Clara man's song featured in Hardy Bucks Movie

Uploading some home recordings to YouTube has worked out very well for Clara man Johnny Johnson. After being noticed on the video sharing site the makers of The Hardy Bucks Movie, which hits Irish cinema screens today (Thursday), chose one of the Clara man’s recordings to feature in the movie.

While Johnny does write his own music, it’s a recording of 'Oro! The Rocky Road' - an amalgamation of the traditional Irish song 'Óró sé do bheatha abhaile' and 'The Rocky Road to Dublin' - that has led him from Clara to being part of the much-anticipated movie.

Originally from Ballycumber, Johnny told the Offaly Independent this week he’s been playing music for years and recording it at home on an eight track recorder. 'Oro! The Rocky Road' was recorded at the end of summer 2011, he said, in addition to other compositions of his own. Johnny said he sometimes records alternative versions of traditional music 'for the craic really more than anything else', and certainly that recording has led him to a lot of fun.

Producer of The Hardy Bucks Movie Mike Cockayne emailed Johnny last October. Thinking it was one of his friends messing Johnny emailed back with an outlandish list of demands in return for his song being used. 'Then I decided to Google the name just in case...and then I sent a grovelling email,' Johnny laughed. 'I explained all and he saw the funny side.'

Johnny attended the premiere of The Hardy Bucks Movie in The Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield in Dublin last Monday, February 18 and the after party in Everleigh Garden after the screening where he grabbed some photos with the movie’s stars. 'We had a great night,' he said. 'The Bucks are sound people and the movie is fantastic. I highly recommend it.'

The Hardy Bucks Movie previews at cinemas around the country, including Tullamore Omniplex, today and goes on general release tomorrow (Friday). You can find more Johnny Johnson recordings by visiting http://www.youtube.com/user/johnnypauljohnson