Joe Kavanagh's Music News

The big story in Irish music last week was unfortunately a sad one, with news that down-to-earth balladeer, Christy Hennessy, had passed away. The colorful singer was born in Tralee, County Kerry, and left school at 11-years-old, before spending many years working on the building sites in London. He recorded his first record in 1974, but was perhaps best known for his 1992 album, The Rehearsal, which saw the singer develop a global profile and outsell U2 in Ireland that year. Known as a "songwriter's songwriter", Hennessy wrote tracks like Don't Forget Your Shovel and All The Lies You Told Me, which were later made famous by Christy Moore and Frances Black, respectively. He had returned to the building sites in the late 90s after growing disillusioned with the music business, but had returned to recording in recent times. Hennessy was 62-years-old when he died at a London hospice. He had been suffering from asbestosis, which he had contracted as a direct result of his work as a teenager on the building sites of the English capital. To the very end, Hennessy was a devoted advocate for many charitable causes, with all the proceeds from his latest single going to the African charity, Children In The Crossfire. R.I.P. ...

The Klaxons' album, Myths Of The Near Future, was named by influential publication, NME, as its album of the year, beating out stiff competition from Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire... Celine Dion has lashed out at the media after an erroneous report meant that she had to call her mother to assure her that she was still alive. The Canadian singer's suicide was reported in some media circles last week, forcing a livid Dion to call up her shaken mother to ensure her that she was very much alive. I'm sure it was just an oversight or perhaps wishful thinking in some quarters...

Phil Lynott's mother is the latest Irish celebrity to lend her voice to the growing chorus of people in Ireland who are concerned about the amount of young people dying as the result of illegal drug use in recent weeks. After several high-profile deaths due to cocaine overdoses, Philomena Lynott urged young people not to emulate the lifestyle that claimed the life of her son. Speaking on Irish television, she claimed: "The drug dealers have got to be treated as murderers because they are selling death. They are killing our young people. Children are dying from drugs and dying because of them. Car crashes, suicide, everything. When I go to concerts in memory of Philip I tell them thank you for loving him, and thank you for loving his music, but don't love his lifestyle." Phil Lynott was 36-years-old when he died of complications relating to use of drugs...

Talk about a New Year's resolution, Pete Doherty has told the media that he intends to run the London marathon next year, as part of his ongoing efforts to stay away from drugs. The troubled singer claims that the training would prove an ideal incentive for staying away from the Colombian marching powder et al. On the plus side, if he doesn't manage to steer clear of the drugs while in training then he could always audition for a job pitching for the Yankees...

Courtney Love has denied recent reports in the media linking her romantically with Pete Doherty. The Hole singer, and widow of Kurt Cobain, claims that she has only ever spoken to Doherty on the phone. I tell you what, if Pete is having trouble in his training then they should just fly in Courtney to chase him. I'm pretty sure I would break every record going if that scary sight was jogging along behind me...

U2 have been forced to defend their massive development in Dublin city center after the project recently came under attack from a respected public body. Irish environmental monitors, An Taisce, voiced concerns over the environmental impact that the huge building, nicknamed "U2 Tower" will have and group requested a public review of the project. The scheme does not require planning permission because it has already been given the green light by the government but a public review would be time consuming and probably add millions to the cost of the project. Spokespeople for U2 claim that the planned building will boost the local economy and encourage further development of the area, while also assuring the public that they fully intend to address all environmental concerns. Work on the 394 foot (120-meter) tower is due to begin next year and construction is not expected to be finished until 2011.