Post by Michael Messer on May 5, 2024 10:44:12 GMT
My old friend Ron Kavana died yesterday. I hadn't seen Ron for many years, but back in the mid 90s Ron recorded and co-produced my album MOONbeat at his house in North London.
Ron Kavana was a giant of of the Irish-London music scene and was an amazingly talented artist.
Here are some Youtube videos of Ron's music. Ron's band Alias Ron Kavana was and still is one of my favourite London bands. Also I have put a few of the tracks from the album we made together.
This was written by another old friend, Lloyd Coombes. It is a very well written potted history of Ron's life and career.
Ron was born in Fermoy, County Cork, the son of an Irish father and an American mother from Chicago with Cajun roots. He continued to live in Fermoy until a couple of years ago, when illness hospitalised him, culminating in being moved to a hospice, where he passed away today.
Ron performed with influential musicians from the worlds of Celtic music, soul, blues, rhythm & blues, rock, Irish folk ,folk-rock, and world music. His "Galway to Graceland" album included blues, Tex Mex, country, rock, cajun, and of course Irish influenced music. He was an incredibly talented songwriter, unafraid to write songs exploring politics including the so called troubles - his knowledge of Irish history was second to none.
Ron moved from County Cork to London in the late 1970s working at "Rock On" Records, replacing Philip Chevron who left "Rock On" to work full-time with The Radiators From Space. In 1977, Ron put together Kavana's Krisis Band, playing regularly at Hope & Anchor in Islington. They later changed their name to Juice on the Loose, whose eponymous album was released in 1981. Other Juice on the Loose recordings appeared on Ron's first solo album, 1985's "Rollin' & Coastin'. The band became the house band for Ace Records, with Ron as band leader and producer. They toured and recorded with many American acts, including Dr. John, Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree, Slim Gaillard, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Flaco Jiminez, and Gatemouth Brown.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ron also played with Panama Red, The Thunderbirds, The Balham Alligators, and The Alexis Korner Band. Following a European R & B package tour backing Korner, Ron played at the Boogie Woogie Band's anniversary at Dingwalls, with an all-star band that included Charlie Watts on drums and Jack Bruce on bass.]
In the mid/late 1980s, Kavana opened several tours for The Pogues, including a December/January 1985/1986 jaunt through Ireland, where he performed as a duo with Elvis Costello. Pogues management considered Kavana as a replacement for departing bass player/singer Cait O'Riordan. The band chose road crew member Darryl Hunt for the job, but Kavana made several appearances on The Pogues' album "If I Should Fall From Grace With God, and co-wrote two songs with Pogues member Terry Woods. "Every Man Is A King (In The U.S. of A.)"was released as a B-side and and "Young Ned of the Hill", was included on The Pogues album " Peace and Love"-and to my mind was the strongest track on a disappointing album..
In 1990, Ron produced the album "For The Children", featuring 29 guests including members of The Pogues. It was a fundraiser for LILT (London Irish Live Trust), a charity organisation working for peace in Northern Ireland.
In the late 1980s, Ron formed the band Alias Ron Kavana. They were deservedly named "Best Live Act in the World" by Folk Roots magazine in 1989, 1990, and 1991. I saw them first in 1990 at a Heneken Festival in Southsea, and was blown away.... band's first album, "Think Like a Hero", was released in 1989., followed in 1991 by "Coming Days" Then came "Home Fire", released in 1991 - I joined the Portsmouth based Celtic rock band The Motherfolkers around that time, as their vocalist - and I'd say that half of our repertoire was from that album, the rest being the band's main man Pete Clark's own Alias Ron Kavana influenced material Terry Woods joined forces with Ron to record Ron's second album
After Terry left The Pogues, he and Ron formed a new band, The Bucks, who recorded the album "Dancing To The Ceili Band" in 1994. Although the album and live shows went down well, The Bucks didn't last long for various personal reasons.
In 1995 The Alias Band recorded the "Galway To Graceland" album which was self-financed and produced independently.
After Shane MacGowan had been booted out of his own band, The Pogues, he formed The Popes, and Ron then became playing guitar in an early version of the band. Ron played guitar on "Haunted", a duet between Shane and Sinéad O'Connor. He also came up with the tune for "Snake With Eyes of Garnet" from Shane's first solo album, "The Snake", although he received no credits.
In the mid 90's Ron played regular sessions in "The Swan", in Stockwell, London, and I would travel from my (then) home in Portsmouth every week to see him.
In 1995, frustrated by problems with record labels and the music business generally, and finding himself financially under pressure, he moved back to Ireland and enrolled in a full-time Humanities course, graduating with first-class honours in Irish studies and film studies. After graduating he re-entered the musical arena now and again, often just playing sessions. I started finding a few gigs for him and before I knew it I seemed to have become his booking agent. I'd moved to Ireland in 2007, and our paths crossed more often .I organised a couple of tours for the English rock guitarist Terry Reid in Ireland (the man who famously turned down the chance to front Led Zeppelin) and Ron appeared with him playing as a duo. The first tour was superb, but but there were immediate problems between the two men during the second tour and Ron walked out after the first gig..
In 2006 Ron released a double CD "Irish Songs of Rebellion, Resistance and Reconciliation", which was followed the the next year by an astounding four disc set "Irish Ways: Story of Ireland in Song, Music & Poetry", released in a sumptuous book form with copious notes. These two sets followed Irish history through songs and poems from 1796 to the present day. Bad (almost non existent)- promotion by the label meant this towering piece of work remains unknown but to the faithful few.
Ron was a fixture in County Clare, particularly at The Willie Clancy Festival in Milton Malbay, and the Ennis Trad Festivals, where he ran the singing sessions, encouraging many people to join in - including me. He was also responsible for kickstarting the recording career of the great traveller singer Tommy McCarthy, producing his first album "Round Top Wagon" and asking me to be his first agent. Ron was also a drummer for the Cork based jazz band Perfidia, and was a great blues singer/guitarist - I recall a set in the back room of the R.M.A Tavern in Southsea I organised, where Ron played almost nothing but blues all night. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of many types of music, and was a great Bob Dylan fan and loved San Francisco psychedelic music. I introduced him to Bruce Barthol of Country Joe and the Fish and they "clicked" immediately. He also supported Banana -a.k.a. Lowell Levinger of The Youngbloods- at a gig in Crusheen in County Clare. It was an absolute honour to have worked with Ron and been his friend , and I will always remember him telling me "John, you're the worst agent I ever had - you keep finding me feckin' gigs!"
My heart goes out to Ron's daughter and family, and his many friends, especially Annie Armstrong and Katie Theasby, who did so much to help Ron after his health started deteriorating. To steal a line from a song I heard Ron sing -and which was also recorded by The Pogues - he was definitely "A Man You Don't Meet Every Day....."
Ron released many albums that were never commercially available, but here's a short -and incomplete -discography of his commercially released albums.
* "Juice on the Loose" (1981) (Juice On The Loose), Chiswick Records.
* "Rollin' & Coastin'" (1985), (Ron Kavana) Appaloosa Records.
* "Think Like a Hero" (1989) (Alias Ron Kavana), Chiswick Records.
* "For the Children" (1990) (LILT – The London Irish Live Trust), Alias Records.
* "Coming Days" (1991) (Alias Ron Kavana), Chiswick Records
*"Home Fire" (1991) (Ron Kavana), Special Delivery/Topic Records, Green Linnet Records.
* "Dancin' To The Ceili Band" (1994) (The Bucks), WEA.
* "Galway to Graceland" (1995) (Alias Ron Kavana), Alias Recordings
* "Alien Alert! (live)" (1999) (Ron Kavana with The Resident Aliens), Proper Records.
* "Irish Songs of Rebellion, Resistance and Reconciliation" (2006) (Ron Kavana and the Alias Acoustic Band), Primo Records
* "Irish Ways: Story of Ireland in Song, Music & Poetry" (2007) (Ron Kavana) Proper Records.
* "40 Favourite Folk Songs" (2011) (Ron Kavana and Friends), Primo Records.
Ron also composed and appeared on soundtracks for the films "Sid and Nancy", "Ryan's Daughter", and "Hidden Agenda"
Here's a video from a gig I secured for Ron at Gosport & Fareham Folk Festival. The Motherfolkers also appeared and just for fun we reverted back to the old days and did NOTHING but Ron Kavana material throughout the whole gig, much to his amusement!
G'night, old friend. I'm gonna miss you.....
Ron Kavana >RIP
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Shine On
Michael