I have to admit I hadn’t heard of him until yesterday when he passed at the untimely age of 56 but the whole of Ireland is mourning at one of their culture’s most vibrant personalities, a gifted singer/songwriter and one-time Oscar winner.
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Very much heard of him. Interesting, much loved and very influential musician but also a well known social activist. The film Once is as lovely a place to start as any. It will be interesting to know what happened. He bevayse a father late in life and by all accounts was loving it. To die in a car crash involving no other vehicles is always a story.
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It was a motorbike so not that unusual
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Interesting. First report I read referred explicitly to car. I can see that’s now been revised.
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I loved his music, his own songs are powerful and somehow seem to give a real sense of who he was, and he was a fine interpreter of other people’s’ songs. For an intro I’d suggest either his Oscar winning number Falling Slowly or his version of The Weight with Mavis Staples which I saw on YouTube a while ago. Either of those should lead you to lots of his other work, for me a journey well worth taking.
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Yes very sad & tragic, the circumstances seem a bit odd - found on the side of the road at 4.30am having left a music session in a nearby pub at closing time and his bike was undamaged apparently, possibly had some sort of medical event. RIP.
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It’s a section of road known for various things appearing out of nowhere which could cause a vehicle to lose traction. Wouldn’t be the first biker to lose his life but leave behind an intact bike.
I became a fan a few years ago and had a great time exploring and acquiring the back catalogue. Only the other night I was really enjoying his recently released live album. Saw him once, solo show at Union Chapel and it was very special, the personality and the emotion flowing out. Very shocked and saddened by this horrible turn of events and feel for his family, particularly his wife and young child.
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A tragic loss of a very talented guy. I did arrive at Glen’s music via the film Once mentioned above…..but to also mention that he was almost unrecognisable as the character Outspan in The Commitments.
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What is a bit strange is he drove it like 4:30 in the morning and it looks like a straight ahead road at which he drove down in the soil and the flipped over. Having driven bike for his whole life. Either he drove drunk or he hit an animal. Falling a sleep on a bike must be impossible.
When you read up about the incidents on that road… perhaps not so strange.
Can you share?
Lots of stuff online. The locals are clear it’s a difficult stretch of road. Problem is the surroundings rather than the road itself as I understand it.
I’m currently on a train from York back to Manchester with intermittent TPE wifi so I’m afraid my focus is elsewhere. It is a death which seems to have brought out the worst in some though. Awful video on YouTube from someone revisiting the relationship which formed the basis of Once and suggesting it was essentially abusive.
That’s very sad to read. I confess that I wasn’t aware he played Outspan in The Commitments. We tried to get our students to watch the film in the 1990s, but they were resistant to soul music. The Pogues on the other hand were a roaring success as an entry to Irish literature. My sympathy to his wife and small son.
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