WL//WH Video Premiere David Long & Shane O’Neill
Hailing from Dublin, friends since their childhood years in Churchtown, David Long (Into Paradise) and Shane O’Neil (Blue in Heaven), are both renowned stalwart musicians of the 1980s Indie Rock scene as singers and main songwriters from two separate Irish bands:
the former part of Into Paradise, who released two albums, the debut produced by Adrian Borland from The Sound, via the London-based independent cult label Setanta Records and the major label, Ensign; the latter instead part of Blue In Heaven, with two albums on Island Records, the first album produced by Martin Hannett, the other by Chris Blackwell, under their belt.
The duo have reimagined the 1987 song “Hand of Love” from the legendary London New Wave / Post Punk four-piece The Sound, led by the outsider songwriting talent of Adrian Borland, the opening track on the upcoming 18-track album “A Tribute To The Sound & Adrian Borland – Volume 2 / There Must Be A Hole In Your Memory 2,” via Canadian DIY label The Beautiful Music, the sequel to the 2014 tribute to assist the crowdfunding for Adrian Borland’s documentary “Walking in the Opposite Direction.”, whose accompanying video clip WL//WH is very pleased to premiere.
The atmospheric and melodic stirring ballad, “Hand of Love,” was written by Adrian Borland and included on The Sound’s fifth and final studio album “Thunder Up”, dropped in 1987 through the Belgian imprint Play It Again Sam (PIAS).
Stripped down of the keyboard flourishes while preserving all the melancholic and romantic fragile introspective spleen of the original, David Long & Shane O’Neill‘s version unfurls layers of piercing, sparkling, echoing strummed guitar melodies, that weave and scrape through the humming pulses of a round bassline along with soft drum thuds and tambourine shakes, whilst reflective, sad heartfelt vocals patiently heal from heartache in anticipation of being able to feel again.
The thought-provoking visuals for “Hand of Love”, show the color slowly fading from a forest scenery, giving way to a ghostly realm where an old-time woman has her hand held dearly atop her heart. Shifting flows of motion fuse with vintage movie clips, showing cutting-edge technology that changed the pace of life, to suggest a loss at the hands of innovation. Symbolic portals open the looking glass to the past, giving people the ability to slow down, change perspective, and heal from a modern, fast-paced madness.
The 18-track tribute album “A Tribute To The Sound & Adrian Borland – Volume 2 / There Must Be A Hole In Your Memory 2,” is available for free as WAV or MP3 files at this Dropbox link.
It will also be released on CD that will also be available from The Beautiful Music label’s website for free from November 7th (if people cover the postage costs or order anything else from the page and request a copy).
Keep up with David Long & Shane O’Neill/The Beautiful Music:
