Josh releases Luke Kelly cover

Josh is currently working finalising the release of his upcoming EP.

Cavan singer-songwriter Josh McClorey has released a version of the classic Luke Kelly song 'School Days Over'.

The hauntingly folky cover, with an accompanying video, went online last week.

The song was recorded and video filmed by Adam Rael and Douglas Tyrrell Bunge when Josh decamped with a few fellow Cavan musicians to Drumlish after lockdown last year to record some work at Transmission Rooms Recording Studio, run by brothers Mick and Johnny Cronin.

“Its a lovely warm place to be, a great creative space, so I went down there to record the live version of 'Everything Was Easy' with Terry Brady, Mike Paterson, Donnchadh (McAvenue) and Emil (Kapusta). Because I spent so much time in London last year I hadn't really been around a lot of the Cavan lads and I missed that feeling. It was cool to get back jamming with those guys.”

Josh and his friends also recorded a version of 1983 hit 'Drop The Pilot' by Joan Armatrading.

“It was a kind of spur of the moment thing,” Josh says of the video for 'School Days Over' in a nearby abandoned country cottage where he, replete in a Darragh Slacke t-shirt and cowboy boots, strums a 12-string acoustic guitar.

“Obviously there's been no gigs so I just wanted to try and do live versions of songs and put them out there. It was definitely fun. I want to do more of that. It was just nice to be in the moment, and have the feeling of sharing a space again with other creative people.”

Josh is currently working finalising the release of his upcoming EP.

The four-track recording will include his latest studio offering ‘Puffin Clovers’, released towards the end of 2020.

The song followed his debut solo single ‘Everything Was Easy’ which was followed by ‘Crazy’, both of which enjoyed widespread support on streaming services such as Spotify, with the songs added to several editorial playlists including New 'Music Friday UK', 'Easy' and 'Fresh Finds'.