Mayo's Glór Tíre star releases new single
DAVID Connor, one of the stars of the new series of TG4's hit show Glor Tíre, has announced the release of his latest single, Down Home.
The Mayo man has recorded a heartfelt version of the 1991 No. 1 from American country rock giants Alabama, which will be available on all platforms at the end of January.
David, from Claremorris, is being mentored on this season's Glor Tíre by singer/songwriter Michael English, one of Irish country's most accomplished male performers. While this year's series of the long-running show will be somewhat of a learning experience for everyone involved given the challenges of operating in the era of Covid, as far as the music side of things is concerned, David knows he couldn't be in better company for learning.
He commented: “Michael is such a talented musician and performer, I've always been a big fan of his. His songs are brilliant, just so catchy and so lively to dance to as well. But more than just that, he's the ultimate professional. For a man who's so well known and who has had so much success, he's just remarkably down to earth and humble to talk to.
“And he's given me so much advice already. It doesn't matter when I have a question - or if it's something I might feel like is a shocking silly question to even have to be asking - Michael is always there with an answer.
“Whatever way Glór Tire ends up for us, I know that I couldn't have asked for a better mentor. Michael is a pure gentleman.”
Indeed, those same words - a pure gentleman - have often been used to describe David himself in Mayo and the wider west.
A stalwart of the 'live' music scene in that part of the world with his band, Southern Revival, David's first adventure into a recording studio was back in 2016, and as befits the man, it was all to help others. As Mayo bravely battled ever onwards against the weight of history and a tidal-wave of expectation in their continuing pursuit of the Sam Maguire, David and his sister Jenny recorded the Mayo Cup Song, with all proceeds going to support a cystic fibrosis charity.
Country music has always been a central part of David's life, so much so that he was, as he says himself, 'reared on it'.
While David's first experience of actually singing on stage came in a youth variety show, it was in February of last year that he took his first steps onto the national scene, releasing his official debut single, a rousing version of the Zac Brown hit As She's Walking Away.
That choice of song offered an insight into the influence of American country music on his life, with artists like John Fogarty, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Glen Campbell, the Eagles and Elvis quick to roll off his tongue when enquiries are made as to his musical inspirations.
He's equally quick to add, however, that, like his dad, he was also a huge fan of Big Tom and the Mainliners. The follow-up to As She's Walking Away came in August of 2020, a cover of the Luka Bloom song, You Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time. And so it proved, with the track claiming the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Irish country chart on the day of its release.
With Down Home, produced by Wayne Thorose, as were those first two singles, David is returning to the American country songbook to share a song that - as a country boy himself - has long held a special place in his affections.
“There's so many lines in this song that I can relate to, and that are about the life I've always known and the life I try to live. This was always going to be a song I tried my hand at somewhere along the line. It's about appreciating where you're from, and the simple things that are actually so important in your life, all the characters and places that you're so familiar with.
“I think country people in general, wherever you find them, are of a very friendly nature, in both difficult and happy times. It's that community that reminds you that you're in a place where - as it says in the song - 'they know you by name and treat you like family.' And, in the chorus as well, where 'a man's good word and a hand-shake are all you need.' They're simple little things, but they're so important to me.”
David already has the experience of opening for the Keane Family and Finbar Furey to his credit, as well as performing with 2010's Glór Tíre winner Eunice Moran and her band. And, with his down-home charm and Down Home as his new single too, it's a safe bet to say that there are many more big experiences still to come the way of the Claremorris man.
* Down Home is available on all platforms at the end of January. To stay fully up to date with David's musical journey, you can follow him on Facebook and Instagram. To vote for David on Glór Tíre, simply download the show App and follow the instructions from there.