Speaking of Jimmy Smyth, he was the main man in the seminal Irish pub/rock band The Bogey Boys. We lost him for a few years after he disbanded the Bogeys and then he sort of disappeared off the map until one day I was repainting my flat in Rathmines and this song came on the radio, stopping me dead in my tracks. I lit a cigarette and listened to the amazing singing I at first thought HAD to be Bree Harris, Ballyfermot native and first Irish lady of the blues.
Back then getting information about who played on which record meant you had to buy it to find out. It wasn't Bree, it was an American soul singer named Toni Childs (RIP). So I bought the album and took it home, then stuck it on the turntable and read through the credits: the name Jimmy Smyth caught my eye and I wondered if it could really be the same Jimmy? It was, he was still burning strings and setting the bar so high for those around him I was gobsmacked.
Monster tune, still sounds fucking awesome:
Toni Childs: 'Don't Walk Away' (1988)