365 Days, 365 Files: Clannad – Harry’s Game
No survey of Clannad is complete without mentioning the band’s signature tune: "Harry’s Game".
This one song pretty much put Clannad on the international map. "Harry’s Game" is actually the theme song to a British television show. When it was first released in 1982, it was the first song sung in Irish to hit the Top 5 on the British charts. Ten years later, it was featured in the movie Patriot Games, where it caught the attention of an advertising executive.
"Harry’s Game" then served as the soundtrack to a Volkswagen commercial in the US. The 1-800 number displayed in the commercial was inundated with calls not about the car but about the music used in the commercial. The commercial was later edited to credit Clannad.
"Harry’s Game" deserves the acclaim it’s garnered. It’s a simple tune bolstered by the group’s tight harmonies and some very atmospheric keyboard work. Although it predated Enya by a few years, it wasn’t widely known to American audiences till after the younger Brennan became an international hit herself.
It’s interesting, however, to see how both parts of the family arrived at a similar sound by different routes.
[File expired.]