Monday 30 September 2013

Time to release the second of the videos made to accompany the album Midnight in Havana. It is a tribute to the composer Eric Satie and the title 'Velvet and Absinthe' references the 'green devil', absinthe, and the velvet suits favoured by the composer. The clown make up is based on the traditional french clown character "Pierrot'. The fact that he is on his way to work in the City of London in no way implies that bankers are clowns (ahem). This was directed and edited by my daughter, Melody Cornford. 

Thursday 5 September 2013

I now have it on good authority that Midnight in Havana is to be released on the 28th October 2013 so with that in mind here is the first of the videos we have created to accompany it. It was shot in just an hour and a half at Wilton's Music Hall in London's East End and I chose Wilton's because it has that crumbled magnificence that is so striking in Havana. The title, Bucaneros at O'Reilly's, refers to the excellent local beer which I enjoyed at O'Reilly's in Havana. O'Reilly refers to a man of that name who fought against the English for the Cubans in 1762, and had a street and bar named in his honour. The O'Reilly's in Ireland created their own currency which gave rise to the phrase 'Living the life of Reilly', because if you have the power to create your own currency then - indeed - you are (living the life of Reilly).