Music and Mayhem

Music and Mayhem charts the immersive and explosive life of one of Ireland's most important musicians, and the golden decade of Irish music he was at the very centre of.   

Keith Donald's story begins in Unionist east Belfast, hurtling through vivid memories of a childhood as a musical prodigy, first performing at the BBC aged ten. His story takes him to the classics department of Trinity College Dublin in the early 60s, a hotbed of new ideas, before he becomes enveloped in the beauty of tenor sax. Jazz clubs by night and studying classics by day, Donald soon felt the early onset alcohol addiction, fueld by childhood PTSD. From university he joined the booming showband scene with The Federals in Belfast and The Greenbeats in Dublin, touring the dancehalls and marquees of the Irish country.   

The 70s saw Donald building a music career in Dublin and Europe, coping with addiction, a crumbling marriage, and forging a separate life as a qualified social worker. It was the 1980s however, when his greatest breakthrough came to pass withthe formation of the Celtic rock supergroup Moving Hearts. With the Hearts Donald was manager, star performer and inspiration, alongside bandmates including Christy Moore and Donal Lunny. Their fusion of jazz, rock and traditional music created the soundtrack of an era and paved the way for a generation of Irish musicians.



Keith Donald is a renowned saxophone and clarinet player who has played with some of the biggest names in Irish music, including Van Morrison, Ronnie Drew, Moving Hearts and   Christy Moore. Over a six-decade long career, Donald has played   alongside hundreds of artists, and recorded over 20 albums. Keith is also a composer for theatre, film and television. Keith was also part of the team that won a BAFTA award for United, a film which was conceived as a commentary on the divisive issue    of parades in Northern Ireland politics. In addition he has composed music for many BBC documentaries and a BBC film called Great Journeys.



I got the bus from Galway to Dublin to see Moving Hearts playing in Baggot Inn in the early 80s - I'll never forget it! A few years later I asked Keith to play on my album 'Tired & Emotional'. The stories in the book are great and brought back memories of the years when me and Keith travelled the same roads together.



A very moving, intimate and courageous story of my friend Keith's journey through life and music.



A quietly absorbing memoir … A sobering read … In part an autobiography, public apology, and sermon, it reads like Keith Donald played: free-form, instinctive, and visceral … Donald is a terrific storyteller with a finely-tuned sense of the absurd … Balances the dark realities of addiction with a battery of scarcely believable yarns … What sets Music and Mayhem apart is that it is one of only a handful of testimonials that counter the partisan narratives and laze cliches that dominate its telling … By refusing to yield to cheap nostalgia and instead telling what at times is a brutal story, he has done himself – and history – no little service.



After reading his book, I'm amazed he made it this far … A raw read … Full of the messiness of an alcoholic musician's life … His story is a mass of contradictions, and it is as complex and interesting as life … The rationale for the memoir is to tell people that there is a better life and that you can get sober.



A fascinating memoir … You get a sense of the addictive feeling of playing music and the power of music ... I loved it.



Incredible ... Wholly absorbing ... A scorching chronicle of addiction but at its heart is Donald's transcendence of recovery. A great read.



I really, really enjoyed it … There are so many brilliant stories in here, you could have got a trilogy out of this … I highly recommend it.



A remarkable book.



'Music courses through the book … Stitched into the fabric is a distinctive history of Ireland's fledgling music industry … A life lived? You bet.'



'[Donald] is a perspicacious observer of people and currents … couched in humour, openness, geniality and humility.'



A remarkable story of musical achievement deserving of a literary look back … a heartbreaking tale of self-destruction on a par with 'A Drinking Life' by Pete Hamill.



'Absolutely brilliant … I love the writing about music in this book … It's beautiful, gets to the heart of it … A great read.'



One for the ages … Told with candour.