Christie Hennessy

Christie Hennessy (born Edward Christopher Ross; 19 November 1945 – 11 December 2007) was an Irish folk singer-songwriter. Although Hennessy was unable to read or write due to severe dyslexia, he still wrote his own songs such as "Roll Back the Clouds" and "All the Lies That You Told Me".
Hennessy was born in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. His first guitar was made, especially for him, from a tea chest when he was six years old by his friend Jerry Quirke. He left school at the age of eleven and a half.
His first job was as a messenger boy, and it was then that he discovered that it was important to be able to read. He was unable to read or write due to severe dyslexia, but still enjoyed his library of books. He later worked on building sites in London.
In 1972 he released his first record, The Green Album, on Westwood, a small label. With scant publicity or promotion, the album made little impact and only 500 copies of the record were pressed. Hennessy returned to labouring on building sites in the UK and did not release another album for twenty years. When he did, his 1992 release The Rehearsal outsold U2 in Ireland, eventually attaining triple platinum status. His following albums, A Year in the Life and Box also sold extremely well in Ireland.
(read more on Wikipedia)
==Links to Peel==
Peel mentioned on his 21 June 1973 show that somebody gave him a copy of the singer's debut LP, on "a small Welsh label". Only 500 copies were pressed. He seemed to be impressed by the musician to invite him to do a session for his show in February 1974. According to Wikipedia, after this Hennessy "returned to labouring on building sites in the UK and did not release another album for twenty years" - this time with much greater success, even outselling U2 in Ireland in 1992.
==Sessions==
1. Recorded: 1974-02-11. First Broadcast: 26 February 1974. Repeated: 07 May 1974
*Far Away In Australia / The Wealthy Squire / Casey's Wake / Messenger Boy
==Other Shows Played==
;thumb|220x220px1973
*21 June 1973: Far Away In Australia (LP - The Green Album) Westwood
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists