New single from James Clarke Five: 'Mairead'

[James Hughes-Clarke]

Hi guys

The new single is now available for pre-order from iTunes and Amazon

Details and video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm9yZu_Cowo&feature=youtu.be

Thanks - hope you like it!

James

[feelsflow]

That is just beautiful James.  Love the brass band.  And a great vocal!  Do you have other stuff posted here or on youtube?  I'll go back and take a look, cause I will certainly be listening to this again.

The video brought to mind one of McCartney's (Pipes of Peace) - Are those some of the same images he used?  Not the music, that is original but reminiscent of a time long gone by.

Good Luck, I know it's hard to get noticed among all the bad music that so many seem to like nowadays.  I'm on the Woodstock Radio advisory board.  I'll put your name in and see if they will give it a spin.

Again, Good Job - Well Done!   peace, Will

[JK]

Hi James. I came across your name while looking for songs that mention the BB----a pet obsession of mine. It led me to "Love's Gonna Be My Game", which doesn't mention them but has a great West Coast feel. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydq12zvnUww

Like feelsflow, I love the use of the brass band on this new song! It's certainly topical----I hope it gets the airplay (and sales) it deserves. :=) 

[James Hughes-Clarke]

That is just beautiful James.  Love the brass band.  And a great vocal!  Do you have other stuff posted here or on youtube?  I'll go back and take a look, cause I will certainly be listening to this again.

The video brought to mind one of McCartney's (Pipes of Peace) - Are those some of the same images he used?  Not the music, that is original but reminiscent of a time long gone by.

Good Luck, I know it's hard to get noticed among all the bad music that so many seem to like nowadays.  I'm on the Woodstock Radio advisory board.  I'll put your name in and see if they will give it a spin.

Again, Good Job - Well Done!   peace, Will

Hi Will, thanks for your comments - glad you like the song!  You sent me scampering You Tube to watch the video for Piper of Peace (which I hadn't seen for years) and you're right, there's a few seconds of the same 'stock' WW1 footage in both videos.  Slightly higher budget for his video though I suspect!

That would be great if you could get Mairead a little airplay on Woodstock Radio - thank you.

In terms of other videos etc, probably easiest to head to www.jamesclarke.com and there's a link to 'videos'.

James

[James Hughes-Clarke]

Hi James. I came across your name while looking for songs that mention the BB----a pet obsession of mine. It led me to "Love's Gonna Be My Game", which doesn't mention them but has a great West Coast feel. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydq12zvnUww

Like feelsflow, I love the use of the brass band on this new song! It's certainly topical----I hope it gets the airplay (and sales) it deserves. :=) 

Hi John, thanks for your comments.  The funny thing about 'Love's Gonna Be....' is that it namechecks coastal spots in East Anglia (England), rather than California.  Which actually attracted quite a lot of attention in the local media!  Musically I was trying to go for a more subtle 70s-sounding BB thing, rather than say a 'surfin'-type tribute.

James

[RangeRoverA1]

Wow, my words cannot express how wonderful this song is! I like the subtle contrast between the verses & chorus, subtle because if you remove the brass band & leave the piano, the chorus melody beneath is melancholic. So, being both a non-fan of sad songs AND a fan of marches, I'm glad you brought in the orchestra, it was certainly a great idea. Also, you have a very pleasant voice, sort of "tranquilizer". To sum up my thoughts, thanks for sharing beauty with us, god knows I listened to it non-stop before & while commenting. And going to posterior. Good luck!

I googled "Mairead" to see the name's origin & turns out it's Irish. I assume you're Irish yourself, then? Either way, cool name.

[James Hughes-Clarke]

Wow, my words cannot express how wonderful this song is! I like the subtle contrast between the verses & chorus, subtle because if you remove the brass band & leave the piano, the chorus melody beneath is melancholic. So, being both a non-fan of sad songs AND a fan of marches, I'm glad you brought in the orchestra, it was certainly a great idea. Also, you have a very pleasant voice, sort of "tranquilizer". To sum up my thoughts, thanks for sharing beauty with us, god knows I listened to it non-stop before & while commenting. And going to posterior. Good luck!

I googled "Mairead" to see the name's origin & turns out it's Irish. I assume you're Irish yourself, then? Either way, cool name.

RangeRover, thank you for your kind comments!

I did briefly date a girl called Mairead - in my teens.  The song is not about her, but I guess I just 'retained' the name.  For the song, it needed to be an Irish girl, because to me the melody is vaguely reminiscent of Irish Country music.  And of course there's the lyrical references to clean air and green fields which ties in.   I'm actually from Liverpool, but like many Liverpudlians I have Irish ancestry!

Yes I think it works very well with the brass band.

Feel free to spread the word - lots of downloads would be nice!

James

[RangeRoverA1]

I did briefly date a girl called Mairead - in my teens.  The song is not about her, but I guess I just 'retained' the name.  For the song, it needed to be an Irish girl, because to me the melody is vaguely reminiscent of Irish Country music.  And of course there's the lyrical references to clean air and green fields which ties in.   I'm actually from Liverpool, but like many Liverpudlians I have Irish ancestry!

Yes I think it works very well with the brass band.

Feel free to spread the word - lots of downloads would be nice!

James

Thanks for explanation, James! Having gone through the Beatles obsession phase myself, I'm aware that Liverpool citizens have Irish roots (Paul, John, George & Ringo maybe too). Btw, if I recall, it's the city that famous also for soccer club, right? You might be a fan.
Actually, I always download the songs from YouTube without asking no one. When it comes to music, I'm a freeloader like that.

[James Hughes-Clarke]

Nice press release from SSAFA - to whom 50p from each download of Mairead will be donated.

https://www.ssafa.org.uk/news/2014/05/28/love-song-from-the-trenches/

[James Hughes-Clarke]

Here's a live acoustic version (no brass band!) from a recent BBC WW1 at Home event. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15_SOCsHi-I