This new belter of a Christmas duet by two of County Donegal’s best loved exports of the past 20 years is sure to light up our radios and Spotify playlists this December!
Mickey Joe Harte needs little introduction since becoming a household name in Ireland in 2003 when he proudly represented us with his hit single ” We’ve got the world tonight”. This song has since become a cult classic being played in student clubs, weddings, parties and Irish pub jukeboxes all around the world. It even seen a top 20 re-entry last summer when it was released “Os Gaelige” and earned Mickey a slot at this year’s Electric Picnic festival .
In between all this Mickey has released 3 studio albums and co-written and recorded with the likes of Paul Brady, Moya Brennan and even The 2 Johnnies… who wrote a cheeky tribute song for him ” Mad for Mickey” on their recent no. 1 album .
Rory Gallagher (Rory & the island) has had a very colourful career in the music business since bursting onto the scene with his previous band The Revs in 2001. After The Revs debut single ” Wired to the Moon” entered the Irish top 20 in the summer of 2001 they scored 2 top 5 albums in Ireland and toured the world playing Slane Castle and supporting the likes of Oasis and Greenday.
After the Revs disbanded in 2008 Rory set up his solo music project ” Rory & the island” and achieved great success opening his own music live venues in Lanzarote in the Canary islands, co-recording with the likes of the late great Shane McGowan, releasing 4 studio albums, and racking up over 3 million listens on Spotify with his quirky GAA hit ” Jimmy’s Winning Matches” entering the Irish top ten in 2012 and again recently in 2024.
Rory and his wife Cara currently own “The Irish Viking” pub in Lanzarote where Rory is now resident musician 6 nights a week.
‘Hey! Home For Christmas’ is a very modern affair written by Mickey and Rory over zoom and WhatsApp, and similarly recorded in 2 different countries with Mickey recording his guitar and vocals in Donegal and Rory recording his parts in Lanzarote, the mix is seamless, Something that could not have been done 20 years ago.
The record is very poignant with the lyric and meaning of the song which focuses on the phenomenon of young Irish people returning home from their current abode in Australia, Dubai, London, New York etc and walking into their local pub and seeing an ex-partner with feelings lingering, perhaps sadly only on one side of the relationship.
The groove of the song gives it a happy/sad effect which adds a hidden depth , that can be overlooked in most jolly Xmas releases. The joyous uplifting beat and melody will surely carry this new song into Christmas parties and playlist all around the county , the country… and maybe even further.