"I didn't know Jimmy was ill, so his passing is both a surprise and a shock," he tells Hot Press. "Jimmy played on my Hard Station album and around the time when the 'Crazy Dreams' single came out he toured with me in 1980 in a band that included Arty McGlynn, Tommy Moore, Fran Breen and James Delaney. He was the best guitarist around at the time, and I was very excited by the fact that he was playing with me. While guitar players like myself struggled to do what we did, with Jimmy it seemed to come quite naturally. He was a very fluid player. Our career paths later went in different directions, but we would chat any time we met at a gig. Last time I saw him play was at at a show about six months ago with Nollaig Bridgeman and James Delaney at McGowan’s. He was a very talented man, the kind we take for granted, and then they're gone."