Devastating news coming from Dublin of the death of Glen Hansard.
Glen was a star who hated being one. He was a hugely influential figure in music, a man widely revered the world over for his passionate music and compassion in life. Since his inauspicious start as a busker on the streets of Dublin, Glen has created a rich treasure trove of songs and music, with The Frames, The Swell Season, and under his own name, with six studio albums filled with musical gems: ‘My little Ruin’, ‘Her Mercy’, ‘High Hopes’, ‘Revelate’, ‘Grace beneath the Pines’; the list seemed endless.
Glen’s music covered all bases, from a deep love of Irish Traditional music, through Folk, to Rock and punk; he covered all bases with energy and grace.
He appeared on the Big Screen as the wonderfully laid-back ‘Outspan’ in Alan Parker’s beloved ‘The Commitments’, before taking centre stage with Markéta Irglová in the little cinematic gem that is ‘Once’.
Glen won the Oscar for best original song from ‘Once’, for the stirring ‘Falling Slowly’, a song that became a staple in his live performances.
And, for me, it was in his live performances that Glen’s music really caught fire.
I was fortunate enough to see Glen on several occasions, the last being in May, in Prague.
The usual line is ‘He left everything on stage’. But with Glen, that’s what he did. That’s who he was.
His gigs surged with emotion, with declarations both whispered and roared about life, love, struggle and endurance. There were songs that carried a message, and songs that cried out for people to listen and to act. But there were songs of hope, life-affirming songs, delivered with a certain joie de vie, that lifted people and left you in a better place, that when you came in
There were no pretences with Glen; what you saw was what you got. He shared stages with Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder, and with people experiencing homelessness, and fellow buskers. Always eschewing the trappings of any suggestions of being a ‘Star’, he took time to chat with ‘people’. He encouraged many aspiring artists, and it is only in the years to come that we will see his true influence on the musical stage. He was very encouraging and personable to me when I tried to start the ‘Belfast Busk’, and was always interested in the work of The People’s Kitchen when in town, with a generosity of spirit and a deep humanity.
He has fought the good fight as well as singing about it. Always speaking forthrightly, and always from the heart, he was heavily involved in issues of social justice, and not just in words. In 2016, Glen was a leading protagonist in the ‘Home, sweet home’, which occupied an empty government building in Dublin, and opened it as a hostel for people experiencing homelessness. Glen stated the movement wanted to start a ‘national conversation’ about homelessness, saying the crisis was a ‘national emergency’.
The issue of Homelessness was an issue that he strove to keep to the fore of the national consciousness with his ‘Dublin Busk’ in Grafton Street each Christmas, keeping the issue in the public eye and drawing participation from fellow artists such as Sinead O’Connor, Bono, Dermot Kennedy, Imelda May and a veritable who’s who of Irish musical talent.
Perhaps it is this evidence of his humanity that evokes such devotion among his fans.
A man of great charisma, Glen was a storyteller, a dreamer, an irreplaceable talent, someone who lifted others up, and a tour de force. Tonight, I’ll play his songs and have a drink in his memory.
RIP Glen Hansard- a giant in music and as a human being.