24 January 1993
Chris and Leanne Moore are so far the only mother and daughter to each have an Irish number one single. (Their closest challengers, Neneh Cherry and Mabel, have both only reached number three in Ireland.) We’ll see the second part of that Moore family double in around 15 chart-years from now. As for the first part, this double-A-side single went to number one in extraordinary and tragic circumstances. Chris Moore was a Limerick woman diagnosed with terminal cancer and who wanted to release a record in her lifetime. I recall Gerry Ryan’s 2FM show being involved and publicising her efforts. Unfortunately, she died a week before this record went straight in at number one, deposing Whitney Houston and staying there for five weeks.
If you fear this will be some sort of amateur maudlin slushfest, it isn’t. Even before re-listening to ‘Life Without You’ I still remembered its chorus, so that’s a good sign. Moore has a pleasant voice, and the song is a jaunty, poppy number; there’s a smart little skip in rhythm that nails the chorus hook, hence it sticking in my head all these years. There may not be a huge production budget or big-name musical superpower behind this, but ‘Life Without You’ is better than you’d expect for a fundraising record. I haven’t heard ‘This Time’ but I’ll extend to it the goodwill earned by its partner track and assume it is of the same quality. This two-part family story is off to a favourable start.
