I am blessed that the universe affords me the possibility to go out to places in the world and sing for people. I just love singing, and the connection with people is still what drives me today. I have to force myself to stop touring, as it's a kind of beautiful addiction. I went to the US and it was lonely and a struggle, but also amazing because all of a sudden, there were people who wanted to hear my songs, especially in New York. I was about 30 and had been writing songs for 15 years before I found a voice and realised it was something different and unique. I joke that Barry Moore is who I am but Luka Bloom is what I do. It was a particular moment when I did something that turned out to be a little bit brave and fortuitous. It was never about distancing myself from my family - I changed my name professionally because I realised that I needed to completely start again after I made three albums in my own name and they sank. I don't take the name Luka Bloom any more seriously than the multitude of Irish men with nicknames. I got up and did a few numbers and got a great reaction, but I was only 12 and people were kind. Everyone was so quiet listening to him singing, which was mind-blowing to me. He took me on a trip to the north of England in 1967, and it was amazing getting to hang out with him and seeing my brother going out on stage. I really looked up to Christy and he was a great big brother. It was so important for me to have those moments, and I still sing and play with the same sense of urgency and love that I did then. I hid it at school, and would take it out for five minutes between classes. It was at my mother's request because she saw I had a talent with it. My sister Eilish got me my first guitar, and Christy came home from England with the most beautiful guitar for me.
People say that we wouldn't had have education back then without them, but it's unfortunate that this aspect of our lives was dictated by men in long frocks. It's co-ed now with a lot of female teachers, and I feel that young men and women are much more relaxed with each other today than my generation was.ĭidn't we do a great thing when we liberated ourselves from the great oppressors and then handed the country over to our next great oppressors? At least the Brits had the decency to invade us - the priests and nuns didn't even do that and we gave them the keys to the schools. We were like caged animals as it was a single-sex school with male teachers. I was a little on the wild side, so my mother felt it might do me no harm. I went to boarding school in my home town, which was weird. My pals and I solved problems together, hurt each other physically and probably mentally a bit too, learned to swim and ride bikes together and had as much fun as possible. I had a great childhood, and while we had less in terms of material things, our assets were each other. There was no helicopter parenting going on in Newbridge in the 1950s. She was amazing, and as time goes on, I am more in awe of the sacrifices she made so that her six children would thrive, despite her sadness at becoming a widow at 33. Our mother Nancy was the centre of my universe. My brother Christy was 11 when our dad died, but I was only 18 months old so it was all I knew. I was aware of the absence of my father growing up, but probably not to the same extent as my older siblings. He was only 41 and was having an ingrown toenail removed when the anaesthetic killed him.
The devastating premature death of our father Andy was a formative event of my life. Luka lives in Co Clare, and has two sons, Robbie and Tom, and two grandsons, Tom (2), and John (two months). A very popular singer-songwriter, he has recorded 20 albums to date and is currently on tour nationwide.
#BLOOM BROTHERS PROFESSIONAL#
He was christened Barry Moore, but changed his name for professional reasons. Born into a very musical family, Luka Bloom (61) is the youngest of six and grew up in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
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