MacD on Music: Gimme Some Wine

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been writing about some of this city’s finest music venues and the excellent artists that play there. This week, that tradition continues.

In recent years, St. Augustine’s Church has become one of the go-to spots for more intimate gigs in the town. Providing a small, cosy setting, the church has played host to acts such as Mary Coughlan, Altan and the 4 of Us in recent times.

Later this month, the brilliant Eleanor McEvoy will take the stage (again) for what is sure to be an excellent night. I spoke with Eleanor ahead of the gig about her thoughts on returning to St. Augustine’s, her new album ‘Gimme Some Wine’, and her early career, including being signed to Geffen Records and her decision to go independent.

Beginning our conversation, we spoke about the gig itself. Eleanor told me that she’s “really, really looking forward” to returning to Derry, in the only venue she’s going to be playing twice on her current tour.

The last gig took place almost a year ago, on the 18th March.

Talking about the gig, Eleanor says that she “loved St. Augustine’s” and that it was “just a joy” to play there. She also singled out Kieran Dunlop, the man behind Music Capital, for his efforts in putting on such great gigs.

The current tour, Eleanor says, is “going great” with “nearly everything sold out”. The tour is in support of her most recent album, ‘Gimme Some Wine’, which was produced during Lockdown.

The album was recorded by Eleanor at home, at the encouragement of Derry’s own Liam Bradley, and features collaborations with David Rotheray (formerly of the Beautiful South), on the songs ‘The Company of One’ and ‘Almost Beautiful’ and Paul Brady on ‘Found Out By Fate’. The album also features Eleanor’s reflections on motherhood, on the song ‘Fragile Wishes’.

Speaking about the latter, she says that she used to think that songs on that topic were “so naff” and that she was “never doing that”. That all changed when she had a child of her own, and thus a song was born.

The album features artwork from the late Chris Gallon, who had a long-standing artistic relationship with Eleanor and her music over the years, beginning with the song ‘Dreaming of Leaving’ (a collaboration with Lloyd Cole, from her 2016 album ‘Naked Music’) and continuing with a series of twenty four paintings based on her songs that were curated by IAP Fine Art in London. Eleanor and Chris had planned to continue to work together prior to his sudden death in 2017, and the song ‘Gimme Some Wine’ is dedicated to his memory.

During our chat, we also spoke about Eleanor’s early career, and being signed to the legendary Geffen Records. Eleanor was signed to the label by Tom Zutaut, previously responsible for signing Guns N’Roses, Mötley Crüe and Edie Brickell, among others. On Geffen Records, Eleanor recorded her self-titled debut album (released in 1993).

After that, she signed to New York’s Columbia Records, where she released the albums ‘What’s Following Me’ (1996) and ‘Snapshots’ (1999). ‘Snapshots’ saw her work with producer Rupert Hine, who’s previous credits included works by Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks and Suzanne Vega, as well as many others.

The album features the song ‘Sophie’, which deals with the theme of anorexia and, Eleanor says, is her most requested song at gigs. The song, she tells me, is still played at treatment centres around the world and she has, over the years, met people that it had helped.

After leaving Columbia, Eleanor decided to go independent, beginning with her album ‘Yola’ (2001), and has stayed that way pretty much since then. Her newest album, ‘Gimme Some Wine’, can be found, physically at least, exclusively through her website, eleanormcevoy.com, or at her gigs.

It cannot be found on Amazon. Eleanor said that this is an “unusual way of doing things” but explained to me that she doesn’t agree with the ethos of Amazon and tries to avoid using it herself whenever possible.

She tells me, though, that this unique method of distribution hasn’t affected the demand for CDs. Since it’s release, ‘Gimme Some Wine’ has received orders from all corners of the globe, from Ireland, to Australia, to America and beyond. For those hoping to hear the new songs live, Eleanor tells me that she will be performing most of them at her gig here this month, as well as songs from her back catalogue, including ‘Sophie’.

Eleanor McEvoy plays St. Augustine’s on the 24th March, and features special guest Peter McVeigh. Tickets are £20 plus booking fee.

Eleanor can be found on Instagram @eleanormcevoy, or at her website eleanormcevoy.com. Her new album, ‘Gimme Some Wine’ is out now and can be found either on her website or at her gigs.