The Ghost Who Walks - Press Release, September 2004

The Ghost Who Walks: Mortal Coil ( BiPolar )
Released 4th October 2004

Some of you already know The Ghost Who Walks … personally.

The Ghost is one of you. A low down dirty rock critic. A media whore. A HACK. Under his alter ego Neil McCormick, he writes a weekly column for the Daily Telegraph.

Now, in the perverse tradition of gamekeeper turned poacher, he has made an album.

Neil wasted his youth as a struggling musician who could never quite convince A&R men of his genius. A contemporary of U2’s in his native Dublin, his career curve was pretty much the diametric opposite of theirs (they made it to Wembley Stadium. He made it about as far as Wembley Coach and Horses). Neil’s misadventures in the music business are laid out in his memoir I Was Bono’s Doppelganger, published in the UK and Ireland by Penguin on August 27th (and in America by VH1 Books in October). Author Joseph O’Connor has described the tome as “squirm-inducing, excruciatingly honest and painfully funny… a love story of innocence and innocence lost.” Sir Elton John has eulogised it as “The best book I have ever read about trying to make it in the music business”.

But there is a twist to his saga of unremitting failure. Neil continued to operate a shadow musical existence under the nom de guerre The Ghost Who Walks. Last year, out of the blue, Mel Gibson’s office called to ask if they could include his track Harm’s Way on the album Songs Inspired by the Passion of the Christ, resulting in Neil making his major label debut sandwiched between Elvis Presley and Leonard Cohen with Bob Dylan bringing up the rear. Mel Gibson said: “This song sounds like a plea from every mother and father to their child”. Neil even got a better review than Dylan, albeit in The Newark Star Ledger, who wrote: “The most riveting performance comes from The Ghost Who Walks, who offers the haunting, tender Harm’s Way.”

The Ghost Who Walks’ debut album Mortal Coil is released on his own BiPolar imprint (through Vital) in September. It has been attracting some high profile support. Sting and Robyn Hitchcock are amongst The Ghost’s confessed admirers. Captain America debuted ‘Sleepwalking’ on his Virgin radio show, claiming “If REM released this it would be number one.” Bono has described the album as a masterpiece, writing to Neil to say “heard your CD. It’s extraordinary. Not a dull tune on it. This is as good as it gets.” He hailed Neil’s song of spiritual confusion ‘I Found God’ as “a classic”.

Mortal Coil has been two years and a lifetime in the making. It spans a huge musical scope: gospel, hard rock, country, pop, hip hop, rock’n’roll and some real tearjerking ballads. Neil says “I wanted it to sound like you were lost in a record store, listening to all your favourite music.” Lyrically dark, it is verbose yet melodic, worldweary but soulful and always deeply passionate. It wears its heart on its sleeve.

Be gentle.

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