Former Paul McCartney Guitarist Henry McCullough Dies

Hot Press is very saddened to hear of the death of the great Irish guitar player, Henry McCullough. Henry was best known for his work with Éire Apparent, Spooky Tooth, Paul McCartney & Wings, The Grease Band and Sweeney's Men.

Coincidentally, Henry's death has taken place on the same date, June 14th, on which the Irish guitar legend Rory Gallagher died 21 years ago in 1995.

Born in Portstewart in Co. Derry, Henry cut his teeth with showband The Skyrockets from Enniskillen – but it was with The People (renamed Éire Apparent by manager Chas Chandler) that he rose to fame, touring with acts such as Jimi Hendrix. The Animals and Pink Floyd. He was famously busted for possession of marijuana while the band were supporting The Animals in the US, and he was deported.

He returned to Ireland and joined Sweeney’s Men alongside Terry Woods (later of The Pogues) and Andy Irvine (later of Planxty). A short while later, Henry’s guitar skills saw him being headhunted by Joe Cocker for The Grease Band – with whom he played Woodstock in August 1969. He was, legend has it, the only Irish musician to play that landmark festival. Soon afterwards, Paul McCartney came knocking with an offer to join Wings and Henry signed up. He stayed from 1971 to 1973.

Moving back to Ireland in the 80s, he continued to record and perform working with locals luminaries such as The Fleadh Cowboys, Ed Deane, Noel Bridgeman and more. He was also a fine singer and songwriter and recorded a number of solo albums.

Among his greatest songs was ‘Failed Christian’, in which he eloquently rejects the sectarianism which especially blighted the part of the country in which he was born and raised. ‘Failed Christian’ was covered by Nick Lowe on his Dig My Mood album, released 1998. Henry appeared at The Music Show in 2008, around the time of the release of his Poor Man’s Moon album, in a masterclass curated by Fiachna Ó Braonáin of Hothouse Flowers.

He had a heart attack in November 2012, and it was erroneously reported on both RTE and the BBC that he had died. However, he never fully recovered from that trauma and has been ill ever since.

“Henry McCullough was one of the pioneering Irish rock ’n’ rollers,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said today. “There was a huge flowering of great music in Ireland in the 1960s, but the cards were stacked so heavily against Irish musicians that only a small number achieved a strong and enduring international presence. Henry McCullough was one, breathing the same rarefied air as Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher and Philip Lynott.

“He was an extraordinary guitar player. But he was also a highly intelligent man, who wrote great songs and who was widely revered by his fellow musicians. We were lucky enough to interview Henry in depth for Hot Press – and also that he came to the Music Show in 2008 to conduct a masterclass. I am glad that we were able to afford Henry that small recognition of the great and enduring contribution he made as a musician. He will be greatly missed – but his music will forever be remembered.”

He is survived by his wife Josie.

Failed Christian (lyrics below)

Failed Christian
By Henry McCullough

I'm a Failed Christian
I don't go to church
I smoke and I drink
And I lie and I curse

It never got to me
Your sermon and all
You talked and talked
About nothing at all

I'm a Failed Christian
Failed Christian

I've got two recollections
Taking the collections
And tears when the choir
Sang in harmony
It scared me half to death
I swore as I left
With an inside pocket full
Of change and memories

I'm a Failed Christian
Failed Christian

I'm a Failed Christian
I've got my own church
I pray with my soul
To this great universe
All over the world
The blood’s on their hands
Religious instruction
I can't understand

I'm a Failed Christian,
Failed Christian

I'm going to meet my maker
A firm beleiver
Of spirit in music
There’s a prayer in a song
I'm a Failed Christian
And if I'm going to hell
Then you're going deeper
That I can tell

I'm a Failed Christian
Failed Christian

I'm a Failed Christian
I don't go to church
I smoke and I drink
And I lie and I curse