For many Irish music fans, The Frames included, Groningen will always be associated with the late Mic Christopher, as it was here that he suffered the tragic accident which led to his untimely death

On the Thursday night, after The Frames’ gig, Glen leads us on a short walk through the city’s winding streets to the spot where his best friend fell. There’s something disconcertingly ordinary about the steps where Mic slipped and hit his head, sending him into the coma from which he never woke. It’s hard to believe that it was in this rather mundane spot that the life of one of Ireland’s most talented songwriters was cut tragically short.

I wondered if it was very weird for Glen and The Frames, going back to Groningen, considering its association with Mic?

“It was,” Glen admits. “To be honest, that’s the overwhelming feeling I get when I think about it. EuroSonic was like a backdrop, to be honest. When Claire [Leadbitter, Frames manager] told us we’d been offered a gig in Groningen, I don’t think any of the band really thought about what it was: we all just decided ‘of course we want to go’. I thought that when Groningen came up again as a subject, that I’d shy away from it, but I got really enthusiastic about it because I felt that I wanted to revisit the city.

“I spent 10 days there while Mic was in a coma and it was a very, very difficult 10 days. I was walking around the town like a chicken with its head cut off, and it was weird going back, being in a more stable emotional state, seeing the places where I had gone and the cafes I had sat in. And going to the steps where Mic fell over was the hardest part. Mic’s daughter had asked me the next time I was over there to give the steps a good kick, so I went and gave them a good kickng for her.”

For related articles just click on one of these links:

Eurosonic Festival

The Frames: The new deal