Mary Black with Japanese fan Kazi

Mary Black In Japan

One of the fun things about the internet is the way it is so international. It is possible to meet and "talk" with people with similar interests from around the world. And to share musical experiences.

One of these international music friends is Kazuhiro Goda. I "met" Kazi in 1997 after he sent me some additional information on a Mary Black release for my Mary Black web pages. Over time we have shared stories about Mary and her music.

Here are three photos of Mary in Japan which Kazi has sent me. You can select any of the three pictures to see a larger version in .jpg format.

Mary and Kazi
Osaka, Japan - December 4, 1990

"She came to Japan in December, '90 for the first time. She held two concerts in Osaka, so I enjoyed two gigs. On both occasions I went backstage to see Mary.

After the first concert, my wife and I were waiting outside the venue. Since they wouldn't come out for a long time, we went back into the hall. Then I talked to a staff member from Ireland. He suggested to us that we go backstage. We climbed up the stage and saw Mary and other band members already talking to some of their fans in the corridor. I had talks with Mary, Garvan Gallager and Declan Sinnott. They were all very friendly and they even offered us some sandwiches. This must be the famous Irish hospitality! There I found that Declan and I shared the same tastes for music. Both of us are very fond of flat-picking acousitic guitarists such as Doc Watson, Tony Rice, David Grier, etc. The following evening, I went backstage again after the concert with a camera in my hand this time. I had a few pictures taken and asked Declan about his guitar. He showed me into the next room and let me play some tunes on his Lowden guitar. That was a most memorable, exciting evening for me."

Mary and Kazi - 95/10

Kazi, Roisin (Mary's daughter), Mary, and Keiko (Kazi's wife)
Osaka - June 28, 1997

Then on the 28th of June, she came to Osaka. I started standing in line two hours before the door was opened and managed to get the front seats for my wife and me. She sang "Misunderstood," "Beautiful," "Nobody Lives Without Love," "Tresspass Shoes," and "I Will Be There" from SHINE. On the stage they all sounded great to me.

....

After the gig on the evening of the 28th of June, I saw Mary's husband Joe in the concert hall. My wife and I went up to him and kind of tried to remind him of my previous meeting with him. He invited us to Mary's room backstage, where I talked with her and had three pictures of Mary, her daughter Roisin, my wife and me taken by Joe. I also had my Mary Black cap autographed.

After that we all went to the newly-opened Irish pub, "The Dubliners" in Osaka. When I had to say good night to Mary , I said to her, "Please sing whatever songs you want to sing. Real fans of yours are always behind you." There is no doubt in my mind that Mary has constantly proved that a good song requires a great singer to do it justice. I hope that she will continue to sing songs which she like to sing for herself. She doesn't sing for her fans, much less for music critics.

Set List - Osaka, Japan - June 28, 1997

Getting Around