Nice Day For a White Wedding

I’m off to Killarney tomorrow in advance of a flight to Germany from Kerry Airport the following morning. It’s my second time flying from Kerry, although it’s a bit of an exaggeration to call it an airport; I’ve seen taxi ranks that are bigger! It’s the only airport I know that’s beside the road and where there’s more danger of stepping on cow dung than there is of terrorism. On Wednesday, I’ll be flying into Frankfurt Hahn where I’ll be collected by my friend Pia who has promised to take me on a tour of the beer gardens where I’ll get to sample the lovely beer that they produce in her region. Now, meeting Pia and drinking fine German beer is not my only reason for leaving Ireland for a week, although it is as good a reason as any. The main purpose of my trip to continental Europe is to attend the wedding of a good friend of mine named Christian

I spent a year in college in the States a few years ago and Christian and I were the only Europeans on campus. For nine months, we shared a dorm and many drinks and even more laughs in north Kentucky. I had actually requested a single room and I remember being a bit apprehensive when I found out that I’d be sharing with a Bavarian. I needn’t have worried as it soon became apparent that we had a lot in common. We discovered that we had similar tastes in music, beer and even women. We also shared a sense of humour and we never fell out with each other at any time during the year. We’ve since met up twice in Germany and twice in Ireland and we’ve continued to share drinks, laughs and music. Christian now has a child and this Saturday the mother of his child will become his wife. I’m really looking forward to celebrating the day with them and their friends

All this talk of weddings reminded me of a conversation I had a few months ago. At least once a week I meet my friend John for lunch at the Wild Onion. While eating our omelettes we discuss what’s happening in the worlds of music, film, football and what-have-you. Sometimes we’re joined by Dave, a friend of John’s and an acquaintance of mine. Dave’s getting married next year and he’s trying to figure out what kind of tunes he’s going to put on the DVD of the Big Day. Dave likes a bit of alternative music, but he doesn’t want to freak out anyone whose musical tastes are more conservative. Also, he wants to pick songs that the future Mrs Dave will enjoy. I’ve put together 22 songs that could be used to accompany images of the happy day. My selection is bookended by two versions of Billy Idol’s White Wedding, a countrified cover and a mashup with Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. In between, it features a few songs that bear the name of someone special in Dave’s life, some lesser known cover versions of famous love songs, a classic or two, and a few tongue-in-cheek numbers. So, Dave, here’s a few tracks for you to check out. Their total running time is around 70 minutes. Hopefully, you’ll find one or two to put on the wedding DVD

01 White Wedding (Billy Idol cover) – The Whip

02 Proud Mary – CCR

03 Mary’s Prayer – Danny Wilson

04 Arms Of Mary – The Sutherland Bros

05 Take a Message to Mary – Everly Bros

06 Along Comes Mary – The Association

07 Mary Won’t You Warm My Bed – Colin Blunstone

08 Love Train – The O’Jays

09 Groovy Kind of Love – The Mindbenders

10 I’m Gonna Love You Too – Buddy Holly

11 Grow Old With Me (John Lennon cover) – Mary Chapin Carpenter

12 I Love How You Love Me (cover) – Beth Orton