Links and Bio's
About Irish Music Forever
Recent Album: Live In New York City
FORMED: 1990
Black 47 (a name deriving from the year 1847, the blackest year of the Irish potato famine) is a New York-based band made up of Irish expatriates and led by songwriter/playwright Larry Kirwan. In addition to Kirwan (vocals, guitar), the band consists of Chris Byrne (uilleann pipes,
tin whistle, vocals), Fred Parcells (trombone, tin whistle, vocals), Jeff Blythe (saxophone), Thomas Hamlin (percussion), and David Conrad (bass). Black 47 plays a mixture of traditional Celtic folk music, rock & roll, rap, and reggae, all topped by the idiosyncratic songwriting and
persona of Kirwan. While playing a residency at the Irish pub Paddy Reilly's in Manhattan, the group released its debut album, Black 47 on its own BLK label in 1992, and then was signed to SBK/EMI, which issued a five-song EP, also called Black 47, in November 1992, and a
critically acclaimed debut album in March 1993. Black 47 toured extensively in 1993 and 1994 and released its second album, Home of the Brave, in October 1994. Like Fire of Freedom, Home of the Brave received good reviews but it was ignored in the marketplace. For 1996's Green Suede
Shoes, Black 47 moved to Mercury, yet the album made no impact, either critically or commercially. ~ William Ruhlmann, All-Music Guide (From CD-NOW Biography) Black 47 remains one of the most popular American based Irish Rock bands in the country with a strong following on the
East Coast.
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Celtic Traditions Article">
Recent Album: Salty Heaven
Barry Moore
BORN: May 23, 1955, Newbridge, Ireland
Before making his American debut, Barry Moore recorded three albums in Ireland. Perhaps because his brother is the revered Irish singer Christy Moore, he changed his name to Luka Bloom -- Luka is taken from Suzanne Vega's song, Bloom from
James Joyce's Ulysses. With his literate, melodic original songs and impassioned live performances, Bloom earned a devoted following in the New York area, which led to his record contract with Reprise. While he can occasionally suffer from over-worked lyrics and a cloying cuteness,
Bloom is one of the best post-punk folk performers and songwriters. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide (From CD-NOW Biography)
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Recent Album: Live In Concert
FORMED: 1975, Ireland
In the three years the Bothy Band were together, they emerged as one of the exciting bands in Celtic history. Although much of their repertoire was rooted in the traditional music of Ireland, their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity set off ripples that continue to be felt.
The genesis of the Bothy Band was sparked, in 1975, when bouzouki player Donal Lunny left Planxty to form his own record company, Mulligan. One of his first projects brought him together with uillean
piper Paddy Keenan, flute and whistle player Matt Molloy, fiddler Paddy Glackin and accordion player Tony MacMahon. The group was soon joined by siblings Michael
O'Domhnaill on acoustic guitar and Triona Ni Domhnaill, on clavinet and vocals. Hailing from a musical family, with their aunt having contributed 286 songs to the Dublin University folklore collection, the two had previously performed, along with their sister Mairead, in the
traditional Irish group Skara Brae. Initially calling themselves Seachtar, which translates as "seven," the group reformed as the Bothy Band after MacMahon left to become a BBC producer. The Bothy Band featured a variety of fiddlers during their three-year tenure. Original fiddler
Glackin was replaced by Donegal-style fiddler Tommy Peoples on the band's debut album and by heavily ornamented fiddler Kevin Burke on the second release.
With the breakup of the Bothy Band in 1979, the band's musicians continued to play influential musical roles. Donal Lunny returned for a while to Planxty and then helped to form the Celtic rock band Moving Hearts. He's continued to work
as a record producer and has occasionally collaborated with former Silly Wizard's vocalist Andy Stewart. Moving to the United States, Triona Ni Domhnaill formed the short-lived band Touchstone and, later, joined with her brother to form both Relativity and Nightnoise. Matt Molloy and Kevin Burke continue to work together in Patrick Street. ~
Craig Harris, All-Music Guide (From CD-NOW Biography)
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Link #2
BBC Bio
Recent Album: Midwinter Night's Dreams
A fun-loving approach to Celtic music has made the Boys of the Lough one of folk music's most influential groups. In the three decades since they were formed, the Ireland-based band has been instrumental in the evolution of traditional Irish music.
The Boys of the Lough initially came together in 1967 as a trio featuring Cathal McConnell (who had won the all-Ireland championship in flute and tin whistle in 1962), Tommy Gunn, and Robin Morton. When Gunn left two years later, McConnell and Morton recorded their first album,
An Irish Jubilee, as a duo. After meeting Shetland fiddler Aly Bain and singer/guitarist Mike Whelan at the Folkirk Folk Festival in 1971, the two duos agreed to pool their resources.
The group continued to experience numerous personnel changes. In 1972, Whelan was replaced by guitarist and vocalist Dick Gaughan, who was replaced a year later by Northumbrian cittern, banjo and mandolin player Dave Richardson. Among the six
albums recorded by this lineup were two live albums -- Live at Passim's, recorded at the Cambridge, Massachusetts coffeehouse, and Wish You Were Here, recorded while touring the Scottish Highlands.
In 1979, original member Robin Morton left the band and was replaced by Richardson's brother, Tish, on guitar. Tish Richardson remained with the group until 1983, when he died in an auto accident, and was replaced by British guitarist Chris Newman. Uilleann pipes, tin whistle and
mouth-organ player Christy O'Leary, who had previosuly played with De Dannan, was added at the same time. In October 1997, Newman and O'Leary were replaced by accordion player Brendan Begley and guitar, mandocello and piano player Garry O'Briain. ~ Craig Harris, All-Music Guide
(From CD-NOW Biography)
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Dirty Linen
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Black 47 Back to Artist List
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Bothy Band Back to Artist List
DISBANDED: 1979
All Music Guide Bio
Boys of the Lough Back to Artist List
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