ARTIST: Dick Gaughan
TITLE: Handful of Earth
LABEL: Topic Records
GENRE: Folk
SOURCE: CD
BITRATE: 177 kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 44:47
RELEASE DATE: 1981-00-00
RIP DATE: 2010-01-24
Track List
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1. Erin-Go-Bragh 4:34
2. Now Westlin Winds 4:42
3. Craigie Hill 6:17
4. World Turned Upside Down 2:51
5. The Snows They Melt The Soonest 4:19
6. Lough Erne/First Kiss At 5:54
Parting
7. Scojun Waltz/Randers Hopsa 4:14
8. Song For Ireland 5:08
9. Workers' Song 3:07
10. Both Sides The Tweed 3:41
Release Notes:
"This was the first album I had recorded in Scotland. For some reason, it seemed
to strike a chord with people and it is the most succesful recording I have made
in terms of acclaim and sales.
It was Melody Maker's Album of the Year in 1981 and in 1989 it was voted in the
Critics' Poll, and more important to me, the Readers' Poll, in Folk Roots as
Album of the Decade. I have had hundreds of reviews, good and bad, and I pay
little attention to them. But when the actual people you're playing to confer an
honour like that upon you, you shed the odd tear of thanks that you've been
privileged to be able to do something which means something to them.
Why they voted it such was a complete mystery to me then and still is today. As
a friend of mine says, "Never ask one of the actors what they thought of the
play".
After leaving Five Hand Reel at the end of 78 my life appeared to disintegrate.
I had had bouts of depression and mental illness on and off for several years
and ended up having a total breakdown in 79 - the years of excessive consumption
of alcohol etc and unhealthy living, which at that time were all an inevitable
part of life on the road, had finally caught up. I spent the next 2 years trying
to get some solo gigs again but for most of these 2 years I did very little but
work on getting back to health, apart from the odd short tour in Europe,
including the making of the Folk Friends 2 album.
I was still under contract to make another album for Topic and by spring of 1980
finally felt well enough to tackle it.
A bit of background to the making of this album.
Just before my breakdown, May 79, the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher had
won the General Election with a majority in England but a minority in Scotland
and Wales and we were saddled with the most extreme Rightwing Government of my
lifetime. We had just had the Devolution Referendum debacle and people in
Scotland, particularly on the Left, were reeling under the economic consequences
of the Thatcher strategy for solving inflation by crashing the economy and
creating mass unemployment.
What seemed to be required was to openly stand up and be counted. Although all
my solo albums prior to this had included songs which reflected my political
ideas, they had been more as chronicler than as protagonist. It was quite
clearly time to stop reporting and start participating."
www.dickgaughan.co.uk