(Paul Brady)
On summer holidays my mother and father used go out at night to places where they could dance. Their party piece was the Tango. In north west Ireland in the early 1960s where the two step, the old time waltz, and for the younger ones, the Jive or the Twist were the standard fare, the Tango was indeed an exotic sight. Musicians in the various establishments came to recognise them and would announce the next dance is a Tango… which would of course clear the dance floor except for my parents. They never failed to rise to the occasion. Big tunes like La Paloma and La Golondrina are embedded in me ever since and several of my melodies like ‘Love Goes On’ and ‘Love Hurts’ are like slowed down tangos. This one too. Geoffrey Richardson’s viola and ukelele perfectly underscore Mark Knopfler’s guitar. Máire Ní Bhraonáin’s voice dropped in from Heaven. As long as I play the tin whistle, however, it’ll never stray too far from Ireland.