The Hennessys
Cardiff After Dark
1984—Music Factory MF 106 LP
Side One
What goes on in Cardiff after dark (J. Sully)
Grangetown Whale (Meazy/Hennessy)
Billy the seal (Meazy/Hennessy)
The good old days (Hennessy)
Citizen of Cardiff (Gareth Jones)
Tiger Bay (F. Hennessy)
Side Two
Pop alley bottles (F. Hennessy)
My pal John (F. Hennessy)
The Baseball song (F. Hennessy)
Yachting on the Welfare State (G. Mayer)
The streaker (Tom Connors, Arr. Hennessy)
Cardiff born (F. Hennessy)
Credits
Frank Hennessy: lead vocals, guitar, banjo
David Burns: vocals, mandolin, guitar
Thomas Edwards: double bass
Pete Marshall: keyboards
Recorded live at: St. Peters R.F.C. and Chapter Arts Centre
Engineer: Dave Shell
Produced by Music Factory Cardiff
Cover Design Inspired by S A. Brain & Co. Ltd.
Photography: Brian Woods Photography Lid.
Layout: Martin-Smith Design Associates.
Sleeve Notes
CARDIFF AFTER DARK
What makes Cardiff different from any other City?
Well, for a start, it's a capital city, with one of the most beautiful civic centres in Europe.
It's got the castle, Cardiff Arms Park, and one of the most varied and integrated populations in the world.
This is what really makes a City special, its people, their humour, optimism, the ability to overcome great hardships and a great tradition for having a "do" at the drop of a glass.
Oh aye, and don't forget that element which makes us very different from the rest, the language.
I'm not talking about the ancient Welsh Cymraeg but the "KAIRDIFF LANGWIDGE" innit?
We have been described as the "Bristol Channel Yanks," and there is even one theory that the Australian accent originated in Old South Wales before being taken across to New South Wales.
Confused strangers have used many devious ploys to try to impersonate the true "KAAIRDIFF" talker.
In vain attempts to imitate the hard, flat, Kaairdiff "A" or the squeezed, stretched "E" sounds, foreigners have had their teeth wired together, stuck coathtwoers in their mouths, and even clipped clothes pegs onto their noses. All to no avail. There's no substitute for the real thing, hence this record.
I'd like to thank St. Peter's R.FC. and Chapter Arts Centre for allowing us to use their premises, and I want to give a very big thank you to the general public of our City for nagging me into doing it in the first place.
If you want to listen to this record in its true surroundings get yourself a flagon of "DAARK" an' a "Claarksey" and a few tanners worth of chips in an "Echo" and relax. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it.
Tara Now,
Frank Hennessy
Alternate release
Balladeers notes
This LP was re-released on CD in 1999 (above), with a few variations. "My pal John" & "The streaker" were omitted (on the re-release). These songs were replaced by "Grangetown Gondolier" & "Skipper of The Canton Junk".