John Fogerty, the American son who is ‘100pc Irish’, delights Dublin with his greatest hits

The 77-year-old rocker delighted Irish fans by packing his solo set with classic CCR tunes that they could sing along to.

With the tour called The Bad Moon Rising Celebration Tour, Irish fans were expecting his greatest hits to be rolled out and John delivered with panache.

He said: “I’m so happy to be in Dublin, back in Ireland where I belong.”

His unique voice still sounds terrific and his ability to hit the high notes still applies.

Fogerty declared: “You are all sound so beautiful, you make me feel so good.

“It turns out I’m 44pc Irish according to one of those ancestry tests.

“Tonight, I’m 100pc Irish.”

Fogarty opened with Bad Moon Rising before racing into Up Around the Bend, whose distinctive screeching opening lead notes electrified the Dublin audience.

California native Fogerty has kept the band’s songs ringing out and in the public’s mind ever since they broke up in 1972. To be able to sustain his energy levels after a 50-year music career is a credit to him.

The backing band had a strong family flavour featuring his sons Shane and Tyler. He said: “You have may noticed a family resemblance on stage.”

American John ripped around the stage with a beaming smile, breaking into runs as he played incredible guitar solos.

His boys had played earlier in the night as the opening act Hearty Har with a solid psychedelic pop sextet sound.

One of the highlights of the night was the audience singing every word of Have You Ever Seen The Rain.

He told a story to the crowd about a guitar he in 1969 which he played at Woodstock which his wife got back for him after 44 years without it. At the time, CCR broke up, Fogerty’s girlfriend left him and his dog bit him. A little boy asked him for a guitar and Fogerty, without fully thinking about it, handed him the prized guitar. Decades later, his wife, Julie, tracked it down the middle of America and put it under the Christmas tree.

Fogerty broke into Who’ll Stop The Rain and Looking Out My Back Door to the delight of fans.

Meanwhile Run Through The Jungle saw him do a Harmonica solo.

He paid tribute to Julie, his wife of 32 years, with the song The Joy Of My Life which featured a video montage of their family life together.

Songs that he wrote in Creedence Clearwater Revival such as Proud Mary, Fortunate Son, Bad Moon Rising, Looking Out My Backdoor, Born On the Bayou and Green River are anthems known globally.

Even Rocking All Over The World, a signature Status Quo song, was written by Fogerty.

Fogerty’s many hit songs have sold over 100 million records both as a solo artist and as leader of CCR.

His bluesy Southern swamp rock sound has influenced many artists since it emerged in the 1960s.

He is the only musician to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the song Centrefield, a staple at US stadiums during games.

In 2023, Grammy-winner Fogerty acquired a majority interest of the worldwide publishing rights to his historic song catalogue from Concord.

Toasting his audience on Tuesday night, he parted with the words: “Bless you, I love you.”

Ireland was fortunate to have this American son back in Dublin.