Christy Moore has shared a live video recording of him performing Black is the Colour at Glasgow’s Barrowlands in 2008, accompanied by Declan Sinnott.
Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair is a traditional folk ballad which Christy learned from the singing of Hamish Imlach. In his autobiography ‘One Voice – My Life in Song‘, he shared how in 1967, he was living in a room in Rusholme, Manchester, looking for gigs most nights. Hard to believe now, but he says there were a hundred folk clubs within twenty miles of Manchester Picadilly. Among his contemporaries of that time were The Watersons, Martin Carthy, Mike Harding, The Corries, The Oldham Tinkers and lots more.
One night, he was queuing to see Hamish Imlach. Hamish spotted him carrying a guitar case, stopped to chat and invited him in as a guest. Christy says that he got many gigs through Hamish’s generosity of spirit…that first meeting was the beginning of a long friendship that he says “lasted until he died in the first minutes of 1996”.
He shares a lot more in the book, and if you love folk music, you’ll love it. It’s definitely in my top 10, along with The Humours of Planxty by Leagues O’Toole. This song was a mainstay in Hamish’s set, and the crowd response at Barrowlands gives this recording that special touch.
For all of Christy’s upcoming dates, visit: https://www.christymoore.com/gigs/