Tag: My Lucky Charm

This is a true story. Andrew J. Newall is quite explicit about that. My Lucky Charm is the soundtrack of a musical drama based on the life of Andrew’s mother Catherine, a complex story which actually begins in Donegal in 1881. Fortunately the album includes a booklet which expands on the music – although I did feel the need to draw up a family tree as an aide-memoir – and the album title comes from the name that Catherine’s grandmother gave her.

The music and songs are composed by Andrew and performed by him and Sandy Jones at the Foundry Music Lab in Motherwell. Who does what and how isn’t made clear but they create music which is perfect for film, television or theatre without the over-the-top elements that tend to exemplify the genre. Remarkably they also provides accompaniments which suit the songs perfectly but, and here’s the interesting thing, if you strip away the lyrics you have a very listenable suite of music. Other lead vocals are supplied by Sophie Innes, Frances Murphy, Terry O’Neill and Emma Mitchie and Catherine’s own story-telling links the whole piece together.

Catherine’s life was an eventful one: two families brought together; a dreadful mining accident, a world war, the break-up of a marriage and locations as far apart as Orkney and Dagenham. That said, this is the story of ordinary people, the social history of a particular period overlaid with personal ups and downs.

The songs highlight a number of events in Catherine’s life, notably the break-up of her parents’ marriage involving her moving from London to Scotland where she settled. The bigger songs are the lovely ‘The Piper Played’, ‘The Shores Of Scapa Flow’ and the trilogy of ‘Don’t Hate Me’, ‘Let It Go’ and ‘On My Feet Again’ which detail the trauma of the separation. Others, such as ‘New Shoes’ and ‘Driving Rain’ seem minor in comparison but give a very personal perspective to the story.

But for Andrew’s assurance you might think My Lucky Charm was a work of dramatic fiction. There is no indication that it might be presented on stage – it wouldn’t be easy but well worth the effort.

Dai Jeffries

Artist’s website: https://www.andrewjnewallwebsite.com/

‘The Shores Of Scapa Flow’: