Heartbreaker by The Mary Janes & Friends
Written by The Mary Janes
Stream the tune here: themaryjanes.bandcamp.com
Directed by Donal Scannell at Born Optimistic
It was late Autumn, November 29th, 2001 and the myriad of people who had grown to love Mic Christopher commenced grappling with the news he had left us. In nothing short of a tragic accident, Mic had fallen and hit his head, suffering catastrophic head injuries.
In the wake of Mic’s departure, he has continued to influence artists with the most laudable gift a troubadour could leave behind, his songs. In November 2002, through the persistent work of Karl Odlum and brother David, captaining a large assembly of Mic’s musician friends, ‘Skylarking’ Mic’s first solo album was released to critical acclaim. This album contained inspirative anthems such as ‘Heyday’ and ‘Skylarking’ which posthumously plunged Mic and his devastating story into hearts and homes across Ireland and the world.
For the ten years prior to a solo career, Mic rode point with his band The Mary Janes. Mic’s time in the group would see him travel to all ends of the world from post-war Bosnia to Australia, America and Scotland and would fertilise the creation of a multitude of prodigious songs, many remaining unreleased to this day. With impenetrable friendships forged, the highs and lows of four young men struggling in a rock band were traversed, and the writings of these years remained stored on cassette tapes in tattered cardboard boxes, stowed beneath beds.
Once again, a large cohort of Mic and The Mary Janes’ friends have assembled from across music fields and beyond to honour a deeply missed friend, recording a previously unreleased song from The Mary Janes titled ‘Heartbreaker,’ produced by David Odlum. Time hasn’t changed Mic’s melodies or words, which stand as true today as they did lying on pages in verdant ink the moment they were penned. Through the hands of musicians and voices of singers, a collective of the pure hearted have come together and built a virtual shrine to a man who after twenty years, is still as alive in each one of us, as the days we would muse one another.
- Stanky
2 дек 2021
