Hot Press Meets Don Baker

Veteran Dublin bluesman (and sometime screen actor) Don Baker is waxing enthusiastically about his latest long-player, My Songs, My Friends, due this month. The album boasts a who’s who of Irish A-listers, including Sinéad O’Connor, Eleanor McEvoy, Damien Dempsey, Declan O’Rourke, Brian Kennedy, Mick Pyro and Liam O Maonlai. All are singing Baker originals. The project, which features no less than 16 guest singers, came about by accident.

“I was half-way through recording a new album,” Baker recalls. “I went into a music shop to have a look at a Fender Stratocaster. I met a girl called Clara Rose. She asked would I mind listening to her album. I thought she was brilliant. I invited her to the studio to sing on one of the tracks. The engineer, Stuart Gray, said, ‘Why don’t you get some other people in to sing your songs?’ So that’s how it started – pure fluke. Then we got Damien Dempsey, Declan O’Rourke, Liam O Maonlai. Finbar Furey, Paddy Casey and it went from there.”
The songs range from soulful, mid-tempo ballads, to straight blues and rock. What was it like working with such a disparate group and did he have specific tracks in mind for each performer?
“Oh yeah, the songs were all hand-picked for the singers. They’re all professionals. They were great, every one of them. I had 10 new songs written for the album. I delved into the catalogue to facilitate the others. Some did two tracks, so if I was to use both I’d have to lose someone. I’m a socialist. I believe in value for money. I’ll put in as many as I can fit on the album. One other thing I discovered is that everyone in the world can sing better than me. I was nearly going to ask the fucking cleaning lady in the studio to sing a song!”
While reluctant to nominate a favourite performance, Baker says the guests gave it their all and much more.
“Because it wasn’t their own albums, they all seemed to give more of themselves to it. So much so that I got phone calls from most asking, ‘Are you sure it’s OK or do you need me to come back in again?’ Someone like Mick Pyro is a breath of fresh air. He’s lifted the bar for blues several notches. He’s phenomenal.”
One song, ‘Woe To The Holy Vow’, featuring Sinéad O’Connor and Damien Dempsey, is a biting indictment of clerical abuse. It’s sure to be controversial. Baker is keen to play down its significance in the context of the album.
“The melody and lyrics came together at the same time, which is amazing. The abuse stuff was in all the papers and so it would have been foremost in my mind. The song is not an attack on the Catholic Church. It’s just telling the truth. A lot of people abused by clerical people are institutionalised. Or they’re alcoholics or junkies. Or dead. That’s the reality. The song is to help heal people. I went through it too. I spent two years in Daingean. I was sent by the courts as a juvenile delinquent. I’m not going to say I was put there in the wrong or because I stole a bar of chocolate. I was an out-and-out fucking tearaway, a fucking lunatic. I did 15-years of therapy and I still have the scars. I don’t want my album resting on that song. It wouldn’t be fair to the other artists. If it makes any money from downloads or sales I’ll give it to One In Four.”
Meanwhile, he plans to take to the road, complete with guest artists.
“Yeah, I’m going to tour the album – it’s my favourite bit. I think we’re going to try and do one big night in the Olympia or the National Concert Hall, when most of the guests on the album will be available. That’ll be great.”