Shamrock Diaries
The album written in Ireland that became a huge seller in Europe and opened his commercial peak.
Chris Rea, 1985
- Released
- 1985
- Recorded
- December 1984
- Studio
- Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, and Bray Studios, Berkshire
- Label
- Magnet
- Producer
- Chris Rea and David Richards
- Length
- 48:45
Rea wrote it during a long stay in Ireland. Stainsby Girls is a tribute to his wife Joan, Josephine is for his daughter, Steel River came after he went back to Middlesbrough following his mother's death and found the streets of his childhood demolished, and Chisel Hill is named for a house he bought near Roseberry Topping. Rea later said that without the Irish and this album there would have been no Road to Hell.
It reached number three in the Netherlands, where it charted for 42 weeks, 12 in Germany and 15 in Britain, and went gold in Germany. Stainsby Girls was his first British Top 30 single since Fool. Rhino issued a two-disc deluxe edition in 2019, restoring the original Josephine to the album, and a 40th anniversary vinyl pressing in 2025.
Track listing
- Steel River6:15
- Stainsby Girls3:51
- Chisel Hill4:03
- Josephine4:26
- One Golden Rule4:29
- All Summer Long4:09
- Stone4:23
- Shamrock Diaries4:55
- Love Turns to Lies4:11
- Hired Gun8:03
Personnel
- Chris Rea vocals, guitars, producer
- David Richards producer, engineer
- Eoghan O'Neill bass
- Dave Mattacks drums
- Martin Ditcham percussion
- Mel Collins saxophone
- Annie Whitehead trombone
More from Chris Rea
Wired to the Moon (1984), The Road to Hell (1989)
Sources
- Shamrock Diaries, Wikipedia
- Chris Rea: Shamrock Diaries (UK LP), Discogs
- Chris Rea: The Rea-issues, Super Deluxe Edition (2019-08-16)
- Chris Rea interview, Songfacts (2017-09-19)
- Shamrock Diaries 40th anniversary vinyl, The Vinyl District (2025)