Steve Cradock in Mullingar to launch Cronin's debut album
The initial instalment of a music trilogy, The First Kiss Of Love, the debut album from Cronin is launching this Sunday night in The Stables, Mullingar.
Gearing up for a big night are Cronin brothers Johnny and Mick, Fiachra Milner and Brian Murphy, and they have persuaded Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Cradock to visit – following a sell out Millennium Square concert marking 20 years of hit album, Moseley Shoals.
It's also rumoured that JJ72's Mark Greaney, who Cronin released Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart with on Valentine's Day two years ago, will be appearing, along with other well known faces from the town, like Jimmy Broder, plus up and coming singer songwriter Roisin El Cherif from Galway.
The First Kiss Of Love is the result of a three-year labour of love. Many of its 12 tracks are already successes.
Phantom FM playlisted Several Perceptions; Nelson Riddle received massive airplay here and across the pond on Dermot O'Leary's BBC2 show and from Steve Lamacq on BBC 6; Miriam O'Callaghan had the band live on her Saturday night show with In Loneliness Lives Love, a duet between Cronin's frontman Johnny and Veronica Moran.
Then there's Bury Me By Your Side, and released earlier this year – Octopussy, a collaboration with Matt McManamon of The Dead 60s.
Little London, The First Kiss of Love, She Saves and Is Lenka Still Living in Leeds – a collaboration with Cork friend Irish Jack (Lyons), are new and the audience are in for a powerful musical treat.
“The last one there is about an old man looking back on his life and his loves. It's part of a theme that runs throughout the record. It's about love and death, and mid-life too,” says frontman Johnny Cronin.
“They are heavy subjects, yes, but the album isn't heavy. It's quite light when you listen to it in its entirety.”
It's a very Irish record too, he says, with Steve Wickham of the Waterboys on there, Shane MacGowan, Mark Greaney, and BP Fallon.
"It is quite a retro album and we hold our hands up to that,” adds drummer Mick Cronin. “The influence of our heroes is all over this album for everyone to hear. We sort of had to get this out of our system before we can move on as songwriters.”
The title track, The First Kiss Of Love, is the band's first kiss to their audience.
“Massive” Paul Weller and Ocean Colour Scene fans, Cronin, are excited for the launch and says it takes them back to where it all began.
“We're in Mullingar 14 years now, and when we first came to town, we met a lot of people through The Stables. We learned a lot about music down there with Damien Rice playing or The Frames, The Stunning... It's a great listening room too. It's going back to where it started in Ireland for ourselves.”
Celebrity times
Cronin have their fair share of celebrity fans. Whether it's Pete Doherty giving them shout-outs from the Arena stage, or Niall Horan turning up to their gigs. But even they were surprised, and admittedly starstruck, when they met Noel Gallagher and supermodel Kate Moss recently.
Asked by Shane MacGowan to do a gig in London's Ronnie Scott's for Bella Freud's charity, the Hoping Foundation, they say it was an honour to play alongside some of the greats - people like Jools Holland, Van Morrison, Chrissie Hynde, and Noel Gallagher.
“In the audience there was everyone from Monica Lewinsky to Naomi Campbell, Gillian Anderson to Bill Nighy. And Noel Gallagher was sitting down at a table right in front of us – so, no pressure at all! From Drumlish and Mullingar to Ronnie Scotts!” explains Johnny.
“We did the gig and got talking with Noel. He told us he used to come to Mullingar as a child on holiday and he knew the Roma chipper! We had the craic about Joe Dolan.
“My dad was from Crossmolina in Mayo and his family's from Charlestown, so we bonded over that. We'd know his brother Paul well.
“We gave him a CD and it wasn't till we came home to Mullingar the next night that we saw he got papped with the record in the Daily Mail,” he laughs.
Another bond that has built up over the years is with Pogues singer Shane MacGowan.
“We were big fans of Shane when we were kids. My father got us into the Pogues, probably through emigrating to England when we were 14. You love anything Irish when you're living away from home. And the Pogues music speaks to your emigrant heart.
"When you hear The Sickbed Of Cuchulainn or Thousands Are Sailing, when you see them on Top of the Pops at number two in the charts in England, it's inspirational. And he's probably the best songwriter to come out of Ireland.”
Vinyl
A Dublin launch is set for the vinyl edition of The First Kiss of Love in September, but for now, you can pick up the CD at Sunday's launch in The Stables. Admission €10. Download it from iTunes, Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
Listen to the album here: