There are always events in life that you will remember.
Weddings.
The birth of your children.
Holidays.
World events…. I bet you can remember exactly what you were doing on 9/11 or when Diana died.

Discovering ‘Dish of the Week’ number 80 is one of those events for me.

Today is the anniversary of a song that I absolutely adore.
Take Me to Church by Hozier.

I have a wonderful memory of the first time I heard the song and the beautiful voice of a tall (6’5″), gangly Irishman with long messy hair, called Andrew John Hozier-Byrne.

I had fallen asleep on the sofa one evening and I woke up to a very late night repeat of a Graham Norton show at around 2 in the morning.
It was the musical section at the end of the show and Hozier was singing Take Me to Church and I was completely blown away.

Here is that very performance…..

I was smitten and immediately looked up more about him and his music.
His first album, Hozier, is an amazing piece of work with every track a masterpiece that I can listen to again and again.

Take Me To Church and the self-titled debut album sent him on an international tour for more than two years and by the time he came home, he was burnt out. It took months to decompress and return to normal. He moved into a bungalow near his family in Wicklow and lived alone, “trying to do the everyday normal stuff that make people feel like people”. After a while the ideas for Wasteland, Baby! started to come.

It was a frustratingly long wait for this second studio album, that was finally released in March this year. One track on the album was release on an EP in Sept 2018. The amazing ‘Nina Cried Power’ with Mavis Staples.

It was shortly after the release of that EP that I actually got to see Hozier in concert in December 2018!
STUNNING is an understatement for this man live on stage.

If I ever get the chance to see him again, I will be jumping at it.

Wasteland Baby is another magical piece of work.
It’s hard to pick a favourite track, so here are just 3 corkers.

When I listen to his music, I find I am drawn to his live performances over the studio recorded ones. He pours his heart and soul into his music every time he performs and this makes every live performance different and stunning.

I just hope I don’t have to wait another 5 years for the next album!!