Twenty years down the line and The Go Set still sound as fierce, as vital, as the first day they set foot on a stage.
Big guitars, big beats and irresistible choruses, while retaining the timeless spirit of the band’s Celtic roots.
Here we go again I bet your saying. It’s an Australian Celtic-Punk band so any minute now he’s going to start banging on about how Aussie Celtic-Punk is the best in the world and how the Aussie bands envisage all the bold and noble values that make Celtic-Punk what it is. The Go-Set are as perfect an example of all that as any of them. 50% responsible (with Flatfoot 56 the other 50%) for the existence of London Celtic Punks they will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
The Geelong-based band has always squeezed out the sparks from the place where rock’n’roll collides with the spirit of Celtic Folk. Now they bring all those forces together in the studio for an release that celebrates those years together, their eighth album, The Warriors Beneath Us is an album with big guitars, big beats and irresistible choruses, while retaining the timeless spirit of the band’s Celtic roots.
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Madigan’s Wake formed in 2021 with brothers Damian and Albert Peck on guitar, mandolin and Irish bouzouki and taking up the main Punk vocalist roles. On violin and tin whistle is Elly D’Arcy who also takes on lilting vocal solos amongst their fast-paced set. Brent Quirk takes his place behind the drum kit and the mixing desk and Jimi Coelli on the bass guitar. Taking traditional Folk instruments and combining them isn’t new but the way they do comes across as fresh and original. This year sees the release of two singles and their debut album through the independent Melbourne record label, Headstone Records. Elly and the Peck brothers come from strong Irish backgrounds and they followed the same path as many 2nd and 3rd generation Irish, listening and loving traditional Irish folk music from the Dubliners, Wolfe Tones, Irish Rovers and Planxty at home and getting into Punk music away from home. Added into the mix were great Aussie bands like Weddings, Parties, Anything and Roaring Jack and you have a dynamic blend of intense, fast-paced story-telling music. Their songs are narratives of Irish people both now and gone before who fought for justice, freedom and a life of opportunity.
So cheers for taking part in our poll and congratulations to The Go-Set. A wonderful band and proof that they mean an awful lot to a lot of people. You may not know it but they played a massive part in the existence of London Celtic Punks too so we owe them our thanks as well. Hopefully 2021 will bring all these bands the recognition they deserve and things will settle down to normal soon. You can check out the official London Celtic Punks Best Of 2020 list 
BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO- 
In among these releases were extensive tours of Europe including a visit to these shores which took them from one end to the other in a ramshackle tour culminating in one hell of a night at Tottenham Chances in 2014. They made a 
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years so it just makes it all the more clear how much we all miss Waldo and his fantastic 
‘Hey Ho! We’re Fox n Firkin’ is the bands fourth release since forming in 2012 and as drummer Robbie says of the EP
THE GOBSHITES – ‘Swallowtail Jig’
1. THE LAGAN- Let’s Do It Again
1. MARYS LANE- Wild Unknown 
As 2018 drew to a conclusion we received the debut EP from The Dangerous Folk all the way from Brisbane, Australia. Prior to this we had only heard snippets from the band on social media. In 2018 they released a video for the song ‘Shipping it up to Brisbane’ which I suppose drew our attention for obvious reasons. The band has been going for about two years now and their music has been described as Guinness fuelled Celtic Punk. The style of music is definitely more early days Dropkick Murphys than Flogging Molly and is played at a high intensity and tempo. The ep titled ‘One’ features a total of 5 tunes opening with ‘Shipping It Up to Brisbane’. The other songs on the ep are: • ‘Sayeno’ • ‘Inch’ • ‘The Brigade’ • ‘Spike it up’ You’re probably sick of listening to ramble on about Celtic Punk bands from Australia but we can’t help it. They just keep emerging and each one is as good as the last (if not better). The Dangerous Folk are another shining example of what the Aussies have to offer the scene and I have no doubt its not the last we will be hearing from them. If you’re lucky enough to be over that part of the world anytime soon be sure to look them. If not, then get your hands on a copy of the ep ‘One’ and give it a spin. Either way I can safely say you won’t be disappointed.
Hi everyone, I thought I’d drop a little something extra this year for December in addition to the Christmas Special, it’s my top 10 albums of 2018 as judged by me and my old kelpie Banji. Some fantastic music came out this year and I swapped a lot of these artists albums positions around many a time before settling on the final rankings. Rankings are always suggestive so if you disagree with my list then feel free to let me know yours. Here’s the rankings/playlist:
Buy Rascals & Rogues
1. FLATFOOT 56 (Chicago)- ‘Odd Boat’ 
1. BLACK ANEMONE (Sweden)- ‘In It For Life’ 
How did you get into celtic-punk? Do you have Celtic ancestors. A hell of a lot of Aussies do so do they make up the bulk of your audience? Like most people my age it was probably the Dropkick Murphys who were my gateway band to the genre. First song I heard was The Warriors Code on a compilation CD and it just pumped me right up. From there I discovered bands like Flogging Molly, Flatfoot 56, Blood Or Whiskey and The Tossers who are probably my favourite band. I do have Celtic ancestry, my family came to Australia from Kernow (Cornwall) and I also have Welsh in there too. My wife’s heritage is Irish and Scottish so my kids almost have the Celtic crescent covered! As for the audience, it’s really a mixed bag, some from Australia, a lot in North America and some from the UK & Europe. Anyone who wants to listen is more than welcome wherever they’re from.
Described by the band as being made by accident we, and they, should be thankful for such unexpected delights. This is an album of thirteen glorious tracks covering themes of loss and longing and hope that show the Bhoys reaching new heights, musically and lyrically. Tracks, such as the fun filled ska beat ‘Disorganised Crime’ leap out of the speakers in a joyous racket that simply defies not being danced to and then there’s ‘Stand Up And Fight’, a collaboration with New Yorks finest Da Ded Rabbits, that punches it’s way through in a hard hitting pounding track that will be a surprise to some fans. Never fear the Bible Code sound is still evident as are other influences including an Oasis tinged ‘You Got Me On The Run’ but the title track, ‘Walk Like King’s’, is pure Bible Codes, a majestic thumping track full of defiance and pride for 2nd and 3rd generation Irish immigrants who weren’t born with silver spoons in their mouths. Guests abound on this release – Elvis Costello, Matt McManamon, Brian Kelly… All adding to an eclectic mix of an album on which every track is worthy of your attention, be it the ethereal ‘America’
or the haunting beauty of ‘Snow Falling On Fire Escapes’ or the MacManus family collaboration ‘Willie Redmonds Volunteers’ all the tracks show a band at the top of their game and this is one that all London Celtic Punkers will want to check out. It has been a tough year for the band but this album is one thing that they can look look back on with fond memories and pride, let’s hope for more, someone once sang ‘accidents can happen, but only once…’ may the Bible Code Sundays fall into more.
More celtic-punk for you now but in the sense that this is a punk and from the Celtic nation of Brittany! The music scene in Brittany is very strong and is reflected in the growth of ‘Celticness’ and the resurgence in the Breton language. The Decline! are a five piece punk rock band from Rennes who formed in 2009. Their first EP, ‘An Old Indian Cemetery’, was released in the middle of 2010, and showed what proper genuine music today should be all about. They followed this up with their debut album ‘Broken Hymns For Beating Hearts’ the following year and was a mix of punk rock and acoustic folk tunes. 2014 saw the release of ’12a Calgary Road’ which saw the and branching out into celtic melodies but ploughing much the same furrow while taking on varying tempos with ease. This new album released in May may not have the asolute urgency of previous releases but more than makes up for it with it’s catchy singalonga punk rock. Kevin’s strong and distinctive voice and rumbling rhythm section certainly gets your blood pumping and while ‘Someday Somehow’ could pass for bleak post-punk maybe even Gothic in places the following track ‘Joyfull Thrill’ would make the early Dropkicks jealous.
Formed in November 2008 in Carabanchel, a suburb of Madrid as a straight forward punk rock band before they added Asturian bagpipe and fiddle and one of the most original bands in celtic-punk was born. This is the bands third album and, as usual, comes with songs written in Castilian, English and Asturian. As one of only a tiny handful of bands in the scene with female vocals they certainly stand out and with a defiantly anti-fascist message to boot. The music is fast and loud and punky but there is an undeniable hardcore traditional folk edge to it as well. Elements of their own countries as well as Celtic are merged together very successfully. As said I don’t understand much of the album but the sleeve notes speak of the endangered languages of the Celts, Celtic mythology and defending the underprivileged. The punk side of this reminds me of the Spanish punk music I use to hear in Hackney squats over the years but the folk influence is strong and comes out in reels and jigs throughout the album.
Well what to say about Two Devils Will Talk? How it managed to escape a decent review is beyond me seeing how popular this awesome and is. Up there with The Mollys and the Murphs the Real McKenzies have been going an amazing 25 years and this, their tenth, is up there with the est I kid you not. I wasn’t overly enamoured with 2015’s Rats In The Burlap but here they have returned with fourteen rousing tracks of pure, unabashed Canadian-Scots celtic-punk mayhem. From the opening anthemic ‘Due West’ to a fantastic re-working of early McK song ‘Scots Wha Ha’e’ its absolutely brilliant. Once again they missed out of playing here so we never got to see them live but we can’t wait till they do darken these shores again. Punk, folk, acoustic, electric with pipes throughout weaving in the Celtic influence for which the band is best known. ‘Seafarers’ is one hell of a stand out tune. You can’t change how the waves roll only how you roll through them. The sense of humour they are famous for is riddled throughout the album and nowhere better than on the laugh out loud ‘Fuck The Real McKenzies’ where the band take the piss out of themselves, and everyone else too! They find room for a cover of Stan Rogers ‘Northwest Passage’ that only adds to this great song. Originally sang as an acapella song the McKenzies do it justice as you would expect. The album ends with my favourite McK song of all and plenty of rebellious, Scottish charm and wit here on an album that shows a band who are still capable of hitting the high notes even after a quarter of a century. A defiant return to form for one of the Premier League bands of celtic-punk.
This debut album from talented multi-instrumentalist Vince Cayo has been bouncing around London Celtic Punks towers for a good six months now without making much of an impact until I decided to revisit a few albums for these round-ups and I can only think I didn’t listen to it properly as it is absolutely fecking brilliant. Not so much celtic-punk but def in the country-punk realm of things and Vince has a very strong voice that growls out at you like Tom Waits lashing it up with McGowan backed by The Street Dogs. Opening track ‘Wasteland Blues’ is a great start to proceedings with fast rock’n’roll country and harmonica shining out and Vince putting McGowan to shame! Vince says his influences range from the cream the celtic-punk but most importantly Flogging Molly, and the title track takes this adulteration to epic proportions, alongside such luminaries as Social Distortion, Billy Bragg, The Gits, Tim Barry, Bob and Dylan and they are all in there but with a bit of good auld Yorkshire grit and determination.
Our final review comes from the land of Oz. A place I am constantly telling you and telling you is where the best Celtic-punk scene is and where the best Celtic-punk bands hail from. Why this is so is anyone’s guess. Perhaps 
Alistair originally wrote the song for a play while still in Roaring Jack. He eventually recorded it for his third solo album “Saturday Johnny & Jimmy the Rat”, together with folk legend Dave Swarbrick on fiddle!
