"Being in Moving Hearts, certainly in the first two years of its existence, was like being dragged along the street by a speeding bus," says Donal Lunny, "with my background in traditional music, it felt like everything had moved up a few gears when the rhythm section came into the band. We came dangerously close to becoming a fully-fledged Rock band, but Davy and Keith battling on Uileann pipes and soprano saxophone kept the goal posts on the move."
Moving Hearts began playing together in Dublin's Baggot Inn, in February 1981. People will remember the vocals and songs Christy Moore, Donal Lunny on bouzouki and synthesiser, Declan Sinnott on electric guitar, Eoghan O'Neill on bass, Brian Calnan on drums and percussion, Davy Spillane on pipes and low whistle and Keith Donald on various saxophones. The band attracted huge attention for its blending of musical influences - folk, Irish traditional, rock, funk and jazz - as well as its commentary in the songs sung by Christy Moore on issues of concern in the areas of human rights and political skullduggery. Various personnel changes and additions came over the next few years but through out all this their unique sound and their seamless blending of old and new remained constant.
Touring a band of it’s size during the 80’s music scene took its toll - the music didn’t fail them but the industry did and Moving Hearts ceased touring in the Spring of 1984.
However with a catalogue of unrecorded instrumentals they regrouped in December 1984 and recorded ‘The Storm’. This proved to be a genre defining album - some citing it as one of the most influential albums ever.
“If you could copyright a musical idea, this would probably be the greatest publishing album of all time” Chris Rea.
The Hearts didn’t perform or record for most of two decades and watched as the world caught up with their music. All the individual core members went on to have successful careers in the industry working with the likes of Coolfin, Chris Rea, Riverdance, Brian Adams, U2, Van Morrison, Elmer Bernstein, Elvis Costello, The Chieftains, The Corrs, Clannad & Paul Brady.
Their reforming in Dublin's Vicar Street for 4 successive nights in February 2007 was ‘unfinished business’.
Their new album and DVD "Live in Dublin "is the result of one of those nights.
Hi-Ho mates, greetings out of an Upper Bavarian (p)art of the Folk-Rock-Celtic Universe. IRXN really appreciates you being connected as friends to us in that Unvierse !
Move along powerfull with your great tunes - down that wolf-path to the world's end!
Thanks so much for the Add–and your friendship. We enjoyed your music very much. Thanks for sharing it with all of us. It's a pleasure having you among our friends!
We've just added two new blogs about Umano, plus four more new compositions, making ten on our space. We hope you and your friends visit us and enjoy our music, too.
We wake up every morning and play the music of the new MySpace friends who have arrived at our site during the night. It occurred to us that these friends (you are among them) are almost universally positive, whether they be novices or legends, and without regard to their station in life or the country they occupy.
Although it's not an original thought, it also occurred to us that we couldn’t hold a verbal conversation with most of these friends, but we have bridged that gap by expressing our art honestly with each other.
We all have been filling the world with our music and art, in the hope that our messages of love and human understanding will have an impact on the world at large.
What a gift and what an opportunity we have received from this technology!
Online Now!
