Mary Black overcomes serious illness to play at Derry’s Millennium Forum on Friday

IRISH singer Mary Black is to appear at the Forum on Friday despite being hospitalised two weeks ago with a dangerous strain of shingles. The Dublin born star had to go on a drip for five days to counteract the effects of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which can lead to facial paralysis and loss of hearing. “It was a very, very nasty strain of shingles,” she told Derry Now. “I was in quite a panic when I found out about it. “I spent 11 hours in A&E in Dublin waiting to be seem, but luckily they caught it in time. “It’s the sickest I’ve ever been but I’ve made quite a good recovery. “I am a bit low on energy but once you get on stage the adrenalin kicks in and thankfully my voice hasn’t been affected.” For over a quarter-century Mary Black has been a dominant presence in Irish music, both at home and abroad. She has released 11 studio albums all of which achieved platinum sales status and spawned countless hits. And she has also played a front-line role in bringing Irish music, past and present, to an increasingly appreciative and ever-growing global audience. Mary is no stranger to the Forum stage, having performed to capacity audiences in recent years. This time, she will be highlighting the songs of one of Ireland’s greatest songwriters – Jimmy MacCarthy who penned ‘No Frontiers’, ‘Katie’ and ‘Bright Blue Rose’. The pair have recorded an album ‘Mary Black sings Jimmy Mac’, which also features some new tracks. “It was Jimmy’s idea, he came to last year and said he’s love to have a whole album of his songs sung by me,” said Mary. “It really appealed to me and I was doubly interested because there were some new songs too. “We know each other from way back and our careers have grown together and in many ways it is a tribute to him.” Mary says that trying to pick her favourite song by Jimmy would be like picking a favourite child. “I know that I could never do a gig without singing ‘Katie’. “If I didn’t do that I’d be lynched. “There’s so many Katies that have been named after that song. It’s very special. “’No Frontiers’ is so special to me too. “It was the title track of the album and I got record deals in America, Japan and Australia on the back of that.” Mary Black and her legendary band will return to the Millennium Forum this Friday May 4 as part of a nationwide tour to promote her new album ‘Mary Black sings Jimmy Mac’. Tickets are available from the Millennium Forum Box Office and are priced £27.50.