big City’, ‘Love Comes Here To Die’, ‘Little Old You’ and ‘The Ways of a Woman in Love’. The Irish side is provided by ‘The Road to Malinmore’, ‘Little Isle of Green’, ‘Any Town in Ireland’ and the Johnny McEvoy song, ‘As Soon As I Can’.
“These are the kind of songs that I feel most at home with and that appeal most to me. When you have a natural feel for the lyrics of a song, you tend to relate to the song and it should come through in the interpretation. Tom T Hall and Johnny Cash have always been among my favourite country singers and I’ve included some of their songs on the new album,” says John.