Sharon and I pictured with Brendan and Declan Murphy from The 4 of Us and Sharon's father...legendary showband man Brian Coll!
Continuing from my previous blog where I was praising Sharon Owens and her tremendous efforts in catering for my musical tastes at her book launch I feel that I need to give a greater explanation as to why Newry band The 4 of Us have always delighted me!
Picture it...it's the late 80's and like all teenagers I've started to develop my own musical tastes. In order to help me do this I have Ray Darcy and his RTE Sunday morning music video show The Beat Box to help me...this is where I discovered The Hothouse Flowers, An Emotional Fish, Something Happens, The Horslips, The Cranberries and the totally amazing The 4 of Us whose music I instantly connected with and loved! I spent any money I had buying their singles and albums and was known to do my own rendition of 'Drag my Bad Name Down' into a hairbrush in front of the mirror before going out for the night! Basically, The 4 of Us were to me what Taio Cruz and Lady Gaga are to the music loving youth of today! I saw them play live in the Glenavon House Hotel in Cookstown the Christmas before I turned 17 and was the happiest girl in the room (at the very front of the room practically eatin' the stage, I might add) when Brendan Murphy, his brother Declan and their band had us dancing into the wee small hours!
My love for this group has never died and their CD's have remained in my collection so it was with great delight that I discovered that another author namely Sharon Owens liked them as well when she did a blog about them one fine day! I duly responded with great gusto and we partook (I don't think that's a word but I'll just make it up as I go along) in a session of very appreciative posts filled with memories and favourite songs!
Picture yet another scene...it is early May and I recieve a beautifully thick enveloped invitation to a book launch...but not just any book launch...one hosted by one of my favourite authors! I scan the invitation and note the time, date and venue and then I run my eye over the part that says The 4 of Us will be providing the music and fall to the floor in a dead faint requiring resusitation by a team of cardiac experts (well not exactly...but very nearly mind!)
I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was and have been about this. It's not every day that you get to meet your idols in person and take a trip down memory lane with songs that shaped a very important part of your life being sang live in a dimly lit room where you could have heard a pin drop! The 4 of us came on stage last night and entertained the assembled crowd with old favourites such as 'Mary' and 'She Hits Me' along with some new material all sung in the same hauntingly beautiful and ultimately catchy accoustic style that attracted me in the first place! They also performed their own rendition of Carrickfergus which was simply incredible and told us that Sony have added 'Mary' on to their playlist for Singstar which speaks volumes in itself!!
My night was complete when I got to meet Brendan and Declan in person (thinking I was 14 and vowing never to wash again when Brendan gave me a hug), reminiscing as I did and reveling in the fact that they were friendly down to earth musicians who were happy to pose for photographs and meet us! I hope that this will be the first of many meetings (not in a stalkerish type way just in case the poor boys think I'll be perching in bushes with my binoculars at the ready...although now that I think of it.....)
Many people have been known to thank Abba for the music but I'll do it my way and thank The 4 of Us for the music, the memories and for giving me a night I will never forget!!
Check THEM out for yourselves...
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