Review of Largs Concert

^{We all met up in the coffee bar of the Barrfields Theatre in the Vikingar centre in Largs. We had travelled from far and wide including Pat, Chris and their daughter Mary who had travelled up from Wales, David from Aberdeen and Brian who had travelled furthest of all from New Hampshire, USA. This made my journey from “Old Hampshire”, England positively mundane. As we waited for the delayed start of the concert we heard some of the sound checks preparing us for the delights to come.}

^{Benny Gallagher came on first and after an initial solo song he introduced “a friend he had known for thirty years” then on came Mary, looking delightful in a long flowered skirt and pale green top with a matching blouse. Benny then introduced Christian Marsac and finally, but not least, Jim Diamond. From the very beginning the chemistry between these four artists shone through. There was friendly banter about plugging in guitars, what key they were going to sing in and the order in which they were to sing. They had drawn lots before the show to decide the order in which they were going to sing and Mary, good-naturedly, complained several times that she could not follow the strong lead in the popular songs of Benny and Jim. Mary sang along on several of the Gallagher and Lyle and Jim Diamond songs. Among these songs were “I wanna stay with you”, “Heart on my Sleeve”, “Stay Young”,}

^{Mary’s first song was “Painting by Numbers” a special song about relationships followed by the hauntingly, beautiful “Sparrow” which, of course, is a Gallagher & Lyle composition. This song is one I have always loved and with Christian Marsac backing her on the sax it moved me to tears. Aptly, this was followed by a lovely new song “Teardrops”. Christian Marsac is a very accomplished musician and his music strongly added to the magic of the evening. His recordings are going to be well worth watching out for.}

^{After the interval, the atmosphere built up with everyone joining in on many of the songs. Mary sang “Fair Weather Friends”, and a new song I think was called “ Fresh out of Favours”. Both very beautiful and the audience loved them. These were later followed by “Aderyn Pur” and the “The Fields of St. Etienne”. A further Welsh song followed, but being a poor illiterate Englishman, I did not catch the title and I’m sure I would not be able to spell it even if I had.}

^{Among Jim Diamond’s songs in the second half were “Hi Ho Silver” and “I won’t let you down” with everyone singing along with the artists. When the evening ended the applause seemed to go on forever, Mary was presented with a bouquet which I think was something that Pat had arranged. We were all thrilled when they all came back to the stage again. They all sang “When I’m Dead and Gone” in which the audience all joined in.}

^{All too soon the evening had come to a close but more excitement awaited us when Mary came down into the theatre and talked with us and signed autographs. She must have spent much longer than she had intended as Benny had to call her back for a group photograph. Mary then returned to us and agreed to photographs with several of us. I was amazed how wonderfully approachable, modest and self-effacing she was and how well she handled all the requests of her fans. One of the first things that struck me was how young she looked, how straight and elegantly she walked and held herself. It was lovely to see her take the time to talk to so many people, knowing several by name and making special time for the children who had stayed up so late for her.}

^{I have taken an active interest in Mary’s music since I was fourteen, sensing that she was “Special” and not part of the mainstream “pop” culture. Seeing her professional performance at Largs and also recently with the Chieftains has confirmed my view of her unique ability to capture the collective heart of an audience and realise how she has developed her talents over the years. Mary has managed to preserve her artistic integrity and she has refined her art over the years, avoiding the commercialism which caused so many others to fall by the wayside.}

^{Mary’s voice was as beautiful, strong and clear as I have ever heard her. If she had any nerves or reservations about performing they certainly did not show and Benny made a point of saying how long he had tried to persuade her to do such a concert. We all certainly appreciated his efforts and I hope that they will do other concerts together using the same structure. The format is very successful and gives a very intimate atmosphere allowing the audience to join in very easily.}

^{If Benny, Mary, Christian or Jim, by chance, ever read this, we all thank you for a wonderful evening, one which I am sure we will all remember. I sincerely hope that there will be more concerts or recordings by each or all of you.}

^{Alan Binks}

^{4th September 1999}

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