''Ordinary Man'' is the tenth studio album by Irish folk artist

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts and has had significant success as a solo artist. His first albu ...

. It features songs like "Ordinary Man", " St. Brendan's Voyage" and "Another Song is Born". The album featured songs by Peter Hames, Johnny Mulhearn, Hugh McDonald, Colm Gallagher and Floyd Red Crow Westerman; as well as some backing vocals by

Enya Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of over 80 million albums sold worldwide, Enya is the best-selli ...

on "Quiet Desperation", "Sweet Music Roll On" and "The Diamondtina Drover" and some fine

uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ), also known as Union pipes and sometimes called Irish pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the ...

work by Liam O'Flynn. The original release of the album featured the song "They Never Came Home" which Moore wrote for the victims and families of the Stardust fire. The song was quickly removed from the album because the lyrics were found to be libelous.

Summary

''Ordinary Man'', as the name suggests, was an album for the working man. The songs and music reflected the economic atmosphere of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the time. The title song, "Ordinary Man", was written by

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

musician Peter Hames and depicts a factory worker losing his job as the plant closes down, and his struggle to survive. The album also has a strong link to Moore's Irish roots with songs like "St. Brendans Voyage" and "Delirium Tremens" both relating directly to Ireland. Dónal Lunny played a major part in the album, writing much of the music for the songs. A long time friend of Moore, Lunny was also a member of Planxty and has worked closely with him for many years. The other former bandmates from Planxty who worked on the album were Andy Irvine and Liam O'Flynn. And

Moving Hearts Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining music of Ireland, Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.Harris, Craig''Movin ...

bandmate of both Moore and Lunny, Noel Eccles, lent some percussion aid to a couple of songs.

Songs and music

The songs and music are linked with the economic climate of Ireland at the time, the general dissatisfaction at government and still retains close links with Irish Music. Arty McGlynn, is the guitar mastermind on most of the songs on the album but the title song was written by Peter Hames and "Delerium Tremens" was written by Moore himself—"DTs" was perhaps the most memorable song from the album. It is a satirical song, directed towards the leaders in Irish politics and culture. Some of the people mentioned in the song include: * Charles Haughey, at the time Fianna Fáil leader * Ruairi Quinn, at the time a Labour TD, later the party leader * Dick Spring, at the time Labour Party leader * Roger Casement, he was captured bringing German guns to Ireland for the 1916 Rising * Alice Glenn, Fine Gael politician and moral crusader, " St. Brendan's Voyage", another Christy Moore composition, depicts St. Brendan The Navigator and his journey in an unconventional way. The original release of the album featured the song "They Never Came Home", which Moore wrote for the victims and families of the Stardust fire which took place on 14 February 1981, in Dublin. The song heavily criticizes the Irish government and the owners of the nightclub. At the time of the album's release an investigation into the fire had concluded that the cause was most likely arson, a finding which was heavily contested by survivors and families of the victims. However, that meant that in Ireland the song lyrics were found to be libelous and the song was quickly removed from the album.

Track listing

Side one #"Sweet Music Roll On" ( Graham Lyle, Tom McGuinness) #"Delirium Tremens" (Christy Moore) #"Ordinary Man" (Peter Hames) #"Matty" (Johnny Mulhearn) #"The Reel in the Flickering Light" (Colm Gallagher) #"The Diamondtina (sic) Drover" (Hugh McDonald) Side two #"Blantyre Explosion" (traditional, arr. Moore/Lunny/McGlynn) #"Hard Cases" (Johnny Mulhearn) #"Continental Ceili" (Johnny Mulhearn,

) #" St. Brendan's Voyage" (Christy Moore) #"They Never Came Home" (Christy Moore) † #"Quiet Desperation" ( Floyd Red Crow Westerman) † later pressings replaced "They Never Came Home" with "Another Song is Born", due to a lawsuit.

Personnel

: lead vocals, guitars * Dónal Lunny: guitars (1,4,6,7,8,9,12), keyboards (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,12), mandolins (4,8,12), bouzouki (4,8,10,11,12), vocals(911) * Arty McGlynn: guitars (1,3,4,6,7,8,9,12), pedal steel(3) *

Ní Bhraonáin: vocals (1,6,12) * Liam Óg O'Flynn:

(1,7,9,12), tin whistle (12) * Andy Irvine: mandolin (8,10), uncredited harmonica (4)? *Noel 'Nollaig' Bridgeman: accordion (6,8,9) *Noel Eccles: percussion (3), chimes (5) *Tony Molloy: bass (3) *

Nicky Ryan Nicholas Dominick Ryan (born 14 July 1946) is an Irish music producer, recording engineer, and manager. He is best known as the longtime business and recording partner for the singer, songwriter and musician Enya alongside his wife, poet and lyr ...

: vocals (9)

Production

*Recorded at Aigle Studio, Dublin *Produced by Dónal Lunny *Engineers: Philip Begley,

Liner notes

''"My gratitude to Dónal Lunny for the tender loving care he gave to this album and for his inspiration and encouragement in all things at all times."'' ~ Christy Moore, June 1985

References

{{Authority control 1985 albums Christy Moore albums