I think it was 1982 the first time I saw Christy Moore at Glastonbury when he was in the Moving Hearts band and I think 3 times since as a solo artist.The previous time was 1993 when he came on before Lenny Kravitz and The Kinks! Christy has always been a great supporter of the festival and so it was great to see him back on the Pyramid Stage at 4pm on Sunday afternoon. He hasn't enjoyed the best of health in recent years, but Christy seems fighting fit again now.
It was also great to see him arrive on stage with great support from Declan Sinnot and Donal Lunny. We were in for a great show. Christy began with the great Before The Deluge, a Jackson Browne song that Christy has made his own. I wonder why he chose that song to open? Had he gotten word backstage about the storm brewing?
He followed that with North And South Of The River, a very moving song about Northern Ireland. This set the tone for the show, with Christy opting for songs with a strong political message rather than love songs or the whimsical humourous songs for which he is noted. You will have to excuse me now because I wasn't taking notes and I was merrily drunk so can't remember every song that Christy sang but he did the following for sure:
After The Deluge
North And South Of The River
Black Is The Colour (Christy does requests, even at Glasto!)
Missing You
Viva La Quinte Brigada (Awesome, my Favourite)
Burning Times
City Of Chicago
Go Move Shift
Hiroshima/Nagasaki Russian Roulette
Yellow Triangle.
A few minutes into the set it began to rain and got heavier until it became a downpour, but the crowd stayed even though they were drenched - which is a huge sign of the affection the audience have for Christy. I think the rain even made them more determined to entertain the crowd.
"I know it's hard but thanks for staying with us, you created a great vibe to work off," said Christy.
We all knew what the finish would be. It was of course Lisdoonvarna which was superb - I always like it when Christy name checks my other hero Van Morrison. The song evolved into I'll Tell me Ma and the crowd danced in the mud. All three of them took a bow and walked off in triumph. What a show!