REMEMBERING HUGH CALLAGHAN OF THE BIRMINGHAM SIX

There’s six men in Birmingham / in Guildford there’s four / who were picked up and tortured / and framed by the law / and the filth get promotion / while they’re still doing time / for being Irish in the wrong place and at the wrong time

HUGH CALLAGHAN

 March 24, 1930 – May 27, 2023

Last week saw the sad death at 93 of Hugh Callaghan, one of the Birmingham Six wrongly jailed for IRA bombings in 1974. Back then he was one of many who made up the huge Irish community in England. Their numbers were massive and concentrated in most of England’s big cities. They arrived with the prospect of work and a better life the reason for their exile from home. Hugh led a ordinary working class life like the majority of the Irish over here, with his wife Eileen and their daughter Geraldine in a small terraced council house, working as a welder, visiting the pub and watching Aston Villa. Then on November 22nd 1974 all would change forever as he was arrested at his front door in the Erdington area of Birmingham, swept away and for the following few days he was severely beaten, scared out of his wits, tortured and deprived of food and sleep until he was forced to sign a false confession.

“I was threatened with snarling police dogs… The interrogators did not ease up… threats interspersed with a kick or a hit around the head. I was told the others had all implicated me. I was deprived of sleep and food. By the following afternoon I was a broken man. I signed the confession — I would have signed anything to get them off my back.”

Raised in poverty in the small Catholic enclave of Ardoyne in Belfast he came to England in the late 40’s in search of work and settled in Birmingham. Like many immigrants the Irish did the jobs the English didn’t want to do and in Birmingham it was that Irish labour that built not only it’s most famous landmarks, Spaghetti Junction and the Rotunda but also many canals, roads and railways in the city. 

Oh farewell you streets of sorrow
And farewell you streets of pain
I’ll not return to feel more sorrow
Nor to see more young men slain
Through the last six years I’ve lived through terror
And in the darkened streets the pain
Oh how I long to find some solace
In my mind I curse the strain
So farewell you streets of sorrow
And farewell you streets of pain
No I’ll not return to feel more sorrow
Nor to see more young men slain
☘

There were six men in Birmingham

In Guildford there’s four
That were picked up and tortured
And framed by the law
And the filth got promotion

But they’re still doing time

For being Irish in the wrong place
And at the wrong time
In Ireland they’ll put you away in the maze
In England they’ll keep you for seven long days

God help you if ever you’re caught on these shores

The coppers need someone
And they walk through that door
☘
You’ll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and the stinking cell
From wall to wall, and back again
☘
A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws
Who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused
For the price of promotion
And justice to sell

May the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell

☘
May the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds
And sweat as they count out the sins on their heads
While over in Ireland eight more men lie dead

Kicked down and shot in the back of the head

☘

(Terry Woods and Shane MacGowan – 1988)

WHAT HAPPENED IN BIRMINGHAM

On Thursday, November 21, 1974, two bombs exploded at the Mulberry Bush pub, at the foot of the Rotunda, and at the Tavern in the Town, in New Street, in Birmingham at 8:25 PM and 8:27 PM. The explosions would kill 21 and injure 182 and responsibility was taken by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. A third device, outside a bank in Hagley Road, failed to detonate. Six men were arrested that night, Patrick Hill, Gerry Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, Billy Power and Johnny Walker in Lancashire and Hugh Callaghan back in Birmingham. All were Roman Catholics and from the north of Ireland and had lived in Birmingham since at least the 1960’s. Five of the six left Birmingham on the evening of the 21st before the explosions to travel home to Belfast to attend the funeral of James McDade, a Provisional IRA member who had been recently accidentally killed planting a bomb in Coventry. In November 28, 1974, the men now known as the Birmingham Six appeared in court after being remanded into custody. They all showed clear signs of severe physical assault and ill-treatment. Fourteen officers would be charged and acquitted of their beatings and later a civil claim for damages in 1980 for the Six against the West Midlands Police was struck out.

The trial is held in June and the Six are found guilty of murder and sentenced to twenty-one life sentences each. In 1976 their first application to appeal is dismissed. Their second, in 1991, is allowed because of new evidence of police fabrication and suppression of evidence, the confessions are revealed to have been forced and the debunking of forensic evidence causes the Court of Appeal to announce the convictions are unsafe and unsatisfactory and on a glorious day in March day just before St. Patrick’s Day the Birmingham Six are set free having spent almost 17 years in various prisons.

The Birmingham 6 on the day of their release. From left to right – John Walker, Paddy Hill. Hugh Callaghan, Chris Mullin (author and prominent advocate of the Six), Richard McIlkenny, Gerry Hunter and William Power, outside the Old Bailey in London in 1991

The bombings occurred at a time of escalation in the war in the north of Ireland. Just 2 years on from Bloody Sunday and the State sanctioned massacre of 13 people on the streets on Derry by the British Army. Bombings and murders were commonplace and the decision was made by the IRA to bring the war to the mainland. Public buildings like the Old Bailey and the Houses of Parliament among others were targeted and pub bombings would claim the lives of five in Guildford in October, 1974. As in Birmingham the Police were under enormous pressure and soon arrested 4 innocent people, Paul Hill, Gerry Conlon, Paddy Armstrong, and Carole Richardson, who again as in the Birmingham 6 case would be sentenced to life imprisonment and released decades later, despite it being clear that they were innocent. During their time in prison the men were routinely assaulted. Hugh would reveal

“I got some beatings in there from the screws. The other prisoners didn’t like you because they knew what you were in for.”

He had hot tea and cans of food thrown in his face and all Six were segregated for their own protection. All the time the only people to back them were the Irish community and their newspapers. Ignored by the wider media and the left the murmurs in the places where the Irish met, in the pubs and churches and social events were of the innocence of the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four. Campaigns started led by the Irish community over here and eventually the case began to gain notoriety and not before time the case had become clear as a great miscarriage of justice. Scared of people losing faith in the country’s institutions of law and order the British government decided that to keep these innocent men in jail was worth it. Lord Denning during the civil action in 1980 brought by the Six infamously said

“If the six men win, it will mean that the police were guilty of perjury, that they were guilty of violence and threats, that the confessions were involuntary and were improperly admitted in evidence and that the convictions were erroneous. That would mean the Home Secretary would either have to recommend they be pardoned or he would have to remit the case to the Court of Appeal. This is such an appalling vista that every sensible person in the land would say: It cannot be right these actions should go any further”

He would later go even further and say

”If the six had been hanged, we shouldn’t have all these campaigns to get them released”.

After his release Hugh Callaghan moved to London, and published an autobiography, Cruel Fate in 1994. He was involved in various Irish organisations and was an enthusiastic member of the Irish Pensioners’ Choir, performing with them many times including at the London St. Patrick’s parade. His wife Eileen died in 2014 and Hugh is survived by his partner, Adeline Masterson, and his daughter Geraldine. A statement announcing his passing from family friends said “He was a man with astonishing strength of character. Despite the profound injustice he endured, he was not bitter or angry, but joyful and always ready to sing. His party piece was Danny Boy, and his voice was magnificent and strong right to end, with the last day of his life spent with his beloved Adeline, singing to the nurses in hospital but we know the last years of his life were full of love, singing, dancing and Irish music. We will continue to try and live the values of forgiveness and gentle optimism that Hugh taught us.”

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

NEW SINGLE: YORKSHIRE BANJO PUNKS FIRST TRACK FROM NEW ALBUM ‘Pallbearer’

New single from one of Celtic-Punks brightest ‘young soul rebels’ – Shanghai Treason – announcing their forthcoming second studio album for later in the year.

According to critics Celtic-Punk is a bit samey and we’d be lying if we didn’t admit there was a grain of truth in that! Still we love it and I suppose you do too as why else would you be here? Every now and then a band comes along and blows your mind and Shanghai Treason were one of those bands when they arrived unannounced on the Celtic-Punk scene back in late 2019. Instant fans we had to wait till January 2022 for their debut album to land and what an album it was. Landing Debut Album Of The Year for 2022 as well as top ten in the best album of the year in a year when most of the scenes big hitters also put out albums. Quite an achievement! Having supported the likes of Ferocious Dog, Stiff Little Fingers and the Buzzcocks they completed an extensive tour of the UK and Ireland with The Rumjacks and just recently another one with Hayseed Dixie. ‘Pallbearer’ is the second single (following on from ‘The Lighthouse’ that came out a couple of months back) from the guys new album that is due out in September 2023.

On Pallbearer, singer Sam Christie says

“We’re outrageously excited for this one, it’s a deeply personal heartfelt song about grief but is at it’s core very much an optimistic celebration of life, It’s also the first time I think the accordion has really got to shine on one of our singles, the video features live footage from our performance at Northern Kin Festival back in April”

Now no one could ever accuse Shanghai Treason of ever covering yer typical Celtic-Punk themes. No songs of excessive drinking or emigration but instead we get intelligent, thoughtful, passionate and even poetic. Take a look below at the first few lines of ‘Pallbearer’ and then tell me these guys are not among the finest lyricists in Celtic-Punk and marry that to the music and you’ve got a band that are at the very top of their game. 

Recorded by Tom Wright at The Keystone – Yellow Arch Studios Sheffield * Label – Black Dingo Productions * Publisher: Kycker * Filmed by: Popp Tones

As the hearse it weaves it’s way down the desolate bay, I try to see the poetry in this

But the tears of my loved ones and the sounds of the guns, they further fog the mist

And I, recall being here, some eight years ago, laying your dear wife to rest

but today is your turn, I try to stay strong but i’m a wreck, i’m a shell, i’m a mess

*

They call for Pallbearers, They call for the brave, willing and strong

But i can barely stand, I’ve been winded man, I’ve been cast adrift so long, cast adrift so long

*
Cancer it will steal, indiscriminately, from rich man and poor man alike, although it stubbed out your light, won’t let it tarnish your memory, we drink to your legend tonight

*

They call for Pallbearers, They call for the brave, willing and strong

But i can barely stand, I’ve been winded man, I’ve been cast adrift so long, cast adrift so long

*

I’m a wreck, I’m a shell, i’m a mess but i’m doing my best

Gunna buckle up my belt, gunna button up my vest and i’ll carry you to your final rest

*

They call for Pallbearers, They call for the brave, willing and strong

But i can barely stand, I’ve been winded man, I’ve been cast adrift so long, cast adrift so long

Contact Shanghai Treason Facebook  Instagram  Twitter  YouTube

NEW SINGLE: WEST MIDLANDS BAND THE BAD RATS RELEASE ‘The Ship Is Sinking’

The new single from The Bad Rats, a six piece Celtic Punk band from Cannock in the West Midlands. They play their own original material as well as classic Irish Folk songs in their own Punk Rock style!

A band that will be new to audiences down here in London The Bad Rats have in fact been going since 2009. They have suffered in common with many a Celtic-Punk band several line up changes over the years and did in fact even pack it all in for a short time. They released a handful of tracks including their brilliant debut album ‘Broke’ back in 2013. They are back now with a stable line up and even managed to get into the recording studio. ‘The Ship Is Sinking’ is the follow up to their previous single from last year ‘Drink It Up’. Over the last fourteen years The Bad Rats have performed all over the UK alongside bands such as Skinny Lister, UK Subs, The Anti-Nowhere League and The Wurzels and we are looking at getting them to play that there London town sometime.

Ben Phillips

Andy Parry

Dougy McGrath

Adam McGuire

Leigh Bucknall

Jeff Parry

“As with pretty much all of our songs, they are mostly about drinking alcohol and this one is no exception. Written by Leigh Bucknall, this is the song that is credited to getting the Bad Rats back together after a year break… Leigh demoed a number of new songs during the lock down and sent them to the other guys. They were that good, that it wasn’t long before the lads were back in the studio rehearsing and recording.”

All we need is a bottler of Tequila, 

So we can dance our troubles away, 

We go down swinging, 

the ship is fucking sinking 

And we’ve been drinking since yesterday

☘

You say I don’t need a drink to be a fuckin asshole, 

Well hey brother I learned that from you, 

We’ll go down to hell, 

I’m gonna give it you Satan,  

I’m about ready to pay my dues

☘

Chorus

We got whiskey and vodka and all kinds of Lager, 

Rum and Tequila and Guinness and more, Shandy and Brandy, 

I love em all the same, and when I get to hell I’m gonna drink a little more

☘

All we need is a bottle of tequila so we can dance our troubles away, 

We’ll go down swinging, 

this ship is still sinking and we’ll keep drinking for ever and a day

https://open.spotify.com/album/79p59gkE0IuewT7fBGrnWU

Get The Ship Is Sinking  Spotify

Contact The Bad Rats  Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube

INTERVIEW WITH POGUE | WALKER ROADER JAMES FEARNLEY

After a couple of interviews with fellow Walker Roaders Ted Hutt and Marc Orrell, our man in NYC, Ray Ball, finally gets round to the main inspiration for the band, James Fearnley. There at the very beginning, on the  4th October 1982 in Kings Cross – James is best known from his days in The Pogues. However, he has had a long and varied musical adventure including as guitarist for the Nipple Erectors (the Punk band fronted and founded by Shane MacGowan), the critically acclaimed Low and Sweet Orchestra, and Cranky George (with brothers –  screen writer Kieran and award winning actor Dermot Mulroney) before forming The Walker Roaders and releasing their self-titled #1 Celtic-Punk debut album. 

So I may not be easily starstruck. Through the course of writing here and being part of music in general I’ve been able to make contact with some pretty amazing people.

However, I just got off the phone with James Fearnley, accordion player for the Pogues.

I’m still a little bit dazed.

As with anyone I talk to, I try to leave the card blank to sign by them-what is important to them is important to me as part of the Celtic music community and to share with you.

James got his start playing piano, I think about 10 he said, and he was a choir singer. I think I caught him off guard, when I said he played as I imagine Jerry Lee Lewis would sound on an accordion. I think he was amused by that, but I think understood what I was trying to say.

Somewhere in there we got to talking about his first accordion playing. I think he said that Shane had brought the instrument up in a laundry basket. I don’t think the point of it ever was to be the best accordion player, but to flesh out some of Shane’s songs. He had heard traditional playing in pubs etc, but sufficed that he couldn’t play like that.

We talked for a while about the Pogues years, and I made a point to ask how they ever kept that many people together whether in the studio or live. He just said there was a core group that just practised and practised, until the mayhem of that big lineup was gone.

At one point I asked James about the tune ‘London Girl’. In no small part because it’s got one of the fiercest accordion parts I’ve ever heard. If you haven’t paid close attention to it, trust me and do it. It’s insane that when I talked to Marc, I asked him if he’d ever learned the part and laughed in agreement that it’s really just a ridiculously intense and speed of light part. All James had to say about it was that when he was in the studio doing overdubs, someone came and put a note on the booth that said “Go Cajun”. I imagine the next take he just went wild and came to one of those moments after that was “holy hell, what did I just do?”.

Interestingly enough that was the only remark he made about certain styles of playing. The accordion player from a group I gig with, references styles that half the time (and sorry Tom) I don’t even know, much less understand. But, I enthusiastically at one point mentioned that the Pogues were the godfathers of Celtic-Punk.

He immediately disagreed and said to them they had just taken apart what the Dubliners and reassembled it just a little differently. He continued that he thought a lot of punk was like that. Taking things apart and putting them back together, just differently. He cited the Dropkick Murphys as very Punk, with the truly loud roaring guitars that sound, especially on their early records, in my opinion sounding like a mashup of the Buzzcocks melody and Washington hardcore intensity.

He talked a great deal about his band mates in the Pogues. We both especially paid attention to Phil Chevron’s “Thousands are Sailing” as a brilliant piece, may Phil rest in peace. Evidently-I had no idea of this-Cait had never played bass before. But then on the other side of that coin, neither had Paul Simonon from The Clash. Paul’s heavily Jamaican influenced lines are some of the most iconic in rock history. I suppose what I can take from that is you don’t have to have virtuosic abilities. It seems like the Pogues all learned and honed their instruments and just practised. And practised more.

The Walker Roaders were a street gang when James Fearnley was a kid growing up in Manchester who would slit your thumb with a knife if they came across you and felt like it.

It’s hard, if not impossible to capture all the Pogues years, but I brought it into the present with how the Walker Roaders came to be, his friendship with Ted Hutt over time and how Marc joined in. I think he must have found it refreshing to be able to write lyrics, but cited Shane’s prowess on the matter.

I asked, and I think I’ve asked the three Walker Roaders I’ve talked to, if there was anything more on that front. I told James that the album was something I think we all needed but didn’t know we needed. He had a good laugh at that.

From what I can tell, Ted, Marc and James don’t sit still long, there’s always a project on. But I think all three wanted to do more on that front.

Whatever comes on that front, or any of his projects, James was a pleasure to talk to and had a wealth of stories to share.

I can’t wait to see what comes next out of everyone, and I hope you all had a great and safe St. Patrick’s Day.

Buy The Walker Riders  Stream or Download

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Our enormous thanks to Ray Ball. He has already featured on these pages as the driving force behind The Fighting 69th and his new band Ravenswalk from Buffalo. One of the most prolific and diverse artists in the Celtic-Punk scene we are proud to have Raymond on board our team. Writer, artist, musician he is a credit to the American-Irish community and you can find a wealth of his material available at his Bandcamp  or the Ravenswalk site.

You can read Ray’s other interviews with James band mates in the Walker Roaders here. First founder member of Flogging Molly and now a legendary and very popular producer Ted Hutt and ex-Dropkick Murphys guitarist Marc Orrell.

EP REVIEW: THE WHIPJACKS – A Head Full Of Snakes (2023)

With less than a week to go till their debut London gig you couldn’t ask for better timing that for the Midlands based Celtic-Punkers The Whipjacks to release their brand new four track EP.

After the success of putting on Italian band the Dirty Artichokes in August we had originally decided not to bother putting on any more gigs. A new job meant less time and I’m frankly sick to death of it so it was a easy decision to make except… no one else seems interested in putting on Celtic-Punk bands in London despite their being an audience for it. So with that in mind we decided we’ll give a chance to a band from outside London to play. The band that instantly came to mind was one that last featured on these pages four years ago. That was when The Whipjacks released their fantastic debut album This Wicked World.

Pounding drums, driving bass, screeching guitar, melodic mandolin and partial nudity! These are the things that energetic five-piece The Whipjacks intend to bring to venues around England. If they aren’t near you right now, you can be damn sure they are coming… soon!

(This coming Saturday in South London. Compered by Punk-Poet Benny Rabble kicking off at 8pm followed by Celtic-Punk legend Leeson O’Keeffe (2 x f’s) doing a rare solo set over that side of the Thames, London-Irish trad Punk-Folkers Crock Of Bones and then The Whipjacks to send us off into the night all hot and bothered. The gig is free and ends at 11pm. Spread the news and invite your friends. Lets make it special!)

Facebook event – https://www.facebook.com/events/1216347558946152/

Based in Worcester in the English Midlands their first release was the four track EP Scoundrels And Rogues from early 2017. Original compositions of high tempo Celtic-Punk. Catchy tunes that belies that (similar to a band with a similar name) they are basically a Punk band with a mandolin player. In the right hands and with the right tunes though any Folk instrument can transform a band into something much greater and much deeper.

(Stream / download Scoundrels And Rogues via the Bandcamp player)

The album came out the next year and received some great reviews from the Celtic-Punk media. Ten original tracks written by the band that crossed many boundaries and even includes a history lesson or two. it didn’t get any better than the lead single though, a foot-stomping fist in the air dance floor filler, ‘All My Pains (Are Self Inflicted)’ which appeared on many a Celtic-Punk podcast and beyond. So soon doesn’t actually mean four years but as the saying goes – better late than never! That album would later in the year reach #15 on the London Celtic Punks Best Album Of 2019 list not bad for a band’s debut.

So this all leads us into the present day and the release of their new EP A Head Full Of Snakes. Again the band ignore the likes of ‘The Wild Rover’ and ‘Drunken Sailor’ and opt to release all their own original material. Four tracks of quality Celtic-Punk where the music is inventive and far from what we usually receive here. The EP opens with ‘Devil Welcome Me’ and a swirling lilting accordion is soon joined by thrashing guitars, thumping bass and pounding drums before settling down into one hell of a Celtic rocker. As catchy as hell and a sure fire foot (and head) tapper! All the best bands use their time wisely to tell a story and sometimes you want more than just “Beer, Whiskey, Guinness”. Here they tell of balancing the good and bad in your life and coming to terms that sometimes a little bit of sin is not that bad. A great opener followed by the dark ‘Come Alive’. In places it’s almost Gothic in tone before a great chorus whips it back. The longest track here at almost four minutes its given chance to breathe and could have even gone much longer I think. It definitely has an epic feel to it about getting out of your comfort zone and embracing life.

(You can listen to A Head Full Of Snake by playing the full EP Play-list via You Tube below)

Halfway through and next up the fast ‘Idiot Grin’. The ‘goth’ touches return but not quite so blatant as they tell of an idiot who thinks that his smile is enough to cover all the stupid and annoying things he does. The curtain comes down with stage favourite and title track ‘A Head Full Of Snakes’ and the band take it uptempo again and rock out with a reflective story about summer festivals and a romantic liason with a lady who is a little bit crazy!

The Whipjacks left to right : George French – Electric Guitar (In hat) * Chris Myatt – Accordion /  Backing Vocals * Arran Gould – Mandolin / Acoustic Guitar / Backing Vocals * Dean Miles – Front man / Main Vocals * Tim Pearson – Drums * Will Rigg – Bass *

Four songs and only quarter of an hour but the timing of A Head Full Of Snakes release couldn’t be better with that gig just around the corner as I’m sure anyone who hears it will not miss the chance to catch them live. The years in between releases have not been kind to the Whipjacks with band members coming and going followed by the Covid clampdown and then just as the light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t a oncoming train even more problems popped up but the guys have vowed to put on an almighty show for us and we cannot bloody wait, so all roads on 25th of Feb lead to South London!

Get A Head Full Of Snakes Spotify

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ALBUM REVIEW: PHIL ‘SWILL’ ODGERS, PAUL SIMMONDS, BOBBY VALENTINO – Questions, Answers & Songs (2023)

Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers, Paul Simmonds and Bobby Valentino got together last Summer for a one off show at London’s legendary Water Rats music venue in Kings Cross. Recorded for posterity it was something a little different!

Remember last Summer? I do. I started a new job in April so for the first time in many a year I had both the money and the time to spend it so we took ourselves off to the sun drenched shores of Italy and Ireland (!) on holiday but if I’d have been here in London then on Friday 19th August 2022 their is only one place you would have found me and that was at the place where Celtic-Punk was born. Back on 4th October 1982 James Fearnley, Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer took the stage at The Pindar of Wakefield under the moniker of Pogue Mahone and a whole new genre of music had begun. Well the pub has changed it’s name and had more face lifts than Madonna has but it remains one of the best places to catch a band play in the whole of London.

Swill

Paul

Bobby

That night in August saw Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers (on vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica), Paul Simmonds (on vocals and parlour guitar) and Bobby Valentino (backing vocals and violin) from The Men They Couldn’t Hang join forces for a one off special show down at The Water Rats in Grays Inn Road, Kings Cross. Sadly for fans, since the date of the gig was announced, the RMT rail union had called a series of transport strikes and the 19th was one of the dates chosen. This meant that even though the gig would eventually sell out many of The Men’s hardcore fans wouldn’t be able to make it into London. Lucky for them the guys decided to record the gig for posterity and this week sees it released for the first time. The resulting ninety minutes are a unique and often humorous peek into the trio’s musical lives. The fella’s played two sets with the first being a full on Punk-Folk set from The Men They Couldn’t Hang’s extensive catalogue of original material spanning forty years. With the band taking requests from the audience before and even during the gig the atmosphere was celebratory and spontaneous with songs from their debut album like ‘Night To Remember’ (see below) right through to the title track from their last studio release Red Kite Rising. The sound was amazing and even though the crowd sang loudly along to every single word throughout the night that is kept to an absolute minimum with the focus purely on Swill, Paul and Bobby.

After a quick break the Bhoys returned for the second set and surprised everyone by doing a live Q & A session with gig promoter Tony Fraser acting as question master for the duration. Tony was armed with questions he had gathered from the audience during the interval – none of which the band were privy too until they were read out live on stage. Ali Hakimi’s was on the sound desk on the night and the recording has been remastered by the regular TMTCH producer Pat Collier. Questions, Answers & Songs is available to order for pre-release now from the Bandcamp link below. It comes as a Bandcamp exclusive double CD or download. With the digital album out on March 3rd and the CD shipping out on or around March 7, 2023.

(Questions, Answers & Songs is available to stream and download from the Bandcamp player below)

Contact The Men They Couldn’t Hang WebSite Facebook YouTube Instagram

2022 ROUND-UP: BRITAIN & IRELAND – THE MARY WALLOPERS, GALLOWGATE MURDERS, DIRTY OLD FOLKERS, HEADSTICKS

Four great album releases including three bands who released their debuts in 2022 and one celebrating their 10th anniversary all get the London Celtic Punks treatment. Ranging from Celtic-Punk to Irish-Folk to Punk these are the bands that make our nights out special. 

Hoping you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year. After everything we’ve all endured (politicians excepted!) we all deserve it. it’s been a excellent year for Celtic-Punk. After the drought of recent years we’ve been caught in a deluge of music we tried our best but found hard to keep up with. Any regular reader know we prefer to do detailed reviews and even though we can’t give these albums the justice they deserve here we simply had to get them in somehow before the end of the year.  Each one impressed us immensely and all are worthy of your time so go ahead and check them out. We begin with artists from Britain and Ireland.

THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS – ‘ Dead, Gone And Living On’

A booze fuelled gang of Celtic bastards, immigrant vagabonds and travelling rovers, boasting male and female fronted duel vocals the Gallowgate Murders blew onto the stage supporting The Rumjacks on their extensive pre-Covid UK tour and almost stole the show impressing every lucky fecker I met who had seen them. See I was ill and missed the London date but I was sure it wouldn’t be long and then the dreaded lockdown struck and a full stop was put to their march for the next two years. Needless to say I still haven’t seen them and am looking for a ‘sugar daddy’ to pay for them to come down and play here again if anyone is interested in the role. They did manage to put out this self titled six track EP as soon as the lockdown was lifted and I still find it hard to believe that we never got around to doing a proper review at the time. Apologies for that guys and gal. Dead, Gone And Living On certainly deserved one.

One of the EPs highlights is ‘Scáthach’, the tale of a powerful mythical Scottish Warrior Queen. A legendary martial arts teacher who trains Irish hero Cú Chulainn and the Celtic goddess of the Dead ensuring the passage of fighters killed in battle to Tír na nÓg, The Land of Eternal Youth. Another great song here is ‘Only The Bastards’ a catchy Celtic-Punk number that has a Irish-American style to it (I listen to a LOT of Celtic-Punk!) but the whole EP is superb. The EP comes in at over 22 minutes so the six songs get plenty of room to develop and we have reviewed much shorter albums over the years.

 

Contact The Gallowgate Murders  Facebook  YouTube  

THE MARY WALLOPERS – The Mary Wallopers

We were lucky enough to catch Dundalk’s The Mary Wallopers just a couple of weeks ago at a sold out show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom. A raucous celebration of Irish music but not without it’s more serious and poignant moments too. That gig is replicated with ease on their self titled debut album which came out at the end of October and heralded a huge tour of Ireland and its neighbouring island. Propelled into the spotlight during the pandemic by a series of hilarious live streams where they would chat, joke about and play good old fashioned Poguesy / Dubliners-ish Irish music. Expanding from the original 3-piece of the 2 brothers , frontman Hendy, banjoist Andrew and guitarist Seán McKenna to a seven piece was a stroke of genius and can only see them continued success. The sold out show in Camden has already led to a headline gig at the Kentish Town Forum in May. Highlights include ‘Building Up And Tearing England Down’ which laments the spilt blood of the Irish working class who rebuilt post war Britain and received nothing but the minimum of wages along with scorn and ridicule for doing so and the haunting ballad ‘John O’Halloran’ about the Irish experience of immigrating to England.

“Ah! the weary months in search of work, I tramped through street and road,

A shake-me-down in Camden town, it was my first abode.

No friendly glance to cheer my heart, no man to to take my hand,

No easy gold, only rain and cold in this god-forsaken land.”

The Mary Wallopers are well aware of the relationship the Irish diaspora over her have with the place we grew up in and luckily for them their is a rich vein of songs for them to mine from.

The gig like the album is a series of covers that contain the famous and critically popular, one or two overplayed ones and even a few me auld Mammy would have a hard time remembering. The jewel in the crown though judging from the reception it got in Camden is their cover of ‘Orange Juice And Cod Liver Oil’. Originally written by Ron Clark and Carl Mac Dougall it was made famous by Scottish Folk singer-songwriter Hamish Imlach (please also check out the original it’s long been one of my favourite songs) who like The Mary Wallopers had a terrific sense of humour and was quite the rebel in more ways than one.

An outstanding album packed with great songs and it’s very hard to record a album of covers and expect the punters to just take it but The Mary Wallopers really stamp their brand all over each song and you can forget that they were ever recorded before. This band is going to be massive and while the press will continue to label them the new Pogues we’d have to see some originals to prove them true but I think these fellas could just do it!

Contact The Mary Wallopers  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

DIRTY OLD FOLKERS – Will Dance For Cash

We try and cover all the new bands we come across in one or another and sometimes it gets to the point where I think we’ve covered everyone and everything and then I find out that I am massively wrong and what we have covered is in fact just the tip of the iceberg. Great examples this year have been The Endings and Twelve Sullivans both bands I really am looking forward to seeing. Another is super-charged folk ensemble Dirty Old Folkers from Birmingham in the West Midlands. Once a powerhouse of the Irish diaspora the city has gone through a transformation but the Brummie Irish remain and while the council is determined to rid the city of all it’s famous hostelries and replace them with flats the Irish continue to play their part in Midlands life. Thinking of themselves, rather marvellously as “a Viz comic, being narrated by the Pogues” Dirty Old Folkers debut album is a window into 21st Century Birmingham life containing Irish and English Folk music with comedy, cabaret and political satire.

The Bankers’ Bonus system and the Coalition Government of a few years ago get a verbal kicking making me think that some of these songs here have been laying around in the Dirty Old Folkers set-list for quite a while. Influences range from Irish and English Folk, Bluegrass, Blues, touches of Jazz and Classical Music and even a nod to fellow Brummies Black Sabbath.

Contact Dirty Old Folkers  WebSite   Facebook   YouTube 

HEADSTICKS – 10 Years Without Killing Each Other

Ten years is quite the milestone for any band and to reach that milestone with the same members is highly unusual. Most Celtic-Punk bands go through more members than The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra do, so for them to remain friends and comrades through the decade I really love. It’s seven years since we first reviewed them on the London Celtic Punks site for their album Muster and we’ve followed them ever since, right up to last years release of their fourth studio album C.O.W. So it is that we know all fifteen songs included here like the back of our hand even though the band have taken the songs and re-recorded and re-jigged them for this release. Hailing from Stoke in Staffordshire, once famed for it’s industry, it’s still an area with a proud working class and trade union tradition and where Headsticks get their passion and influences from. Since day one they have championed the ordinary folk in the street while writing lyrics that tell real stories and even when they are at their most polemic it still doesn’t feel like you’re being bashed round the head with a newspaper unlike some other bands I could mention.

Singer and songwriter Andrew Tranter leads us through the album sometimes coming off like Jello Biafra and other times soft and tender but always passionate. More Bob Crow than Jeremy Corbyn! In their early days comparisons were made to New Model Army but as they have evolved their sound has become much more their own and while it’s a shame that the songs here aren’t the originals so you can see for yourself the re-recordings have given them a uniformity of the same power.

This may not be the kind of album that readers here are use to but these round ups give us a chance to share with you, via artistic license, to include releases that we loved during the year and that we feel you will love too. Headsticks have always been one of those bands and their constant innovation and evolving sound deserves to be heard and loved by more.

Contact Headsticks  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

WATCH OUT FOR PART 2 AND 3 COMING THIS WEEK!

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LONDON CELTIC PUNKS CHRISTMAS 2022 SPECIAL

With Christmas just around the corner it’s time for an annual catch up of all this years Yuletide songs and videos. As varied as ever with everything covered with bands from around the world!

KRAKIN’ KELLYS – Holiday Season

One of my favourite bands and they love a Christmas song and deliver another great one for 2022. As catchy as hell and what about that accordion?  Celtic Skate Punk, beer and bar fight ! 

DRUNKEN DOLLY – It’s Christmas (Ho Ho Ho)

Not heard much out the Dolly camp in recent years bur this short (very short!) Christmas Celtic-Punker reminds me exactly why I love them so much. 

LOUIS RIVE – A Winters Tale

Scots singer-songwriter Louis Rive plays Folk music; not the kind about orcs, glens, wizards etc, more about people and places. Like Tom Waits and Judy Collins if either of them wrote about Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire. Closer tae home he wants to follow on from top lyricists like Michael Marra, Liz Lochead, and Hamish Imlach. 

MIGHTY PLOUGHBOYS – I Won’t Be Home For Christmas

Irish-American Celtic-Punk from Connecticut and bloomin’ good it is too. A bit sad but it’s not all tinsel is it. You can get a free download of the song by subscribing to their mailing list like I did.

THE CUNDEEZ – Xmas In The Schemes

Dundee’s The Cundeez got around to making a video for a song that originally featured on their 2012 album Murder On The Oary Express… and what a bloody great video it is! 

TIM HOLEHOUSE – Christmas Times Blues

The ever prolific Tim Holehouse. Music for music’s sake with it’s roots in Delta Blues with his own personal twist on it. A friend of his from Winnipeg once told him – Creativity, Adventure and People.

FIVE LEAF CLOVER – Taste Of Beaujolais

Christmas, eggnog, jingle bells, snowflakes and… Beaujolais! Czech republicans Five Leaf Clover know that not everyone enjoys Christmas. For some, it’s just another sad evening and this song is for them.

JOHNNY HASH – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Belfast collective been a bit quiet this year but found time for a slow and Ska-ish cover of the John Lennon song that is usually quite apt at this time of year and sadly, most years.

PADDY’S PUNK – Irish Friends

German band Paddy’s Punk new release isn’t a Christmas song but as it came out only a few days ago it finds itself here. The piano gives it a festive air and it’s a lovely song too. 

HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – IT’s Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas

We end this selection of this years songs with a song that is neither from this year or Celtic-Punk but sums up perfectly what we think of Christmas.

Christmas is a busy time for the Samaritans. Decorations go up across the country, but there will still be people feeling down. And the worst part? Many of those struggling to cope will do so with a smile on their face. Because that’s what we do at Christmas, right? We eat, drink and be merry?

Christmas can be tough for people. But the Samaritans will be there, ready to answer every call for help they can – putting in a shift even during the darkest hours of the night.

Whatever you’re going through, call us free any time, from any phone, on 116 123.

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NEW SINGLE: DEXYS AND PRIMAL SCREAM RELEASE ‘Enough Is Enough’ FOR STRIKING WORKERS

One off collaboration between indie-pop pioneers Primal Scream and 80’s legends Dexys in solidarity with striking rail workers.

After a plea from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Twitter account to Dexys Midnight Runners frontman Kevin Rowland an amazing collaboration was born between indie-pop pioneers Primal Scream and 80’s legends Dexys to create a fundraiser for the RMT with an original song called Enough is Enough! The song was inspired by both the RMT and the nascent Enough Is Enough campaign. As such, all proceeds go to the RMT dispute fund and huge thanks and eternal gratitude go to both bands, in particular Kevin Rowland and Bobby Gillespie and also to former the Jesus and Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart for producing a wonderful video.

All proceeds go to the Dispute Hardship Fund https://t.co/GuLp7BZmjh

Video by Douglas Hart and edited by Gully with special thanks to Ed Hall.

It’s all a big con to keep us confused

The bottom line is we’re all being used

While we fight each other, we’re going nowhere

We need to take on the fuckers who show us no care.

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RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, himself a second generation Irish Londoner, a child of Armagh and Cork parents, who makes a guest appearance on the track said.

“As we go into further strike action this Saturday this sort of solidarity, which these talented musicians gave completely free of charge, is an indication of the huge support we are getting from across the country. All the money from this single will go directly to our dispute fund which we are using as part of our battle for justice in the workplace. It’s time for the government to stop interfering and let us negotiate a settlement with the employers.”

You can buy the download for Enough Is Enough via the Bandcamp link below. 

SOLIDARITY

ALBUM REVIEW: THE ENDINGS – ‘Completely Pickled’ (2022)

We have discovered a new English Celtic-Punk band from Telford in the Midlands and The Endings have only been together for twelve years! Today we review their recently released new album of Celtic-Folk-Punk with an Irish flavour. 

The Endings are a new band. Well new to me but not I dare say to the good people of Telford in the English midlands. Telford was conceived only in 1963 as part of post-war reconstruction. A time that saw a succession towns built from scratch. Named after road builder, civil engineer and architect Thomas Telford who, contrary to popular belief, was not responsible for Ironbridge Gorge, which gave its name to the World Heritage Site beside the River Severn, but he was Shropshire’s Surveyor of Public Works in 1787, which seems a long stretch to name the town after him! So all in all a fairly typical English town. A town like many across England that it’s residents are proud of. So proud indeed are The Endings that they nearly also get a mention as The Endings Telford. In these times where any sort of love of place or home is written off as chauvinism I love the idea of The Endings showing this pride in where they come from.

The Endings left to right (top): Verna – Drums / Vocals * Paul Mandolin / Banjo / Vocals * (bottom) Harry – Fiddle / Vocals * Rob – Guitar / Lead Vocalist * Kev – Bass / Vocals *

As I say The Endings may be new to me but they have been around over a decade playing the pub circuit around Shropshire and occasionally a little further afield. New blood in the band and a bit of inspiration has the last couple of years though seen them spending most weekends on the road gigging and with regular performances at festivals the opportunity to support bands such as Ferocious Dog and Mad Dog McCrea has arrived. They play their own style of uptempo Irish music that is designed purely only to keep the dance floors occupied. They have one previous release, Coda from 2019, which marked the start of their move away from being purely background noise for busy pubs into a band that people will aim to go and watch. Even so 2 albums in over 10 years may sound mean but isn’t unheard of when bands are caught in the cycle of gig-gig-gig-gig. If you want to show yourselves off to the bigger world then you do need to make time to record but then you also need to make those recordings available and these days that means making downloading an option. These are things that The Endings need to think about as their music deserves a much bigger audience and with more than half the readers of this site from overseas it’s a must-do.

Completely Pickled (an English euphemism for being drunk in case you didn’t know) opens with ‘Gemini’ and tells the story of a night out on the lash at the 1970’s-80’s Shropshire nightclub Gemini. If anyone remembers our review of Pronghorn (“Kings of Cowpunk”) a few weeks back then this isn’t too dissimilar except with a definite Celtic edge to it. Catchy and with a real foot tapping beat to it. Next we have ‘Time & Tide’ and the song carries on in the same vein with some excellent musicianship on display. Rob’s vocals are clear and precise and sit on the fence between Punk and Folk where he can shout if he likes but also do a wee bit of ‘proper’ singing as well! Next up is ‘Water Gypsy’ and a number about the Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood who said his families generation was the first to be born on dry land with a lineage dating back to the 1700’s of working on the water.  His family were English ‘‘bargees’ (river or canal barge workers) and Ronnie affectionately referred to them as ‘water gypsies’.

(‘Water Gypsy’ Live at Farmer Phil’s August 2021)

The mandolin here leads the way as Rob introduces us to a little known part of Ronnie’s life and I hope he gets to hear the song. ‘Press Ganged’ is a standout track here as it introduces a couple of other influences to the mix as it reminds me of The Men They Couldn’t Hang at their peak in the 80’s in both style and subject matter. This could so easily have made Waiting For Bonaparte especially when the song suddenly speeds up halfway through. Next up is a song close to my own heart with ‘Importance Of Guinness’ and a proper good auld instrumental Irish romp in tribute to the black stuff. Truth be told though Guinness doesn’t hold a candle to Beamish!

(‘Importance Of Guinness’ Live September 2022)

‘New Lands’ is a about buying a one way ticket to Australia, another subject that The Men touched on. Stories of the sea are quite the feature of Celtic-Punk and The Endings seem to be fond of them too with ‘Raise The Sails’ up next. I must say though that it’s been quite the while since a more ‘folky’ album landed with all original compositions and I’m motre than happy not to have to sit through another version of ‘Drunken Sailor’, as good a song as it is! While a lot of the songs here could be decades old (‘against modern football – against modern music’) on ‘Ragged Man’ the sound is more recent but if I did have one point to make on the album it would be that the sound here could have been beefed right up. With the pounding beat it needed a more heavy touch. ‘Madness’ tells of the er.. well er… madness of those couple of years where the world closed down. Looking back now it seems like such a long time ago.

(‘Juggling Time’ Live September 2022)

‘Smuggler’s Cove’ starts with some rather nifty mandolin and I think this where I keep getting TMTCH in my head while I’m listening. Another great song with a real thigh slapper / head nodder of a beat. We are nearly at the end and ‘Juggling Time’ and while I find juggling quite an amazing spectacle I also find jugglers very irritating so it’s a good job this isn’t about juggler then! This I think could just about be the albums standout track with its catchy danceable sound. ‘Gallons Of Pale’ is another tribute to alcohol this time to the wonders of Pale Ale. The CD rounds off with what is described on the sleeve notes as a bonus track, with an excellent instrumental version of ‘Juggling Time’ and then the curtain comes down.

(You can hear the whole of Completely Pickled via the You Tube play-list below)

Completely Pickled was recorded and produced by Tom Carter at The Riff Factory just up the road from them in Stoke and singer-songwriter Jess Silk supplied the album artwork. Like their debut album it has been produced and self-funded by the band themselves though I’m sure they open to offers. Their are bands like The Endings in many English towns and cities fusing Irish / Celtic music and English Folk and Rock and Punk influences and while many are content to simply drift from pub gig to pub gig playing covers its great to see a band like The Endings trying to develop their sound, write their own songs and reach out. The success of bands like Ferocious Dog and the bands that have followed in their wake over the last few years show their is an audience for music from the likes of The Endings and with a decade long start over most then they ought to be near the top of the list to listen to.

 Buy Completely Pickled  Spotify

Contact The Endings  Facebook

EP REVIEW: THE JAMESTOWN BROTHERS – ‘Just Is’ (2022)

A new EP from The Jamestown Brothers. A high energy foot stomping original indie Folk band that tells real stories of real people with a huge sound that mine the rich history and social tapestry of Great Britain and Ireland. 

When we first reviewed The Jamestown Brothers back in 2020 for their debut album Rebels, Rogues And Regrets and we reasonably expected that within a short time we would have the pleasure of seeing them live but it was not to be. Two years later and we are still eagerly awaiting seeing them live but with things returning to normal now I’m sure it won’t be long, especially as these folks love to play live and every weekend sees them flying around the south of England from pub to festival to ‘proper’ music venues. We just need them to stretch their wings a wee but further as we are getting old and lazy!

The Jamestown Brothers formed in Somerset in 2017 and gathered up some great reviews and a fair bit of fanfare before the dreaded pandemic but have bounced back since the pandemic’s end with a new EP of all original material and continue to tour, tour, tour, tour so I’m sure we’ll get to see them soon enough. An incredible eight piece band that includes guitars, trumpet, piano, bass, drums, fiddle, recorder and trombone they certainly can kick up a right old racket considering they are almost acoustic.

Just Is kicks off with ‘Big Parade’ and the song is big in every sense. A hand of friendship is offered after two years when the act could only be symbolic. Catchy and energetic and a choice chorus this is definitely one for the festival masses to get on board once they had a  few liveners! Singer-songwriter Colin Batchelor leads the band with distinct and clear vocals in a song that is easy to follow and the brass instruments leading the way. ‘Jimmy James’ tells the story of the larger than life 18th century piper James Allen. Born sometime in the 1720’s in the wilds of Northumberland, Jimmy came from a family of border gypsies. An army deserter and adventurer, who travelled to far off foreign lands and an escapee from more than one prison whose one redeeming feature was his skill with the Northumbrian small pipes. Bellows-blown bagpipes as to mouth-blown Scottish bagpipes that have provided the North-East with a musical identity for centuries.

“folk punk was born to the land”

To fit the entirety of Jimmy’s life into a song is some achievement. Again the brass is put to extensive use and fits perfectly. Several listens and i’m still trying to pick out the individual instruments. ‘Billy Boys’ tells of the early 20th century razor gangs of Glasgow especially the fascist sympathisers of the protestant Billy Boys gang. Led by Billy Fullerton who would be awarded a medal for scabbing during the 1926 General Strike and formed a Glasgow branch of the British Union of Fascists. The gang are still remembered at Ibrox Park today with a song named after them in which the line “up to our knees in Fenian blood” led to it’s banning as it was undeniable that “fenian” in the context of the song meant Roman Catholics. Real history that leads me to think of the one band that The Jamestown Brothers can be compared to – The Men They Couldn’t Hang. They share not just a love of forgotten working class history but also a novel approach to Folk music that sees them trying many things that always come from. ‘Sunlight In The Morning’ sees the band tackling the subject of homelessness but as I’ve said in a real human way without cliche or lecture. Catchy, as are all the songs here, and well produced Country-Folk with more than a touch of Celtic about it it’s music for the outside and dancing around to (or tapping your thigh as I do). ‘This Is War’ about the life of ‘Jutland Jack’ John Travers Cornwell the youngest recipient of the Victoria cross following his brave action aboard HMS Chester in 1916 is full on Celtic-Folk-Punk historical stomp just as I like it. The curtain comes down on Just Is with the brilliant ‘Lower Us Down’ is a worthy addition to the coal-miner’s extensive musical canon. A life of unimaginable hardship and danger right up until the 2nd World War. These songs always remind me of me Dad but especially Ian Porter an old friend who was only 19 when he was killed down Rossington pit. Serious subject matter sure but sang with gusto and conviction.

Coming from an area of England with a rich working class tradition has not done The Jamestown Brothers no harm and I’m a fan of musicians who make political music without ramming it down the listeners throat or resorting to cliche. Story telling lyrics and a desire to re-tell stories of the past have made them festival favourites, especially in the South West of the country, and the other bits will follow I am sure.

Buy Just Is

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NEW SINGLE: COWPUNK LEGENDS ‘Psycho Ceilidh’ OUT NOW

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you assembled a mob of Punk musicians to play Folk, Country, Punk, Metal and Psychobilly?The short answer is the most rockin’ gig you’ve probably ever been to!

Undisputed kings of Cowpunk and the hardest and finest banjo / fiddle action you’ll ever come across. Pronghorn have been around since 1992, and this summer the band celebrates 30 years of playing home-grown Cowpunk, drinking warm cans of Stella, late night garage food and meeting a whole host of nutters, and ne’er-do-wells along the way.

In 1992 when grunge was what every self respecting alternative music fan was into, a group of friends decided to go against the grain and formed a band that the likes of Dorset and the world had never seen. Starting off by busking outside Debenhams in Bournemouth they played their first gig at the Brunswick Hotel in Charminster. The band was put together from the ashes of skiffle outfit Hoedown At Hanks, a Cult tribute band Blue Rain and local upstarts The Crunchy Tractors. They soon went onto busking outside more salubrious locations, Amsterdam Central Station, Copenhagen Homeless Hostels and Cherbourg docks to name but a few. As the band’s sound evolved with a mash of Punk, Country and Rockabilly which brought together the band’s very own genre ‘Cowpunk’. The line up has seen many changes over the years but the founder members, Toni Viagra and Lamma are still there, along with newbies(!) Ffi, Krusty, Gypo, Aussie Mike and Andy Law- who’ve only done the last fifteen years or so.

Old man rocks in his rockin’ chair, wrinkled face and long grey hair,

Drinkin’ moonshine, polishing his loaded gun

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So, the old man goes down to the creek, huntin’ fishin’ needing meat

On a mission, get things done, get back to the bar for some Cajun fun

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Psycho ceilidh in full swing, take your partner, flip and fling,

Left foot, right foot, stompin’ done, hogbitch around and let’s get flung.

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Psycho country dance again, rootin’ tootin’ beers often,

Crickets sing, rooster crows, sun is up it’s time to go

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Heavy on a hoedown, heavy on a fiddle,

Pickin’ on a banjo, vox on a riddle,

Swing yer gal to a rustic two step

Rompin’ stompin’ slammin’ to the music

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Psycho Ceilidh’ is Pronghorn’s first single from their upcoming new album Welcome To Pronghorn Country on Lunaria Records. It’s due for release on 4th September, and can be pre-ordered on CD and vinyl from https://lunariarecords.com/pronghorn

Pronghorn  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

CLASSIC ALBUM REVIEW: RAY & COLLUNEY – ‘Tyrants Of England’ (1971)

The latest in our series of reviews of albums from the past that deserve to be aired again! An extremely rare English Folk album from Ray & Colluney a duo using sparse guitar, mandolin and banjo but with flagolet on a few tracks helping to add atmosphere.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Every time I hear a outstanding Folk album I think that would be just perfect for the Classic Album Series. First thing to do is to sort out a safe download link and then after that look up the album and the people who recorded it and write up a wee history of the album. Today we have chosen an album that is an amazing 50 (fifty!) years old this year and yet I could hardly find a thing about it. I was drawn to the Ray & Colluney album Tyrants Of England because it was likened somewhere else to another album, the Irish duo Callinan-Flynn’s Freedom’s Lament, was featured in the very last Classic Album Review in October. With similar instrumentation and vocal styles and even recorded around the same time the similarity is definitely there. The early 70’s were halcyon saw in the Folk clubs of the British (and Irish) isles with them bristling with duos and artists singing tales and songs of the auld days. I did read that at the time Ray & Colluney were considered pretty standard Folk club fare but in this day and age when this style of music is much less common we can look back and see it for how good it actually was.

“You tyrants of England! Your race may soon be run.
You may be brought unto account for what you’ve sorely done.”

So what scant details did I find out about this album then? It was recorded in 1971, with only 200 vinyl copies issued and it was the first album released on the highly collectable Westwood Records which has since become a bit of a cult label with releases now reaching £50+. It was engineered By Alan Green and manufactured by Folk Heritage Recordings in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire.

“‘Tis advertised in Boston, New York and Buffalo,
Five hundred brave Americans, a-whaling for to go, singing
Blow, ye winds in the morning, And blow, ye winds, high-i!
Clear away your running gear, And blow, ye winds, high-o!”

Several of the songs featured here are pretty much Folk standards of the time and you may recognise a handful made popular by The Dubliners but under different song titles. The title song ‘Tyrants Of England’ is also known as ‘The Hand-Loom Weaver’s Lament’ and dates from the beginning of the industrialisation of the textile trade in Lancashire. It tells of the black period when supply outstripped the market due to increasing mechanisation. This caused a scarcity of jobs for the weavers and a decline in wages for those still fortunate enough to be employed. Ian Robb and Hang the Piper recorded the song in 1979 and Ian wrote of the song on the sleeve notes.

“The ‘gentlemen and tradesmen’ of the song followed the official propaganda line in blaming the Napoleonic wars and Bonaparte himself for much of the starvation and hardship which resulted. Apparently, however, the working men and women of the factories and mills were not so easily taken in, and many of them, seeing little decline in the comforts of the ruling and merchant classes, held a sneaking respect and admiration for ‘Boney’, whom they regarded as a champion of the poor.”

This is exactly the reason why we run this series to remember albums that are slowly passing out of memory. If anyone knows more about this album or what became of Ray and Trevor we’d love to hear.

1 Tyrants Of England – 3:21

2 Bogies Bonnie Belle – 2:22

3 Jack Hall – 2:44

4 Rambling Soldier – 1:58

5 Blow Ye Winds – 3:24

6 Calico Printers Clerk – 3:30

7 Cock Fight – 2:16

8 To The Begging – 2:28

9 A Sailor’s Life – 3:51

10 Farewell Nancy – 3:50

11 Rakish Young Sailor – 3:17

Ray Haslam – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar * Trevor Colluney – Vocals, Banjo, Mandolin

with Malcolm McDonald – Bass and John Hampson – Flageolet

flageolet, wind instrument closely related to the recorder. Like the recorder, it is a fipple, or whistle, flute—i.e., one sounded by a stream of breath directed through a duct to strike the sharp edge of a hole cut in the side of the pipe. The name flageolet—which comes from the Old French flageol, meaning ‘pipe’ or ‘tabor pipe’—was applied to such flutes at least from the 13th century, but from the late 16th century it has referred most specifically to a form of the instrument developed at that time in Paris.

DOWNLOAD HERE or HERE

“In Manchester, fine city of cotton twist and twills,
There lived the subject of my song, the cause of all my ills.
She was handsome, young and twenty, her eyes were azure blue
Admirers she had plenty: and her name was Dorothy Drew.”

ALBUM REVIEW: ROUGHNECK RIOT – ‘Burn It To The Ground’ (2022)

UK Folk-rockers Roughneck Riot return from a 4-year break with a loud and angry new album Burn It To The Ground.

Roughneck Riot have returned from an extended pandemic induced siesta to hit us with their latest album release Burn It To The Ground. This is the first release from the Warrington based hardcore folk punk outfit since Out Of Anger was released in 2014.

The past few years have been tough on us all and here at London Celtic Punks HQ we are delighted to see the influx of new music coming from every angle. We have taken this as a sign of normality returning. Burn It To The Ground certainly marks the return of Roughneck Riot to the scene.

The band are known for their hardcore edge whilst keeping touch with the folk punk sound. The album is well balanced, and the results are impressive. The album opens with the suitably titled tune “We’re Still Here” reminding us that they haven’t gone away y’know!! With a total of 12 tracks the album has something for everyone. The stand out tracks are “Cognitive Dissonance”, “No Cure For Us” and the title track “Burn It To The Ground”.

Often when bands take a break it’s hard to gauge what will happen on the other side. Roughneck Riot have come through their four year intermission sounding as good as ever. They are back on the road and no doubt we will be hearing much more of them. Hopefully we don’t have to wait 8 years for the next release.

TRACK LISTING

1. We’re Still Here
2. Stay Awake
3. A New Day Is Dawning
4. Don’t Count Me Out

5. Lampedusa
6. Cognitive Dissonance
7. Burn It To The Ground
8. Tired Eyes
9. We’ve Already Lost
10. The Reckoning
11. No Cure For Us
12. Fucks Sake

Burn It To The Ground is available on all streaming platforms and available to order in CD and vinyl wherever you are. It has been released on SBAM Records and is also available from them.

Buy Burn It To The Ground  FromTheBand

Contact The Roughneck Riot  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube 

ALBUM REVIEW: JAMIE CLARKE’S PERFECT – ‘Monkey See, Monkey Do’ (2022)

Only a mere thirteen folk can ever say they were once members of The Pogues and one of those is Jamie Clarke. Since then with his band Jamie Clarke’s Perfect he has carved out a career making, playing and recording a glorious mix of Irish Folk, Garage, Rockabilly and Punk Rock!

We are lucky to have Paul Evans from the #1 Pogues tribute band The Pogue Traders to review the new Jamie Clarke’s Perfect album hot off the press.

Jamie Clarke’s Perfect are a German based folky / rockabilly-ish outfit with nine albums to their name. Perfect were formed after The Pogues disbanded in the late 1990s. Until then, Clarke was a guitarist for late-period Pogues (he took over when Phil Chevron retired from the band in 1994) and featured on the final ‘Pogue Mahone’ LP, co-writing The Sun and the Moon with Spider Stacey.

Their latest offering, Monkey See, Monkey Do arrived in January is packed with tight, punchy hoarse tunes written for a ‘rambunctious live band’ market. It’s a play-loud set, and if you’re looking for an introspective concept album, or lounge-bar background music, this isn’t it.

It’s a wide-ranging collection. Tracks like How the Mighty and Morgane Morgenstein would fit in very nicely on those post-MacGowan Pogues LPs. Greetsiel Reel and Monkey Done gets us closer to the celtic-punk feel of The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Green Cadillac brings a welcome rockabilly-pop dimension while Time is Ticking and the excellent Madness-ish Raise Your Voice tips into ska-punk territory.

I’ll predict the standout track Lady Luck will end up at the end of their live set whenever they want to be brought back on for an encore.

Money See, Monkey Do, does a difficult job well – it’s a new album from a band who have written something to punch-up their live set. Buy the CD, or stream it, but whatever you do, catch Jamie Clarke’s Perfect next time they’re in your town because this album will sound even better live than it does in your living room.

Buy Monkey See, Monkey Do – DackletonRecords (CD/Vinyl)

Contact Jamie Clarke’s Perfect WebSite Facebook YouTube Instagram

Paul Evans is the tin-whistle player in The Pogue Traders – a London-based Pogues tribute band formed in 2007 that even comes with a personal recommendation from one of the original band members.

“The best Pogues tribute band I’ve seen” – Andrew Ranken

It’s coming up to the busiest time of year for Irish music. A time when for many years a Pogues or Shane MacGowan concert was a must so in their prolonged absence it’s only right that a band should fill that void and The Pogue Traders fill it seamlessly. A mini tour around the country sees them take in well know Irish diaspora hot spots so be sure to check them out and if you are wondering what to do in London on St. Patrick’s Day then why not join us for a South London pub crawl ending at The Half Moon Putney for a poguetastic night celebrating the worlds greatest ever band.

THE POGUE TRADERS 2022 ST. PATRICK’S TOUR

https://www.facebook.com/events/1005352306732195/

Leeds – Brudenell Social Club Friday March 11th

Holmfirth – Picturedrome Saturday March 12th

London – Half Moon Putney, Thursday 17th March

Glasgow, – McChuills Saturday, March 19th

And finally, the Nottingham Greyfriars gig from November 2021 was postponed due to illness and is now happening on April 30th 2022 – details to follow.

The Pogue Traders  Facebook WebSite

ALBUM REVIEW: OYSTERBAND – ‘Read The Sky’ (2022)

The stars-and-skies theme of 2022 continues with the 12th studio album by award-winning folk rock legends Oysterband. With Read The Sky, the band emerges from pandemic and lockdown hell with ten new songs, and proof that there’s plenty left in the tank yet, both musically and politically.

^{Read The Sky. The 12th studio effort by folk rock legends Oysterband. Out March 4th!}

Like with Ian Prowse’s One Hand on the Starry Plough, what we have here is a collection of songs that aren’t typically Celtic punk. But while the music might not be similar to the likes of “Granite Years” or “The Road to Santiago”, you can never question the impact that John and the boys have had on the UK folk scene since their ’70s inception. Let’s kick things off with “Born Under the Same Sun”; this opener introduces the album’s slick production values, and discusses the changes that our society has seen in recent years. So is the music relevant? You bet. The song is a fine reminder of the socially aware attitude that the band have often embraced, particularly back in the ’90s, and taken into their recording sessions, which this time were done under COVID conditions.

Next up we have “The Corner of the Room”, track #2. This was released as a single just recently, and in my view it was a good choice. The song is a personal tale of hope and ambition, one sure to be popular among devoted fans of the band. The upbeat mood continues here, and I had to smile at the reference to the Isle of Skye, not too far from my now-home of Glasgow.

Reinventing the fiddle (sort of)

From the album booklet, track 3 “Roll Away” looks like it might be a tune (due to the lack of lyrics). Don’t be fooled – it’s a Back Door Slam cover, written by the hands of Davy Knowles. This is where the fiddle, that archetypal Celtic punk instrument, comes to the fore in a somewhat unorthodox way. Many Celtic punk fans are used to hearing the instrument lead the way, in the form of various jigs and reels (think Dan Booth’s work with Ferocious Dog, for instance). But here, the fiddle takes on a different role. Ian Telfer gives the strings more of a twitch on “Roll Away”, in a way that reminded me of some of Hilary Hahn’s work. Ian is one of three remaining members from Oysterband’s early recording line-up, with lead vocalist John Jones and guitarist Alan Prosser being the other two.

The interesting violin work continues during “Wonders Are Passing”. This reflective, Earth-centred track features a solo in the middle, but what struck me was that the fiddle never truly seems to take off. It sounds more restrained than freeform, though this isn’t a bad thing. In fact it would seem intentional, as if it were done to match the mood of the lyrics. “Fly or Fall” has more of the same – some excellent fiddle runs and a catchy chorus, but again, the fiddle still doesn’t steal the limelight.

^{“Wonders Are Passing”. Track #4 of Read The Sky, and available on YouTube with a beautiful wee video.}

The fiddle finally does blossom out towards the end of track #6, “My Son”. The moral behind this track is with great power comes great responsibility, just like in the famous film 😉 In that sense, there’s no better time for Ian to step forward and showcase his skills than during the beautiful outro to this song.

The reeds and the pipes

It might not be your typical Celtic punk album, but Read The Sky doesn’t omit the other familiar folk instruments completely. “Star of the Sea” marks the welcome return of the accordion that fans will know and love from the likes of 1995’s “Put Out the Lights”. “Sea” whisks us away on a brief journey to the far-flung reaches of Hong Kong, and I did wonder if the Dolores in question is the sadly missed Dolores O’Riordan. But the Cranberries frontwoman passed away in London, though she did play in Hong Kong several times.

If “Star of the Sea” didn’t copy “Put Out the Lights” in featuring the uilleann pipes, track #9 “Streams of Innocence” makes up for this. The penultimate track boasts some o’ those piping passages, underpinned by a strong, rolling rhythm. But what about track #7, “Hungry For That Water”? This one is one of the album’s more mystic moments, especially in terms of the lyrical imagery. Add to this some intriguing acoustic soloing that brings to mind Shane MacGowan’s “Lorca’s Novena”, and you’ve got a song whose impact stays with you for longer than you’ll initially realise.

The time is now

The band close the album out in a similar vein to how they opened it; they make another clear socio-political statement with the title track. “The Time Is Now” was the first single released to radio, and fittingly the band performed it during COP26 on BBC Radio 2. The song has a catchy hook to it, underlined by bassist and producer Al Scott’s work on the four-string. John’s lyrics point to the changes we’re seeing near and far in Mother Nature. And the message rings true; in an age where we all need to do something to protect the one world we’ve got, the time really is now. Leave the car at home where possible. Avoid single-use plastic where possible. Sign a petition where possible. We the people have more power than we think on this one. And that’s exactly how it should be.

^{“The Time Is Now”. The band’s personal statement amid the COP26 conference of late 2021.}

“The Time Is Now” puts a thoughtful finishing touch to a well-conceived and well-rounded record. When my wife asked me to describe the album as a whole, one comparison I drew was with another group of British folk-rock legends, namely Fairport Convention. We saw them in Oysterband’s native Canterbury just before the pandemic hit, and perhaps the comparison is fitting, as Oysterband have performed at Fairport’s Cropredy festival on a number of occasions. Either way, we are reminded fondly that folk music knows no barriers. Groups young and old[er] are embracing the genre and working hard, year after year, to keep the music and life’s important messages alive.

Right…where can I get it?

Read The Sky is out on Friday 4th March on Running Man Records. One way to pre-order it is HERE. Give the album a spin, and see what thoughts of your own come to mind. The lyrics are included in the booklet, along with a beautiful wee quote by Emily Dickinson, THAT famous reclusive 19th-century poet.

Alternatively, if ya ditched your CD player years ago in favour o’ streaming, then keep an eye on the band’s Spotify profile HERE or Apple Music profile HERE, where you can refresh your memory of the band’s previous material while awaiting the March 4th release date. Lastly, whatever your choice of listening format, make sure you catch the band on their UK tour commencing April 2022.

EP REVIEW: THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG – ‘Red Kite Rising’ (2022)

A year after the tragic death of founder member Cush The Men They Couldn’t Hang show they intend to troop on with their first release since May, 2020’s album Cock-A-Hoop.

The shock of the sudden death of Cush was widely felt and his presence, songwriting skills and voice will be forever sorely missed. The Men They Couldn’t Hang began their days back in 1984 when Cush, then a roadie for The Pogues, formed the group with songwriter Paul Simmonds, Cush’s fellow vocalist Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers and his brother Jon and Shane MacGowan ex and member of The Nips Shanne Bradley. They were lucky to count the late John Peel as a fan and it was his championing of the band on his Radio show that led to their debut single, Eric Bogle’s ‘Green Fields of France’ (sung brilliantly by Cush) becoming a big top hit in the UK Indie charts and inclusion in Peel’s festive top 50. With their fame growing it was around this time that I first heard them on the radio while on a caravan holiday in Withernsea. It was 1984, my Dad was on strike, rebellion and revolution was in the air and in the charts and Janice Long had also took to playing the hit on her radio show, ensuring that as soon as I got home I searched all the local stores till I found it and soon later their debut album Night Of A Thousand Candles. Around the same time The Pogues were going from strength to strength and while often put down as Pogues copyists nothing could be further from the truth. It had more to do with the fact this music was so unusual that they were grouped together. The Men were eventually labelled ‘cowpunk’ with their mainly acoustic-electric-Folk owing much to the energy of Punk while oftentimes they crossed over completely.

Success led to them signing to MCA Records and several more outstanding albums including How Green Is the Valley the following year and in 1988 Waiting for Bonaparte. Their fame and popularity was beginning to rise though that never quite transferred into the record sales their label demanded and so they moved on to Magnet Records recording a trio of brilliant albums Waiting For Bonaparte, Silvertown and 1990’s Domino Club before they called it a day.

Retirement didn’t last very long and within a few years The Men were back and even recording again. Not a band to rest on past glories a bunch of albums followed with original material that fans eagerly lapped up. With 20+ releases (and far too many to number side projects) a collection of studio, live and compilations it’s hard to navigate for the new fan but those first five albums are without doubt among the finest Celtic-Folk-Punk albums of all time. So it was with great shock we heard the news of the death of Stefan Cush on February 8th last year after suffering a heart attack. We were privileged to be able to publish a touching tribute to his memory written by his friend and photographer Marvey Mills.

Stefan Cush

The Men and the various members of the band when releasing their own material have always utilised crowd funding as a way to keep control and releases independent and Red Kite Rising has been no different. The 4-track EP came out last week, on St. Valentines Day, and is hoped that it will help fund their next album which they be working on this through the spring/summer/autumn. The EP begins with the title track ‘Red Kite Rising’ penned by Paul Simmonds and a celebration of the life of Stefan Cush. Loved and respected by all it’s typical The Men. Catchy. jaunty and folky it’s a great tribute as is the songs title with the Red Hawk being his favourite bird. The next couple of songs were first recorded during the sessions for their last album Cock-A-Hoop in 2020. First up is ‘Reeling And Railing’ and again typical men with a nod back to their ‘cowpunk’ days. Imagine a bunch of young men in tartan work shirts swinging each other round and it could be the 80’s again. The Men could always bash out a dramatic ballad, in fact my favourite songs are ballads like Scarlet Ribbons, Green Fields and the amazing (and packed with so much meaning for me personally) ‘Company Town’ and while it’s maybe not quite ballad territory ‘Hanging On’ is the slowest here. The EP ends with ‘The Rose Of England’, a cover of a song by Nick Lowe that first appeared on the album of the same name in 1985.

“For her feckless boy
She did weep and wail
Saying, Lord have mercy where did I fail?
Out my belly, then pick up a gun
And fall for the Rose of England”

A fantastic song sung with such passion and firmly made into a Men song. Their are no videos to accompany this release but you can hear the whole EP at the link below and we are already looking forward to that forthcoming album.

R.I.P. Cush but The Men They Couldn’t Hang live on…

(You can stream / download Red Kite Rising on the Bandcamp player below)

Buy Red Kite Rising Bandcamp

Contact The Men They Couldn’t Hang WebSite Facebook YouTube Instagram

INTERVIEW: IAN PROWSE – ‘One Hand on the Starry Plough’

In part 2 of our Ian Prowse special, we’ve interviewed the man himself. Ian’s fourth solo record One Hand on the Starry Plough comes out on February 11th, which is mere days away! If you’re familiar with Ian’s back catalogue, or ya wanna know more about him and his contributions to Celtic music, then check the interview further down ☘️

^{One Hand on the Starry Plough. The fourth solo effort from Ian Prowse, out February 11th.}

If ya missed our very recent review of Ian’s upcoming album One Hand on the Starry Plough, be sure to check that out HERE. Other than that, let’s get into the interview, and see what Ian himself has to say about the new record! Here it is…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBcoTqU88z8

^{London Celtic Punks sit down with Ian Prowse on the eve of his fourth studio album.}

We would like to congratulate Ian on a job well done, especially during the terrible lockdowns that have affected so many musicians’ lives. One Hand on the Starry Plough is available now on Kitchen Disco Records, you can get it HERE. You can also get a taster of what the album has to offer, by checking out the official YouTube video to track #1 “Battle” below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiM8NZDMj_8

^{“Battle”, track #1 from One Hand on the Starry Plough by Ian Prowse.}

Sláinte mhaith! 🥃 And enjoy the music ☘️

ALBUM TEASER: IAN PROWSE – ‘One Hand on the Starry Plough’ (2022)

One album we’ve been looking forward to in 2022 is the new offering by Ian Prowse. The seasoned singer-songwriter is known for his work in rock genres. But his contributions to Celtic music can’t be underestimated, and he hasn’t forgotten those influences on his upcoming record.

^{One Hand on the Starry Plough by Ian Prowse. Out 11th February 2022.}

Released off the back of a tough time for musicians and artists, One Hand on the Starry Plough will be Ian’s fourth solo record. We’ve been granted an early listen, and the album has all the right people behind it. Long-time pal and bandmate Tony Kiley was chosen as producer, and a wide range of guest musicians lend their instruments and voices to the record. The result is a diverse and exciting album, where bluesy rock, choir singalongs and – of course – folk music all turn up for it.

Now…Ian is perhaps best known for his work with Liverpool-based band Amsterdam, whose single “The Journey” hit #32 in the UK charts back in 2005. But he’s no stranger to the Celtic music that we all know and love. Ian has participated in the Irish Sea Sessions, and he holds an MA in Irish Studies from the University of Liverpool. While at uni, he concentrated his work on the role of Christy Moore in Irish folk music, which I bet was an interesting and rewarding write-up ☘️ Both Moore and Elvis Costello have given Prowse their seal of approval, and Ian’s first band Pele supported The Pogues back in the day too.

So while Starry Plough ain’t your typical Celtic punk record, it’s well worthy of a closer look. We’re gonna keep things Celtic by focusing in on some of the album’s folky moments.

Holy, Holy River

It’s not long before the album makes its mark in terms of the Celtic influences. Track #2 “Holy, Holy River” is arguably the strongest song on the album. The fiddles and tin whistles that burst into view remind us of the warm, romantic feeling that Irish music brings to every heart. The song then grows into a stomping rock track, with some tin whistle soloing in the middle and the eponymous one hand on the starry plough lyric repeating during the outro.

Ian has said that the album, as a whole, is about hope. It’s about looking up at The Plough in the starry night sky, and realising that we DO have one hand on it. As long as there is hope in life, we’re not lost 🙂 So “Holy, Holy River” is a worthy centrepiece to the album, and is reminiscent in places of another popular Prowse piece, “Does This Train Stop On Merseyside?“, which was covered by none other than Christy Moore on his successful album Listen.

^{Ian Prowse. A seasoned singer-songwriter with a lot of support behind him.}

Dan

Another song to stomp around to is track 8, entitled “Dan”. The catchy, attention-grabbing lyrics here are bolstered by the fiddles in the background, and again the tin whistle is along for the ride. These familiar instruments come to the fore in another folky interlude, and they stick around for the second half of the song.

Interestingly, this song also mentions Cork City and Michael Collins at one point. Now Collins wasn’t born in Cork City (though he was born in Co. Cork), but he did go to the city to speak, and he was there during the Irish Civil War. The “Dan” in question doesn’t appear to be Dan Breen, though – it seems to refer to a musician, not a politician. Maybe it’s the singer-songwriter Dan Donnelly? Ian himself can surely tell us more next week. So in other words, watch this space…😉

My Old Black Tie

The final song to highlight is “My Old Black Tie”, a beautiful, melancholy ballad found in the middle of the record. The fiddle gels well with the electric guitar here, but perhaps it’s the lovely wee flute solo at the end that steals the show. Proof – as if we needed it – that Irish music can be quiet or loud, and still powerful in both cases. Drawing the listener back to the album’s main theme is always a good way to round off the first half of a record, and Ian does that as he sings: Do you remember the starry sky? / Do you remember all our lives?

Bring on the release!

“Diego” and “Big Feelings” have Celtic elements to them too. But give the album a spin yourself when it comes out on February 11th – which ain’t all that far away now! 😉 With an imaginative new record on offer, Ian’s back, and he’s taking on the world once again. If ye really can’t wait until Feb 11th and you need a sneak peek of the album right now, then check out the official video to track #1 “Battle”. Here it is:

^{“Battle”, track #1 from One Hand on the Starry Plough by Ian Prowse.}

One Hand on the Starry Plough is available for pre-order HERE. To check out Ian’s previous work via the streaming platforms, look him up on Spotify or Apple Music. Or catch up with him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram too.

ALBUM REVIEW: SHANGHAI TREASON – ‘Shanghai Treason’ (2022)

2 years ago, Sheffield-based Shanghai Treason played their first gig. Now the wait is over…January ’21 sees the release of their self-titled debut album! If you’re partial to a bit o’ Dropkicks, Flogging and Roughneck Riot (and if you’re reading this, you probably are), then these “Yorkshire banjo punks” should be to yer liking. This record sounds like a band working hard, having fun, and determined to make a difference.

^{Shanghai Treason. From Sheffield, and keen to keep the local music scene going.}

As we all know, the banjo is a firm favourite in any Celtic punk line-up. And on this record, the instrument makes its mark immediately. “Emerald Causeway” is a cracking tune to start things off, an energetic number where banjoist Tom Hardy leads the way.

This is a sign of a band that shows promise, and we’re not the only ones who’ve noticed. The boys have been picked up by none other than The Rumjacks, who’ve taken them out on their current UK tour. Sadly, some shows have been cancelled – including Glasgow, dammit – but it’s a great early opportunity for the band in any case.

Now, the music might make an impression on the listener, but so too do the lyrics. In next track “Gatling Gun”, which has been released as a single, we hear clever lines from singer Sam Christie such as The city sucked me in, and moved the goalposts. A better one is Would you sew my eyes shut? I got a needle – you got any thread? That one’s from “The Fiendish Blue”, and I had to grin when I heard it. It’s always good to see a band using words in an intriguing way, right down to their band name.

Dynamic music

Shanghai Treason stays true to the Celtic punk tradition, by boasting its fair share of speedy, 2/4-time songs. Listen to “On The Ropes”, where the accordion takes over and gives the banjo a wee rest. “Wildfire” sounds like it’ll be another thrasher, but a break in the middle saves it, before we’re plunged back into the fast-paced fun. Importantly, “Wildfire” also features Dan Booth, well known for his work with Ferocious Dog. Dan played fiddle on the track, and also co-handled production of the album. For Shanghai’s take on FD’s “Crime And Punishment”,

Despite the faster numbers, the band is apt at writing slower tunes too. “Uphill Battle” is a good example, with a steady jig rhythm commencing halfway through, making the song one of my favourites on the album. A much sadder example is “Hero’s Welcome”, a song about a POW returning home from war, only to be suspected of being a spy and tragically killed. Closing track “Boatman” is the other acoustic-led one, where the eponymous boatman could be literal, or maybe a metaphor, leaving it up to interpretation.

Where can I hear the album?

The best way to show these lads some support is to head to their Bandcamp page. There, you’ll find not only the album but some kick-ass merch. If ye fancy a listen first, there’s a wealth of videos on the band’s YouTube page for you to try, and be sure to subscribe!

If streaming’s your thing, and ye wanna contribute some royalties to the band, you can also give them a listen on Spotify or Apple Music. Last of all, be sure to drop ’em a message and stay in touch on either Facebook or Instagram. Their Facebook page lists lots of upcoming shows as the world slowly gets back to gigging ways.

Thanks for readin’! Or as they say in Scotland…slàn leat agus pòg mo thòin 😁☘️

Andy x

2021 CATCH UP REVIEWS. PART 2 – WILD COLONIAL BHOYS, THE POKES, HAWTHORN, SURFIN’ TURNIPS,

Our last post was an attempt to catch up with a few albums that we loved but had missed for reviewing during 2021. Part One wasn’t originally planned to be but they all ended up being ‘solo’ albums and so today we have a bunch of albums from bands. Apologies for not being able to do more detailed reviews but as we say each and every month “we can’t review what we don’t hear”. 

WILD COLONIAL BHOYS – Remote Ruaille Buaille

Not a band I’m particularly knowledgeable about bar coveting one of their great t-shirts but here goes. I’m pretty sure I had some stuff from them in the past but was all lost in the great external HD crash of a few years ago. Hailing from Minnesota the album was recorded remotely, hence the name, which makes the expert production even more impressive.

Things start with the self penned ‘Red haired Lass’ and a upbeat bouncy Country /Celtic number. The production here is maybe one of the best I’ve heard all year. The sound is so full with the many instruments here all complimenting each other. The talented band show their ability throughout the album able to switch from more rocking numbers even to trad Folk. Their harder edge comes out early on, on the first of a handful of covers and ‘Rocky Road’ never fails to disappoint. Their are several excellent covers like  Ewan MacColl’s ‘Homes of Donegal’, and Luke Kelly’s ‘Schooldays Over’ but as usual it’s the originals that I’m really interested in. The standout track here is the ‘Tragedy At Duffy’s Cut’ where the Bhoys tells the tragic story of the death of 57 Irish immigrants whilst working digging the railroad near Philadelphia in the 1830’s. The death and unmarked grave containing these men’s remains was hidden for decades and is a stark reminder that the lives of working-class Irish Catholics in those days were worthless. A fascinating story well worth reading more about but the story is well told here. The album ends with a great upbeat version of ‘The Auld Triangle’ and it all reminds me what I have been missing. A fantastic album that captures the spirit of Irish-America perfectly.

THE POKES – Another Toast  (Here)

The Pokes had quite a lengthy several year hiatus between this album and their last but have returned with an album that reminds me of them at their best. Another Toast is their fifth studio album and takes off from where Mayday ended. Their distinctive Folk-Punk sound is left intact as well as the humour they are famous for. Kicking off with an ode to their beloved Berlin wart’n’all. Accordion led with a real catchy beat chugging along. As I’ve said before The Pokes remind me a hell of a lot of the Geordie band The Whiskey Priests. Unafraid to venture into political commentary but it’s pure bold and absolute brazen entertainment that is the goal here and is achieved 100%. My personal favourite here is ‘Gambler’, now talk about bloody catchy! but several songs could all be described the same. With the album’s artwork it’s no surprise The Pokes take a deep look at death here but always with a jig in their heart and a beer glass being slammed into a table.

The CD album comes with the added bonus of the vinyl only Sail single from earlier this year and also with a extensive 16-page booklet. The album was released on the famous Mad Butcher Records and is available in all formats. This to me is Celtic-Punk without being particularly Celtic but it is nevertheless absolutely superb party music!

HAWTHORN – All The Light We Cannot See  (Download)

We have just literally done a review of another band from Arizona (the new album from Swainn) and his has been in the to-do pile for a few weeks without us giving it much of a chance. hawthorns roots began in another local Celtic-Punk West Winds and they have previously released a 6-track EP in 2017 before this. Hawthorn are, rather unbelievably, a duo with Sarah Elizabeth and Brent Anderson playing all the instruments. The band is rather mysterious with blurred videos and artsy photos never quite giving you a decent view of the band. Still we here for the music and that is damn good.

I didn’t know they were a duo for a good while after I heard this album and I still find it hard to believe now after several listens. The amount of instruments here is incredible with flute, tin-whistle, uileann pipes, upright bass, mandolin, banjo and plenty more all in the mix here. At times the music is aggressive Celtic-Punk and at other times gentle Celtic inspired Folk. Basically the perfect model for an album on these pages. Of the former the brilliant intro ‘Beltane’ that leads into the fast bagpipe led ‘A Green And Ancient Light’, ‘Gardner’s Ghost’ and the album’s closing song ‘Raven’ all rock along with Celtic intensity, while of the latter the Irish trad instrumental ‘Lughnasadh’, the atmospheric ‘Samhain’, with almost Gothic sounding uileann piping, and the gentle ‘Solstice’ all stand out. Overall it’s a great album with a bit extra than most Celtic-Punk albums. Definitely not yer typical American album with both it’s style and lyrics. The album is available at the link below for ‘name your price’ download so basically a £100, a pint of Guinness or bugger all. Up to you but make sure you do download it.

THE SURFIN’ TURNIPS – Down The Allotment  (Download)

The Surfin’ Turnips have been with us now a good few years and round their way (Bristol and the south-west of England) they have become quite the institution. Known primarily as a festival band they have a decent enough back catalogue too and their latest album Down The Allotment came out back in March.
These guys are the real deal when it comes to West country Cider Punk anthems and its all heads down Folk’n’Roll as on the album opener the Ramonesy ‘Mermaids Leg’ that leads into the Folky but Punky but still Folky ‘Windbound’. It’s all done in great spirit and with tongue lodged firmly in cheek with salty songs of the sea, some of the fields and some of the orchards too. There’s plenty here but maybe you have to be a local for it to really click with you. Some of the subjects sailing right over me head but I loved the uncomplicated Punk-Rock sound that is only improved by the addition of accordion. The kind of band that when asked your standout tracks it would change every listen. At the moment the spoken word ‘Evesham Wheel’, UK82 style ‘Cider Police’, the piss taking ‘You Are My Cider’ and the album’s closing song, and also one of my favourite songs, ‘The Bonnie Ship The Diamond’ all stand out though I can guarantee that will change. One for ‘turnip’ up loud and getting your dancing boots on!

 

2021 CATCH UP REVIEWS. PART 1 – PHIL ODGERS, CHRISTY MOORE, JIM LINDBERG, DAN WALSH

Here’s hoping you all had a great Christmas and New Year.  Despite everything it’s been another great year for music. Maybe not quite as much of it but things are picking up and the end of 2021 saw us caught in a deluge of music we couldn’t keep up with. Any regular reader will know we prefer to do detailed reviews and even though we can’t do them justice here are some notable release we simply had to mention before the end of the year.  Each one impressed us immensely and are worthy of your time so go ahead and check them out. We start with Part 1 and a bunch of solo artists.

PHIL ODGERS – Ghosts Of Rock’n’Roll  (Bandcamp)

Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers has been one half of the legendary joint vocal strike force of legendary folk rebel rockers The Men They Couldn’t Hang since the early 80’s and has recorded under many various monikers over the years. In fact this is his fifth solo album. In February TMTCH announced the sad death Of Swill’s fellow vocalist Stefan Cush and many wondered where The Men would go from here. Well The Men still continue to perform and Swill put out Ghosts Of Rock’n’Roll in September after a successful campaign to raise the necessary to release it. Eleven tracks of acoustic folkiness accompanied by guests galore including Sid Griffin and The Men fiddler Bobby Valentino. The music itself owes much to The Men perhaps inevitable given Phil Odgers distinctive vocals. Of the songs here the opening ‘The Serpent, The Maiden and The Bear’ kicks off with a county-ish happy-go-lucky jaunty banjo led song with the warm vocals telling of guiding your way home from reading the stars.

The following song, a cover of Phil Ochs, ‘Flower Lady’ is another high point standing out from the more Folky songs with its R’n’R guitar while it is ‘Brooklyn Bridge’ that is most memorable. A beautiful study in aging and dementia originally written by Joe Solo. Ghosts Of Rock’n’Roll is like a Men album it that it does encompass several distinct influences and also like a Men album it is both uplifting and sobering. Though the sadness of the death of Cush hangs over the album is dedicated to Cush and is a fitting memorial to him.

CHRISTY MOORE – Flying Into Mystery   (Here)

A ‘proper’ new album from one of the last remaining true legends of Irish music. Christy Moore’s first studio album since 2016 features twelve songs Christy has brought to life and made unique even if some we have heard before. For the first time (with the exception of health induced breaks) since 1969 Christy’s life hasn’t revolved around live performances and so as he says “all my focus has been on this album”. As is common with a lot of his work the album consists of his own interpretations of others and a handful of his own compositions. There are Gary Moore’s ‘Johnny Boy’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘I Pity The Poor Immigrant’ among the better known but also the less well known like the chilling ‘December 1942’ by Cork singer/ songwriter Ricky Lynch telling of the arrival of a train from the Warsaw ghetto at Auschwitz “to unload its human cargo/met by demons and by devils and their savage dogs”. While I do sometimes despair of the dreaded ‘celebrity opinion’ and their desire to stay relevant Christy’s politics at least come from the heart and on the album’s lead single ‘Clock Winds Down’ he sings of the mess the planet is in. Written by American singer Jim Page who was also covered by The Moving Hearts when they recorded his anti-nuclear classic ‘Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Russian Roulette’.

This is followed by another harrowing song, the traditional ‘Van Diemen’s Land’ telling the cautionary tale of a young lad Henry tried and convicted for poaching and sentenced to transportation to the horrors of the British penal colony in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania).

“Young men, all now beware, Lest you are drawn into a snare”

My own favourite here is one of his own songs and ‘Bord na Móna Man’ is always the kind of song I think of when I think of Christy Moore. A comic tale and a tribute to the art of turf cutting and turf cutters. Their was a time when it was a feature of Irish national life but these days the government would rather import it from overseas.

Their is something very familiar about this album. That mix of trad, modern covers and rowdy self penned numbers is very much the Christy formula but he does it with such style that the whole thing still sounds fresh and new.

JIM LINDBERG – Songs From The Elkhorn Trail (Here)       

Here’s another ‘Punk’ vocalist taking time out from his usual duties to lay down a solo album but unlike Cush this is the Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg’s first album. Known for shouty Pop Punk friendly anthems he takes a far more reflective turn here and once again the subject of getting old comes up and again is handled beautifully. His father passed away in 2018 from Alzheimer’s Disease and was obviously a huge influence on his life supporting him in his career with Pennywise and even buying him his first guitar. The album cover depicts Jim playing guitar by his old mans Palm Desert home by the Elkhorn Trail and on the cello infused ‘Don’t Lay Me Down’ he opens his heart to us

“Drove to the desert house to say my last goodbye / I ran every light, didn’t make it there in time … A toast to those who gave us life”

Some of the songs here are over twenty years old and the upbeat music often disguises something more serious. The opening track ‘The Palm Of Your Hand’ is a great rousing start and call to sort ourselves out despite the pain we may hold.

On ‘You’re Not Alone’ Jim keeps it catchy as hell, poppy even with an inspiring message keeping the cringe at arms bay. ‘Hello Again’ is a gentle number that verges on exploding into something else but is reigned in magnificently. The words of a man who loves a drink while he reminisces about his Dad before the piano led ending. A truly lovely song though dark as much of the album is. The full band ‘Not One Of Them’ comes as close to a rock-song as possible here but still retains a country-ish feel to it while ‘Good Enough’ also comes close but in acoustic way. On such a good album it may be hard to pick a standout track but along with the two songs featured here a special mention for the strings laden ‘It’s Only’ and an emotional journey through the life of a life well lived.

Not being much of a Pennywise fan I was initially reluctant to give this a spin but I am glad I did and I am sure it will connect with many people in the same way it has with me. The album features some star guests in Social Distortions David Hidalgo Jr. on drums, The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones Joe Gittleman on bass, Dropkick Murphys / Walker Roaders guitarist Marc Orrell and award-winning record producer, musician, and songwriter Ted Hutt working the knobs. Lindberg will be celebrating his Mammy’s Irish roots supporting the Dropkick Murphys for their St. Patrick’s home town gigs so no doubt plenty of you will be lucky to see him then.

DAN WALSH – Live at the Floodgate   (Here)

There ain’t many instruments so suited to Celtic-Punk as the banjo is and while this is a Folk album there is plenty to love about the way Dan Walsh plays for everyone. Since his debut album, Tomorrow’s Still To Come, in 2009 Dan has made a considerable impact n the UK music scene with collaborations with all sorts from The Levellers to Seth Lakeman but he is more than just a ‘banjo to hire’ and his own material displays influences from some pretty imaginative sources! Born into a Irish family in the English town of Stafford Dan has been playing since 13 when so impressed by the likes of Barney McKenna and Gerry O’Connor he begged his parents to buy him a banjo and he has never looked back since. Now several album’s in he has recorded a live album ‘Live At The Floodgate’ at a pub in his own home town.

Recorded just before the first lockdown but only recently released, Live At The Floodgate sees Dan re-visiting all five of his previous albums as well as some new material and also some of his favourite covers like his outstanding version of Paul Simon’s ‘You Can Call Me Al’ that he has never released before. He kicks off with a thoughtful and tentative instrumental ‘Over The Border’ which ever so slowly builds into the equivalent of banjo Motorhead! The first time we hear Dan’s voice is on ‘Still A Town’ about gentrification and perhaps the destruction of the kind of places where this kind of music can still be heard. There’s a couple of auld Saw Doctors tracks ‘The Suilin’ and ‘At Least Pretend’ while ‘Late Night Drive’ at half way through the album begins to show Dan’s confidence as he plays with such speed it’s incredible and all note perfect too. You can hear from the audience too that the excitement is building. Two of the previous reviews have touched on the treatment of the elderly and here Dan puts the banjo down for acoustic guitar as he tells the moving story of an elderly man in a care home on ‘The Song Always Stays’. The song was actually inspired by a visit to Scots singer Glen Mason in a Surrey care home. Glen was often visited by musicians, whose repertoire would sometimes include his own songs, up to his death in 2014. The beauty of music eh? One of the highlights is the epic (over seven minutes!) ‘Joxers Set’ which starts off with you expecting another ballad before speeding up several times to the point where you cant imagine he can go any faster… before getting faster! Dan could have left it there but returns for the obligatory encore and the alcohol has flowed enough even for some audience participation as he sends his appreciative fans home (no doubt with the song playing in their heads for the following couple of days!) to Lester Flatt’s ‘Sleep with One Eye Open’

The live album can be very much a mixed bag but here Dan plays with such an intensity and comes across as so likeable that it’s impossible not to get drawn in. Over an hour that shows him at his very best and with the varied material here this is an album that anyone could love even them as don’t like banjos. If such a person does exist?

WATCH OUT FOR PART 2 COMING THIS WEEKEND!

ALBUM REVIEW: FEROCIOUS DOG – ‘The Hope’ (2021)

Having gone to see Ken and the boys live in Edinburgh this year, it seems only right that we review Ferocious Dog’s new album before the year’s out. Enjoy The Hope, a triumphant slice of folk-punk from a band at the top of their game.

^{The Hope by Ferocious Dog. Don’t forget to spin this one!}

From the epic opening seconds of “Port Isaac”, it’s clear that this is an album that the band put a lot of thought and work into. With a sense of foreboding we’re chucked on board a ship, with Cap’n Flint barking the orders (not really) and the opening lines of “Haul Away Joe” chiming into view. After that, the band’s cover of this sea shanty gets going properly, and we knew it wouldn’t be long before the Dog’s familiar brand of folk-punk and polka beats came to kick us in the ass. Some o’ the lyrics are also a fresh deviation from other versions of the song out there.

Follow-up track “Pentrich Rising” continues in the same vein. The band filmed a video for this one, which reconstructs the failed Pentrich rising of 1817. To check out the video, and a “making of” that the band put together, go HERE and HERE. Or just watch it below:

^{“Pentrich Rising”. About the workers’ uprising of 1817 that foundered due to an inside job.}

Plenty to dance to

Following the trend set by “Joe” and “Rising”, there’s plenty more to dance to on this record. Take your pick from some o’ the ones below ☘

“Born Under Punches” is about the sad story of a broken home, where the youngest runs away to follow their dreams in London, only to end up “on the old main drag”, as Shane MacGowan might have put it. But bleak or not, the song’s danceable from the start. So too are the equally-themed “Slayed The Traveller” and “Sea Shepherd”. The latter of these shows direct support for Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd charity who promotes an Earth-centred (rather than human-centred) view of the world. And if “Haul Away Joe” was a re-imagining of a trad song, so too is the band’s take on “The Parting Glass”. To quote Billy Bragg, they really put the power drill on this tune, to see what would come out.

“^{Born Under Punches” talks about homelessness on the dark streets of London.}

Music of the heart

The picture we’ve painted so far is of a fast-paced jumper of an album. But don’t be fooled – there are plenty of sombre moments on this record too. The first of these is “Broken Soldier”, a beautifully sad song about war, inspired no doubt by the sad fate of Ken’s son Lee Bonsall, who had served in Afghanistan. The line “it’s a far cry from the blue skies” particularly strikes you – it hints at the fact that war is horrific, but that our Western society can be ugly and unkind too.

“1914” is another example. Here, lead vocals are taken by fiddler Dan Booth, whose delivery of the line “there was whiskey on Sundays and love in the wings” is definitely reminiscent of “The Broad Majestic Shannon”, another MacGowan masterpiece. If this song takes a look back at WWI, “Khatyn” is about WWII, and a village in Belarus that in March 1943 was all but wiped out by the Nazis. Credit to the Dog here for not being afraid to bring in events and countries from outside the Celtic world.

The masterpiece of the album, however, has to be “The Hope”, an outstanding title track that is worthy of being a title track. A strong ballad, featuring beautiful singing from Ken, this one slowly builds to a wonderful choir-like singalong at the end, bringing a tear to the ol’ eye. This is music of the heart, written for those struggling to find any joy in life, walking around thinking, “I hope one day happiness comes my way.” If you’re reading this and you feel that way, then we hope you find happiness too. There are different answers that work for different people, so never stop searching for solutions.

^{“The Hope” – an outstanding and moving title track if ever there were one.}

Go check it out!

With 17 songs, you won’t be shortchanged (or disappointed) by what’s on offer here. The album is a success, a masterclass in folk-punk with top-notch production values. The band put a lot of graft in here, so well done to them on reaching #1 in the UK Folk charts, and even #31 in the mainstream charts. Not that charts always matter, but it’s nice to let the mainstream know that there’s more music out there than just what gets played on national radio. There’s a wealth of great underground music out there, and it’s good when some of it succeeds on its own terms.

Now, as Jack Nicholson famously said after his wife locked him in a storage cupboard: “GO CHECK IT OUT!” 😁 If ye have the money, buy “The Hope” from Amazon (it’s not available from the band’s website until after Christmas, ye ken). If money’s a wee bit tight, then the album’s up on the major streaming platforms too. And whatever ye do, be sure to follow the Dog on Instagram or Facebook.

ALBUM REVIEW: STAR BOTHERERS – ‘Tales Of Layton Rakes’ (2021)

The second album from Midlands based Star Botherers is a fine mix of Folk, Punk and social commentary.

Now if one band has dominated the Celtic-Punk scene on these islands in the last twelve months it has to have been Ferocious Dog. The runaway success of their recent album The Hope has only continued their rise in popularity and they’ve plenty more in the bank to come too. Along with their success they’ve managed to ferment a whole crew of regular support acts wherever they go that play a similar kind of broadly left-wing Folk-Punk. Some of these are pretty damn good with The Silk Road, The Leylines, The Whipjacks leaping to mind, but also many more are drippy studenty singer-songwriter types, a band that I knew existed in same milieu as FD but I hadn’t heard was the Star Botherers. Coming from the same small town as Ferocious Dog, Warsop near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, they have a good relationship together with FD covering a few of their songs and Broken Soldier features on the new FD album, The Hope. It’s an area famous pretty much just for coal mining which ceased in the area 30 years ago but like most mining communities continues to define where they live.

Star Botherers from top left: Ellis Waring – Bouzouki, Mandolin, Guitars, Ukulele * Brad Drury – Percussion * Joel Howe – Guitars, Accordion, Vocals * bottom left: Andrew ( Bart) Hawkins – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar * Dave Drury – Bass, Vocals *
Recording, mix, master, produced: Joel Howe

Tales Of Layton Rakes is the Star Botherers second album after debut Happy Angry from 2017, which itself was preceded by a handful of demos that are now unavailable. Some of the tracks from those early days have been re-recorded here and the one or two I have heard have benefitted from the update. The album opens with, I think the album’s best song, the modern sea-shanty ’13 Years In Oregon’ a gloriously updated version of a track that appeared on their very first EP. The song steams along at a great pace telling of a life on the sea with some great lyrics and nice vocals from Andrew putting on a sort of Yank drawl. It’s a great wee opener and not what I was expecting from a band that I had imagined were prone mostly to jokey songs. The first of the modern tracks is up next and ‘Spoons’ is, as most UK based residents will know, the nickname for the cheap and (sometimes) cheerful (sometimes not) pub chain JD Weatherspoon. In the modern day of gentrification it’s often the only place in some city centres where working class people can afford a couple of pints. It’s common these days for people to bash Spoons under different guises but underneath it’s always that the owner of Spoons was prominent in the ‘Leave’ campaign. This is followed by ‘Blackpool’ and a list of things about why the town is “Shit, Shit, Shit”. Catchy and it chugs along with a story about a day out in the famous seaside town. ‘Let It Stand’ tells of the plan to erect a statue of Maggie Thatcher in her home town of Grantham not far from where the band are from. Needless to say it’s not universally popular but to to everyone’s surprise the band are in favour but as a way to remember what she stood far. ‘Just Around The Corner’ is another older song re-recorded. A jaunty folky tale of working your life away to make a decent life for you and your family and the breaks you get and more often don’t get. All quite serious stuff but hidden away in the kind of song that you could easily end up swinging strangers around a dance floor to. ‘Another Lidl Song’ is about the cheap but popular Lidl supermarket that is the fastest growing supermarket in Britain. ‘Kyle And Norton’ compares the two staples of British telly swopping their shows and how they get on. A clever and witty song.

‘Freethinker’ is another re-recorded song that has been covered by Ferocious Dog and it sounds like FD copied it note perfect! ‘Swearing In Songs’ is a slower Country-ish number with rather understated swearing considering the subject matter. ‘Silence Is Acceptable’ almost reaches Celtic-Punk in it’s intensity with a roll call of people and groups who fought for rights for all while ‘He Got Dreads’ I would say is about the kind of person who sneers at Spoons and Lidl and working class people in general. All the songs here are written by lead singer Andrew Hawkins with the exception of the next song, ‘Oddly Excluded’. Originally recorded for inclusion on the tribute album The Pete Drake Project (Vol​. ​1) and is one of the album highlights here. The album ends with ‘Sailors Grave’ and another marvelous song about the sea. Bit more Punky it definitely lifts the album at the end.

The album is released tomorrow and is available for pre-order below. It was recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Joel Howe at the Black Market recording studio at home in Warsop and the CD comes with a whopping 16 page lyric booklet. Lyrically it they do seem caught between being an outright jokey band and their more serious material. A balance that will come in time I’m sure. Overall it’s a great album but like most Celtic or Folk-Punk it’s probably best to hear these songs in the live context as it is undoubtedly perfect for drinking and lepping about to!

(You can stream and download Tales Of Layton Rakes on the Bandcamp player below)

Buy Tales Of Layton Rakes  Bandcamp

Contact Star Botherers  Facebook  YouTube  

GIG REVIEW: FEROCIOUS DOG – EDINBURGH 6/11/21

Ruff ruff! This weekend Ferocious Dog took to the stage in Edinburgh, at legendary venue La Belle Angele. They played a blinder, as if you needed telling 😉 Here’s a review o’ the gig by The Celtic Punk Author, who was there. With support from Mucky Scoundrel.

It feels bloody good to watch live gigs again after that pesky virus stopped ’em. If there’s one band that doesn’t disappoint, no matter how many lockdowns we’ve had, then Ferocious Dog is it. On Saturday 6th November the boys set up at La Belle Angele, an awesome wee venue in Scotland’s capital that brings in the finest in underground music names.

Supporting: Mucky Scoundrel

I got to the venue early, bought the obligatory pint and made a donation to the Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund (more info below). Soon after, it was time to enjoy Mucky Scoundrel, last-minute replacements for the injured Gimme Gimme Gimmes. Frontman Mark Feeney broke a string during the first song (a nightmare that all us guitarists can relate to!), but he played to an obliging audience as the club floor started to fill. Opening as a solo act can be a wee bit lonely, lemme tell ya, but Mark had an excellent accompaniment in Danny Kelly, who supplied some slick basslines and backing vocals.

The duo played 8 songs as I recall, with a mixture of humorous lyrics and more serious numbers, and some sweet vocal harmonies to bolster the music. To get a feel for what they can do, check this oot:

^{Mucky Scoundrel. Last-minute replacements for the injured Gimme Gimme Gimmes.}

To hear more from Mucky Scoundrel, check ’em out on Facebook, or watch the well-made, if slightly sad video to “Last To Fall” on YouTube. It’s a full studio version of a song that featured in Saturday’s setlist. Click HERE to watch it.

Headlining: Ferocious Dog

The Angele was nicely filled by the time The Dog’s walk-on music “Port Isaac” chimed into view. The band were to play many songs off their newest album The Hope (UK #31), and sure enough, they kicked things off with their rendition of fisherman’s shanty “Haul Away Joe”. After that it was straight into “Pentrich Rising”, arguably the band’s finest song to date (and there are many candidates for that!) A sample of the live performance, and how it got folks up and jumpin’, can be seen below:

^{“Pentrich Rising” – about the armed workers’ uprising of 1817, which started in ex-mining village South Wingfield.}

Next up was “Victims”, another track in E minor with a more melancholy fiddle riff. The front-row faithful, known affectionately as the band’s “hell hounds”, kept the mosh pit going and were well up for the “OK, let’s go!” shout during the song. We then moved into “Broken Soldier”, the first of a number of songs the band played about the horrors of war. For those who don’t know, Lee Bonsall (mentioned above) was lead singer Ken’s son. Lee gave the band their name when he was a boy, and went on to serve in Afghanistan at the age of 18. Sadly, he later took his own life at the age of just 24, unable to overcome what he’d seen and been through in the war. This gave rise to the Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund, and if you can spare a few quid for these guys, then get in touch with them HERE, and show your support for those still fighting the war in their hearts and minds, years later.

On the subject of charitable giving, “Sea Shepherd” is a song with a pirate-like feel to it, dedicated to the marine conservation charity of the same name. Ken was proudly sporting his Sea Shepherd T-shirt at the gig, and volunteers from Sea Shepherd themselves were at the doors with merch (I bought a beanie to replace the one I lost years ago). I first heard of these guys years ago through the Dutch band Omnia, who play[ed] pagan folk with a big dose of “fuck authority” thrown in. Sea Shepherd are more into direct action than Greenpeace, but they stay on the right side of the line. To learn more about these guys, make a donation or buy something, check ’em out HERE.

On “1914”, another track off The Hope, fiddler Dan Booth stepped up to sing lead vocals. Dan is one of two remaining members from the original 1988 line-up, with Ken being the other one. I particularly smiled at the line “there was whisky on Sundays” – if that ain’t a nod to The Pogues and “The Broad Majestic Shannon”, a fine piece of MacGowan magic, then I don’t know what it is, ye ken.

^{Ferocious Dog live in Edinburgh. L-R: Ryan Brooks, Dan Booth, Ken Bonsall, Alex Smith (hidden), Sam Wood and John Alexander.}

Music has the right to children

After a reel or two, which broke things up nicely but kept folks dancing, the band returned to their eponymous 2013 album, and the songs “Too Late” and the reggae-tinged “Freeborn John”. After these two strong tracks, it was back to The Hope again for “Born Under Punches”, another poignant song about homelessness in London. “Punk Police”, meanwhile, was written about those who feel they can tell others what’s punk and what’s not, or what they can listen to and what they can’t. As a famous Scottish duo once pointed out, “music has the right to children”. So although a punk band must understand what punk is about and how it originated, punk does have the right to morph and grow, as do all forms of music. With a “fuck the punk police” shouted at the end of the song, Ken made this clear.

The Dog closed their set with a few more songs, but were eagerly welcomed back for an encore. They had three more songs ready to go, the strongest of which was arguably the finisher, “Slow Motion Suicide”, taken from 2015’s From Without. This closer was another sad reminder of the terrible consequences of mental health problems, if the victims don’t get the support they need. Having suffered from depression and anxiety myself, I believe there’s an answer for everyone. People react differently to different types of treatment; what’s important is that people get the help that works for them.

All in all…

All in all, this was a fine gig, with a good dose o’ speedfolk to keep out the November cold. The band tore through their set impressively, never letting up but remaining as tight as we all knew they would be. As the crowd put their hands in the air for the obligatory end-of-gig photo, I was glad I went, and I’ll keep me ear to the ground for future FD gigs in this neck of the woods. Okay, my one complaint: the band didn’t play “Crime and Punishment” 😁 But that’s jammern auf hohem Niveau, as they say in Germany (English: “nitpicking”).

We would like to thank La Belle Angele for putting the show on, and for all they do to support live music. Show ’em some love and attention by visiting their website for further info and news about upcoming events. Next time you’re up Edinburgh way, we recommend checkin’ out what’s on there 👍

Folk on!

Andy x

EP REVIEW: JOLLY ROGER – ‘Ship Or Bust’ (2021)

The missing link between The Levellers and the Dropkick Murphys!

Cornish Sea-Punk Pirate band Jolly Roger just released their latest rum-fuelled five track EP Ship Or Bust inspired by loss, lockdown, mental health and tales of piracy! 

We recently said that their was often no more than a fag paper between Celtic-Punk and it’s little offshoot Pirate-Punk. The same melodies, the same instruments and often the same songs and above all the need to have a good time and often with lashings of alcohol. There are several bands in the UK that play Pirate themed music and several more that often stray into the genre, the MIA Matilda’s Scoundrels for one and Black Water County for another. It’s no mistake that both these bands come from the South coast from areas with long histories of smuggling and rebellion both quiet and not-so-quiet! It can be said that the widespread smuggling trade in the 18th century along the South coast has led to a disrespect for the law. A disrespect that while it doesn’t see riots on the streets it manifests itself in ignoring any laws that the locals don’t agree with!

Jolly Roger hail from Penzance in Cornwall. A town world famous for pirates now for over 200 years and also as I’m sure you know one of the Celtic nations with strong links to both Brittany and Wales in both custom and language. The band like to think that they ‘fall somewhere between the sound of The Dropkick Murphys and Levellers’ but I think that’s just advertising flannel and no harm in that. We’re masters at it after all but their sound is much more laid back while being raucous at the same time. Coming from Penzance they couldn’t fail to be be inspired by the sea but these guys are not stuck in the 18th century even though they do sometimes sound like it. Nautical metaphors and pirate history and songs about serious issues like mental health but done in a light hearted vein alongside more standard fare like drinking songs and enjoying the better things in life.

Jolly Roger left to right: Jony The Plank – Drums / Flute * Samantha – Lady of the Sea – Mandolin / Guitar / Vocals * Kynan – Bosun Two Toes Smooth – Electro/Acoustic Bass / Vocals * Jae – Captain JR – Guitar / Ukulele / Vocals*

The band have just completed a successful ‘Kickstarter’ campaign where they raised the necessary readies to buy a new band van so hopefully we’ll be seeing them around the place in the coming months now that it seems gig restrictions have been lifted. This past Summer has seen them take the stage at various local festivals as well as the Plymouth Punx Picnic.

‘’Quitting our jobs to start a pirate band and live our dreams is worth it every day. If you haven’t already tried this, we thoroughly recommend’’

but they have already racked up an incredible 300+ gigs sine they formed in 2019 and this despite the lockdown! They have a few releases out there all available on their Bandcamp page and all very reasonably priced too. I think they may have been one of the busiest bands of 2020! A year that saw the release of Turns Out, We’re Swingers​.​.​. where Jolly Roger took three of their favourite songs and re-imagined them in ‘swing’ style and shortly after came yet another EP Silent Mountain and after that their self-titled debut album came after and then just six months later saw another EP Jolly For All. Phew!!! This year they have done bugger in comparison so I’m sure they happy to see new EP Ship Or Bust hit the shops yesterday and we are very happy to be one of the first to run our rule over it.

The EP begins with ‘King-Fisher’ and yep it’s super high-energy from the off. Almost all acoustic except for bass with guitars loud in the mix and flute. The opening song starts off as a bit of a mish mash before settling down into a giddy wee number not a million miles away from 70’s ‘Psych Folk’. ‘We Rise’ is the bands ‘covid’ song and as they say

“we were not all in the same boat throughout these last 2 years, but we sure were weathering the same storm”.

It’s a great song and you can hear those Celtic-Punk influences clear as a bell. I daresay a bit of Punk-Rock electric guitar would just move them over but these Pirate bands are stubborn! The next song is for me the EP’s standout track and bejaysus they don’t come any catchier than this.

 

‘Aboard!’ was the lead single of the EP and was released on Cornwall’s national day, St Piran’s Day on 5th March. Simply marvellous and sure to give your feet a good work out on hearing it. All the songs here are highly contagious and incredible catchy but it’s the simple arrangements that give it that bit extra. There’s no frills they are not needed as on ‘Michael The Menace’ where the band just seem to do their thing naturally. The EP’s ends with ‘Reach Out’ and they even went so far as to record a simple video with Lady Of The Sea chatting about the meaning of the song. Dedicated to all fellow shipmates in a gently beautiful well meaning song. They acknowledge that it’s because of their fans that they couldn’t do what they do and while it’s obviously a great thing to see that the relationship between bands and fans seems to be closing bands should always remember that we the fans get far more out this relationship then they do.

(A live performance of ‘Reach Out’ recorded in Bristol at the end of last year)

Jolly Roger formed in 2019 with absolutely zero previous experience in music but have sailed the waters of the South-West music scene admirably with their eclectic mix of shanty vibes, humour and dare I say it Celtic-Punk all done with a metal head mentality. Now with a (fairly) new van they are looking to get out and about and have big plans for a nationwide busking tour so get in touch if you want them washing up in your town. We were a bit late to the Jolly Roger party not that they noticed as they were doing pretty damn good without us but it’s time for them to cut the strings and start going national and these songs are crying out to be heard to be live.

(You can stream, download or buy the CD of Ship Or Bust from the bands Bandcamp page and don’t forget to check out their previous releases while you are there!)

Buy Ship Or Bust Bandcamp

Contact Jolly Roger  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

(Back when everyone was doing Live Streams Jolly Roger were no different and here’s their patched together live stream recorded at the Rock Bottom Bar in Plymouth. A few minor glitches but real music isn’t suppose to be perfect!)

NEW SHANGHAI TREASON SINGLE ‘Hero’s Welcome’ RELEASED TODAY

Sheffield banjo punks Shanghai Treason release the fourth single taken from their upcoming self titled debut. ‘Hero’s Welcome’ which tells the TRUE story of one of the bands great grandfathers; who escaped a P.O.W camp in WW2.

We are getting nearer and nearer to the one album release I have been dying to hear ever since it was announced a few months back on these pages. Aye up to Shanghai Treason from God’s own country (within God’s own country) who have a new single out today- ‘Hero’s Welcome’.

The song tells a tale very close to the heart of one of the band, vocalist Sam Christie. For it’s the true story of when his  great granddad escaped the European P.O.W camp he was being held captive in during WW2 and facing many dangers made it back to Blighty, even swimming the English channel.

“It’s kind of an unbelievable story. One I felt deserved to be immortalised in song, it already felt like the kind of tall tale that would be well suited for presentation in a more traditionally Folk storytelling fashion, We had been playing around with the track for a year or so before I heard our guitarist ‘Tom Jackson’ singing the lyrics that I’d written one rehearsal, it’s was a kinda light bulb moment really where it felt like it should be TJ who sings the track, everything seemed to click together from there, he’s got a great voice and will no doubt be singing more tracks in the future, it’s another string to our bow.”

Produced by Luke Wheatley (Arch Audio) Dan Booth (Ferocious Dog) Executive Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Gianluca Amendolara (Black Dingo Productions) Filmed by Giannis Kipreos (Popp Tones) Video Edited by the band

The Bhoys self-titled debut album is not due out January 2022 but from what I have already heard  it’s going to be a (very) early contender for the London Celtic Punks album of the year! Well before that you will have every chance to catch them live as they are prolific ‘giggers’ and as their name gets round so do they. As the album comes out they will embark on a 16 date UK tour supporting The Rumjacks across Scotland and England.

The album has been produced by Dan Booth of Ferocious Dog and Luke Wheatley and keen eared listeners may hear a contribution from Dan on ‘Hero’s Welcome’. So it’s now full steam ahead keep an eye out here for pre-order information.

Contact Shanghai Treason Facebook  Instagram  Twitter

A CELTIC PUNK LOVE AFFAIR

Ever since Shane and The Pogues knocked our ears into gear in the ’80s, hundreds of bands have followed in their footsteps. Year after year, they bring us exciting Celtic punk songs, albums and gigs to light up a somewhat shit world. But what about Celtic punk stories? Why ain’t there many of them floatin’ aboot?

Maybe there’s more than one way to entertain people. If you’re into Guinness, St. Paddy’s Day and young people embracing the Celtic spirit worldwide, then what we have here will be right up yer alley, ye ken. They say hope springs eternal…and so does folk!

Have you ever wanted to read a short story, or even a novel, about Celtic punk? As if The Pogues, Tossers and Mahones were ready to jump off the page at ya? If that sounds cool, then meet Gus, Lin, Herman and Rash. Four characters from the far-flung reaches of Nova Scotia, Canada. They’re passionate musicians, folkin’ the Irish pubs and refusing to bend to society’s wishes. Below, I give ye four reasons why you should give a shit.

1. They have the bottle of smoke

Yes, that’s a Pogues reference! The Bottle of Smoke is the band’s aptly-named local Irish pub. We kick things off with them playin’ The Smoke mid-week to an appreciative audience; Gus on guitar and vocals, Herman on mandolin, Rash workin’ the accordion, and Gus’s cousin Lin banging the bodhrán (not in a sexual way). Gus is essentially the band’s very own Shane MacGowan; a troubled ratbag who likes a drink or six, but a songwriting genius with a fistful of dreams and a big, beating heart at the centre of it all. And speakin’ of The Pogues, if there’s one band you would automatically compare these four musicians to, then the London Irish legends are it.

As well as playin’ The Bottle of Smoke as often as the pub’ll book ’em, the band are making inroads into the rest of Atlantic Canada as well. They’ve played out west a little, they’re set to play Cape Breton Island on St. Patrick’s Day, and they’re keepin’ their well attuned ears to the ground for more. The stage is quite literally set for a Celtic punk love affair.

Sounds good so far? Read on, ya big bollocks 😉

Shane MacGowan and The Pogues. The band’s heroes and their biggest influence.

2. They have ideals

We all realised we weren’t gonna get anywhere in life unless it was through the music. Ozzy didn’t wanna do what his father did for a living, and Tony didn’t wanna do what his dad did. Neither did Bill, and neither did I.

Geezer Butler, Black Sabbath

While Kilmainen (being the band’s name) might not be working-class, backstreet kids from Aston, Birmingham, they ain’t exactly moneyheads either, to use Gus’s own word. Gus himself is a standout example of this, working just 15 hours a week in a music shop. Underpaid, no doubt, but doing something he actually cares about. Cousin Lin is similar, having snubbed the corporate world to go part-time in an artsy café. The band members take the time and energy saved, and reinvest it into the one thing that matters most to them: their music.

The plan is that writing songs together, recording albums, doing interviews, playing gigs and working with other musicians will one day become the quartet’s full-time gig, their sole source of income. That’s certainly what the Austrian-born Herman dreams of, as he spends Sunday afternoons promoting the band’s music online. The biggest dreamer, though, is once again Gus: what you’re about to read is one of the entries he pours into his diary mid-way through the story.

I don’t want to live by society’s rules. It’s boring. I don’t wanna live life with no idea what I want. Society wants you think you’re worthless, and that it’s YOUR fault if you’re unhappy. But I can see through that. I KNOW what my purpose in life is. It’s the best feeling you can get, when people say your music’s helped them. Tell me it’s just a hobby? Bollocks to that. I wanna BE someone in life, change things up.

Guthrie “Gus” Ward, Folk Springs Eternal

I once saw a great film where actress Julia Jentsch said, “I want to live young, wild and free.” Most people will tell you that’s stupid, but her co-star Daniel Brühl said, “that’s not stupid.” He was right, and so is Gus above. There’s nothing wrong with having a dream, with looking at the world and asking questions. Asking whether life can be lived differently, rather than the way it’s spoonfed to us. That’s where the hope lies, my friend. And hope – like I started out saying above – springs eternal, right?

Will folk music spring eternal in Kilmainen’s case, too? Read on, because here’s where it gets nail-biting.

3. They have to fight society

Unless you’re sheltered from the world, or just strike lucky, you won’t follow your dreams without some serious backlash along the way. Numerous examples exist: Mahatma Gandhi, Carl Brashear, Jacinda Ardern, Mark Oliver Everett, the list goes on and on. These people had to battle their way to success, and our four musical heroes are no exception to this rule. We get a glimpse of it in chapter 4, when Rash’s office colleagues disregard his ambition to become a professional musician. “There’s no money in that game,” they tell him.

If that seems quite harmless, wait a little. Lin gets on a bus five days later, and is violently attacked by three youths who don’t like women who think and dress for themselves. “Irish music ain’t cool,” they say, and apparently neither is being a lesbian. Luckily a trip to hospital is averted just in time, BUT: bring on St. Patrick’s Day, where things go from bad to worse. In less than 24 hours, the band is all but over, with their morale and reciprocal support in the gutter.

The Halifax police headquarters where Gus is held on St. Patrick’s weekend.

4. They have to win.

What will become of the band? Will the quartet survive their trial by fire? Or will they fail and self-destruct among the flames? Well that I won’t tell you 😉 I will only promise you that the Celtic punk author doesn’t make a habit of letting people down.

So you have two options, my friend. One: you’re invited to take a wee look around my website, where the story and other cool stuff is available for purchase. Click HERE to check it out. Or two: if you want chapter 1 for free first (plus a free song!), then click HERE instead. I swear by the holy iron which I hold, that I, James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser (okay, no), will not pass your email addresses on to any gobshite else.

I hope you enjoyed the read, my friend. Sláinte mhaith! 🥃

Andy x

Click HERE to learn more about the book. Want chapter 1 for free? Click HERE instead.

REMEMBERING MATT REN EX OF THE BABES 1978 – 2021

Matthew Raymond Renicks

16th April 1978 – 17th August 2021

What a year 2021 has been. Already several well known figures from the Celtic-Punk scene have sadly passed long before their time and to that number we can now add Matt from the London band The Babes.

We are grateful here to his bandmate Mao for writing a few words in tribute to him. 

Matt Ren EX and I met at sound engineering school. I was tired of not being able to record my music, so was he. The only break we had that day was enough to know we were connected. Of course, music was our first connection, he was a bass player and I was a bagpiper, and both of us were thinking about the same: we should play something like the Pogues, even though, we never played like the Pogues or any other band, but it was enough to start our friendship. We saw each other after a few months, I got a hold of his phone number. I used to play bagpipes in a garage when the neighbors were not around and just for a few minutes a week or so…

(A tribute video to Matt and also one of his last recordings)

I called him one day, and asked him if he wanted to start a band with me; what I didn’t know is that it was not just starting a band called The Babes: we began a wonderful relationship, indeed it was the beginning of meeting a man who influenced me in so many aspects of my life. we had too many things in common, He was a dreamer, he was a doer, he was a talented musician, writer, actor, great sense of humor, and if he cooked for you his tortilla soup, then dude, that was the real deal! Cat bless Texas!

I continued studying and began my recording engineering company, he wanted to be the “Booking agent and promoter” of Life of Strife. He wanted me to call it like that because it used to be the name of his own record label back in the USA. I added the “productions” so let’s say that it was teamwork. Along with that, and thanks to him, I also met my partner in crime, my other half, the woman I am in love with, after calling Raskass to see if he knew about booking a last-minute gig for our first tour, even though, Matt and Diala knew each other while he was touring with Total Chaos.

We toured many countries, wrote many songs together, I have heard all of his touring stories, lifetime stories, and the list goes on. We cried, we argued, albeit for a few minutes because he always had an ace up his sleeve so he used to make a joke and laugh so hard, and buddy, there’s no way you couldn’t laugh just hearing him laughing, no matter how upset you were with him.

We made our dreams together, we got high and we got low, he covered my back and I covered his, he used to listen to me for hours over the phone and I used to do the same for him. We used to support each other and even though he was a good friend of his friends, he was a good brother and I did tell him that not once, not twice, but many times.

I am happy I told him everything: “good and bad” because yes, he was not perfect, neither I am, but we were honest with each other, we could admit our mistakes, say I am sorry and carry on. He was a loyal man, and I never got a no for an answer. Thanks to Matt I also met wonderful people, and I will always be thankful to him for that.

I never saw a man suffering the way he did suffer, for so long. Life was cruel, and I am just happy he is not in pain anymore. besides that, fuck it, it hurts and it’s not easy to digest what happened.

The Babes in Dublin while touring Ireland 2019

As I never saw a man suffering the way he did suffer, I never saw anyone fighting his own body so he could achieve what he wanted. He had chemo or was extremely ill and there he was, asking me to go and record him, he just wanted to play his bass, that was the Only Life He Knew, and I am sharing it with all of you. He played like if nothing else matters at that moment, but just doing a perfect recording. What a talent, what a poet, what a fuckin’ punk rocker.

You can laugh if you want to, you guys can talk about Sid Vicious a billion times, I met the Sid Vicious of my generation, lived our dreams together, and nothing in this life will take that wonderful experience away. His name is Matt Ren EX, and I say “is” even though he passed away, he is here, and no matter where I go, his spirit and teaching will last forever in my heart. He lived his life his own way, and his legacy will last forever.

My love and condolences to Anita, David, Katia, and the rest of his family.

Life gave me a brother from another mother, and I couldn’t expect anyone better but you, Matt.

Rest In Power, Babe.

I love you, brother, and I will see you.  XXX

Matt’s family ask that those who wish to make a donation to St. Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney, London. https://www.stjh.org.uk/support-us/make-a-donation/#give-in-mem

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The Babes  Website  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram 

LUTON IRISH BAND MISSING THE FERRY HERE TO SAVE THE SUMMER!

Four second-generation Irish lads, three brothers and their best friend from school write songs about identity and belonging. With influences as diverse as Brendan Shine, The Pogues and The Stone Roses their mission is to get people dancing and thinking.

Anyone who has ever missed, or nearly missed, the ferry from Holyhead will get the name.

Don’t be Missing The Ferry yourselves!

Duty Free evokes the reckless abandon of a drinking session on the Dublin-bound ferry where bars on boats become a place apart from reality drifting between England and Ireland; a place to reminisce, escape and confront paths not taken, romances not fulfilled and promises not met before staggering drunkenly to the ‘Duty Free’ shop to pick up the sherry you promised Aunty Nora and the fags for Uncle Gerry.
A swig of Powers, a drag on a Players’ as the first glimpse of Ireland slides blearily into view…

We all want, need, please never stop Duty Free
And we’ll take it home to GerryGlasses clink and it got me thinking
Of a long lost girl that I used to know
Two large powers and I give her flowers
and I keep on hoping, she will walk right in
Waves are crashing, I keep re-hashing
hopes and dreams of a yester year
If I keep on drinking, I’ll just keep thinking
So I’ll take a little walk down to Duty Free…

We all want, need, please never stop Duty Free
And we’ll take it home to Gerry

Crazed all dayers, and a box of players
We smoked them all ‘fore the boat came in
Nuns are spewing, and mind is stewing
What a fallen man that I’ve become
(Is that Ireland?)
Well it looks like Ireland,
Ah Easy Roe – sure I’ve just drunk too much
Stroll on the deck – and don’t give a feck
So I made a little walk down to Duty Free…

We all want, need, please never stop Duty Free
And we’ll take it home to Gerry

And we’re last upon the ferry
All our problems dead and buried

We all want, need, please never stop Duty Free
And we’ll take it home to Gerry

And we’re last upon the ferry
Forget it let’s get merry…

(Take a little walk down to Duty Free now)

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With thanks to Joe Ray for the squeezebox and help with the video. Special thanks to Fred Stokes for his Classic Cortin. Also thanks to John, Roseanne, Ciara and Ella Anderson for help with the video. Recorded pre and during lockdowns between bedrooms in Luton, Deptford and Leipzig (mixed and mastered by Luise London https://www.facebook.com/LuiseLondonAudio/ )

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Another great song from these Luton Irish lads evoking some fantastic memories. Anyone over a certain age (basically before flying became so cheap) will remember the cattle ships that passed for ferry’s back in the day between Ireland and England. Crammed on and crammed together you counted yourself lucky if you got a seat as if not you’d confined to the floor. Once settled in you were left to your own devices to run round exploring the ship with new mates from around England. Your family would bump into people they knew from home but had settled elsewhere they probably hadn’t seen since the last ferry crossing. A trip to the Duty Free shop was a necessity as whiskey and cigarettes were always welcome in both direction. If you had the night ferry (my favourite) there would be a point you’d fall asleep only to find all the adults had disappeared and a short walk to the bar would find them talking of home with old and new friends. Going was always a great experience. The start of 6 weeks holidays from school and a trip back ‘home’.  The ferry back to England meant school soon and the adults barely concealing their sadness at having to go back to England. These Irish were the best in the world and are the reason we still find pride in our roots.  I always wondered what the ‘authorities’ must have thought at the 11 year old me ‘clanking’ away through customs with a bag full of fags and whiskey!

Download Duty Free  Bandcamp

Contact Missing The Ferry  Facebook  YouTube  Bandcamp  Instagram

FEROCIOUS DOG NEW SINGLE ‘BROKEN SOLDIER’ / ‘PENTRICH RISING’

English Celtic-Folk-Punk band with the ability to wow any audience you put them in front of. Not many bands you can say would appeal to both Grandparents and Grandchildren but Ferocious Dog are one. With a new album out soon here’s a couple of tasters of what’s in store for us.

Ferocious Dog look forward to the release of their sixth album The Hope later in the year with two songs released in quick succession onto You Tube. Beginning in June with ‘Pentrich Rising’ and a cracking video set and filmed in Derby gaol and following it up with the release this week of a song very close to the band’s heart, ‘Broken Soldier’, in partnership with the charity Combat Stress.

The band continue their rise with these two songs which despite their growing popularity lose none of the righteous anger and seething love they have become famous for. Likewise their sound has not been watered down. A band always determined to do it on their own merit it’s heartening to see a band that treats its fans as family and goes about it’s good deeds quietly and without fanfare. Their down to earth approach and old school labour movement politics along with years of solid touring and goodwill have built up a level of loyal support that many better known bands could only dream about.

Production: Justin Griffiths Creative * Director: Justin Griffiths

Lyrics: Andrew Hawkins

It’s not an original thought that it’s the working class that fights the wars for the rich and powerful. Some of these wars are remembered with pride and some are not. Sometimes these soldiers have performed heroics and can remember their service with pride and sometimes not. It’s important when we talk about ‘friends and foe’ during a war that we never lose sight that there is always an individual inside that uniform. ‘Broken Soldier’ has been released in support of Combat Stress, the UK’s leading charity for veterans mental health dealing with issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. The band have donated £5000 from the Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund and ask their fans to donate where they can to www.combatstress.org.uk.

Pivotal to the ethos and drive of Ferocious Dog is the sad fate of Ken’s son Lee. Lee served in Afghanistan from the age of 18, and upon rejoining civilian life took his own life in 2012 at the age of just 24, unable to overcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder stemming from seeing one of his friends being shot dead by a sniper. Lee is commemorated in the Ferocious Dog songs ‘The Glass’, ‘Lee’s Tune’ and ‘A Verse For Lee’. This gave rise to The Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund which raises money and awareness for causes close to the bands heart. Lee’s story was featured in a BBC documentary Broken By Battle. It was Lee that actually named the band as a child.

The other song to be released was titled ‘Pentrich Rising’ and like a lot of what Ferocious Dog sing about is based on some stone cold hard history. Not the history you are likely to learn in school (more’s the pity!) but the story of the people. Working class history that survived through word of mouth. An armed rebellion that took place in the very area where Ferocious Dog call home around the village of Pentrich in Derbyshire in northern England on the night of 9th June 1817. Mass unemployment, industrialisation, the Corn Laws, war debt were among many factors that led to a massive recession. The poor of course were always the ones to suffer the most and so well over 400 brave souls assembled aiming to join with forces from further north to march on London in support of a bill for parliamentary reform. Sadly this belief was all based on a pack of lies from a paid informer under the Government’s instruction. This led them to be intercepted on route and they were no match for professional soldiers and yeomanry. Many were captured without a shot being fired and though the leaders did originally escape they were rounded up in the subsequent weeks and taken to Derby gaol. Twenty-three were sentenced, three to transportation to Australia for fourteen years and eleven for life. As for the ringleaders, the government was determined to make an example of them, hoping that

“they could silence the demand for reform by executions for high treason”.

The rebellion’s three leaders, Jeremiah Brandreth, Isaac Ludlam and William Turner were all publicly hanged and beheaded at Nuns Green in front of Friar Gate Gaol in Derby on the 7th November, their heads taken to St Werburgh’s church for burial. It was England’s last armed rebellion

“a half-hearted but passionate attempt to give the working-class man a voice, was snubbed out and with it ended the lives of three men who campaigned for a fairer society”.

Outside of Derbyshire the Pentrich Rising is largely forgotten but not by Ferocious Dog. Their albums are packed with songs telling the tales of the working men and women of days gone by. Just as in the olden days these tales were passed on by word of mouth and song. Well they still are.

Production : Justin Griffiths Creative * Director: Justin Griffiths

Oh my name is William Turner and my tale i’ll tell to thee

about the revolution in 1817

With Brandreth and Ludlam and a band of fifty strong

With hundreds more to meet us on the road as we march on

➖

 A night for revolution, a night to fight

A call to arms in England All workers must unite

Tonight we march on Pentrich with London in our sights

A night for revolution

All workers must unite

And then we fight

➖

Little did we know there was a traitorous government spy

William J. Oliver a man I now despise

The Pentrich revolution was always doomed to fail

For high treason, I was sentenced and hung in Derby gaol

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A night for revolution a night to fight

A call to arms in England

All workers must unite

Tonight we march on Pentrich with London in our sights

A night for revolution All workers must unite And then we fight

Buy Broken Soldier  Here

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

PRE-ORDER THE HOPE HERE

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

EP REVIEW: LIDDINGTON HILL – ‘Cow’ (2021)

New 4-track EP of high adrenaline Celtic-Punk and Alternative Rock from the South West of England’s Liddington Hill. 

It was only in February that we featured Liddington Hill for the first time. As surprised as we were that their was a band out there in southern England playing brilliant kick-arse Celtic-Folk-Punk that we had not come across we decided straight away that we had to do something. Without any new releases at the time we advertised that their back catalogue was available for free (they still are if you follow the link!). Free Downloads From Liddington Hill the articles title shouted out at you and by the look of it plenty of you did too. This time we are pleased to say that the music is new having been released only yesterday as I write this review.

Liddington Hill: Front- Tamzin – Vocals / Bass * Left to right – Ethan – Rhythm Guitar * Liam – Lead Guitar / Vocals * Chris – Drums * Matt – Fiddle / Vocals *

Formed in 2015 when Matt and Emily began performing traditional Celtic and English folk songs around their local area and taking their name from an ancient hill in Wiltshire. As is par for the course in Celtic bands the sound changed and members came and went before eventually moving away from the more trad sound to a heavier darker approach. A shadowy mix of Celtic and Folk tinged Metal and Punk giving them a rather unique sound for these days, added to which the dual male / female vocals gives them a further range than most bands we hear. Not that it’s downbeat but if you like this is more Joy Division and The Pogues rather the usual Clash and Pogues we get to hear.

Well in common with every band the months of C***d lockdown had a dramatic effect on the band abut rather than just sit around and mope they decided to concentrate on the music and finally they got to finish Cow their new EP. Two original songs and two traditional songs recorded at Evolution Recording Studio in Oxford, by Nick Moorbath. Cow is the first recordings from the new line up of Liddington Hill and one the band have preparing for throughout lockdown. Cow begins with the sea-shanty ‘Whip Jamboree’. Described by A.L. Lloyd who performed the song on the 1957 album Blow Boys Blow as “one of the wildest and most exultant of homeward-bound shanties” and here its played fast as hell and the sound and subject matter reminds me of Yorkshire band Blackbeard’s Tea Party. The second of the four tracks is the original ‘Pub Crawl’, written about a night out the band had around Oxford. Again here the fiddle dominates as the sights and sounds of a night on the lash are conveyed to us. It’s been a while so memories need refreshing! The third track is ‘Marshlands’ and the darkest song here both lyrically and in tone. Much heavier than the rest of the EP which ends with a spirited version of the anti-war song ‘Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye’. This song needs no introduction I am sure as by now its been covered by all and sundry but Liddington Hill manage to convey the horror of war suitably enough and ensure their version loses none of the originals power. The fantastic artwork for the EP was the brilliant work of Rob Warren from Paper Plane Consulting and the sound is also excellent though sadly distorted on the Spotify player below. So please don’t judge the EP on these snippets of song.  

Download Cow  Amazon  iTunes

Contact Liddington Hill  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

ALBUM REVIEW: HEADSTICKS – ‘C.O.W.’ (2021)

Fresh from their utterly brilliant ‘Live Sessions’ broadcast at Christmas English Folk-Punk-Rockers Headsticks release their fourth studio album having signed to Chapter 22 Records. Hard hitting, emotive, infectious anthems and barbed lyrics a plenty.

Straddling the Punk and Folk scenes and still managing to keep everyone happy is quite a feat but one that Headsticks manage quite admirably. A couple of weeks ago we ran a feature on 80’s band The Glasgow Tremens titled ‘Punky But Not Punk, Folky But Not Folk‘ well this can not be said of Headsticks! The band describe themselves as “where folk and punk collide” and while you can’t help but make comparisons with a host of big names like the New Model Army, a more punky Levellers, Billy Bragg (when he was good) and even more recent bands like Ferocious Dog but Headsticks are still very much their own band. Formed out of the ashes of two much loved, and long gone, Celtic-Punk bands. ‘Tower Struck Down’ who were one of first English Celtic-Punk bands back in 1985 and Jugopunch, who had a song ‘Blackheart’ on the Shite’n’Onions compilation What The Shite #2 back in 2006. This brought them to international attention so popular were this series of CD’s. Well the Celtic touches are mainly gone but what remains is the plain good old folk’n’roll that made them popular first time round.

C.O.W. is their upteenth release and they have been reviewed here quite a few times so regular is their output. The last time was for an 4-track EP ‘Lies, Lies,Lies‘ featuring Punk Rock legend Steve Ignorant. With such a regular output they are also one of a few bands who also put out their releases on vinyl, even going so far as to have had vinyl only releases in the past. Hailing from Stoke in Staffordshire an area once famed for the manufacture of pottery (the area is known as The Potteries), coal mining and steel making. The area has gone into decline with the disappearance of these industries and neglect from both national and local government. Betrayed by the party the people bled red for they now vote for other parties. An area with a proud working class and trade union tradition is where Headsticks come from and this seeps through their music. Kicking off with ‘Red Is The Colour’ an anthem for those that gave their lives on battle fields everywhere. Sounding more like Jello Biafra than I can remember vocalist Andrew Tranter portrays the right ammount of passion and be sure these are passionate songs. Bands like Headsticks have always had plenty to sing about and these days when the ordinary bloke in the street is seemingly despised by everyone their is plenty ammunition. Next up is the apocalyptic love song ‘Peace & Quiet’ foretelling of environmental disaster but like all things Headsticks it’s told in a beautiful way. The art of writing lyrics that tell a complete story is some achievement and one that not just Celtic-Punk bands are adapt at.

The first song from the album to be released late last year it came out as 7″ single backed with a tremendous cover of ‘In The Ghetto’ (still available here).

“Don’t Predict A Riot! I want some peace and some quiet, I don’t to be the one who has to be the one to be so strong!”

‘Miles And Miles’ is a great example of their Folked up Punk while the next songs both show their range from 1980’s Anarcho-Punk in the style of early Chumba’s or Blyth Power to gentle acoustic musing. ‘A Tear For Yesterday’ and ‘Tyger, Tyger’ though poles apart on the surface fit together perfectly. ‘This Ain’t Politics’ is another on the folkier side and one I’m sure will be more popular at 50% of their gigs.

‘Naked’ was the second song to be released from C.O.W. on St. Patrick’s Day just gone and a great chugging Punk-Rock number. Simple but effective. The music takes quite a turn for the next couple of songs with ‘Red Sky’ and a pumping funky bass line my favourite track on C.O.W. while ‘Burn’ turns out a metally rocker. Both songs leave you with plenty to digest. Headsticks are one of those bands that its good to have the lyrics in front of you. ‘Opium’ is another acoustic number the shortest track on the album. We are into the last two songs and you can be among the first people to see the new Headsticks video for it comes out later today! ‘Speak Out’ comes at 9pm here so be sure to tune in and leave a comment. A bombastic rocker based upon the post-war poem by German pastor Martin Niemöller about the cowardice of German intellectuals to stand up to the rise of the Nazi’s. To ignore the persecution of others until it lands on your own doorstep. The standout and most memorable song here brings the curtain down and ‘Sing Danny Boy’ will raise the hairs on your neck. Andrew speaks over a gentle swirling backdrop about child abuse and psychological scars with a rare emotion found in music of any era or style. Some people are damaged before they get a chance to live it’s a terrible heart breaking thing. The passion spills out and I implore you to listen to the song below.

C.O.W. is Headsticks fourth studio album and their first, having recently signed, for the independent Midlands label Chapter 22 Records. The CD comes with a beautifully produced 20-page lyric booklet. C.O.W. is the bands best album so far and unusually each album they have released I have said that about. This may not be the usual kind of fare that readers are use to here but we have a sort of artistic license sometimes to include bands we love that we feel you will love too.  Headsticks have always been one of those bands and their constant innovation and evolving sound deserves to be heard and loved by many more. 

Buy C.O.W. Vinyl/CD Here  Download Here

Contact Headsticks  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

NEW SINGLE FROM SHANGHAI TREASON FEATURING DAN BOOTH FROM FEROCIOUS DOG

‘Wildfire’ the second single from their forthcoming new album sees South Yorkshire’s Shanghai Treason teaming up with Dan Booth from Ferocious Dog on fiddle!

Swiftly becoming one of my favourite bands Yorkshire rockers Shanghai Treason knock it out the ball park again with their new single. Fiddle and banjo go together like a Steak pie and Hendersons (that be South Yorkshire talk!) so it is that when I heard they were working with Dan Booth of Ferocious Dog I did get a little excited. And as you will see it was justified!!

Wildfire is the second single to be released from their new album, due in the Summer on Black Dingo records. The St. Patrick’s Day release of ‘Emerald Causeway‘ came out to much accalim and the album seems to be shaping up rather nicely. Shanghai Treason arrived in 2019 just in time to lay down a few roots before the Covid lockdowns came in but that didn’t see them slow down (well much anyway) and continued to write and produce new music as best they could. By now they have become a recogniseable name on the Celtic-Punk scene and their string of singles and EP’s have all been well received among the many Celtic-Punk focused blogs, radio stations and publications. Beginning to write their new album last year via e-mail’s between the band they managed to pick up a record deal with the Italian label Black Dingo Productions (home of artists like The Rumjacks, The Real McKenzies, The Rumpled ). Earlier this year they booked into Arch Audio recording Studio in Mansfield to work with Dan Booth and Gianluca from The Rumjacks under the watchful eyes of Luke Wheatley, Ferocious Dog’s sound-engineer.

“We’ve really up’d the ante on Wildfire, Dan Booth’s fiddle playin’ smacked the track into the stratosphere, it’s fast, in your face celtic punk, wi’ a Yorkshire twist, tha knows” – Sam Christie (Vocals)

Soon as things get back to normal the #1 thing on my to-do list is to get up to Yorkshire and catch these boys in the flesh. The quality of their previous releases has been incredible and in a year where several albums have been hotly anticipated it is Shanghai Treason’s that has excited me the most and on the evidence of the two singles released so far then this album will be challenging for Album Of The Year!

Contact Shanghai Treason  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

NEW SHANGHAI TREASON SINGLE OUT TODAY!

Big news from Yorkshire Celtic-Punkers Shanghai Treason with the release of new single and video ‘Emerald Causeway’ the first release from their upcoming self titled debut album which is due in summer 2021.

Sometimes a band doesn’t have to be around long to make a big splash in the Celtic-Punk scene. Two bands I can immediately think of that this applies to are China’s Grass Mud Horse and another band with a somewhat tenuous Chinese connection. Shanghai Treason though hail from less exotic realms in the post-industrial working class heartlands of South Yorkshire. Formed in only 2019 a flurry of releases made them THE band to see when their debut release the absolute belter ‘Devil’s Basement’ came out in late 2019. We had the privilege of premiering that release and we have followed the Bhoys eagerly ever since. Sadly Covid and the lockdown that followed put paid to their progress but not being a band to rest on their laurels they still continued to release material as best they could and the last few months have seen the band writing their debut album, bouncing back and forth song ideas via e-mail and getting ready for the recording studio to reopen. Along the way they signed to the Italian record label ‘Black Dingo Productions’, already home to some of Celtic-Punks biggest and best bands of artists like The Rumjacks, The Real Mackenzies, The Rumpled & more) and as soon as they were able they booked into Arch Audio recording Studio in Mansfield to work with producers Dan Booth (Ferocious Dog) and Gianluca Amendolara (The Rumjacks) under the watchful eyes of engineer Luke Wheatley (Ferocious Dog full time sound engineer). The good news is that the bands self titled debut album ‘Shanghai Treason’ is due to be released in June 2021 and will feature eleven tracks including guest violin from Dan Booth. Shanghai Treasons resident multi instrumentalist Tom Hardy has said

“We used a small arsenal of instrumentation on the album. In addition to the core instruments, we have brought in the Bouzouki, Acoustic Guitar, Tenor Banjo, Bluegrass Banjo, Piano, Accordion and the Fiddle. The Dulcimer can also be found in a small section of one particular song, see if you can hear it!”

Produced by Dan Booth & Gianluca Amendolara
Engineered by Luke Wheatley at Arch Audio

Many have tried, many have fallen

Some men lie, some men steal, I know many who went all in

Many have died, before they found their calling

Some saved lives, some men feel that they’re above the weighing

*

What will the scales weigh?

When they measure up your good deeds

Will you be castaway?

On the emerald causeway

*

Many have fought, many have pillaged

Some have killed, some have hoarded way more then their fair share

Many hit the jackpot, still wound up distraught

Some have given their whole lives to an ideal that proved irrelevant in the end

*

What will the scales weigh?

When they measure up your good deeds

Will you be castaway?

On the emerald causeway

*

Between this world and the next

*

Castaway

On the emerald causeway

Between this world and the next

*

What will the scales weigh?

When they measure up your good deeds

Will you be castaway?

On the emerald causeway

What will the scales weigh?

As you climb up to the pearly gates

Castaway

Between this world and the next

Download Emerald Causeway  Here

Contact Shanghai Treason  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

ODDS’N’SODS. CELTIC-PUNK ROUND UP MARCH 2021

Our regular monthly feature of all the Celtic-Punk news that’s fit to print. Band news, record releases, videos, tours (not individual gigs though yet sadly), live streams, crowd funders etc., send it into us at londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or through the Contact Us page. All will get a mention but I need YOU to help if it’s going to work.

Well it looks like St. Patrick’s Day is cancelled again this year. Still loads to keep us occupied during the ‘Celtic month’ of March. Here’s all the Celtic-Punk news that’s going on and a load of new music and videos to check out as well to forget your troubles to!

No question what the big news recently has been. The announcement of the release date for the new DROPKICK MURPHYS album. Turn Up That Dial is out on April 30th and is available for pre-order here. No doubt their will be multitudes of different packages and merchandise options so get saving now! They also put out the first song from the album, ‘Middle Finger’.

New Jersey Irish singer/ songwriter SEAN TOBIN is my new favourite artist and he played a Live Stream last week on You Tube well worth checking out. Blue-collar, working-class Irish American Folk music. Watch out for a review of his new EP in the next few days!

BROPHY’S LAW release their favourite live track ‘The Bachelor’, a traditional authentic Folk-Punk sound with an alternative edge. Neil Brophy says he wrote this aged 18 influenced by watching The Pogues performing in their glory days on the London scene. They sang about the drinking holes of London, a great recipe for ‘The Bachelor’ a song that paints a picture of a working class guy who surrenders his life to the devil in the jar and drinks himself insane.

FEROCIOUS DOG have signed to Graphite Records and are currently recording their 5th studio album called The Hope!

More news out of the Ferocious Dog camp is that FD’s Dan and Nick Burbridge (ex- McDermott’s Two Hours) have collaborated on a new album titled Icons. A year in the making now of 12 songs, maybe 13. Once the FD album is off for  mixing it will be finished and out by the end of spring/early summer. Jeremy Leveller is doing the album and t-shirt artwork. To pre-order the CD, t-shirt or bundle visit the web-site at  https://nickanddan.co.uk/

The Bandcamp vultures are waiving their massive revenue share on all sales next Friday, March 5, 2021, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time. If the greedy bastards really wanted to “support musicians during Covid-19” then maybe they wouldn’t take so much of their money the rest of the time. So only buy on that day for the next couple of weeks and you can support us here, we have a handful of releases where all money raised goes to support the Justice For The Craigavon 2 campaign (#JFTC2)

There’s a extensive interview from NY State Celtic-Punk band THE TEMPLARS OF DOOM in the new Winter edition of Punk N Praise. Its a new internet Christian Punk fanzine and is available for **FREE** simply by sending your email address to pamsbnb@aol.com or at tinasaol@aol.com. This issue also includes British Christian Punk band, Peter118.

Lockdown Lullabies is a 5-band compilation CD featuring four major kick-ass Celtic Rock and Punk bands THE SHAMROGUES, KILMAINE SAINTS, BARLEYJUICE, POEHEMIA and JAMISON. Twenty tracks from the Tri-state area’s best bands. Available from Ryf Records.

THE PLACKS from the Scottish Highlands and Islands are one of the most prolific bands around at the moment and not letting the lockdown hold them back too much! ‘The Sabbath’ is their fourth single in the last 12 months and comes out on the 5th March but is available now for pre-order.

To France now and hot on the heels of the Toxic Frogs recent EP comes the Folk’n’Punk band THE MULLINS with a great new video. Lots of new music on their You Tube channel worth checking out.

Fellow Frenchies THE MOORINGS have a new album out soon and you are invited to help get it released here.

The first news out of the MATILDA’S SCOUNDFRELS camp in a very long while sees them release a new 7″ single/ download. Available to buy now on pre-release from Bandcamp. Also a new video featuring ‘Jousting Crowd’ from the single.

The legendary show that started PEAT & DIESEL’s sold out 2020 tour at Glasgow’s most iconic venue, The Barrowlands Ballroom. All the favourites from their first two albums Uptown Fank and Light My Byre played live in front of 2000 diehard fans and the atmosphere they brought with them that special night. It is not in any way recorded with any fancy tools to sort any mistakes or nonsense, its 100% raw, just the way Peat & Diesel wanted it!

THE RUMJACKS – Hestia

PEAT & DIESEL – Live at the Barrowlands 2020

MATILDA’S SCOUNDRELS – The Devil’s Dues

THE PEELERS – Down And Out In The City Of Saints

SEAN TOBIN – St. Patrick’s Day Forever (reviewed soon)

THE FEELGOOD McLOUDS – Saints & Sinners (reviewed soon)

NEVERMIND NESSIE –  Another Sixpack Drinking Songs

Remember if you want your release featured then we have to have heard it first!

Thanks to Owen for putting me onto the Grand Rapids, Michigan band THE BILLIES. Dedicated to bringing Celtic music to a more main stream audience, blending modern Pop/Rock tunes and Celtic songs. Never heard this band before and I can’t find them on Facebook so we have to suppose that they are no more. Still they have left their mark and Who Wants Some is a fantastic album. Seven mostly original songs that includes one of the best (and surprising) covers I have ever heard- ‘Mighty And Superior’ by London anarcho-punk band Conflict!

Sad news from Australia and the demise of one of the countries best Celtic-Punk bands FOX ‘N’ FIRKIN. A bit of a cryptic announcement on their FB page but we wish the guys well and thanks for some bloody brilliant music. You helped make the Aussie scene the best in the world!

In light of a recent event and information we have only just been made aware of we are no longer able to move forward as a band. We wish to give no further comments on the situation. Robbie, Adrian & Leigh want to thank our fans for the years support.

Originally from Cork, Ireland, CATHAL COUGHLAN is the co-founder and singer of acclaimed 80s/90s groups Microdisney and Fatima Mansions. Widely considered to be one of Ireland’s most revered singer/songwriters, beloved by fans of caustic literate lyricism and erudite song craft. He has a new album, Song Of Co​-​Aklan, out at the end of March available for pre-order now.

A new song of high-octane Folk from Massachusetts (and a little bit Rhode Island) band THE KING’S BUSKETEERS. Traditional songs from the British Isles and North America shake the rafters, with some bardic acapella hollering and floor-stomping originals added in for flavour.

A new track from Dutch band THE ROYAL SPUDS over on Bandcamp. The Spuds were one of the bands whose tour we had to sadly cancel due to the original Covid lockdown last year. Available as a ‘name your price’ download is all you need to know. Well that and that it is brilliant!

Great new song/ video of ‘Finnegan’s Wake’ from Italian Celtic-Folk-Punk-Trad band PATRICK’S telling the story of Tim Finnegan the only man who escaped death thanks to whiskey and the incredible adventures of poor Tim and his drunken friends during his funeral wake!

Loads of live streams going on around St Patrick’s Day. The main ones of course being Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys of course. It will go live at 2am on the Thursday but loads of live music to take you up to then. Expect sets from 1916, Cutthroat Shamrock and more. Check the London Celtic Punks Facebook page on Paddy’s Day for what we will be watching and recommending!

A plug for some good friends of ours over on Facebook. The Dropkick Murphys- Fan Page and the Celtic Punk, Folk And Rock Fans are two of the best music forums on FB let alone Celtic-Punk. Ran By Fans For Fans. Just like and join in the fun!

and before we end something a little bit different. Celtic-Folk-Metal pioneers TUATHA DE DANNANN from Brazil release their 7th album In Nomine Éireann. Known for their merry Celtic dance rhythms, flute melodies and Celtic mythology-inspired lyricshere they pay tribute to Irish music and culture. Songs and Tunes taken from the traditional lore with special guests like John Doyle (Solas) and Keith Fay (Cruachan) making this album truly unique and special.

All we need to do now is for you to help fill this page with news and remember if you are new to the London Celtic Punks blog it is easy to subscribe / follow and never miss a post. Also if anyone is interested in helping out on the reviews front then let us know via the Contact Us page.

NEW SINGLE ‘A Song’ FROM LUTON IRISH BAND MISSING THE FERRY

Four second-generation Irish lads, three brothers and their best friend from school write songs about identity and belonging.
With influences as diverse as Brendan Shine, The Pogues and The Stone Roses their mission is to get people dancing and thinking.

Missing The Ferry Left to right: Kevin Cunningham – Guitar/Vocals * Chris Anderson – Fiddle/Mandolin/Vocals * Kevin Anderson – Bass/Vocals (Lead vocals on ‘A Song’) * Paul Anderson – Whistle/Mandolin/Vocals *

Hot on the heels of their last single, the fantastic, ‘God Bless You And Keep You’, comes new music from Luton’s very own Missing The Ferry. Recorded mostly pre-Covid in Deptford, SE London and then remotely between bedrooms in Luton/SE London by the band then sent to our friend Luise (https://www.facebook.com/LuiseLondonAudio) in Germany to sprinkle some magic Teutonic Folk party Punk dust on.

A Song is about daring to dream; escaping from the box that the government, class and circumstance have shoved you in all your life.

A Song is about self-destruction, hitting rock bottom, temptation and redemption.

A Song is for the voiceless, the poor, the lonely and dispossessed.

But at the end of the day, it is just a song.

A song for all wise men, there’s not many left

A song for old Ireland that’s clearly in jest

A song for the workers, asleep on the dock

A song for the rich man who’s taken the lot

A song for the children, climbing the trees

A song for all housewives, God bless Mr Sheen

A song for the young ones, who just couldn’t wait

A song for the old one, who knows its too late

*

It’s a song, you won’t have to sing

Forget the words, sure they don’t mean a thing

It’s the dreams, that came just too late

And all the hearts, you just couldn’t break

*

A song for the lonely, living in chains

A song for the monarchs,  song for their slaves

A song for the weary, a song for the tired 

A song for all junkies, the stoned and the wired

A song for the living, a tune for the dead

A song for the dark thoughts that fill up your head

A song for all cowards, a song for the brave

A song for the secrets you’ll take to the grave

*

It’s a song, you won’t have to sing

Forget the words, sure they don’t mean a thing

It’s the dreams, that came just too late

And all the hearts, you just couldn’t break

*

A song for all wise men, there’s not many left…

*

It’s a song, you won’t have to sing

Forget the words, sure they don’t mean a thing

It’s the dreams, that came just too late

And all the times you just couldn’t fake

And all the lies you just couldn’t take

And all the hearts, you just couldn’t break

* 

It’s a song…just a song

*

Words: Paul Anderson * Music: Paul Anderson/Chris Anderson *

Produced by: Luise London and Chris Anderson

(stream or download ‘A Song’ on the Bandcamp player below.  Only 90p!!)

Download A Song  FromTheBand

Contact Missing The Ferry  Facebook  YouTube  Bandcamp  Instagram

Anyone who has ever missed, or nearly missed, the Dublin-bound ferry from Holyhead will get the name.
Don’t be Missing The Ferry yourselves!

FREE DOWNLOADS FROM LIDDINGTON HILL!

Anyone fancy a bit of Punk and Metal tinged Celtic-Folk music? Well how about Liddington Hill hail from the South West of England. They have made their entire back catalogue free to download so get downloading!

Liddington Hill began life in 2015 when fiddle player Matt Meads and singer Emily Slinger got together to perform lively tradition Celtic and English folk songs. Taking their name from the hill that is home to the Iron Age Liddington Castle just outside Swindon in Wiltshire. The band went through a few different incarnations eventually settling into a much heavier darker sound. With their current line up of Tamzin Meads with her low fuzz bass, Ethan Meads with his roaring SG guitar, Liam Gallagher playing high leads and vocals, Chris Taylor bringing a dark metal undertone on drums and Matt Meads playing the melodies on fiddle takes the lead. Together Liddington Hill record and perform original and traditional, alternative rock and Celtic-Punk.

(The bands last single ‘With You’ from October 2020. Grunge, Punk, Love and Cider…)

The first time I clocked Liddington Hill on Instagram it instantly reminded me of the 1980’s Somerset based Anarcho-Folk-Rockers Blyth Power. A shadowy mix of Celtic and Folk tinged Metal and Punk giving them a rather unique sound for these days. One of the main differences between English and Irish Folk and traditional music can be where they share the same often depressing lyrics and themes the actual music is not as upbeat. This gives Liddington Hill that ‘dark’ feel added to which the dual male / female vocals gives them a further range than most bands we hear. That’s not to say it’s all downbeat but this is more Joy Division and The Pogues rather the usual Clash / Pogues we hear. With everything going on we haven’t had a chance to check them out live but they do have a rather good live video from The White Hart Inn in Swindon with clips of their set featuring original and covers including a great version of ‘Whiskey In The Jar’.

Liddington Hill: Front- Tamzin – Vocals / Bass * Left to right – Ethan – Rhythm Guitar * Liam – Lead Guitar / Vocals * Chris – Drums * Matt – Fiddle / Vocals *

Back in March last year Liddington Hill made all their recordings available to download for free. That’s three EP’s and a bunch of singles. Download link below but their songs are also available from Apple and Amazon if you choose to support the band. Alternatively check out their merchandise here.  

DOWNLOAD EP’S HERE

DOWNLOAD SINGLES HERE

(‘Long Lankin’ is a traditional English Folk murder ballad telling the gruesome story of the killling of a woman and her infant son. Recorded previously by Steeleye Span and, a band they share some similarities and influences with, Blackbeard’s Tea Party)

Liddington Hill  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS 2020 READERS POLL WINNER ANNOUNCED

Well that has blown us away. To say we have been delighted with the response to this years Readers Poll is an understatement. For the first time ever over we had 1000+ votes cast. That’s an incredible 600+ more on 2020. Last years winners Mickey Rickshaw would only have placed 5th place this year! It was a three horse race right from the very beginning and we knew it was going to be a good year with over 200 votes cast in the first few hours. It stayed that way until the final day the poll was open and in the last 24 hours one band came from nowhere to sweep to victory!

The winner of the 2020 London Celtic Punks Readers Poll is (drum roll!) Aussies The G-Set with an astounding 25.4% of the votes cast. McScallywag looked odds on for victory leading from day 2 from early leaders Finnegan’s Hell. Black Water County moved into 2nd place and it stayed that way till the Aussie vote turned up. Most of the votes came from the UK with the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, USA, Canada and France following.

The ‘other’ (the write in part) section was interesting with 22 releases gaining votes with two that I hadn’t heard (The Bonny Men and The Roughians). The Top 5 in this section were

1. CLOVERS REVENGE – Truants And Absolution
2. THE NEW RUFFIANS – Shenanigans
3. 7 STOUT CLAN – 7 Stout Clan
4. PADDY WAGGIN- Race To The Bottom
5. BARBAR O’RHUM – Journal de B’O’R

the top three here would have all finished above Ogras in the main poll in 5th, 6th and 7th place.

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 here. Hard to predict what the following year will be like but we do know several releases from ‘big’ bands were delayed from last year so hopefully we will see them emerge soon. Why not consider subscribing and never miss a post (the box is on the left when viewed full size) we promise not to bombard you too much!

NUMBER ONE

Buy Of Bright Futures…and Broken Pasts Download

Contact The Go-Set  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

NUMBER TWO

Buy Songs For The Wicked  Bandcamp (CD or Download)

Contact McScallywag  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

NUMBER THREE

Buy Comedies And Tragedies CD- FromTheBand  Download- Spotify  AppleMusic 

Contact Black Water County  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

*

READERS POLL 2018   READERS POLL 2019

ODDS’N’SODS. CELTIC-PUNK ROUND UP FEBUARY 2021

Our regular monthly feature of all the Celtic-Punk news that’s fit to print. Band news, record releases, videos, tours (not individual gigs though yet sadly), live streams, crowd funders etc., send it into us at londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or through the Contact Us page. All will get a mention but I need YOU to help if it’s going to work.

We kick off this months Odds’n’Sods with two London-Irish bands. The first is the latest from CLAN OF CELTS and ‘My Eternal Tomb’. Their first single in three years a haunting tune of a strickened deportee ship leaving Ireland heading towards the penal colony in Australia, with a cargo of chained prisoners getting caught in a typhoon and being hauled to the bottom of the ocean and perishing. Available on all platforms to stream and download.

Next a new song/video from one of our most favourist bands CROCK OF BONES. ‘Nothin Worse’ is an original song and it’s mighty fine of course!

So nice to hear a band that you thought had split up is still active and one of my favourite bands KITCHEN IMPLOSION from Novara in Italy have indeed been constantly releasing music since the last I heard of them the brilliant ‘Pretty Work Brave Boys!’ album from 2014. They put out an EP Analfabeta Esistenziale in 2019 and the single ‘Coprifuoco’ last year available for download for a Euro.

Scots band THE CLELANDERS formed in 2017; with three brothers and a mate of theirs, bringing together a love of Irish and Scottish Folk music and throwing in a bit of Punk and Rock. All members grew up in the small mining village of Cleland in North Lanarkshire. They’ve a load of music up on their Facebook page but soon as they can are going to be recording more. They’ve a single out ‘Favourite Son’ about local Bhoy and Celtic (and Manchester United) legend Jimmy Delaney in benefit of their local Celtic Supporters Club Charity Fund named in honour of Jimmy. The song has been played at Celtic Park and is available for download for only 99p.

More from Scotland with the new video from THE CUNDEEZ of ‘Horo Gheallaidh’ one of the highlights of their recent album Teckle An Hide. A cover of a track by fellow Scots band Peat & Diesel. Fast, thrashy guitars telling the tale of a night out in the Highlands. Brilliant!

German band THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS have long become one of my favourite bands and they follow up last years cracking album Dogs On The Leash with a Christmas release for the single ‘Joy Of Life’ that passed us by at the time. The Bhoys kick out a ballad which they are equally good as the kick arse Celtic-Punk they more famous for.

Pogues legend Terry Woods has contributed banjo, mandolin and veillette to a new song ‘Wide Eyed Lady’ by Irish/singer songwriter LOU McMAHON. Originally released in 2010 it has been remixed, re-mastered and released as a single as part of an album release in 2021. ‘Wide Eyed Lady’ is a dark folktale that interweaves Goth-Rock with Folk, guided by mythology, folklore and fantasy.

The fantastic Texan Celtic-Punkers THE DEAD RABBITS have a new album out soon on Roach Guard Records. These guys have the best graphics in Celtic-Punk!

London based RANAGRI (pronounced Ra-na-grye) release their new single ‘Follow Me Up To Carlow’, on February 8th. Pre-release here.

If you are looking for quality Celtic-Punk and for the bargain price of absolutely nothing then Oxford based LIDDINGTON HILL have only gone and made their last three singles free to download over on their web-site.

MICK McLOUGHLIN aka ‘Mick The Busker’ has been busking along Henry street in central Dublin for the last 10 years and has finally got some songs down on disc. The Busker is his third release but his first featuring his own material. It’s available on CD from him and download from Bandcamp.

TIR NAN OG – Sing Ye Bastards (Album)

BARDS FROM YESTERDAY – Demia (EP) -See Reviews

YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS – Drawn and Quartered (EP)

JASON STIRLING AND THE BLUE MOON BAND – Locked Doors And Lost Keys (EP)

TOXIC FROGS – My Lucky Own (EP)

Remember if you want your release featured then we have to have heard it first!

A new project out of Brittany with influences sometimes trad, sometimes rock. The BRETONS collective is 15 musicians on stage evolving on stage like a storm, ready to bewitch the halls of Europe!

More from the forthcoming new Rumjacks album with the release of title song ‘Hestia’ last week. Out in early March and available for pre-order here.

The debut studio album from Jay Terrestrial and the Firepit Collective dates back to 2014 and the band continues to play and record today. Recently they have had a string of sold out dates cancelled-rearranged-cancelled- rearranged-cancelled in London due to the ‘clampdown’. Jay is better known as the singer from London Punk/Dub band the Inner Terrestrials while the Firepit Collective has become his folky side project. This album combines new arrangements of trad songs and tunes along with original material. Here Jay and Chezney Newman are joined by friends Jess Cahill, Jez Hellard, David Garner, Rosie Nobbs, Chris Bowsher and Del Wilson.

German Celtic-Punkers MUIRSHEEN DURKIN have announced a St. Patrick’s Live Stream free on Facebook. Playing live from the Sauerland Theater in Arnsberg at 6pm on Saturday 20th March. Join the FB event to reminded nearer the time.

Canadians THE PEELERS have a new album out in March called Down And Out In The City Of Saints on Stomp Records.

MacSLONS IRISH PUB RADIO have announced the next installment of their Raise Your Pint compilation album series titled Corona Sessions. They are looking for 20 bands that have recorded songs during the course of the pandemic. If you want to take part in this please contact them at raise.your.pints@macslons.com

A plug for some good friends of ours over on Facebook. The Dropkick Murphys- Fan Page and the Celtic Punk, Folk And Rock Fans are two of the best music forums on FB let alone Celtic-Punk. Ran By Fans For Fans. Just like and join in the fun!

All we need to do now is for you to help fill this page with news and remember if you are new to the London Celtic Punks blog it is easy to subscribe / follow and never miss a post. Also if anyone is interested in helping out on the reviews front then let us know via the Contact Us page.

ALBUM REVIEW: THE NEW RUFFIANS – ‘Shenanigans’ (2020)

A heady mix of traditional Celtic music and Punk for late night pubs and afternoon garden parties alike!

The New Ruffians are the type of English band that usually comes from the rolling hills of Devon or Somerset. Alcohol loving folkies playing spirited covers at 110mph and totally enjoying themselves! Instead they come from the West Midlands town of Wolverhampton home of Wolves FC, the mighty Slade and the even mightier Kevin Rowland of Dexys Midnight Runners. The New Ruffians were formed in 2015 by four multi-instrumentalist ‘Wulfrunians’, as natives are called, and have been playing a chaotic mix of traditional Irish, Celtic-Punk, vintage Ska and leftfield folk to inebriated locals since.

These are not yer typical Celtic-Punk band by any stretch of the imagination and I don’t just mean because they include a trombone player! A seasoned live band and popular on the local pub scene they recorded their first album ‘Shenanigans’ in early 2020 but thanks to you-know-what (!) wasn’t released till the end of November. Still it snuck into the London Celtic Punks Best Album list at #28.

The New Ruffians left to right: Dave Dunn – Guitar / Bass Guitar / Backing Vocals * Paul Dunn – Cajon / Bongos / Trombone / Vocals / Guitar /Banjo / Harmonica / Percussion * Daran Crook – Vocals / Guitar / Mandolin / Banjo / Cajon / Harmonica / Tin Whistle * Rich Harvey – Piano Accordion / Melodica *

Shenanigans is the bands debut release and features seventeen songs with the emphasis on covers and most of those Irish songs. Its a good selection but as usual we would have liked to have heard a few more originals but with the album lasting a 3/4’s of an hour there’s no denying you get great value for money but what about the music?

The album kicks off with ‘Wake Up’ and true to form it’s a song about being at a music festival (probably in Devon or Somerset!) and trying to get up despite a sore head. The music is acoustic guitar, accordion and thumping heavy bass line and that trombone! To say the mix is unusual is a understatement but somehow it works but it always helps to have a strong vocalist and Daran is that. Loud, perhaps a tad too loud in the mix, but if you’re looking for an album that will transport you mentally to the boozer then this is it and there is nothing wrong with that! This is followed by a bunch of covers, ‘Waxies Dargle’, the instrumental ‘Lark In The Morning’ and the lively ‘Courtin’ In The Kitchen’. These three songs pretty much sum up the band. Full of energy and passion and emphasise their link to Irish music and especially the kind made popular by The Pogues/ Dubliners.

Another new one ‘Tipsy’, a classic take on that staple of Celtic-Punk the drinking song witha unusual Ska-ish accordion beat and even featuring the gibberish chorus of

“fol deedah, fol deedah, fol deedah fol de hey fol de ho, fol de alley alley oh! Hey!”

‘Millionaires’ is a cover of Cornish buskers Phat Bollard and again is a lively song, easy to singalong to and next a bunch of Folk songs some better known than others, but all played with gusto. The Irish trad instrumentals ‘Father O’Flynn’ and Siege Of Ennis’ along with ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’ and the Scots tune ‘Come By The Hills’ before we are treated to a couple of originals. ‘The Parkdale Jig’ is short and sweet catchy instrumental while ‘Daddy Was’ my favourite song on the album is definitely the sort of song to get your feet moving despite its sparse arrangement. The spirit of Shane and Ronnie lives on in The New Ruffians final few songs with ‘Rare Old Mountain Dew’ leading into the original ‘Merry Hell’ with more tales of drinking and its effects. Matthew O’Reilly’s ‘To The Devil With Your License’ is the longest track here and the most elaborate. Another standout while the album closes with two Celtic-Punk staples ‘All For Me Grog’ and ‘I’ll Tell Me Ma’.

Not a bad effort at all by The New Ruffians. Their debut album and you get the sense they tried to cram as many of their songs onto it as possible! I think the last two were probably not needed and it would have been better to finish on the great ‘To The Devil With Your License’ but I guess they wanted to leave the album exactly how they came in. With upbeat humour and plenty of shenanigans. There is no other genre of music that fits the pub quite as much as Celtic music does and The New Ruffians are made for the pub and treating everyday as St. Patrick’s Day. This is as faithful a copy of a pub set as I think any band has managed and I bet they can’t wait to get their raucous drunken table dancing mayhem back to the pub!

(You can stream or download Shenanigans on the Bandcamp player below)

Buy Shenanigans  Bandcamp (also iTunes/Apple, YouTube Music, Amazon, Spotify)

Contact The New Ruffians  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2020!

Well here we go again. It seems an awful long time since we were compiling all the votes into 2019’s Best Of. Last year saw The Walker Roaders triumph but with this year being a lot quieter on the Celtic-Punk front thanks to the lockdowns around the world bands have found themselves unable to tour and promote new releases so have held onto them till things got better. Still that’s not to say it was a complete wash out and as you can see from below their have been some absolute knock-outs during the year.

Remember this is only our opinion so feel free to comment, slag off or dissect our lists. The Readers Poll is back again this year so you can even vote on your favourite release of 2020 yourself. We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…

(for more information click on the release title in green)

Was very close between the top three this year but Ogras seem to have been not only our favourites but also most of the Celtic-Punk medias too. A lot less albums may have come out during the year but still plenty more that didn’t make the cut. Don’t be down hearted if you are one of them it could just be that one of the judges hadn’t heard that album. Again if we don’t hear your album we can’t review it so the massive majority here are ones that were sent in to us. We only need a download link (NO Spotify!) and we’re happy. Out of the 30 albums 18 countries were represented including 2 from the Celtic nations Scotland #4 and Brittany #13 and our first from Hawaii!

1. OGRAS – No Love In The City

2. UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS – The Men Behind The Glass

3. FINNEGANS HELL – Work Is The Curse Of The Drinking Class

4. THECUNDEEZ – Teckle And Hide

5. KRAKIN’ KELLYS – Burn Your Flag

6. THE GO-SET – Of Bright Futures And Broken Pasts

7. BLACK WATER COUNTY – Comedies And Tragedies

8. McSCALLYWAG – Songs For The Wicked

9. BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO- Hermanos De Guerra

10. THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS – Off The Leash

11. THE REAL McKENZIES – Beer And Loathing

12. THE MUCKERS – Irish Goodbye

13. CELT & PIPER – No Mercy

14. THE FEELGOOD MacLOUDS – Life On A Ferris Wheel

15. FEROCIOUS DOG – You

16. THE KONA ROGUES – Batten Down The Hatches

17. PADDY WAGGIN- Race To The Bottom

18. BLACK ANEMONE – Chasing The Sun

19. PADDY MURPHY – Rams Rebels Goats And Girls

20. THE STUBBY SHILLEAGHS – Glass To Mouth

21. CELKILT – The Next One Down

22. THE DEAD MAGGIES – More Than Just Ghosts

23. KELTIKON – The Black Boar

24. THE CELTIC SOCIAL CLUB – From Babylon To Avalon

25. BARBAR O’RHUM – Journal de B’O’R

26. JAMESTOWN BROTHERS – Rebels, Rogues And Regrets

27. SMZB – Once Upon A Time In The East

28. THE NEW RUFFIANS – Shenanigans

29. GRASS MUD HORSE – Beijing Bikini

30. NEVER SAY DIE – Punk Rock Pirates

Several bands have taken the chance during the lockdown to release compilations of sorts. While it would be a little unfair to include them in the main ‘Best Of’ section they still deserve a mention. Among these were two 30 year celebrations from two of Celtic-Punks most successful and popular bands in THE MAHONES – This Is All We Got To Show For It and FIDDLER’S GREEN – 3 Cheers For 30 Years. Both fully deserve a round of applause, a raise of the pint and a tip o’ the hat! Band compilations included ANTO MORRA – Twenty, THE DEAD RABBITS – The Dead Rabbits, LEXINGTON FIELD – Here’s To You Ten Years Of Fiddle Rock and LQR – Barrel-Aged. A couple of live albums THE STANFIELDS – Welcome To The Ball and ShamROCKS – FCP Live were both well received, you may have heard that a little known band THE POGUES put out a new album of previously unreleased material BBC Sessions 1984-86 and Quintessential Quarantunes was a 6-band compilation released in the Summer featuring the Bible Code Sundays and The Reels. MacSlons Irish Pub Radio also released volume 5 of Raise Your Pints the best Celtic-Punk sampler around of 19 of the Celtic-Punk scenes best bands.

You have to go back to the beginning of January for 1916’s release and though many more would challenge it stayed top of the pile all year long. Some great debut releases here from bands that will I am sure go on to bigger things. This time last year I was crowing about Shanghai Treason and how much I was looking forward to seeing them play… well I still am!

1. 1916 – Meant To Be

2. SHANGHAI TREASON – It’s Treason

3. BEAVER SECRET HANDSHAKE – Beaver Secret Handshake

4. KILMAINE SAINTS – Off The Wagon Acoustic Sessions

5. LEXINGTON FIELD – Win The Day

6. 7 STOUT CLAN – 7 Stout Clan

7. THE CLOVES AND THE TOBACCO – Jalan Pulang

8. LUCKY LAD GREEN – Get There Somehow

9. BRAVE THE SEA – The Murders Three

10. THE PLACKS – My Dearest Friend

BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO- Hermanos De Guerra

This year’s winner of Best Debut Album comes from a continent where Celtic-Punk appears to be booming! The South American scene has been dominated in the past by bands from Brazil and Argentina (last years winners in this category were Aires Bastardos from Argentina) but with Batallón de San Patricio from Guadalajara in Mexico things are changing with several bands popping up over the last couple of years. The last twelve months have seen Batallón de San Patricio garner favourable reviews from various singles and live streams. Hermanos De Guerra/ Brothers Of War is delivered entirely in Spanish and spans the length of Celtic-Punk from trad Irish up to Celtic-PUNK making it fully deserving of the award.

Always the hardest list to compile as it covers so much ground. Some of these bands play Trad Folk with a Punk Rock heart like Clover’s Revenge while others didn’t quite fit as Celtic-Punk releases but the winners are the Rose family from NY state otherwise known as The Wild Irish Roses. An album that took us by surprise and managed to please everyone.

1. THE WILD IRISH ROSES – Full Bloom

2. CLOVERS REVENGE – Truants And Absolution

3. 6’10 – Carried In Retrospect

4. RUNA – The Tide Of Winter

5. MAGGIES FLOCK – Party At The Cemetery

6. PYROLYSIS – Alotsie

7. PATRICKS – Rocky Road To Ireland

8. HUGH MORRISON – The Other Side

9. TC COSTELLO – The Bluebird

10. PEAT & DIESEL – Light My Byre

Now this section is tinged with sadness. There is no question which site has the biggest impact on the Celtic-Punk scene over the last year and while not strictly a web-site the CELTIC PUNK, FOLK AND ROCK FANS group on Facebook fully deserved this years award. Sadness because the group founder Mike Kilroe very sadly passed away at the beginning of the month. Created back in February 2019 it was around the time of last years ill fated St. Patrick’s day and the subsequent Dropkick Murphys live stream show that membership of the group exploded and has now passed over 8000 members. If on Facebook they should be your first port of call, alongside us of course! We had a great interview with the founder of the group Mike back in May that you can find here and of course our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

We are not alone in doing these Best Of 2020 lists in fact all the major players in Celtic-Punk do them so click below to check out what they thought.

THE CELTIC PUNKCAST  *  FOLK’N’ROCK  *  PADDYROCK

So there you go. Remember we have never pretended to be the final word on things in fact have a look at the other Celtic-Punk media’s Best Of’s and I’m sure they are all pretty different. Our Best Of’s, as usual, cajoled and bullied out of the admins from the London Celtic Punks Facebook page and then tallied up over a few pints in Mannions in north London. One important thing to note is that not all of us heard the same albums so like all the various Best Of’s ours is also subjective.

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https://goo.gl/RXNtMC

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Nine years we’ve been doing these lists now. It seems incredible looking back at some of the previous winners and also-rans how so many bands are still with us from Year 1. If you would like to check for yourself then just click on the link below the relevant year.

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https://wp.me/p3Huvn-37h

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Alongside the Best Of polls we also run a special Readers Poll where you get to pick your favourite release of the year. This will be The Readers Poll’s third year with Krakin’ Kellys and Mickey Rickshaw previously champions! There is only room to list the Top Ten albums but there is an option to write in your favourite release of 2020. You are allowed to vote for up to two releases but not for the same artist.

The Poll will close at midnight on Sunday 31st January with the result announced soon after.

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2021

NEW CHRISTMASSY CELTIC-PUNK SONGS FROM IRELAND, CHINA, GERMANY, CANADA, LONDON AND MEXICO

Well that’s it. Christmas is over and done with and hopefully you all had a festively good time despite everything.  BUT if you are still in need of some good cheer though then wait no more as we here’s a selection of six brand new 2020 Christmas-ish Celtic-Punk songs for you to delight over.

Craic open what’s left of the Jamesons and enjoy!

ANTI-DEPRESANTS – ‘If It’s Gonna Be Cold’

Anti Depresants are four piece Rock‘n’ Roll band coming from the hills of Armagh in the north of Ireland with a lot of Punk attitude an’ a sprinklin’ of Ska to get your ass movin’, your heart beatin’ and your mind racin’ with their diverse sound embracing heavy rock, reggae, male and female vocals and blistering guitar work.

Contact Anti Depresants  Facebook  YouTube  Bandcamp

GRASS MUD HORSE – ‘Christmas Time In China’

Possibly the busiest band in Celtic-Punk this year (and definitely the busiest on these pages!!) Grass Mud Horse have been making, and releasing, music throughout the ‘clampdown’ to us lucky folk. Led by award-winning musician Chris Barry, a Scouser living in Qinhuangdao, China. They blend together the traditional Folk sound of Chris ancestors in Ireland with an distinctly raw and untamed Punk-Rock energy. 2020 while being quite the lame year has seen Grass Mud Horse become quite the name on the Celtic-Punk scene with their last single released dually across North America by Paddyrock and Europe by us! The song is available for download over on Bandcamp for next to nothing.

Contact Grass Mud Horse  WebSite  Facebook   YouTube

THE FEELGOOD McLOUDS – ‘Driving Home For Christmas’

St. Nicholas is on his way and The Feelgood McLouds have come up with a little present for you. Are you bored of long dark winter nights without pubs and concerts? Then here’s the solution the brand new Christmas song from these fantastic German Celtic-Punkers. Imagine if the Dubliners were only in their mid-twenties, very, very thirsty and had discovered punk for themselves. Then punk rock anthems would merge with bagpipes, banjo, tin whistle and accordion, there would be a good smell of beer and whiskey and sweat would drip from the ceiling. And that’s exactly what The Feelgood McLouds is all about. With their energetic punk rock show, the 6 Saarlanders make every concert room shake and everyone to empty their beer glass. In a nutshell: Sounding like NOFX and the Dropkick Murphys are meeting in an Irish pub for an endless party!

Contact The Feelgood McLeods  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

THE STANFIELDS – ‘(I’ll Stay Home) With Bells On

The Stanfields trod a well trodden path to 2020 from the Seahorse Tavern in their hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia to where they are now. Their trajectory from full on their Celtic-Punk to “the bastard child of AC/DC and Stan Rogers” where their music blends Working Class Hard-Rock with the many strands of Folk that make up traditional Canadian music with much of it heavily influenced by Scotland and Ireland. Here they massacre pay tribute to the great Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers song. Stanfields front man John is joined by his Mrs Shannon on this cheeky number that follows on from our review just a couple of weeks ago of their fantastic new album Welcome To The Ball.

Contact The Stanfields  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

CLAN OF CELTS- ‘A Christmas Quarantine’

Fusing together all their musical experiences & influences ranging from, Rock, Metal, Country, Punk, Classical and of course traditional Irish. Clan Of Celts have created a unique style and an unmistakable sound that is brought to you with Celtic pride, passion, commitment and respect for our traditional roots. The new team on the London Celtic-Punk scene bring you a classic cheesy Christmas song out now and available to download through Spotify and all decent streaming services. Will they ever complete the interview I sent them? Who knows what 2021 will bring!!!

Contact Clan Of Celts WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Soundcloud

BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO – ‘F*ck Merry Christmas And F*ck You’

And finally the new single from Mexican Celtic-Punk newcomers Batallón De San Patricio. Why they got such a downer on Christmas is anyone’s guess but ding-dong merrily on high here it is anyway! It’s been a busy year for these guys with a hit album Hermanos de Guerra under their belts as well as making themselves known right across the Celtic-Punk world. The band’s name comes from the famed St. Patrick’s Battalion (see The Irish Soldiers Of Mexico In Film And Song). A group of immigrants, mainly of Irish descent, who deserted from the US Army because of anti-Catholic bigotry and went to fight for the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). It’s a tale of great adventure and heroic valour. Batallón de San Patricio were formed in 2017 in Guadalajara and right from the start the idea was to pay tribute to their namesakes. In many ways the name was a obvious choice for a band whose chief aim was to play Celtic-Punk mixing Irish and Mexican culture.

Contact Batallón De San Patricio  Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube

So that’s almost it for 2020. Tune in on Wednesday for our final post of the year. A fun packed Odd’n’Sods – Celtic Punk Round Up full of the most recent videos and news from around the scene.

‘RETURN TO CAMDEN’ BY TERENCE O’FLAHERTY

Beautiful song from London based Irish singer/songwriter Terence O’Flaherty name checking memories of a bygone era in the north of London. This original recorded version is due to be released on Terence’s upcoming album Backtracks with the Claire Egan, Eoin O’Neill and John Kelly accompanying.

Terence is a traditional Irish singer and songwriter from Ennistimon, County Clare on the west coast of Ireland. He comes from a traditional music background learning his earliest songs from his family as well as local musicians and travelling storytellers and singers. Playing guitar and bouzouki in the early 1970’s, he emigrated to London and joined the thriving Irish music scene in the capital as part of the popular band Crusheen. He has spent many years involved in the traditional music scene in London playing with all of London’s leading musicians and touring across Britain, Europe, and America playing with everyone from the Chieftains, Planxty, The Pogues,The Fureys and De Danann. He has collaborated with musicians from a variety of other genres and from across the world playing at many major festivals including Cambridge Folk Festival. Terence has released three albums (Crosscurrents, Ghosts, Trace) with a fourth on it’s way soon titled Backtracks which will feature ‘Return To Camden’.

When I first arrived in Old London Town

Along Camden High Road I did walk down

Fell into the back of John Murphy’s van

Full of youth and vigour and white bread and ham

By ten that first morning I thought I’d expire

Stuck down a hole with Connemara Seán

Who for an extra ten bob a week

Set out a pace that would kill Hercules

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Then the ganger man came and says ‘lads take a break’

Old Seánín jumped out with a ballerina’s grace

I felt I was climbing the Post Office Tower

My poor legs and arms like wilting flowers

He wolfed down his sandwich and before I did know

Old Seánín was back down in John Murphy’s hole

Diggin away like an Olympian

Twas with great reluctance that I rejoined him

*

I crawled out of the hole at the end of the day

All of my senses in terminal decay

Crawled into the back of John Murphy’s van

Too tired for talk or for white bread and ham

To the favourite in Holloway Seánín did go

To hear Bobby Casey, Con Curtin, John Bowe

Roger Sherlock, Brian Rooney or Finbar O’Dwyer

Danny Meehan, Raymond Roland or Brendan Mulkere

*

And as I was sleeping the sleep of the dead

Old Seánín was lilting to reels and to jigs

Firing back pints and singing Sean Nós

Where he got his energy God alone knows

And early next morning fresh as a rose

He’d be back down one of John Murphy’s holes

Lobbing up muck in his trousers and vest

Such was the life that the Irish possessed

*

And at the weekends we would all go

To The Forum, The Gresham, The Galtymore

The Harp and the Shamrock, the Garryowen

The Bamba, Hibernian or Buffalo

Waltzin and jiving and singing along

To Joe Dolan, Larry Cunningham or Big Tom

Or horsin’ out sets till too tired to stand

To the Tulla or Kilfenora Céilí Bands

*

When many years later I met poor Seánín

His energy spent and his back bent and lean

He smiled and he said ‘Ah sure times they were lean’

When we worked for the man from Caherciveen

For although times were tough, sure the craic it was good

In Camden, in Kilburn and Cricklewood

And we could escape for the nights they were long

Far away from the cruel, brutal Elephant John

*

But to work on the building sites now you and me

We’d almost need to have a degree

For with health and safety and the CSCS

You need method statements and assessments of risks

There’s not too much craic now in John Murphy’s vans

Albanians Poles and Lithuanians

Have taken the place of the likes of Séanin

*

The craic once was ninety but now it is lean

So here’s to the music we did enjoy

In the pubs and the clubs with a tear in our eye

And fair play to the players and the singers of songs

Who lifted our hearts when our hearts needed them

Tom O’Connell, Martin Byrnes, Andy Boyle, Lucy Farr,

Seán O’Shea, Julia Clifford and Tommy Maguire

Michael Hynes, Tom McCarthy, Jimmy Power and Reg Hall

Raise up your glasses now here’s to them all

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Terence O’Flaherty Facebook

EP REVIEW: PENNILESS TENANTS – ‘Lockdown Session’ (2020)

Traditional Irish scally Punk!

Penniless Tenants are a five-piece from Liverpool, playing traditional and Irish Folk music and probably the best Irish Music in Liverpool. No Folking About.

The Irish community in England is supposedly shrinking I hear but only just a couple of weeks after we reviewed the debut release of Luton Irish band Missing The Ferry we have the pleasure of doing the same for another new band to us Penniless Tenants. The band hail from another hotbed of Irishness in Liverpool. Their is plenty written on the history of the Irish in Liverpool and unsurprisingly immigration from Ireland to Liverpool has been ongoing since the year dot and the city could possibly even lay claim to being the most Irish city in England.

With no shortage of Irish bars in the city a band playing Irish music would be pretty damn busy except for this poxy clampdown but Penniless Tenants have responded perfectly with a EP of five self written songs (with a few varied influences!) unsurprisingly titled Lockdown Sessions. They did actually already release a few songs over on Soundcloud way back in 2013 called the Penniless Tenant Sessions of a few covers of Irish Folk standards made famous by The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, Christy Moore and The Dubliners among others. Their they keep it respectful and played the songs close to their origins so nice to her them let loose a bit on the recent release. Like all the best bands they are too proud to play anywhere and they have from Liverpool Anglican Cathedral to the Baltic Market and St George’s Hall to the corner of Pilgrim Street!

Lockdown Sessions begins with ‘The Hare And The Fainleog’ and a slow fiddle led mournful Irish tune which soon becomes a bit of a foot stamper and in Benjamin Hughes they certainly have a highly talented fiddler player. Superbly played leading us into ‘Green And Red Paper Planes’ which, while keeping in line with the Irish theme of the EP, expands beyond the opening few lines taken from another well known second-generation Irish band and takes us on a surprising, though bloomin’ brilliant, direction taking in modern Pop with a song that I must have heard a 100 times but I’ve no idea who sings it. It’ll probably come to me 10 minutes after this review is published. These Bhoys got a knack for an unusual cover in a way that reminds me of their London counterparts The Bible Code Sundays. ‘Jiggin’ Up To Boston’ is another fiddle led trad Irish tune until the half way point and BANG in comes the banjo and mandolin and we get the full Dropkicks style Folk version. This is followed by the Eric Bogle penned ‘My Youngest Son Came Home Today’. Eric is perhaps most famous for writing the well known anti-war ballads ‘The Green Fields Of France’ and ‘And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda’ two absolutely stunning songs covered by The Pogues and the Dropkicks, among others, in their time. Here the theme is visited again except in a more modern setting in a tale of a young man killed during the war in the north of Ireland.

“My youngest son came home today
His friends marched with him all the way
The pipe and drum beat out the time
While in his box of polished pine
Like dead meat on a butcher’s tray
My youngest son came home today
And this time he’s home to stay”

Penniless Tenants play it slow and respectful and Billy Hughes voice portrays exactly the right amount of emotion this great song needs. The EP comes to an end with the Country/ Bluegrass influenced ‘Trouble In Yer Mind’. Fast and furious Banjo plucking and fiddling and more foot stampin’ to see the EP out the door.

Penniless Tenants: Benjamin Boo – Fiddle * Billy Skank – Laud and Vocals * Dr Rosa – Flute and Whistle * Jay G – Tenor Banjo * JDillon – Bass * Paulie O’Riley O’Hanrahan – Banjolele * Tom Jones (not that one) – Bodhran * REGFX – art *  (actual lineup may vary)

Lockdown Sessions was released on November 10th and was recorded live at the Liverpool Irish Centre (suitably social distanced of course!) a and mastered by Jeff Jepson. It’s available on Bandcamp and can be got as a ‘Name Your Price’ download meaning you can pay anything from a fiver to the cost of a couple of cans to sod all if you would like but with the way things are it would be nice to throw a few coppers their way. The music here is totally acoustic but just going from what I heard here I reckon they can tear it up when required too so lets not forget The Pogues were once called “the loudest acoustic band on the planet”. They have a new EP, A Penniless Christmas, out very soon in time for Christmas and they promise “festival mashups and winter warmers”.

(Stream or download Lockdown Sessions on the Bandcamp player below)

Download Lockdown Sessions  FromTheBand

Contact Penniless Tenants  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

FREE DOWNLOAD OF JOE STRUMMER’S LAST CONCERT

Viva Joe Strummer!

A *Free Download* of the last ever concert performed by Joe Strummer before his sad death on this day in 2002.

I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard of Joe Strummer’s untimely death. It was Sunday 22nd December 2002 and myself and a mate had spent the whole night listening to Punk records and boozing and carousing at the home of a close friend. In the morning when we were saying goodbye at the door I thought I heard the radio say that Joe Strummer had died. “Bloody hell” (I exclaimed or something stronger) “I think the radio just said Joe Strummer had died”. We all instantly dismissed it as not possible and probably a result of my delirium tremens and all went on our separate ways. It was later that day recovering from an insane hangover the news was confirmed when I saw the news.

Joe died at home in Broomfield, Somerset suddenly due to an undiagnosed congenital heart defect, He had collapsed after returning from walking his dog and he could not be revived. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and a stepdaughter. Now almost twenty years after his death it’s fair to say his legacy still lives on through his music and the Joe Strummer Foundation charitable trust which continues to do good works in his name.