Tommy Sands says Fair Play To You All

It’s not a tribute to Jim McDonald in Corrie so it isn’t, Fair Play To You All is the latest CD from Tommy Sands.

‘Fair play to you, Elizabeth’, an oft used phrase by Corrie’s Jim McDonald.

“His songs have become part of a long and venerable tradition that now reaches all over the world. He continues to be a veritable powerhouse of creativity in world music and writes new songs that touch the nerve of all those concerned with social justice and enduring peace between people of all creeds and ethnicities.” – Professor Michael Moloney, New York University

One glance at the cover or a single listen to the music will immediately delight of course but there is so much behind the cover and between the lines that you will find yourself slowly feasting on the contents for a long time to come.

The title itself is an oft used throwaway line in Ireland, probably most heard on UK television screens coming from Coronation Street character Jim McDonald, but in the pen-hand of Tommy Sands it becomes much more profound and an overture to the album itself.

Sands is one of the most productive and prolific performers in the history of Irish music and indeed one of the truly great songwriters in global music. Track listings for the latest album, out later this week, include Answer Not Blowing in the Wind, Refugees, What’s Going on in Jerusalem, Who Killed JFK and Ode to Europe. Fair Play To You All is released on September 27th.

Although constantly performing on stages all around the world he prides in taking his music down from the lights and into the darker corners of society. One of his current projects, teaching underprivileged prisoners in Reno, Nevada, to write their own song with which to defend themselves in court is currently creating a wide spread stir in the world of community art in the United States.

There will also be an accompanying stateside tour of concerts for Fair Play To You All starting in October 2019, ending back in Northern Ireland in December. Future UK dates are yet to be finalised.

“He is a true humanist gifted with a unique ability to reach across ethnic divides particularly in his homeland, a territory that has been racked by divisions for literally hundreds of years. This remarkable recording with the extraordinary musician Steve Cooney is sure to be an enduring contribution to Irish and world music. ” –  – Professor Michael Moloney, New York University