Just back from the Tarred and Feathered Club in Raheny and since sleep won’t come; I thought I should do an update. The gig was a joy, and the audience were great crack….not for the faint-hearted though, if you don’t deliver the goods, they tie you to a lamppost and well...you know the rest. Thanks for inviting me lads, and as I was saying, I still have a few gaps in the 2011 diary?
 

Joe Breen … gave Mick Hanly Collected a 3 star review in the Ticket yesterday. Three stars out of five is sixty per-cent: that’s an honour to old Christian Brothers survivors like myself, so I feel very satisfied. I’d also like to raise my hat to Joe for reviewing albums that don’t have record company backing. He recently reviewed another self-published album by ex Slattery’s cowboy Errol Walsh….thanks Joe keep it up.
 

So Neil Sedaka is responsible for Amarillo! I watched an interesting documentary on him last week, and came away with a new found respect. Not that I didn’t admire his work before now, but he was so unassuming in his interviews that it was hard to believe he’s American. To make Shalalalalala identifiably yours, and corner the 16th Birthday market is some feat for any songwriter. Finally, he doesn’t wear a rug? He’s as bald as myself and is not hiding it…good on you Neil. By the way, Andre Agassi’s autobiograpy has a great description of his efforts to keep his wig in place at the French Open final. He finally gave up the ghost of following his follicle shortcomings and found that it was a major weight off his shoulders (terrible pun but I’m going to leave it?)
 

As you can see from the gigs, I’m trying to commandeer Arty for as many gigs as possible. I love his company, and I love the magic moments that can happen sometimes. Having his company on the road, gives me new appetite, and of course, since he’s been on the road since he was in the cradle, he has more stories than you can shake a stick at. We’re kicking off in April with a visit to my good friend Tony Moore in McDaid’s in Midleton. (See gigs for more)

See you along the way. Stay healthy and invest in the snow-chains now. You might not use them for another twenty years, but ‘Bí Ullamh’.

Mick. Jan 22.