Q&A: Sean Cooney (The Young’uns)

What feels new about this album compared to the previous two? 

The album has been produced by Andy Bell. It’s the first time Andy has made one of our records in eight years and from the beginning he had the vision for a classier sound when it came to songs with instruments. Jon Boden was brought in to arrange five of the songs and they are played beautifully by a string quartet.

What were the most memorable moments in making this album?

The most memorable moments were sharing the songs with the people who inspired them and hearing their reaction. In most cases this involved sending the track to the individuals (or families of the individuals) we’d written about and receiving wonderful email responses back. In the case of Richard Moore [a Derry man who was blinded by a rubber bullet at 10 years old and went on to found the charity Children In Crossfire], we actually performed it for him in his house in Derry last September. 

How did you go about finding the subjects of each track? 

Three of the songs were written at the suggestion of people. Most movingly, Rachel Robertson wrote to us to ask if we’d write a song about her brother, Tim Burman, who was killed in the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. The other songs came from stories we’d heard on the news and in the media. ‘Jack Merritt’s Boots’ is a tribute to the inspirational young life of Jack Merritt who was killed in the Fishmonger’s Hall terror attack in 2019. ‘The Surgeon’ was written after hearing David Nott talking about his amazing work on Desert Island Discs. More randomly, ‘Roseberry Moon’ was inspired by a beautiful photograph by Steven McDonald that I saw on Twitter.

What albums were you listening to during the writing/recording process that inspired you?

In writing ‘Jack Merritt’s Boots’ I wanted to listen to the music that Jack loved. Psychodrama by Dave was a big favourite. I often listen to classical music when I research and Ludovico Einaudi’s Seven Days Walking is a favourite of mine.

I love the 'Tiny Notes' (tracks 2, 7 and 10) recordings from female vocalists. Where do these songs come from? 

The vocalists are Anne Lamb, Lucy Farrell and Karine Polwart. The tiny songs are written by me and are little snippets of loss and resilience. At one point I thought they would all be part of a fully formed song. Maybe they will eventually.

This Q&A originally appeared in the May 2023 (#187) issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe to Songlines today