FOLK SINGER AND COMPOSER CHRISTIE HENNESSY

Christie Hennessy was born in Tralee, Co Kerry, in 1945, the youngest of nine children. His father, an electrician, played jazz on the accordion, his mother sang Irish traditional songs and they often hosted music sessions at their home on Saturday nights. When Christie was six his father died and he had an unsettled childhood. He hated school, particularly its corporal punishment regime, and he left when hewas 11. His early influences ranged from Elvis, Al Johnston, Bill Haley, Fats Domino, Robert Johnston, Mississippi John Hurt to the Beatles and all musicals.
At the age of 15 he emigrated and worked on building sites in London and by night he played with countless bands as a drummer. He even played with guitar legend Peter Green in an early line-up of what would eventually become Fleetwood Mac
A spell out of work prompted him to put a notice in a shop window: “If you want a song written, I’ll do it for £5.” He was thrilled to be offered £25 by the manager of a singing duo, and put a special effort into writing If You Were to Fall. But the deal fell through, the song rejected as “absolute s***”.
He released his first album, The Green Album, in 1972, but it failed to make any impression on the charts He persevered and paid his dues as a solo performer. However, life on the road was tough. “I couldn’t begin to count the amount of times I went around Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds playing to 150 people a night,” he recalled.
Such was the strain that he came close to a breakdown. His wife Jill, recognising the warning signs, sought medical help for him, and treatment in hospital was recommended. But he chose to remain at home and, with his wife’s support, made a good recovery.
His breakthrough as a songwriter came when Christy Moore recorded two of his songs, Don’t Forget Your Shovel and Messenger Boy. It also proved to be a learning experience.
“All I got from the original publishing contract I did for Don’t Forget Your Shovel was £350, though that had nothing to do with Christy Moore,” he said. “But Christy’s manager Mattie Fox made sure I got a better deal for Messenger Boy, and now when I see the statements breaking down the performance royalties and recording royalties, I know I should have gotten a hell of a lot more than £350 for the first song.”
Don’t Forget Your Shovel documented his time working on the building sites on London in the 1970s, a time when he came into contact with deadly asbestos.
Following a gig at Whelan’s in Dublin, he was offered a recording deal by Dave Pennefather of Son Records, an offshoot of the U2-owned Mother label. The result, the 1992 album The Rehearsal, outsold U2 in Ireland that year and he won the IRMA Best Newcomer Award.
He enjoyed considerable success as a solo performer, touring Ireland and Britain, with frequent TV and radio exposure. But he felt ambivalent towards fame and took a career break.
In 2005 he teamed up with Neil and Calum MacColl, sons of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, who produced his album Stories for Sale. His final album A Friend of Mine was released in 2009 and coincided with the unveiling by Christy Moore of a lifesize statue in his honour in Tralee.
He was attracted by the literacy programme of the charity Children in Crossfire and donated all the royalties from the single A Price for Love to it. He died on December 10, 2007.
He lived at Sutton, near Wimbledon, and had a house in Tralee. His wife Jill, daughters Hermione and Amber and son Tim survive him. In 2010 his family was awarded compensation by Greater London Council following his death from mesothelioma, caused by his exposure to asbestos during his early career as a painter and decorator in London in the 1970s.

Discography
The Green Album, 1972
The Rehearsal, 1992
A Year In The Life, 1993
Lord of Your Eyes, 1994
The Box, 1996
This Is As Far As I Go, 1999