Irish torch singer Mary Coughlan was born in Galway in 1956. After enduring a painful adolescence that included bouts with drugs and alcohol as well as a stay in a mental hospital, she relocated to London at the age of 19, living in a Hippie Squat. Coughlan returned to Ireland in 1974, where a chance encounter with Dutch musician Erik Visser helped point her towards a singing career. Specializing in Jazz and Blues, she began slowly earning a reputation on the pub circuit, which resulted in a handful of television appearances. On this CD, she's playing mostly Blues recorded in Bremen, Germany in 2001, joined by Bluesmen Kester Smith, Bill Rich, Peter O'Brien, Frank Mead, Madagascar Slim, Lester Quitzau and Bill Bourne.