I went to see the movie and again I was blown away. He may not have been a great actor but the music and the performances were amazing. I subsequently bought the album and it is still one of my favourite albums to this day.
My wife bought me tickets to see him in Croke Park in June 2008. But controversially he pulled out of that gig with just a couple of weeks to go.
And then he announced that he would play Malahide Castle in July 2011. So basically he was going to be performing on my doorstep! How could I refuse!
The gig was absolutely fantastic. The setting was great. The sound was great. The light-show was great. He played all the hits (When Doves Cry and Alphabet Street were a bit short for my linking but you can't have everything). The crowd loved it. The man is an absolute legend.
And he apologised for not turning up last time. And he complimented Sinéad O'Connor's version of Nothing Compares 2 U, which I love.
And Malahide is a great venue for a gig, it turns out. We promised ourselves that we would go to future gigs here. But unfortunately there weren't any this year.
Unfortunately I had an ancient phone at the time of the gig but here is a still from a video I recorded:
