Thursday, September 2, 2010

Sir Bob Geldof is an institution here in Dubai, and he’s sure to go down a storm with some Boomtown Rats hits and solo efforts in his annual trek to the IV on Friday. He’s just one in a long line of

Irish musicians that have gone on to conquer the world. With party time fast approaching, 7DAYS decided to try and pick some songs for our Irish iPod. As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy...

U2

OK so Bono’s preaching may not be music to everyone’s ears but they’ve sold a staggering amount of records. From debut album ‘Boy’, released way back in 1980, through to latest offering ‘No Line On The Horizon’ time and again they’ve managed to confound the critics. We all know the classics, but 1983’s ‘New Year’s Day’ still sounds incendiary even now while ‘The Unforgettable Fire’, released a year later, is an atmospheric classic.   

Van Morrison

Old Ivan may be a grumpy old man in real life, but he’s forgiven for the legendary song ‘And It Stoned Me’ alone. Everyone knows ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, but even Van the Man himself would probably admit he’ll never better the writing that produced classic albums ‘Astral Weeks’ and ‘Moondance’.

My Bloody Valentine

If you like to leave a concert hall with your ears bleeding, this is the band for you. Kevin Shields and Co almost bankrupted the Creation record label but debut album ‘Isn’t Anything’ and follow up ‘Loveless’, which took an eternity to make, are great adventures in sound.   

Sharon Shannon

Ireland has a strong tradition of female singers with the most beautiful voices - IV favourite Mary Black, sister Frances and Dolores Keane all stand out. But accordion and fiddle player Sharon makes the list on the strength of one belter - ‘Galway Girl’, a fantastic duet with Steve Earle.

The Frames

We’ll come clean here and say right now that we’re not fans on the features desk. But Glen Hansard’s like musical catnip to the Irish.

Try ‘Falling Slowly’ from that truly awful film ‘Once’, starring Hansard himself. If you like that, there’s Irish blood in you somewhere...     

The Pogues

Shane McGowan’s not the bonniest of boys so we thought we’d brighten the page up with a picture of Irish singer Andrea Corr. Shane’s music is without question a whole lot better however, so feast your ears on ‘The Old Main Drag’ and his version of Ewan McColl’s ‘Dirty Old Town’ instead.

Christy Moore

Medical problems may have curtailed the former Planxty folkster but his output is still a class apart. ‘Smoke and Strong Whiskey’ says all you need to know about his early years but ‘The Reel in the Flickering Light’ is just great storytelling coupled with a lovely tune.