Both the recent Oscars and Grammys underlined the shortcomings of the events

It's not an easy selection, particularly as I'm omitting a few biggies, but these are my favourite albums from the master 

I kind of miss the mean spirited, hateful bile that some journalists used to dish out to us musicians 

We were often happy to play gigs in Irish bars in the US, even if the emigrant audience weren't always so receptive 

You could have studied the charts of 1966 in Ireland and not have any suspicion of what was happening in LA studios or in Abbey Road but you'd have known immediately that it was the 50th anniversary of 1916

Something Happens are still together, but I'm about to play my first-ever solo show 

The mini-revival of the compact disc has reminded people that it's the ideal format to listen to certain albums on

There may have been a sad reaction in some quarters of white America to the half-time show, but the rest of us just marvelled at the performances

Thin Lizzy, Horslips... and things would never be the same again

After failing to cancel my account, the daily diet of biographies, self-help books and other offerings has been a welcome accompaniment to my walks