Colours Of The Dawn by The Johnstons..

It is a golden Autumn Day here. The sun is shining, and the birds are singing in the trees. All seems well in the world, (As long as you don’t watch the news!) I have been listening to an album that I bought a few weeks ago called Colours Of The Dawn by The Johnstons. I discovered it after reading about Paul Brady on Wikipedia. The Johnstons were a family folk group from Slane in County Meath. By the time this album was made in 1971 there was only one original member left, who was the singer, Adrienne Johnston. She had been joined by Paul Brady and Mick Moloney. I found the CD on eBay, I think it only cost me £1.80 which was a bargain. It is a very enjoyable album and quite typical of the folk group sound of the 1960s & early 70s. On a couple of songs they almost reminded me of an Irish equivalent of Peter, Paul & Mary, only better. There are only nine songs. 

The album opens with a version of Hello Friend which I believe was first sung by Peggy Seeger. Paul Brady’s guitar playing is excellent. The next song Crazy Anne reminded me a bit of Anne Briggs, but I don’t know if the song was written about her. It was written by Chris McCloud who also produced the album and wrote the sleeve notes. He seems to have been a kind of Svengali type figure around the Johnstons, especially with Adrienne who I think married him. I found his sleeve notes slightly pompous and strange at times. Brightness She Came is an introspective melancholic love song by Paul Brady which hints at the brilliance of his work when he later became a solo artist. If I Could was written by the great Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. 

Angela Davis.

Angela Davis is another song written by McCloud. It concerns the story of Angela Davis, George Jackson & The Soledad Brothers. It shows the group growing away from traditional folk tunes towards more political messages. The title track Colours Of The Dawn is next which features some exquisite mandolin playing, by Mick Moloney I would guess. I’ll Be Gone In The Morning is another song featuring Paul Brady on vocals, showing what a great singer he was developing into. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy is a song by the great Leonard Cohen and featured on his album Songs From A Room. The final track Old Man’s Tale was written by Ian Campbell and to me is the most traditional Irish sounding track and features banjo and bodhran. After this album was recorded Mick left the band because he wanted to pursue a more traditional path than the others. Mick still plays to this day and you can find him on youtube. The band continued as a duo of Paul and Adrienne and recorded one more album before ending the group forever. 

Paul went on to become one of the most respected figures in Irish music. Adrienne made one solo album before mysteriously disappearing. She and McCloud moved to America and her family lost touch with her. She was found dead at her apartment in Minneapolis on 27 May 1981, aged 36. The cause of death was given as "cerebral contusions and subdural haematoma", apparently resulting from a fall. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances. The date on her grave states the former lead singer of The Johnstons passed away on the ’27th’ of May. However, even Adrienne’s death is shrouded in mystery and speculation. The inquest verdict was that Adrienne’s death was accidental, but some believed that she was the victim of something more sinister. There were allegations that Adrienne was possibly the victim of domestic abuse. These are just allegations, and nothing has been proved. I think it is a shame that the story of The Johnstons came to such a sad ending because they were undoubtedly an extremely talented and influential group.