Review By Mark Salter
The Great Irish Songbook was a project that evolved out of post gig singsongs and drinks around Tony Christie’s kitchen tabl. Christie’s son was best friends with Donal Rogers, lead singer and guitarist with Celtic-inspired band Ranagri, and played with him in groups. Over time Rogers persuaded Christie to record with the group. The result is a CD which mixes poignant ballads, rousing chorus songs and is ideal touring material. Hence Christie’s and Ranagri’s visit to Lowdham.
Ranagri, named after Rogers’s home town in Ireland, is translated as, Fort of the Hare, took to the stage first. Indeed, their opening instrumental was appropriately named, The Hare. Rogers, along with Eliza Marshall (flutes and whistles), Jean Kelly (harp) and Tad Sargent (bodhran), played a short selection of Ranagri’s contemporary and melodic songs: The Tale Of The Bogeyman, African influenced The Rhythm Takes You Back, and, You Can Do Better. During the short set, Marshall introduced the audience to ‘her piece of plumbing’ which was, in fact, a rather impressive instrument, a bass flute. Perhaps the first Warthog gig to feature one!
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After entering with Star Of The County Down, Christie explained that, although he was brought up in South Yorkshire, he was in fact of Irish stock. As many did at the time, his grandparents immigrated from County Mayo in search of work. Indeed, Christie’s real surname was Fitzgerald only to be changed to his stage name on the advice of his manager and a cinema visit to see Darling, a Julie Christie film. Growing up he had been steeped in Irish music hence the Ranagri collaboration.
The Irish Songbook repertoire was instantly recognisable. Gentler numbers such a Carrickfergus, When You Were Sweet Sixteen, and She Moves Through The Fair were interspersed with lively sing-alongs of Black Velvet Band, The Wild Rover, and Wild Mountain Thyme. Christie and Co even managed to throw in a version of his hit In The Avenues And Alleyways after checking that the crowd remembered it as the theme of 70s TV show The Protectors.
Inevitably, Show Me The Way To Amarillo featured as an encore and had fans up on their feet singing and clapping along. ‘There’s only one song that can follow that,’ said Christie, before the ensemble left with a rendition of The Parting Glass.
