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Movies & TV

27th Sep 2023

One of the best Irish documentaries of recent years has been added to Prime Video

Stephen Porzio

mic christopher

It’s about an Irish music legend and features a who’s who of Irish talent.

Prime Video has just added the Irish documentary Heyday: The Mic Christopher Story to its library.

The film tells the story of American-born Irish singer-songwriter Mic Christopher, from his humble beginnings busking on Grafton Street, to fronting rock band The Mary Janes, to his acclaimed solo work with songs like ‘Heyday’, to his tragic death in 2001 at the age of 32.

Appearing in the documentary to discuss their relationship with Mic is an impressive line-up of Irish talent, including Bronagh Gallagher, Glen Hansard, Lisa Hannigan, Paddy Casey, Rónán Ó’Snodaigh and Sharon Horgan, as well as international artists such as Josh Ritter and Mike Scott of The Waterboys.

The film screened in the Irish Film Institute (IFI) in Dublin in 2021 before airing on TG4.

At the time of its release, JOE interviewed the makers of the documentary, who spoke about how they attracted so many major Irish artists to become involved in the project.

According to filmmakers, there was “so much goodwill” from the participants to be a part of continuing Mic’s legacy.

Heyday: The Mic Christopher Story trailer

As for what made the singer-songwriter so special, director Alan Leonard said:

“I never met Mic. I didn’t know him but if you talk to his friends… Glen [Hansard] says it was the mix that made him so attractive to people.

“So, he was very humble, he was very down to earth. He was just the quintessential perfect nice guy.

“But he also had the rock-star charisma as well… He is that quintessential mix that I don’t think exists as commonly in this world as you might imagine and I think that just drew everyone to him.”

The film’s producer Níall Carver added:

“Very often, lead singers in bands are egomaniacs and not easy people to get along with.

“I think Mic defied that stereotype by being the most charming man in the world by all accounts and having such a deep well of wisdom that he would share with everybody.”

Sure to find a larger audience now that it is available to stream at home, Heyday: The Mic Christopher Story is on Prime Video in Ireland now.

You can check out more of JOE’s interview with the makers of the film right here.

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