Chris de Burgh's letter to Peter Crawley
The Hot Press Newsdesk, 09 Sep 2009
Dear Mr. Crawley,
I rarely read reviews, but as yours was sitting on my kitchen table, and after 3 sold-out shows in the Gaiety Theatre, I thought I should have a look at it; after all, receiving a favourable review in the Irish Times is about as likely as...well, receiving a favourable review in the Irish Times!! I was not disappointed. How the fond memories came flooding back, more than thirty years of them; you must have a Lexicon of Handy Insults, because you managed to use many of the same ones that have been used so many times before, and still they make me smile at their continued lack of imagination. "Small man...shudder...warbly tenor...mawkish balladeer...cringe factor…squeaky clean...snigger...cheesy…etc..", yes, they were all there, as used by many of your colleagues before, such as Joe Breen, (who I note has been put out to pasture in the Wine section, and I am assured by friends in the Wine trade that he knows as much about wine as he did about music - precious little. I wonder what they have in mind for you in your dotage? Searing critiques of Primary School Christmas plays perhaps, or judging knife sharpening competitions in Sligo?).
Being a Theatre Critic and not a Music Critic, you must have strayed into the Gaiety by mistake last Monday night, possibly looking for the rear entrance to Neary's Pub, but you certainly arrived with the word "Prejudice" burned into your furrowed brow; how it must have galled you to hear the rapturous welcome I received at the start of the show; how you must have writhed at every standing ovation, how you must have cringed at every call of "Chris, we love you", how you must have felt isolated as the audience rose to their feet as one, singing, dancing and shouting out for more; how you must have growled to yourself as you left, surrounded by so many happy people, to make your curmudgeonly way to the safety of the street outside. You really should look up the word "Entertainment' again, you might be surprised to see that it is all about people having a GOOD TIME!! Your churlish review is an insult to all those who enjoyed their night out, and in these days of collapsing newspaper sales and an entire new generation on the way who will get their information online, you may be looking for another job sooner rather than later. Your pals in the pub must have loved your review, but it seems that you are universally loathed in the Theatre world; a leading Impresario has described you as " puffed up with his own self-importance," and a much loved and successful actress refers to you as "that loathsome little turd." Great accolades, to be sure.
©Hot Press 2012. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | About Us Jobs @ Hot Press