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It should go without saying, but Joby Fox is a bit of a living legend in terms of Nor’n Irish music for what he has done in music to date, what he continues to do and how inspiring and helpful he is to other local musicians.There are many songs written about Belfast, but for me, only someone who grew up there and went through it all, like Joby Fox did, is really qualified to put their opinion into a song. For many ‘Belfast’ is the definitive song about the city during The Troubles, and it’s hard to disagree.
Originally written by Fox in the late 1970’s when he was a fresh-faced punk with The Bankrobbers, ‘Belfast’ finally made its mark in the early 1990’s with Energy Orchard, reaching No. 1 in Ireland. Fox reckons now is as good a time as ever to re-release it given that, while we have come a long way, division is still there and still has the potential to drag us all back.
So the song has been given a new lease of life, beautifully recorded, with female backing vocals and given a new third verse. All-in-all it makes it well worth buying for those musical aspects alone. The fact that the proceeds are going to the two, very appropriate charities, WAVE Trauma Centre and Clic Sargent, only makes it even more worth worthwhile.
‘Belfast’ is available now from http://www.jobyfox.com/bignews/belfast-rereleased-sales-donated-to-charity/
