“Hellhound on my Trail” / The Bohemian Mooney
N
igel Mooney phoned me early in 2013 and said he was recording a new cd “The Bohemian Mooney” and he wanted me to play harmonica on his version of “Hellhound on my Trail” by the legendary Robert Johnson. He knew what he wanted and gave me a strange brief about John Coltraine when he walked into a Miles Davis session of “Someday my Prince will Come”. Then he went on to say he wanted it to sound eerie. It’s well documented that Robert Johnson was haunted by the the Devil. I knew what he meant.
Many musicians have since commented that he “nailed it”. I was so glad to be involved in the project.
Ed Deane has been my favourite guitar player as far back as I can remember. We played together in “Blues House” back in the days. When he left for London in the 70s I played and recorded with many bands and was a regular in “The Meeting Place” – the famous music venue where I played with the “Freddie White” band and alongside Jimmie Faulkner & Pat O’Farrel with the “Red Peters” band. Ed invited me to play on his new album Slideshow in 2006. We recently played as a duo, around Ireland.
Barry Moore:(aka Luka Bloom) My flat was on Dorset St. not far from the Meeting Place. I went to see Barry Moore in the venue and was impressed. Thinking to myself “I’d love to play with him”. The next morning I heard a knock on my door and standing there was Barry. He was recording a single “Danny Boy” and wanted me to play harmonica on the session. Fate is amazing.
After that we toured the folk clubs & art houses of Ireland culminating in festivals like Ballisodare and Lisdoonvarna. In 1979 we toured in Holland culminating in the album “Barry Moore & Eamon Murray in Groningen”. Barry went on to form Red Square in the early 80s.