softer, more old-time rustic approach to music was being investigated by some musicians who only recently had been at the forefront of cutting edge innovation. Bob Dylan returned from his motorcycle crash with the bucolic John Wesley Harding, The Band released the hugely influential back-to-their-roots album Music From Big Pink, and even The Rolling Stones sought refuge in some country licks on Beggars Banquet after the misstep of psych curio Their Satanic Majesties Request.


The members of Granny’s had an ear cocked


from Belfast called Gary Moore. As a young six string slinger who had come down from Northern Ireland to play with various combos on the Dublin beat scene, Moore had left a stunning impression on everyone who witnessed his incredible talent firsthand.


Eight more songs were recorded with Moore’s contributions (Ryan recalls that the teenager played tin whistle and also helped out on backing vocals). A distinctly rustic edge to the album does indeed confirm the influence of the new country-rock movement, and the sound is


arguments. More drugs. More confusion.”


Deram hardly threw their weight behind the record, having long abandoned Granny’s Intentions to concentrate on other priorities. Indicative of their lack of interest was the fact that the final cover design was a cheap photo of the group superimposed over the actual sketch that John Ryan submitted to the label’s art department to show what he had in mind for the finished sleeve. The group’s manager of three years quit and Johnny Hockedy, another stalwart since the early days, lost interest and


The best intentions. L-R: Johnny Hockedy, Greg Donaghy, Jack Costello, Johnny Duhan and John Ryan.


to these new discs and were revelling in the carefree atmosphere of the London music scene – soaking up the kaleidoscope of new sounds, hanging out with Irish ex-pat Phil Lynott and folk-rock group Dr Strangely Strange and also indulging in the panoply of drugs widely available to them. John Ryan attests that The Byrds’ seminal country-rock opus Sweetheart Of The Rodeo had a major influence on the sound of Honest Injun, the album cut at irregular junctions by Granny’s Intentions over the course of a number of recording sessions during the first half of ’69.


With just three members now in the group, additional musicians were needed to participate in the album’s recording sessions. Enter Noel Bridgeman from Skid Row on drums and Pete Cummins, an ex-colleague of John Ryan’s in a group called The Circle (and future member of The Fleadh Cowboys), on bass. The two new Granny’s were unveiled to Irish audiences at the Spotlight Poll Winners gig in March ’69 (readers had voted Granny’s the number one beat group of ’68, a categorisation that now sounded wholly inappropriate for the music of the day). Three tracks were laid down in London at the outset, but the curse of the group struck again and it wasn’t long before Bridgeman left to be replaced by Pat Nash, who had drummed with Dublin soul men The Uptown Band. Additional guitar playing came courtesy of a talented lad


light years away from the sterile orchestration of their previous single. The group’s soul roots are not entirely left behind though. Side Two’s opener ‘With Salty Eyes, Dirty Lies’ is resplendent with effervescent brass, and Johnny Duhan’s voice still possesses the earthy growl that he developed singing James Brown and Otis Redding numbers in the Irish clubs. The album is book-ended with two very strong hard-rock numbers – particularly appealing is the arrogant strut of opener ‘Maybe’ which contains a killer guitar hook that Jimmy Page would have been proud of. It would not be uncharitable to describe this landmark Irish rock release as uneven however. Recurring line-up changes and a sporadic recording schedule had hindered any chances of a smooth gestation. Duhan experienced some problems with Wayne Bickerton who was again on hand to produce Honest Injun, strangely perhaps given the bad feeling within the group over his previous work. Quite a few of the songs were worked up by Granny’s Intentions in the studio and while much of the writing is solid a few tracks suffer from a lack of development and polish. All things considered, under the circumstances the album still showed huge potential for the future and was well received on its belated release in March ’70. “It was a good starting point,” says singer Duhan “but unfortunately things started going down hill. Communication in the band was poor. More line-up changes. More


drifted away. An attempt was made to reinvigorate the group in a rented cottage in County Mayo, but divisions manifested themselves more strongly there. Just one more single was issued, another country- rocker called ‘Take Me Home’, not included on the original album. In August ’70 the band, now billed as Granny’s New Intentions, headlined a number of shows at The Marquee and later an offer was made to record a second album. But motivation and drive had evaporated. After a year of treading water the group slowly spluttered to a halt in early ’72.


“I often think that we used up most of the energy in breaking into the Dublin scene,” says Johnny Duhan. “Had we gone straight to London with the powerful energy we had to begin with we might well have cracked the London scene in the way we did Dublin. Rory Gallagher did that. But that’s all water under the bridge. The bottom line for me is that we let ourselves down. We were young, foolish, frightened, hungry and drugged-out. The one album shows potential. But it was just a starting point, and the real energy was left behind with the string of intentions that got lost along the way. But I have no regrets whatsoever. Life is for learning.”


•


Daragh O’Halloran is author of Green Beat: The Forgotten Era Of Irish Rock. See myspace.com/ greenbeatdaragh for more details.


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