CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A WITH DROPKICK MURPHYS MATT KELLY

Hows this then? With the release of the new Dropkick Murphys album ‘This Machine Still Kills Fascists’ due in a few days Matt Kelly has kindly taken the time to take part in our regular feature – The Celtic-Punk Q And A. Turns out he had ‘Rainy Night In Soho’ as his first dance at his wedding too and we have the same favourite Pope but he’s also sadly West Ham! 
So with out further ado…

Name / Nickname : *** Matt, MK, Kelz, Kel, Mutt, Magic, etc.

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 47

Status : happily married

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Leominster, Massachusetts. American.

Where do you live : New Hampshire

Occupation : Musician

First job : worked for the family business that did vinyl tops, pin striping, and auto care stuff.

A job you would have loved to do : Philologist

What / Who makes you laugh : Regional comedies, gurning contests, atheists

Favourite movie star : Patrick McGoohan

Favourite film / TV show : Only Fools and Horses

Favourite band/s : Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Stiff Little Fingers, the Who, Agnostic Front, Judge, the Chieftains, Straw Dogs, Bull the Buffalos, Strong Style

Favourite Celtic-Punk band : The Pogues

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : Blood Or Whiskey.

First and last record you bought : Led Zeppelin II in 1980; more recently(two weeks ago), I found a nice clean copy of Iron Virgin’s “Rebels Rule” single.

How many instruments can you play : Play well? One. I also play bass guitar, bodhrán, and murder the guitar once in a while.

How many bands have you been in : Ten. Late ‘80s/early ‘90s: GSP, Common Sense, Dive, Pressure Point, Mid-‘90s: Bound, Hatchetface, Grade H, Fit For Abuse, Late ‘90s: Get High, Dropkick Murphys.

Favourite venue / gig attended : W.A.S.T.E.D. festival in Blackpool at something-Gardens in 2006. Filled in on drums for East End Badoes. Saw most of the top UK Punk and Oi! bands all in one weekend and my liver fell out. Hell of a time!

Favourite venue / gig played : Dropkick Murphys at Voorst National outside of Brussels in 2019. Absolute magic.

Describe yourself in 5 words : Annoying, flippant, serious, quiet, foolish.

Most embarrassing moment : Most nights when I drop a drumstick in the most obvious of spots.

Favourite song and why : That is tough. It can vary. Sometimes it’s “A Rainy Night in Soho”, which was my and my wife’s first dance at our wedding reception; sometimes it’s “Nothing” by Negative Approach; sometimes it’s “Heaven and Hell” by the Who; sometimes it’s “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles; sometimes it’s “Because You’re Young” by Cock Sparrer; sometimes it’s “Warrior’s Law” by Bull the Buffalos; sometimes it’s “Moanin’” by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers…. Dunno, extremely difficult to answer.

Favourite album and why : AC/DC “Powerage”. It’s the pinnacle of perfect rock and roll.

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: when Dropkick Murphys recorded a cover of Angelic Upstarts’ “Never Again”.

Team/s supported as a kid : Boston Bruins, Boston Red Sox, New England Revolution, West Ham United

Favourite sportsperson : Patrice Bergeron

Favourite sport : Ice Hockey

All time hero : G.K. Chesterton

Favourite book : Tie between the poem Lepanto by G.K. Chesterton and The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Best friend : My Wife

Biggest influence on career : Probably my Dad. He’s a drummer and that influenced me to take up the sticks.

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : “Try out! What have you got to lose?”— Dave Pratt, upon telling me I should try out for the Dropkick Murphys.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Right where I live, in the mountains, with my family and our dog.

Your five dream dinner guests : My Grandfather Bill Kelly, my other Grandfather Bob Lucier, my Grandfather’s Bill’s Aunt Tessie, St. Pope John Paul II, and Hilaire Belloc.

Your favourite quote: “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it” —G.K. Chesterton

Anything to plug / promote : Dropkick Murphys have a new, acoustic, album coming out Sept 30, it’s a bunch of unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics put to music by the boys. it’s cheekily called “This Machine Still Kills Fascists”…. Guthrie’s guitar had a bumper sticker on it that read “This Machine Kills Fascists” on it, then he painted another guitar with the slogan. Please don’t kill ANYBODY, but check out the album!

Many thanks to Matt for doing this. Much appreciated!

Return in the next few days for a special feature on Woody Guthrie and then our review of the new album written by a special guest writer!!!

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : KEN BONSALL

It had to come didn’t it? It’s the end of our short series of Q Ans A’s with the members of English Celtic-Folk-Punk band Ferocious Dog. After today you should know all you need to hold any of them in a depth conversation!

It’s fitting that the last night should go to Ken the band’s frontman and founding member to bring down the curtain. They say don’t meet your heroes but Ken is, was and will be a pleasure to chat to. A humble man of many talents. 

Name / Nickname : Ken Bonsall (Red Ken)

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 54

Status : Acoustic guitar/Lead singer/co-founder/Band Merchandise Printing

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Born in Warsop Nottinghamshire, England

Where do you live : Warsop

Occupation : Musician/Foster Carer

First job : Coal Miner

A job you would have loved to do : Ski instructor

What / Who makes you laugh : Monty Python

Favourite movie star : Victor McLaglen in The Quiet Man

Favourite film / TV show : Schindlers List/Peaky Blinders

Favourite band/s :  The Pogues, Levellers, Rancid, The Dubliners, Flogging Molly, The Specials, Pennywise and Mcdermotts 2 Hours.

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Flogging Molly, The Pogues, McDermotts 2 Hours, The Real McKenzies, Drop Kick Murphy, Mr Irish Bastard, The Dreadnoughts.

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : The Lagan, Shanghai Treason.

First and last record you bought : Uprising Bob Marley

How many instruments can you play : Guitar, ukulele

How many bands have you been in : 1 Ferocious Dog

Favourite venue / gig attended : Neds Atomic Dustbin at Rock City Nottingham.

Favourite venue / gig attended : The Pogues, Rock City Nottingham

Favourite gig : When Ferocious Dog played Lowlands Festival in The Netherlands

Describe yourself in 5 words : A Socialist through and through

Most embarrassing moment : When I got my words wrong on my wedding day.. Doh!

Favourite song and why : Raglan Road sung by Luke Kelly, amazing voice and my inspiration as a singer of Folk music

Favourite album and why : Out Come the Wolves, Rancid. Amazing album, no fillers.

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: Singing The Glass, written about my late Son, Lee Bonsall.

Team/s supported as a kid : only one team for me, Mansfield Town

Favourite sportsperson : Bode Miller

Favourite sport : Football

All time hero : Dennis Skinner

Favourite book : The man who broke into Aushwitz

Best friend : My dog Jess

Biggest influence on career : Luke Kelly, Shane McGowan, Nick Burbridge (Mcdermotts 2 Hours) and Simon Friend (Levellers)

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : Always accept a helping hand in the music industry and swallow your pride.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Derbyshire Dales

Your five dream dinner guests? : Che Guavara, Lennin, Bob Marley, Lord Tony Benn Tim Armstrong(Rancid)

Your favourite quote : Half of them sat over their are crooks.. Dennis Skinner about the Tory party

Anything to plug / promote : Our album The Hope is still flying high in the Official U.K. Folk Charts at number 16 since we released it last October. Any sales/streams are very much appreciated. We’re also off on tour in Europe and U.K. with Flogging Molly soon so we hope to see some of you there. We have our own U.K. and European dates too so look out for those on our website

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

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.

Not long now to when Ferocious Dog share the stage with Flogging Molly so if you haven’t got a ticket then why the hell not ????

Read The Others  Dan Booth   Nick Wragg   Kyle Peters   Sam Wood   Luke Grainger

Who would you the readers like to see featured in the future????

Any questions you’d like to see added for future Q And A’s?

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : LUKE GRAINGER

Continuing our informal chats with the very pleasant fellas of Ferocious Dog. I may eventually turn these Q And A’s into a set of Top Trumps!

Fifth night and turn of the drummer Luke to have a go and impress us! No real revelations here ‘cept he likes funny cat vids and loves his old man. 

Name / Nickname : Luke Grainger

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 33

Status : Drums

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Born In Nottinghamshire

Where do you live : Kirkby-In-Ashfield

Occupation : Engineer-Laser Operator

First job : Head of logistics for JYSK. (The Danish IKEA)

A job you would have loved to do : Rally Driver

What / Who makes you laugh : youtube Cat videos

Favourite movie star : Cristoph Waltz

Favourite film / TV show : Original Total Recall

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Flogging Molly

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : Shanghai Treason

First and last record you bought : Beastie Boys Anthology, Santana Abraxas

How many instruments can you play : Drums, Electric bass, Double Bass

How many bands have you been in : Not sure, at least 20 I think.

Favourite venue / gig attended : Ace Cafe London

Favourite gig : headlining Rock City

Describe yourself in 5 words : Useless, Selfless, Emotionless, Boring, Tired

Most embarrassing moment : The amount of sticks I break or drop on stage is pretty embarrassing

Favourite song and why : Hard for me to chose one favourite

Favourite sportsperson : Rodney Mullen

Favourite sport : Skateboarding

All time hero : Fred Dibnah

Biggest influence on career : My Dad

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Sweden

Your five dream dinner guests : Ronald Mcdonald, Colonel Sanders, Chester Cheeto, Mr Whippy, Tony The Tiger. At least you wouldn’t have to cook.

Your favourite quote : I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy

Anything to plug / promote : FEROCIOUS DOG 😀

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

Read The Others  Dan Booth   Nick Wragg   Kyle Peters   Sam Wood

Who would you the readers like to see featured in the future????

Any questions you’d like to see added for future Q And A’s?

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : SAM WOOD

A week of getting to know the Folk-Punk folks from Ferocious Dog continues…

It’s the turn of the man responsible for many talentless shysters walking around now. Sam Wood who got all his fair share of musical talent and all ours too!

Name / Nickname : Sam Wood

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 34

Status : Multi instrumentalist

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : As far as I’m aware, various parts of the British isles

Where do you live : Nottingham

Occupation : Musician

First job : On a farm

A job you would have loved to do : Tree surgeon. Driving a big tractor of some kind

What / Who makes you laugh : Alan Partridge

Favourite movie star : Steve Coogan

Favourite film / TV show : Red Dwarf

Favourite band/s :  Primus, The Haunted, Children Of Bodom, Rhapsody Of Fire

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Rumjacks

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : Shanghai Treason are great

First and last record you bought : Smurfs Go Pop ’97 and Minatore’s demo

How many instruments can you play : Somewhere in the region of 15 -20… maybe more

How many bands have you been in : Many Rock / Metal bands. As well as Ferocious Dog I’m in a pirate metal band

Favourite venue / gig attended : Primus and the Chocolate Factory at Birmingham O2

Favourite gig : They’re all wonderful

Describe yourself in 5 words : Very very bad with words

Most embarrassing moment : I recently got locked in a small van on a hot summers day 10 minutes before I was due on stage. Was eventually rescued by a steward who heard my banging and cries for help

Favourite song and why : NSFW by psychosrick:D lots of swearing

Favourite album and why : Mew – and the glass handed kites. Very well crafted album

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: I once played special guest bouzouki on a Okilly Dokilly song live. They were a Ned Flanders themed Metal band

Team/s supported as a kid : Mansfield Town FC and Sheffield United

Favourite sportsperson : Paul Peschisolido

Favourite sport : UFC

All time hero : Alex Laiho

Favourite book : The Hobbit

Best friend : My girlfriend Mikala and my housemate Dave

Biggest influence on career : Daron Malakian

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : Don’t sit next to Ken on the bus

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Hobbiton, New Zealand

Your five dream dinner guests? : Bill Bailey, Dylan Moran, Steve Coogan, Rowan Atkinson and Ian McKellan

Your favourite quote : “People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing everyday!”

Anything to plug / promote : Our album The Hope is still flying high in the Official U.K. Folk Charts at number 16 since we released it last October. Any sales/streams are very much appreciated.

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

Read The Others  Dan Booth   Nick Wragg   Kyle Peters  

Who would you the readers like to see featured in the future????

Any questions you’d like to see added for future Q And A’s?

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : KYLE PETERS

Third in our short series of Q And A’s with the charming fellas from Ferocious Dog. Responsible for taking Celtic-Punk back in the UK album charts after 30 odd years be sure to check out latest album The Hope and see them near you on tour.

Having recently joined the band on guitar Kyle has got stuck straight in and here’s a few things about him that may come in handy for the DHSS!

Name / Nickname : Kyle

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 31

Status : Guitarist

Where do you live : Nottingham

First job : Granulating waste plastic

A job you would have loved to do : Anything but granulating plastic

Favourite band/s : The Clash, Green Day , Frank Carter

Favourite venue / gig attended : Has to be Rock City..  when I was a kid I got kicked in the head by the bassist from The God Awfuls as he was swinging from some scaffolding in the basement during a song called the kyle song !  

Favourite gig : Seeing Green Day on their American idiot tour at Nottingham arena

Describe yourself in 5 words : Charming, handsome, courageous, outstanding, modest

Favourite song and why : Scrapper Blackwell’s nobody knows you when your down and out . its just raw emotion and probably has the best chord progression ever

Favourite album and why : Green Day’s American Idiot, the entire album from start to finish is really enjoyable and seems to sums up the human condition perfectly

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: I enjoyed writing Pocket Of Madness, it’s was a first for me writing for the band so I looked forward to hearing how it was going to turn out.

Team/s supported as a kid : Newcastle, my dads side are Geordie

Favourite book : Waking Up by Sam Harris

Biggest influence on career : I still to this day think Green Day’s American Idiot is a masterpiece

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : We recently made a stop in Menorca, it cured my hangover pretty well so probably there .

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube
Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

READ THE OTHERS – Dan Booth   Nick Wragg

Who would you the readers like to see featured in the future????

Any questions you’d like to see added for future Q And A’s?

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : NICK WRAGG

We continue with our short series of Q Ans A’s with the members of English Celtic-Folk-Punk band Ferocious Dog. 

Today we are happy to be featuring Nick the relatively new bass player for the band and also front-man of the North of England’s finest purveyors of nautical nonsense and swashbuckling shenanigans, Iron SeaWolf. He is also a fan of the ‘king of Yorkshire’. All is revealed below…

Name / Nickname : Nick Wragg

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 27

Status : Bass Player

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Cumbria, UK

Where do you live : Nottingham

Occupation : Musician

First job : Forester

A job you would have loved to do : Tropical Ecologist

What / Who makes you laugh : Lord of the Rings memes

Favourite movie star : Sean Bean

Favourite film / TV show : Treasure Planet

Favourite band/s : Minor Threat, The Pretty Reckless, Gojira Wolfmother

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands :  Fiddlers Green, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly

First and last record you bought : Deep Purple Live in Japan, latest: Hymn of the High Seas -Antti Martikainen

How many instruments can you play : Guitar, bass, viola/violin, and piano

How many bands have you been in : Too many

Favourite venue / gig attended : Bloodstock Festival

Describe yourself in 5 words : A man of many hats

Favourite song and why : Thing We Believe In – Orden Ogan, makes me feel like I can do anything

Favourite album and why : Emerald Seas – Seven Seas, the music is so rich and well written to go with the concept story its like going to a whole theatre show

Favourite song you’ve been involved in : Three Sheets to the Wind – Iron SeaWolf

Favourite sportsperson : Callum Powell

Favourite sport : Parkour

Favourite book :  Wheel of Time

Best friend : Sam Wood

Biggest influence on career : Sam Wood

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : Start before you are ready

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? : Tuscany

Your five dream dinner guests? : Mollie King, Sam Wood, Jack Kosto, Benj Cave, Demi Bagby

Your favourite quote: There’s what is, and what ain’t, and there’s what you do about it

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube
Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

Who would you the readers like to see featured in the future????

READ THE OTHERS – Dan Booth

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : DAN BOOTH

Welcome to Part 1 of our special ‘Ferocious Dog Week’ of these Q and A’s with the guys from our favourite Celtic-Punk band – Ferocious Dog. It is based on the feature that use to appear in the football magazines of my youth (anyone remember Shoot! or Match Weekly?) where we got to know what car our favourite football player drove and of their undying love for the music of Billy Ocean!

Originally it was planned to just have whoever from the band got back to us first but with some recent changes to the line up i thought why not ask and see if they would each like to take part and being a band with a clear fan-based ethos they obliged. I’ve never known a band quite like them for having such a link to their fan base. One big family is how people often describe them and with a tour with Flogging Molly just around the corner taking in three countries that fan base is surely going to grow. So without further ado here is Part One and founder member of the band and Man United supporter, like meself, Dan Booth.

Name / Nickname : Dan Booth

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 42

Status : Violin player/co-founder/band manager

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Born in Nottinghamshire, England. Grandad was from Clydebank in Scotland

Where do you live : 4 miles south of Nottingham in a village called Ruddington

Occupation : Musician

First job : Stores Manager for an IT repair company

A job you would have loved to do : Footballer for Manchester United but unfortunately my body was never really designed for that job

What / Who makes you laugh : Great stand up comedy shows such as Live at the Apollo

Favourite movie star : Samuel L Jackson

Favourite film / TV show : Match of the Day, UFC & Pulp Fiction

Favourite band/s : Oasis, Arcade Fire, Levellers, The Wonder Stuff, James, Carter USM, NWA, Dr Dre

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Flogging Molly, The Pogues

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : Shanghai Treason

First and last record you bought : Tango in the Night by Fleetwood Mac and Yard Act

How many instruments can you play : Violin and guitar

How many bands have you been in : 2  Ferocious Dog & The Beetroot Kings

Favourite venue / gig attended : Idles at Rough Trade in Nottingham

Favourite gig : When we played Lowlands Festival in The Netherlands

Describe yourself in 5 words : A man of few words

Most embarrassing moment : When a may bug climbed my shirt during a show and I was bouncing round stage like an idiot  I think the whole crowd was laughing   Was funny

Favourite song and why : Laura by Flogging Molly  I just think it’s perfectly structured and so beautiful yet powerful

Favourite album and why : NWA – Straight Outta Compton  because not only is it well written but it tackles Police brutality on the black communities in America

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: Playjng What You Know with the Levellers on stage around 14 times when we toured with them    Jon asked me if I’d like to do a fiddle off on that song to end the shows   Was a lot of fun

Team/s supported as a kid : Mansfield Town FC and Manchester United

Favourite sportsperson : Paul Scholes & Valentina Schevchenko

Favourite sport : UFC & football

All time hero : Dr Dre

Favourite book :  Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Best friend : My fiancé Anna

Biggest influence on career : Jon Sevink and the Levellers

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : Never eat yellow snow

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Nottingham where I live now  it’s my favourite city in the world  If I was forced to pick another then maybe Barcelona   I loved spending time there, it’s a really chilled place

Your five dream dinner guests : Eric Cantona, Samuel L Jackson, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Isreal Adesanya

Your favourite quote: A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends

Anything to plug / promote : Our album The Hope is still flying high in the Official U.K. Folk Charts at number 16 since we released it last October. Any sales/streams are very much appreciated. We’re also off on tour in Europe and U.K. with Flogging Molly soon so we hope to see some of you there. We have our own U.K. and European dates too so look out for those on our website 

(Dan guesting with up and coming Sheffield band Shanghai Treason)

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube
Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A : PHIL FROM PADDYROCK PODCAST

As we celebrate the ninth birthday of our first post here’s our 9th and final special feature where we asked some of the overs and shakers of Celtic-Punk a few important questions like what was their first record they bought when they were 10!

The aim of this feature was initially to introduce some of the figures that I see contributing to the various Celtic-Punk media on the internet. I think I’ve done that but I also wanted to chat to the guys from the two main Celtic-Punk sites, John from Shite ‘n’ Onions and, today, Phil from Paddyrock.

Name / Nickname : Phil Duckworth / aka The Grinning Beggar

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 40 something

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Canadian

Occupation : IT / Digital Media Guy

First job : Catering at Boblo Island which was an Amusement Park

A job you would have loved to do : Producing and Editing music videos or owning a record company Anything to do with music.

What / Who makes you laugh : Kevin Smith I am a sucker for dick and fart jokes

Favourite movie star : Seth Rogan I guess. Don’t really pay much attention

Favourite film / TV show : MASH or Star Wars

Favourite band/s : Amigo The Devil, Evil Conduct, The Cult

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : The Pogues (of course)

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : They’ve been at it a while but Ogras has been kicking ass. Looking forward to the new album by Hoist The Colors too at the end of August.

First and last record you bought : First music was Super Trooper by ABBA on cassette but an actual album. The was Run DMC Tougher than Leather. The most recent was Rust: A Decade of Corrosion

How many instruments can you play : Not a one worth a damn but I like to tinker with my tenor banjo and I have an acoustic guitar I promised I was going to learn.

How many bands have you been in? : Zero !

Favourite gig / venue attended : Without a doubt the 2015 Get Shamrocked Festival was my favorite gig in general.

Describe yourself in 5 words : Dad, Music, Canada, Technical, Empathy

Most embarrassing moment : Too many to conclusively say. You just have to know me!

Favourite song and why : This changes daily and today I am loving The Press – It’s not what I want

Favourite album and why : Rum, Sodomy and the Lash – This album cemented my love of Celtic music before I even knew what it was! A perfect album front to back.

Team/s supported as a kid : As a kid I was not into sports, but I always loved pro wrestling thanks to my grandmother. With that being said my favorite would have been The Road Warriors

Favourite sportsperson : I don’t really have one.

Favourite sport : I am still a fan of pro wrestling and have been loving AEW

All time hero : Don’t necessarily have one, but I suppose the closest would be my father. He was always there when the shit hit the fan.

Favourite book : Hearts of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Best friend : Probably my buddy Mark or Roy. Though I’d really have to say both.

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : If you never try you have already failed.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : I would love to live in Australia or be back in Canada. I’d be happy if I could just be a rogue and go wherever the wind takes me, long as my kiddos were with me,

Your five dream dinner guests : Bob Marley, Joe Strummer, My Grandfather, My friend Dan (RIP) and Banksy

Your favourite quote : We are the government and we are here to help. I’ve always found humor an obvious lies.

Anything to plug / promote: Music.. if you love music check out my Podcasts at www.PaddyRock.com and www.RocksteadyTonight.com – both shows also stream live on www.BootBoyRadio.net

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A : JUSTIN FROM THE GO-SET

As we celebrate the ninth birthday of our first post our special feature continues. Based on the feature that use to appear in the football magazines of my youth it’s just a short series of questions about stuff’n’nonsense as me auld Nan would have said.

The second last of our short series and kind of apt to have Justin Keenan from Aussie Celtic-Punks The Go-Set as they were instrumental in the setting up of London Celtic Punks. After seeing how badly treated they were by a promoter in London a couple of us thought we can do this better and really look after them. A few years later we even put The Go-Set on in a sweat box in Brixton and they were truly amazing.

Name / Nickname : Justin Keenan – ‘Keeno’

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 40s

Status : Married

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Born in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia from Australian and Irish ancestry

Where do you live : Clifton Springs

Occupation : Teacher/musician

First job : Pulling beers at a dodgy pub

A job you would have loved to do : Have always wanted to be a sports reporter, or a travel writer

What / Who makes you laugh : Jim Jeffries and Doug Stanhope

Favourite movie star : Katheryn Winnick

Favourite film / TV show : At the moment I’m getting through Peaky Blinders, which I’m loving.

Favourite band/s : Lot’s of them. At the moment I’m digging The Menzingers, and I’ve circled back onto Alkaline Trio and the Lawrence Arms.

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Flogging Molly hands down for musicianship and dynamic.

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : Not really up and coming, but there seems to be a big movement of folk/punk type acts that are coming out of the US midwest at the moment. It’s an interesting and less traditional version of the folk punk blend

First and last record you bought : Just got the new Dave Hause

How many instruments can you play : Almost one.

How many bands have you been in : Only two full time.

Favourite venue attended : SO36 in Berlin

Favourite gig attended : When we played at Mighty Sounds in Czech a few years ago

Describe yourself in 5 words : Hmm….outdoors, curious, busy, family, laughter

Most embarrassing moment : Crowd surfing and getting dropped onto the bar, knocking over everyones beers and concussing myself

Favourite song and why : Jeez…. depends on the moment. Most beautiful song that I never grow tired of would be Fairytale of New York

Favourite album and why : Probably have to say Rancid ‘And out come the Wolves’ or The Pogues ‘If I should Fall from Grace with God’

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: We did a cover of Billy Bragg’s ‘Waiting for the Great Leap Forward’ as a fundraiser for a homeless mission. That was a fun project.

Team/s supported as a kid : Collingwood. Always and forever

Favourite sportsperson : Probably Shane Warne

Favourite sport : Cricket

All time hero : Ricky Ponting

Favourite book : Co. Aytch – memoirs of the American Civil War by Samuel Watkins

Best friend : I’m lucky to have a few.

Biggest influence on career : My family

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : Always move forward.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Australia is my home. I love Europe for short periods, particularly Germany, but I love my home.

Your five dream dinner guests : Jim Jeffries, Shane McGowan, Harry Shearer, Seth McFarlane, and GG Allin.

Your favourite quote: Hunter S Thompson’s quote about getting to the end of life like a beat up, worn out car, coming to screaching halt.

Anything to plug / promote : YES! The Go Set has a new album coming out in the early part of next year!

Here’s the live set from the sweaty basement of a Vegan restaurant in Brixton, south London. As filmed by Flat Cap Productions. The sound quality is not the best but you can feel the excitement of the night through the video. Is anyone out there able to help clean up the sound?

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A : RAY BALL, CELTIC-PUNK MUSICIAN AND LONDON CELTIC PUNKS WRITER

As we celebrate the ninth anniversary of our first post here’s #7 of nine special ‘interview’ type things. We wanted to have people who play a big part in the Celtic-Punk scene so here we go! 

Today we are pleased as punch to have Ray on board for our Q And A. Ray has been around a long time playing in Celtic-Punk bands as well as being the driving force (and only member!) of The Fighting 69th. He is now playing in Celtic band Ravenwalk and in his spare time is the North American correspondent for the London Celtic Punk site.

Name / Nickname : Ray/Raymond

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 31

Status : Engaged

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Buffalo NY. Irish, French, Polish, Scandinavian

Where do you live : Buffalo NY

Occupation : repair tech at a music store

First job : also repair tech at a music store

A job you would have loved to do : musician / producer

What / Who makes you laugh : British humour

Favourite movie star : don’t own a tv by choice

Favourite film / TV show : don’t own a tv by choice. But probably Casablanca

Favourite band/s : depends on the day. Social D is a mainstay

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands :  the perennial Flogging Molly or DKM but there are definitely hidden gems

First and last record you bought : First record-within a mile of home, Latest chili peppers new album

How many instruments can you play : play well? Only a few. But I will learn somewhat anything I can get my hands on

How many bands have you been in : 8? Ish. From pop to Celtic to new wave

Favourite venue / gig attended :  Dkm at town ballroom in Buffalo in 2004

Favourite venue / gig played : the 123 club in Morgantown wv

Describe yourself in 5 words : oh boy…eccentric?

Most embarrassing moment : where to begin…

Favourite song and why : So many favorite songs

Favourite album and why : Favorite albums are usually rockabilly

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: Battle wounds and bragging rights

Team/s supported as a kid : Boston Bruins

Favourite sport : Lacrosse or Hockey

All time hero : Fictional Atticus Finch

Favourite book :Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Best friend : several music friends over the years

Biggest influence on career : Ted Hutt hands down

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given :  everything Atticus finch says

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Probably Britain or Paris

Your five dream dinner guests? : John Locke, edmund Burke, Joe strummer, Ken Casey and John Adan’s.

Your favourite quote: Passionately curious-Einstein

Anything to plug / promote : Plugging Ravenswalk

Thanks Ray. Writer, artist and musician Ray is a credit to the American-Irish community and you can find a wealth of his material available at his Bandcamp site but please check out this overview of Ravenwalk we published in April.

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A: BEN FROM THE TAN AND SOBER GENTLEMEN

As we celebrate the ninth birthday of our first post our special feature continues. Based on the feature that use to appear in the football magazines of my youth it’s just a short series of questions about stuff’n’nonsense as me auld Nan would have said.

Great to have Ben from Hillbilly Irish band The Tan And Sober Gentlemen for today’s Q And A. The bhoys have a brand new album out that we reviewed just last week and we bloody loved it. A high energy combination of Irish, Celtic, Country and Rock’n’Roll that I’m not shy to tell you is among the contenders for album of the year!

Name / Nickname : Ben Noblit

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 30

Status : Single

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Chatham County, North Carolina/American/Irish, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, Icelandic.

Where do you live : Alamance County, North Carolina

Occupation : Musician

First job : Farm labor

A job you would have loved to do : Hunting guide

What / Who makes you laugh : Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Favourite movie star : Andy Griffith

Favourite film / TV show : Justified

Favourite band/s : The Freight Hoppers, Gid Tanner & the Skillet Lickers, Tyler Childers, Waylon Jennings, Alison Krauss & Union Station

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Tossers, Pogues, Cutthroat Shamrock

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : 1916

First and last record you bought : Hank Williams’ Greatest Hits, Dylan Walshe’s All Manner of Ways

How many instruments can you play : 2

How many bands have you been in : too many

Favourite venue / gig attended : Scythian, Shakori Hills dance tent circa 2008

Favourite venue / gig played : Hacketts Bar, Schull, Ireland

Describe yourself in 5 words : Long-haired country boy

Most embarrassing moment : Split pants down the middle onstage

Favourite song and why : Pretty Saro-first song I learned to play

Favourite album and why : Alison Krauss & Union Station-Live. I listen to it most every morning while I make coffee.

Favourite song you’ve been involved in : All the Time, off of Tan and Sober’s “Regressive Folk Music.”

Team/s supported as a kid : Carolina Tar Heels

Favourite sportsperson : Dale Earnhardt

Favourite sport : Basketball, ice hockey

All time hero : George Noblit

Favourite book : Shelby Foote’s Civil War series

Best friend : My accordion player, Alan Best

Biggest influence on career : old-time fiddle player David Bass

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : The best judge of a man’s character is whether or not women feel safe around him.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Alamance County, North Carolina

Your five dream dinner guests : Dale Earnhardt, Shane MacGowan, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams

Your favourite quote : For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.-H.L. Mencken

Anything to plug / promote : New album by the Tan and Sober Gentlemen. “Regressive Folk Music” streaming now on all platforms

‘Cold Chicken Skin’ isn’t on the new album, Regressive Folk Music, but check it pout anyway and have a look at our review where you can find out about the history of the band and what the new album is like and hear some songs from it.

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A: MATTHIEU FROM KRAKIN’ KELLYS

As we celebrate the ninth birthday of our first post our special feature continues. Based on the feature that use to appear in the football magazines of my youth it’s just a short series of questions about stuff’n’nonsense as me auld Nan would have said.

Very happy to today have Matthieu from one of my own personal favourite Celtic-Punk bands Krakin’ Kellys from Belguim. They took the scene by storm in only 2017 and already have a fair few London Celtic Punk awards behind them. Matt is a regular contributor on Celtic-Punk social media and is the brains behind the bands fantastic videos.

Name / Nickname : Matthieu Hendrick (Mat)

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 37

Status : Married

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Namur, Belgium

Where do you live : Thynes (Belgium)

Occupation : Manager of a music school (www.rockscool.be) Graphic designer

First job : Freelance Graphic designer

A job you would have loved to do : luthier

What / Who makes you laugh : Sheldon Cooper

Favourite movie star : Kyle MacLachlan

Favourite film / TV show : Twin Peaks

Favourite band/s : Tool, Rancid, The Mars Volta

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Dropkick Murphys, Flatfoot 56

First and last record you bought : Tool – Aenima (first), The SemiTones – Mr nice guy (last)

How many instruments can you play : 7

How many bands have you been in : 4

Favourite venue / gig played : Dour Festival (Belgium)

Favourite venue / gig attended : Hellfest, Grasspop

Favourite gig : Antemasque

Describe yourself in 5 words : creative, tall, perfectionist, curious, complicated.

Favourite song and why : Antemasque – Providence This is the song that was the basis of the creation of my old band “Niitch” (with Oli and Steph of Krakin’ Kellys)

Favourite album and why : Rancid (…And out come the wolves) I listened to this album over and over in college when I skated.

Favourite song you’ve been involved in : Sycamore Trees (Niitch)

Team/s supported as a kid : Chicago Bulls

Favourite sportsperson : Michael Jordan

Favourite sport : Basketball

All time hero : The Goonies

Favourite book : The secret diary of Laura Palmer

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : Try !

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : Scotland or Canada

Your five dream dinner guests : Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jordan, Dale Cooper, Catherine Winnick and Ennio Morricone.

Your favourite quote : “every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it; don’t wait for it; just let it happen. It could be a new shirt in a men’s store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black, coffee.”

Anything to plug / promote : Check out the new Krakin’ Kellys’ EP “Old ways, new day” in July !

‘Promised Land’ was the song that introduced the world to the Krakin’ Kellys and I’ve been in lurve ever since but here’s a video that Matt put out just a couple of weeks ago but was too shy to mention!

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A: ATLE FROM GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS

As we celebrate the ninth birthday of our first post our special feature continues. Based on the feature that use to appear in the football magazines of my youth it’s just a short series of questions about stuff’n’nonsense as me auld Nan would have said.

Today we welcome Atle to our select club. Guitarist from Norwegian Celtic-Punk band Greenland Whalefishers. The word legendary gets thrown around a lot but these guys are the real deal. Older than both the Murphys and the Mollys they took what the Pogues legacy and gave it a proper good shake.

Name / Nickname : Atle-Hjørn Øien

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 43 years

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Norwegian

Occupation : Currently Station Manager for a car rental company at Bergen Airport for the 10th year.

First job : factory, working on assembling windows

A job you would have loved to do : Actually starting a new job this autumn as leader of a community center, and really looking forward to that.

What / Who makes you laugh : Jimmy Carr and Jack Dee

Favourite movie star : Robert De Niro

Favourite film / TV show : The Godfather movies and 8 out of 10 cats does Countdown .

Favourite band/s : The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, David Bowie, Kiss, The Gaslight Anthem, Madness, Rancid.

Favourite Celtic-Punk band : The Pogues

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : Ogras from Norway. Released their second album in 2020 called No Love in the City. Great band!

First and last record you bought : I believe the first was KISS the Ace Frehley solo album and the last was a reissue of The Gaslight Anthems´ 59 Sound.

How many instruments can you play : drums, guitar, bass, and a touch of the piano.

How many bands have you been in : Hard to remember all projects, especially those way back in the early years. These are the 6 I can remember at the time being: Storebrors Danseband (swing and dancehall entertainment music), Car Crash (Rock and Punk), pSyndromatik (goth electronic punk-pop), The Foggy Few ( celtic pop-rock), Plasterwork ( 70s sound inspired by the E-street band) and Greenland Whalefishers .

Favourite venue played : It has to be ” Chemie Fabrik ” in Dresden Germany. A former factory, concrete buliding with terrible accoustics, but the crowd was insane and the venue was littearly steaming! The humidity was so high that the walls were wet with condense. Also a crazy guy were running around blowing flames with a torch. Also a big blast when we play an outdoor gig in Las Vegas on St. Patrick’s Day. And always great playing in London hooking up with the London Celtic Punks-team!

Most embarrassing moment : When we went to the USA and our gear was delayed being left behind in Frankfurt, so we had to go and buy the bare necessities. I bought a cheap badly litt tuner. So when I tuned the bass I accidentally tuned it one half note too high. So when we hit the stage in Hollywood, I went out high and flying sounding like total shit the first song through.

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: That´s hard to say as there are so many and they all have been a favourite at the time they were made.

Favourite song and why : Impossible to say as I guess that changes every week I think. At the moment I’m heavily into Madness and also The Specials which I saw live in Bergen a few weeks ago. Really love the 2tone bands from UK in the late 70s.

Favourite album and why : Two albums that I revisit on a regular basis are Revolver by The Beatles and the self titled first album by Rage Against The Machine. Revolver has a kind of pop-rock feel to it that never bores me. Rage Against The Machine is a very unproduced album, just plain and loud in your face, both albums never goes out of style and are very interesting in their own way.

Biggest influence on career : Brian Jones

Your five dream dinner guests : David Bowie, Shane MacGowan, Ace Frehley, Brian Jones and Patti Smith

Anything to plug : Support your local live venue!

A documentary about the iconic irish punk album Loboville by Greenland Whalefishers. 2001’s album Loboville opened the world for Greenland Whalefishers. By 2021 the band has toured 13 countries on 3 continents, released 10 studio albums, one live album, an uncountable amount of split releases with other bands, a documentary movie, a live in concert movie, an Ireland tour movie, a live corona-concert movie and several music videos. http://www.greenlandwhalefishers.com

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A : JOSH FROM FLATFOOT 56

Welcome to a new special feature that we will be running for the next few days to celebrate the ninth birthday of our first post. Based on the feature that use to appear in the football magazines of my youth it’s just a short series of questions about stuff’n’nonsense as me auld Nan would have said.

Ten years of the London Celtic Punks site. It’s flown by and life has changed an awful lot. Next month it will be thirteen years since me and my lovely wife went on our first date to watch Flatfoot 56 at the Hope And Anchor and so I’m delighted that today’s Q And A is with Josh, Flatfoot 56’s piper that day and now again on a full time basis.

Name / Nickname : Josh

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 37

Status : Married

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Born in the Chicago area, my ancestry is the Robertson Clan from Scotland, specifically the Elgin area is what I’ve been told. Although my mom’s side is also a combination of Dutch, English, Norwegian, and a tiny bit of French.

Where do you live : The Chicago area

Occupation : Product Support Rep for a company that makes equipment for testing and troubleshooting the railroad signal system (had no idea this was even a thing until I started there).

First job : Unofficially, I was a laborer for my Uncle’s bricklaying business. My first on the books job, besides working in Flatfoot 56, was in the Prepared Foods department at Whole Foods Market.

A job you would have loved to do : I suppose I would have and still would love to do a remote job that would allow me to work wherever I wanted during the day (including in the van on the way to a show), and then I can rock and roll at night. That would be the dream.

What / Who makes you laugh : Leslie Nielsen in pretty much anything. Also my wife, she can be hilarious.

Favourite movie star : I’ll go with Leslie Nielsen.

Favourite film / TV show : Mystery Science Theater movies, and The Simpsons, Futurama, the Office (fan of both British and US!), Arrested Development, and more.

Favourite band/s : The Pogues, the Adicts, the Ramones, Blaster the Rocketman, the Beach Boys, and more.

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : The Real McKenzies, Flogging Molly, and the Tossers

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : They’ve been around for a long time, but the Killigans from Lincoln, Nebraska are so good. We did play with a Celtic punk band from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania called Hold Fast who were great, too.

First and last record you bought : My very first record was Weird Al’s “Dare to be Stupid”, and I still love it. My most recent record is from a local Chicago punk band called Squared Off, the album is “Glory Days”. It’s good!

How many instruments can you play :  Bagpipes, Guitar, Mandolin, Ukulele, Piano, those are the main 5 instruments. But I’ve dabbled and a bunch of others ha.

How many bands have you been in : I’ve been a member of 4 bands, counting the bagpipe band where I learned the pipes. But I’ve played as a guest in a whole bunch of random bands over the years.

Favourite venue / gig attended : My favorite venue was the old Bottom Lounge in Chicago. My favorite gig I’ve attended was the “Parting Glass with Shane MacGowan” Pogues show in 2011 at the Congress Theater in Chicago….soooo good!

Favourite venue / gig played : This is a very hard question. But Cornerstone Music Festival gigs were amazing and crazy, we had so much fun. And for favorite venues played, I was very fond of playing at this great place in Grand Rapids, Michigan called the Skeletones, a lot of fun memories there.

Describe yourself in 5 words : Positive, humorous, authentic, creative, loving….those words come to mind and I would like to think they describe me, and hope that’s generally some of the ways people would see me.

Most embarrassing moment : I think I have plenty, but one that comes to mind is the time when Flatfoot 56 was playing a show in Colorado, and I tried a slice of pizza which had “artichoke” as a topping. I had never had that on pizza before, so I figured, ”What the hey?” Well, an hour later, when we were playing, I really had to use the toilet. I also was wearing my kilt, so I really really didn’t want to risk wasting any time. As soon as the song ended, I interrupted the band’s set and told Tobin to play the cover of Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, because I knew they could do that without me. I ran to the bathroom, praying the toilet was available. It was, but it was still extremely embarrassing, hearing my band cover twisted sister while I had an emergency toilet break. I am grateful though, cause we all know that it could have been WAY more embarrassing. I’m staying far away from artichokes as a pizza topping too!

Favourite song and why : This question is too hard ha. I think I have over 100 favorites.

Favourite album and why : Also too hard!

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: I really like the song Brotherhood that Flatfoot 56 has. The bagpipe tune played is a traditional tune, “Mason’s Apron”, and that’s one of my favorite pipe tunes. And the lyrics and comradery in the song Brotherhood, and the way the crowd is energized and has so much fun, that’s definitely one of my all time favorites.

Team/s supported as a kid : Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks, and I’ll get attacked for this, but as a kid, I also wanted the Chicago Cubs to win lol. I didn’t want a team from a rival city coming in and beating Chicago, it just didn’t make sense to me ha. The rule is, you can either like the White Sox OR the Cubs, but not both. And frankly, I still don’t care about that rule all that much and I definitely get flack for it ha.

Favourite sportsperson : Walter Payton, running back for the ’85 Chicago Bears, loved him as a person and as a player.

Favourite sport : Growing up it was definitely basketball, and now I like playing basketball, but I like watching American Football a little more (too bad the Bears are so terrible though!)

All time hero : This is a hard question! I recently learned more about Abraham Lincoln, and how he had such an amazingly terrible journey and failed so many times during his life, had a very rough go of it. I know historic figures are far far far from perfect, but it’s an amazing story and inspiring. And mentioning Lincoln, I now feel mentioning Frederick Douglass is mandatory as well, who is a legendary absolute hero, who everyone should learn more about. If I think about it, several more will pop up, so I’ll end there.

Favourite book : I love the Out of the Silent Planet series by C.S. Lewis.

Best friend : My wife, it’s cheesy but it’s also the facts ha

Biggest influence on career : Learning the bagpipes influenced my career the most!

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : Best advice…this is a tough one to answer. There’s a really good book that comes to mind called “Boundaries: When to say yes, how to say no”, and there’s some principles in that book that are so great and so applicable in any and every relationship, it’s really good. I think if more people read it, they would be able to save themselves a lot of grief and pain, and could have a more healthy and functional and fun life.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Honestly, I’m really happy living in the Chicago area, but I would love to go visit everywhere. One of my goals is to be able to step on all 7 continents, even Antarctica. There’s expensive cruises there, so while it’s insanely pricey, it is attainable ha. I’d love to go play a show at one of the Antarctic bases, too!

Your five dream dinner guests? : Wow, another hard question. It would be an eclectic group of people. After some thinking, I would choose: Leslie Nielsen, C.S. Lewis, Walter Payton, Robert Burns, and last but not least, Mitch Hedberg….and I would want them all to give speeches or just go say whatever they want lol.

Your favourite quote: I’m not good with having favorites apparently. But this is one we have hanging in our house that I like a lot: 
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us.” Written by J.R.R. Tolkien

Anything to plug / promote : My wife and I are in a little folk band together called “The Uh Ohs” and we’re attempting to get our youtube channel to 1,000 subscribers. If anyone can subscribe to the channel, that’d be much appreciated! We do some celtic covers, too. We also have some quirky sketches and other songs. Here is a link: The Uh Ohs – YouTube

Many thanks Josh. Here’s the latest video from The Uh-Ohs.

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A : FRANKIE McLAUGHLIN

Welcome to a new special feature that we will be running for the next few days to celebrate the ninth birthday of our first post. Based on the feature that use to appear in the football magazines of my youth it’s just a short series of questions about stuff’n’nonsense as me auld Nan would have said.

Our second Q And A is with the unsinkable Frankie McLaughlin. A sharp witted, personable, lovable rogue of a fella it’s not stretching the imagination to say that the London Celtic Punks bhoys have a LOT of love for this fella. What he has given the Celtic-Punk scene is immeasurable and we can think of no better way to say this other than Gangs Of New Holland was placed #1 in our Top 20 Best Ever Celtic-Punk Albums Of All Time.

Name / Nickname : Frankie McLaughlin

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 50-ish and a bit

Status : Married

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Glasgow, Scotland / Scottish / Irish twice over

Occupation : Self Employed

First job : Freight handler & factory labourer

A job you would have loved to do : Joiner or Vintner.. or Ferry Captain

What / Who makes you laugh : Cheeky old folk with no f**ks left to give

Favourite movie star : John Turturro

Favourite film / TV show : The Road Dance / Still Game

Favourite band/s : Old Blind Dogs, The Stooges, The Pogues, The East Pointers, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Pogues

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : Brave the Sea, from Ohio

First and last record you bought : Adam & The Ants – Kings of the Wild Frontier.. Iggy Pop – A Million In Prizes – The Anthology

How many instruments can you play : Guitar, Whistles, Smallpipes, Bodhran & Accordion,.. all to varying degrees

How many bands have you been in : 4.. I think

Favourite venue / gig attended : Some dear friends & I went to see Andy Irvine play in what used to be our old house, which had since been converted to an arts & entertainment venue. The set from Andy was just amazing, and the whole thing particularly memorable for us

Describe yourself in 5 words : ‘Wot’s this button ‘ere for?’

Most embarrassing moment : Finding out what that button there was for

Favourite song and why : Lately its ‘Twa Brothers’ by Yorkston/Thorne/Khan. A traditional ballad accompanied only by a second vocal by Suhail Yusuf Khan singing ‘Bol’ – a type of rythmic vocal from India that mimics the sound of the Tabla. The way the two vocal traditions smash together on that is just mind blowing and lends enormous drama to the tale,.. Its just so refreshing

Favourite song you’ve been involved in: ‘Kathleen’ for me is a favourite to recall, as I got to release a song for ma wee mum, but also ‘Eight Beers McGee’.. it didnt really take flight that one, but the immense back story, how it found its way to me and the intense process of writing it was of enormous personal significance to me at the time

Team/s supported as a kid : Glasgow Celtic

Favourite sportsperson : Henrik Larsson

Favourite sport : Fitba’

All time hero : Ken Carter – Canadian Daredevil

Favourite book : Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West – Cormac McCarthy

Best friend : The Wife.. by far

Biggest influence on career : The everyday people I’ve met in life, briefly or otherwise, friends, foes or family, without whom there’d be no stories worth singin’

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : ‘Always judge a person by their own merits, and ONLY ever with your own eyes and ears.’ – Bill McLaughlin, Grandfather

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? On a Canal Boat

Your five dream dinner guests? : Frances Farmer, Iggy Pop, Sheila Stewart, John Cooper Clark and Jeong Kwan.. If they’ll all fit on the canal boat, otherwise just Iggy & Jeong Kwan

Your favourite quote: My all time fave is a poem, by James Graham, Marquis of Montrose –

Let them bestow on every airth a limb,

Then open all my veins, that I may swim

To thee, my Maker, in that crimson lake,

Then place my par boiled head upon a stake;

Scatter my ashes, strow them in the air.

Lord, since thou knowest where all these atoms are,

I’m hopeful thou’lt recover once my dust,

And confident thou’lt raise me with the just.

Anything to plug / promote : I’ve a new project ‘Liptons Orphan’, with the first couple of singles / videos rolling out just now on the usual platforms & channels.

The (very) recent new single from Frankie and his new project Lipton’s Orphans. There’s a lot more to come. Thank God!

CELTIC-PUNK Q AND A : JOHN MURPHY FROM SHITE ‘n’ ONIONS

Welcome to a new special feature that we will be running for the next nine days to celebrate the ninth birthday of our first post. It is based on the feature that use to appear in the football magazines of my youth (anyone remember Shoot! or Match Weekly?) where we got to know what car our favourite football player drove and of their undying love for the music of Billy Ocean. Here, as is our way, we will be bringing some of the unsung heroes of Celtic-Punk to the fore alongside some of the more famous members of the bands that we all love, though not always necessarily always the vocalist!!

We kick off with John Murphy. John has been running the first and best Celtic-Punk web-site since 2001 would you believe. Named after a song by Neck the site has been a invaluable source of information for people interested in Celtic-Punk for over two decades now. Still going strong I decided whoever of the nine chosen replied first would publish first so thanks to John for replying promptly and giving such interesting answers.

Name / Nickname : John Murphy

Age (Estimate allowed!) : Recently turned the wrong side of 50

Status : Married with kids

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Dublin (Rotunda Hospital –  birthplace of Christy Browne, Bono and most importantly Finny McConnell) / Irish / DNA says 95% Irish with the rest Scottish (2%) and English (3%) – I disagree 😀 

Where do you live : outside Boston been here 25 years. Originally from Dublin but lived in Glasgow as a kid

Chris Farley

St. Francis of Assisi

James Michael Curley

Occupation : confidential cos it’s not a cool job and my street cred would be lost (if I had any to lose)

First job : porter in a bank one summer

A job you would have loved to do : work in a record store

What / Who makes you laugh : Chris Farley

Favourite film / TV show : The Long Good Friday – a fantastic but overlooked London / Irish gangster movie

Favourite band/s : Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher, The Undertones, SLF, Horslips, Radiators From Space

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Neck, The Tossers, The Mahones, The Peelers……so many

Up and coming Celtic-Punk band to watch : The Dead Rabbits or The Gobshites (if I join)

First and last record you bought : Madness – ‘Our House’ 7″ in 1982 from John Menzies in East Kilbride, Scotland. Yesterday I bought The Best Of Rory Gallagher double album from Newbury Comics

Shite ‘n’ Onions t-shirt available from https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095LH45PT/

How many instruments can you play : none – I tried to learn the bodhrán recently but failed

How many bands have you been in : none but there is an open offer for me to join the Gobshites

Favourite venue played / attended : none. As a punter, McGonagals in Dublin for the memories

Describe yourself in 5 words : the most handsome man alive

Most embarrassing moment : so many. One of the best human abilities is the ability to forget. Otherwise I would never leave the house.

Favourite song and why : that’s like asking who is my favorite child. So many. Right now anything by Townes Van Zandt. Dublin Blues by Guy Clarke. Highway Patrolman by Springsteen. Ft. Worth Blues by Steve Earle. My favorite Celtic-Punk songwriters are MacGowan, Dave Barton of The Peelers, Frankie McLaughlin and Nick Burbridge

Favourite album and why : iisffgwg – it’s perfect

Team/s supported as a kid : Glasgow Celtic

Favourite sportsperson : Pat Bonner the Glasgow Celtic and Ireland goalkeeper. I met him as a kid a few times and he was always a gentleman

Favourite sport : hurling

All time hero : St. Francis of Assisi

Favourite book : The Rascal King by Jack Beattie (a biography of James Michael Curley). The Year of the French by Thomas Flanagan. The Westies by TJ English

Best friend : my wife

Biggest influence on career : The Pogues

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given : shut the f### up

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be : anywhere that doesn’t have a winter like Boston

Your five dream dinner guests? : Luke Kelly, Phil Lynott, Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher and Keith Moon

Your favourite quote: teenage kicks so hard to beat

Anything to plug / promote: London Celtic-Punk!

(The Radiators From Space performing ‘Faithful Departed’ on Irish TV back in 1980)

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