NEW SINGLE: GERMAN BAND THE FEELGOOD McLOUDS RELEASE Back In Life

German Celtic-Punkers The Feelgood McLouds are back with a new single – Back In Life – means not just back in life but back on stage, in the clubs, in the backstage rooms and the cramped tour bus together dancing and partying. The world is sad enough so escape with The Feelgood McLouds into their wild Celtic-Punk world for a short while. 

After two successful albums and an EP, with thousands sold and millions of streams, after more than 150 concerts at home and abroad, the Feelgood McLouds are back on the road again. Mixing Irish Celtic traditional’s with raucous Punk-Rock sing-a-longs. Sometimes with a edge, sometimes with a good dose of humour, sometimes against thirst but always with a catchy tune. Since 2015, the six Saarlanders have been touring Germany and other European countries with the aim of placing messages in the often monotonous world of Irish Punk-Rock. Anyone can write about ́s singing, dancing and drinking but to connect this at the same time with the serious, the not-good, the bad, the hatred, war, oppression without being too pointy finger hectoring is what distinguishes The Feelgood McLouds from most bands in the scene. With imminent news due soon that will please fans remember their line:

“we don ́t care who you love – as long as you love someone from the bottom of your heart!”.

Producer and Editor: Christian Schneider https://www.instagram.com/uiuiui.prod/

Back in town again we wanna make you sing along 

Back on stage again come on help us sing this song 

The world is bad enough and tomorrow’s time to cry 

Tonight is the night there’s no need to wonder why 

 

Hey, Hey, Hey …sing along 

 

Ohhh, suffered for so long 

Time to leave behind and try to get along

Ohhh, too many tears were cried

Too many laments sung and too many last hoorays for far too many died 

 

Back in life again, all sorrows left behind 

Back in love with life to forget the daily grind 

The world is bad enough and tomorrow’s time to cry 

Tonight is the night there’s no need to wonder why 

 

Back, Back, Back, Back in life

Download Back in Life  https://bfan.link/back-in-life

Contact The Feelgood McLouds  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

NEW SINGLE: UKRAINIAN CELTIC-PUNKS O’HAMSTERS ‘September’56’

Not even full-scale Russian invasion can stop Celtic-Punk!. Check out the absolutely brilliant new Celtic-Punk release from O’Hamsters out of war torn Kyiv. 

O’Hamsters are back. Perhaps surprisingly considering that their country is the middle of a war having been invaded. Fresh from last years fantastic album From Green Hills to Raging Sea. An album that would feature in the London Celtic Punks Top 30 albums of 2022. Songs about Ireland, women, alcohol, football hooligans, pirates and genitalia, reflections on the war and the brotherhood and unity of the Celtic-Punk scene all play out on this great album. You can stream or download the album for just $7 with all money raised going to HMV.UA – the team of volunteers headed by the band’s friend Alex Sedov helping the army of Ukraine.

We chatted briefly to Anton from O’Hamsters (their is no ‘The’) who said the track grew out of a rehearsal jam and all it took was about fifteen minutes. At first, at first it wasn’t even considered worthy enough to be included on From Green Hills To Raging Sea but time is a great healer and now the guys reckon it’s one of the best songs they’ve ever written… and they are not wrong! The final part of the track is a stoner riff – quite atypical for O’Hamsters.

The plot of the song is based on a real incident that happened in a soviet forced labour camp in the 1950’s. Three prisoners escape from a prison located in the desert, they walk for miles and miles through the desert without food and water and then two of the fugitives turn on the third and decide to kill him with the aim to drink his blood. However, when they kill their accomplice, his blood immediately coagulates due to the heat, dehydration and hunger and so the murder turns out to be meaningless. In a real-life case that took place in what is now Kazakhstan, two fugitives who were experienced criminals stabbed a Ukrainian accomplice to death, even though he had promised them that they would find a water source very soon. The killers then reached the source just a few minutes later. In addition to frontman Anton’s voice you can also hear the vocals of the well-known Eugene Tymchyk from Ukrainian bands Septa and The Nietzsche. O’Hamsters were looking for someone to record this track for a very long time, and Eugene helped us a lot, and asked to send their gratitude to him via our pages.

O’Hamsters from left to right: Anton Skvortsov – Vocals / Acoustic Guitar * Ruslan Viter (down) – Guitars * Andriy Ganzevych (up) – Mandolin / Tin-Whistle * Volodymyr Mazur – Accordion * Denys Zhukowsky – Drums * Maksym Sokolov – Bass *

As for our plans – they’re kinda blurry right now because of russian invasion and war which tends to exterminate any plans at all; the only thing that helps musicians and bands to do anything in Ukraine is the bravery of out Armed Forces. We’re having a Saint Patrick’s Day gig in Kyiv in a couple of weeks, that’s all we know now.

We would also ask you to help Ukraine to defeat russian invasion and support Ukraine

https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate-en/

https://prytulafoundation.org/donation

https://linktr.ee/hmvua

Contact O’Hamsters  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube  Bandcamp

NEW SINGLE: BARDS FROM YESTERDAY – The Muddy Road To Axa Briga

The best Celtic-Punk bands in Italy are heavily influenced by Trad-Irish-Folk and Bards From Yesterday are one of the best around at the moment. With such an authentic sound Ireland’s homegrown bands are green with envy!

With the release of their debut EP (EP)Demia in 2021 Bards from Yesterday stormed onto the international Celtic music scene. Heading straight to the top of the Folk/Trad Best Of chart for 2021 London Celtic Punk have been waiting impatiently for the follow up ever since. The new single from the five young talented musicians from northern Italy who  make up the Italian Celtic-Rock band Bards From Yesterday is ‘The Muddy Road To Axa Briga’ and these guys just love Irish music!

Bards From Yesterday from right to left: Mattia Gavin – Guitar / Vocals * Geppo Mastria – Bass * Luis Vásquez Vargas – Wooden Flute * Giovanni Davoli – Uilleann Pipes / Tin Whistle * Glauco Guala – Drums / Concertina *

The track is a set composed of three tunes with the first jig ‘The Road To Axa Briga’, the second ‘Dancing In The Mud’ and the last jig called ‘Raindrops Jig’. All three of the tunes are composed by Giovanni Davoli and arranged by the band themselves. The inspiration for the set came from one of their gigs at Axa Briga Festival in Northern Italy. At that time one of the members was working for a TV show and had the chance to ‘borrow’ (ahem!) one of the production’s tour buses to get to the gig. When the band arrived everything was fine, they sound checked, helped themselves to a few drinks and some food and then got on stage to play. Three songs in and an almighty storm kicked off. Rather than spoil the night as you would imagine the gig actually got even better. The crowd and band ended up covered in mud as well as every single cable, microphone and instrument… and the bus! While the rest of the band had no option except to clean the instruments and then the bus Giovanni the piper just sat drunk on a bench playing some tunes for the ladies and waiting for the last raindrops to fall.

A truly wonderful piece of Irish music and the joyful sound is replicated throughout the video too as Bards From Yesterday can’t conceal their happiness while playing. The video was directed by Lorenzo Testa of the utterly brilliant, and well on their way to be legendary, Uncle Bard And The Dirty Bastards in the small village of Ameno in the Italian region of Piedmont, north east of Turin. Every year the village hosts a great festival of Celtic, Traditional and Folk music. The audio was recorded by Maurizio Cardullo (Folkstone) at Crono’s Studio in Milan and at Bonsai Studio in Brovello Carpugnino by Federico Gibelli. The guys have a full length studio album out later in the month titled Many Miles From Land. Ten mostly original tracks of marvellous, modern day traditional Irish Folk.

Contact Bards Of Yesterday  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

NEW SINGLE: CALLUM HOUSTON – OKTFTW (2023)

New single from Graveyard Johnnys guitarist Callum Houston.

Acoustic Alternative Folk Rock – Made in Bretagne – Inspired in Ireland.

Carrigaline, county Cork native Callum Houston can usually be found singing songwriting around his home near Lorient in Brittany in the local pubs and clubs. When he’s not doing that he plays guitar in Premier League Psychobilly band the Graveyard Johnnys. It’s been almost a couple of years since his last recordings came out, the fantastic ‘As I Roved Out One Morning’ but he has just released ‘OKTFTW’ the first single from a forthcoming new EP to be called Pub Poetry due out on the 3rd of March 2023.

The bell rings and you’re calling them in
One last before closing time
You’re wondering round with thoughts to drown
Words you cannot soundAnd it’s alright
Well it’s ok
To feel this wayShes in the kitchen and there’s clearing something missing
And she finally starts breaking down
The tears fall and the words are crawling
Out from her mindAnd it’s alright
Well it’s ok
To feel this way

And before it’s too late
We’ve gotta find some time to sit and evaluate
Well I hope that in this song
You might find something that

Let’s talk about life your struggles and your strife’s
Let’s talk about you
All the things you need all the things you grieve
And all that is true

And it’s alright
Well it’s ok
Wake up in the morning to a bright brand new day
We can turn ourselves around
Pick ourselves up off the ground

And it’s alright
Well it’s ok
Wake up in the morning to a bright brand new day
We can turn ourselves around pick ourselves up off the ground
And before it’s too late
We must find some time to sit and evaluate
Well I hope that in this song you might sometime to
Well I hope that in this song you might sometime to help you move on

OKTFTW was released just last Friday on February 3, 2023. It was recorded at Humbu Studio by Alban Bauduin and mastered by Sleeper Bill. OKTFTW is available for streaming and download via the Bandcamp player below. It only costs a pound so buy Callum a quarter of a pint.

Download As I Roved Out One Morning  Bandcamp

Contact Callum Houston  Facebook  YouTube  Spotify

NEW SINGLE: THE GO-SET – West Into The Sun

Twenty years down the line and The Go Set still sound as fierce, as vital, as the first day they set foot on a stage.

Big guitars, big beats and irresistible choruses, while retaining the timeless spirit of the band’s Celtic roots.

Here we go again I bet your saying. It’s an Australian Celtic-Punk band so any minute now he’s going to start banging on about how Aussie Celtic-Punk is the best in the world and how the Aussie bands envisage all the bold and noble values that make Celtic-Punk what it is. The Go-Set are as perfect an example of all that as any of them. 50% responsible (with Flatfoot 56 the other 50%) for the existence of London Celtic Punks they will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

The Geelong-based band has always squeezed out the sparks from the place where rock’n’roll collides with the spirit of Celtic Folk. Now they bring all those forces together in the studio for an release that celebrates those years together, their eighth album, The Warriors Beneath Us is an album with big guitars, big beats and irresistible choruses, while retaining the timeless spirit of the band’s Celtic roots.

Press gangs, Press gangs rolling on the rocks 

In the streets and alleyways, down onto the docks 

Dance upon the sails, howl unto the moon

And sleep when we are dead, for the days are coming soon 

▪️

Here we are, we sail under stars 

Here we go, waiting for tomorrow 

Roll on, Roll on, West into the Sun 

▪️

It’s a tale of a young man in 1851, 

Rolling on the high seas west into the sun, 

A soldier of the King full of whiskey beer and rum 

The battle flags are up and the red blood runs 

▪️

Cannonballs cannonballs, powder in the hole 

The fury and the fire, have come to take your soul 

Poor men fight, and poor men fall 

Vagabonds and thieves, answering the call

Going on the basis of ‘West Into The Sun’ the album is set to be an absolute monster hit. This is the first single off The Warriors Beneath Us and is set for release on St Patricks Day. The song is available to stream or download now and you can pre-order the album here

https://snd.click/TheWarriorsBeneathUs

Contact The Go-Set  WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube 

NEW SINGLE: TEMPLARS OF DOOM – Will Ye No Come Back Again

New York unashamedly Irish-American Celtic-Punk Irish band The Templars Of Doom just released a stunning new video and single taken from their recently released third album Rising Of The Doom.

Coming out of the aptly titled Ulster County in New York state come The Templars Of Doom. Paying homage to the UK82 style of English Punk-Rock bands while adding bagpipes, mandolin and tin whistle and the politics of The Wolfe Tones! Loud, brash and in-yer-face Celtic-PUNK but not without it’s tender moments though they are few and far between! Tales of Irish-American and Irish history the Templars Of Doom tell a fantastic story while also beating up the dance floor!

Templars Of Doom left to right: Rory Quinn – Guitar * Falco Sparvarious – Drums * Josie – Bagpipes / Whistles * Mike – Bass / Vocals * Marty Shane – Mandolin *

Well here the Templars cast their net across the sea and cover some little known Scottish history with a song that is well over 200 years old. Written by by Carolina Oliphant. Lady Nairne, and set to a traditional Scottish folk tune. We asked Mike the bands founder and vocalist for the meaning of the song and this is what he said 

“This Song is written about Bonnie Prince Charlie, Grandson of James II who was deposed for being Catholic. In 1534 Henry VIII, murderer of 2 of his 6 wives, founded the Church of England and later, in 1746, Bonnie Prince Charlie attempts to set things right and restore Scotland. ‘The Butcher’ Duke of Cumberland (Son of George II) defeated the Jacobite (Jacob is Latin for James, the Stewart supporters) at Culloden in 1746. The English tyrants used this as an excuse to exterminate the Scottish clan system, including the banning of wearing of tartan, and playing of bagpipes. My own ancestors, The Roses, were highlanders and fled / banished for Canada at that time, Landing in New Bruynswick, Canada, (Moncton). There you have it. I wouldn’t be here today, in New York without Bonnie Prince Charlie.”

Bonnie Charlie’s noo awa

Safely o’er the friendly main 

Mony a heart will break in twa 

Should he no come back again 

 🔹

(Chorus)

Will ye no come back again

Will ye no come back again

Better lo’ed ye canna be   

Will ye no come back again 

 🔹

Whene’er I hear the blackbird sing

Unto the evening sinking down 

Or merl that makes the woods to ring 

To me they hae no other sound 

🔹

Many’s the gallant soldier fought

Many’s the gallant chief did fall

Death itself was dearly bought

All for Scotland’s king and lord

🔹

Low the Blackbird’s note and lang

Lilting wildly up the glen

And aye to me he sings ae sang

Will ye no come back again

🔹

Ye trusted in your Hielan’ men

They trusted you dear Charlie

They kent your hiding in the glen

Death or exile braving

Cheers to Mike and the gang for the great music. Their are three others videos coming soon staggered over the following few months and you will find them here on the London Celtic Punks site. The band footage for the video was shot with two cameras and the battle footage shot from large French and Indian War battle re-enactments at Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Niagara in New York state. The two forts are at opposite ends of New York State, about 8 hour car drive apart. Fort Ticondetoga is on Lake Champlain (East) and Niagara is on Lake Ontario (West) near Buffalo. The footage was originally used in the production of Mike’s horror movie Kaastskill Kannibals , which is available to be viewed for free on Amazon Prime. The track is taken from their album Rising Of The Doom was released in November, 2022. Eleven mainly self penned numbers to inspire and entertain the serious Celtic-Punk rocker. The album is at the moment only available on download at the link below.

Contact the Templars Of Doom Facebook  YouTube  Spotify  Instagram

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.

*

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

NEW SINGLE: GRASS MUD HORSE ARE BACK WITH ‘Pissed It All Away’

Chris Barry from Grass Mud Horse has been a very busy man since we last heard from him. Starring in several movies (or at least appearing in several movies!) and then re-locating back to his adopted home in Canada. From one totalitarian state to another !! Well he has a new single out this week and here’s the story behind it.

Well it has been a while since we featured Grass Mud Horse and it’s great to see them back and back on top form too. ‘Pissed it All Away?’ is the first single since ‘Johnny Todd’ a collaboration with Frankie McLaughlin in June 2021 and while that may not seem long for most Celtic-Punk bands for Grass Mud Horse it’s an eternity! The song was the first that Chris wrote for the band and is based on a auld mate’s story about his Grandad back in Glasgow. We’ll let Chris take it from here

” The story went that by all accounts his Grandad was a great Goalie, but also a great drinker.  Celtic scouts had taken an interest and arranged to meet with him and his Mum and Dad after he finished work.  All he had to do was swerve the pub after work and go straight home.  Sadly his mates twisted his rubber arm and he went down the pub, and the opportunity to try out for Celtic went down the drain. He quite literally, pissed it all away.  

I realised, as I’d hit my 30s I had more and more mates with similar stories about their own opportunities that they’d pissed away, in one way or another. In actuality there’s was more than one opportunity that I’d pissed away myself.  So from all that I wrote the first Grass Mud horse song. “

He coulda been a keeper
For Celtic it was said
He coulda done so many things

But he was always off his head

He coulda been the president
Or an artist they would say
But hed rather drink than write or think
So he pissed it all away
☘
He had an eye for business

He was always in the know

When making new investments
He was the man to go
Well I heard he made a million

And I heard they made him pay

When he shot the lot on booze and pot
And pissed it all away
☘
Pissed it all away
He coulda done so many things
If from drinking he could stay
And its another night another fight
As they carry him away
Well they shake their heads put him to bed

Who pissed it all away

☘
He coulda been the champion
He coulda ruled the ring
He coulda won the belt
Yeah he woulda been a king
But he vowed to throw in the towel

If it ever got in the way

For his love of booze hed gladly lose
And piss it all away
☘
Pissed it all away
He coulda done so many things
If from drinking he could stay
And its another night another fight
As they carry him away
Well they shake their heads put him to bed

Who pissed it all away

☘
On karaoke night
Hed always steal the light
He could barely stand
But his voice was grand
In between him talking shite
An I assure you its no fluke

He was in an indie group

But he drank the advance on a tour of France
And pissed it all away

☘

He coulda been the champion
He coulda ruled the ring
He coulda won the belt
Yeah he woulda been a king
But he vowed to throw in the towel

If it ever got in the way

For his love of booze hed gladly lose
And piss it all away
☘
Pissed it all away
He coulda done so many things
If from drinking he could stay
And its another night another fight
As they carry him away
Well they shake their heads put him to bed

Who pissed it all away

*

What happened to the last two albums?

“China and Covid. The situation there became too much and one by one the original line up of Grass Mud Horse got out. For the first two years the borders where closed and we effectively couldn’t leave, then it opened a little but flights where incredibly expensive. So we where waiting to see if China eased up, or flights became more reasonable.

We’ve all left except Josh who is seeing out a contract and then I think he will leave too, so that should tell you which happened first. I still have family there and will maybe go back one day, so I won’t say too much more.

It became very stressful, months without work, sometimes on rations and I have a 4 year old so the stress and anxiety made finishing the albums the least of priorities.

Well me and my daughter are in Canada now, where my parents emigrated to years ago. My plan is to put together a new Grass Mud Horse line-up to play live and slowly get back to recording. This (Pissed it All Away) single was about ready to go, so I decided to get it out as sort of celebration that I’m free and able to get back to what I love doing. The other two albums will come in time”

So what else is in the future for you and Grass Mud Horse?

“Well I write and record all our original stuff myself, so Grass Mud Horse is just a matter of me finding people I gel with to perform the material together live. I’ve found a bass player and will keep looking for others.

At some point I will return to the Pirate songs and Sea Shanties album and I think Pieces of My Heart will eventually come out as a collection of the singles to date as well as a couple of unheard tracks.

Right now though, I’m looking forward to putting together a band, getting out there again live…that hasn’t been an option for a few years, so that will be enjoyable. And of course Pissed it All Away comes out on the 25th which is the first single since back in like spring 2021, when we did Johnny Todd with Frankie. So for me it’s an important one.”

SPOTIFY

Contact Mud Grass Hut  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

NEW SINGLE: LORETTA PROBLEM FROM FINLAND RELEASE ‘Green ‘n Gray’

It can’t be much joy being Finland’s only Celtic flavoured Punk Rock but Loretta Problem have been kicking and screaming since 1991 and are still going strong.

Loretta Problem may have been together for 31 years but its only in the last few that they have really come into their own with a handful of singles coming out including what I called a masterpiece back in 2019 and my views haven’t changed much since. It was without a doubt my favourite song of the year and one that I still play regularly. So here’s a band that can do the business and have a pedigree that makes them among the elders of the Celtic-Punk scene. Their sound has developed and changed over the years and only got better as they have gone along.

So the day after my birthday on the 11th the anti-war ‘Green ‘n Gray’ came out on Spotify (link below). The video for the single came out a few days later and we are delighted to bring it to you today. An absolutely amazing video accompanies the song that packs a solid punch reflecting the situation the world finds itself in and the emotions it brings out of us in the middle of it all. The song is backed with ‘So I Drink’ a cheeky swirling Irish ballad made by Finnish drinkers to fellow Irish drinkers. A three minutes that is the perfect B-side to Green ‘n Gray’.

Directed by: H. Viinamäki and E. Jussila * Cinematography / Editing: Esa Jussila

Early in the morn’ I heard the beating of the drum
The flags are waving, restless. The shield of night is gone.
We all trusted blindly in the bible and the gun
I knew we’d have to pay some day for all that we have done

Early in the morning the rain has just begun.
I’m standing in the front line waiting for the kingdom come
My feet are stuck in mud but my heart begs me to run
We should’ve never followed the beating of the drum

The beating of the drum
The beating of the drum
The beating of the drum

I will find my way
Through green and gray
I will find my way to you

Trough green and gray
I will find my way
I will find my way to you

Early in the morning, farewell my dear, goodbye
By the train I kissed away a teardrop from your eye
I’m lying on the battlefield until the kingdom come
The tattoo never ends the pipes will always hum

The beating of the drum
The beating of the drum
The beating of the drum

Download Green ‘n Gray  Apple  Spotify

Contact Loretta Problem  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

NEW SINGLE: FOGGY DUDE RELEASE ‘Black Rain’

Czech Republicans release a brand new rebel song about convicts on their way to Van Diemen’s land revolting against the guards, stealing their ship and becoming pirates.

Prague based Foggy Dude are churning out the music at the moment and it is all of unbelievably high quality. One of my favourite bands they continue with new single ‘Black Rain’, a self penned rebel song about convicts on their way to Van Diemen’s land (now Tasmania) and their revolt against the prison guards aboard ship. They were overthrow the guards steal the ship and go off to become pirates. Based on real stories from the time it’s an energetic and dark tale told well. The emphasis in the music switches seamlessly from Folk, almost Trad even, to more Rock and Punk and grunge-y chorus. The songs title ‘Black Rain’ refers to the storm that helps the convicts claim the ship and covered up the resulting bloodshed.

The transportation of criminals to Australia began in 1787, only 17 years after Captain Cook first washed up on Australian shores. Eleven ships left in May 1787 from Portsmouth with 736 convicts for the eight-month journey to Botany Bay. Forty would never live to see the ships arrival. They were the lucky ones. Transportation was more often a punishment for those seen as the lowest of the low not those convicted of particularly grievous crimes. In fact 80% of those sent across to the other side of the world were guilty of theft and most of those were repeat offenders. Others were targeted too, especially political radicals with Luddites, Rebecca Rioters and the Tolpuddle Martyrs sent away. The Irish were a victim especially of the system and up to when transportation ceased in 1853, over 160,000 Irish prisoners arrived in Australia. 25% of the entire amount (English 69%, Welsh 1.2 % , Scottish 5%). Most came directly from Ireland such as the Fenians but others arrived after conviction in England and a few, such as those tried as soldiers who had mutinied in the British Army, arrived from places like India. Only 15% were women and sentences were for 7 years, 14 years, or life.

The Irish political prisoners never bowed down while on the island and In 1869 only a small group of hardcore fenians remained. By then many had been pardoned but for those thought of as influential or dangerous they were to remain in servitude for the rest of their days. These fenians though had other plans and n 1874, prisoner James Wilson secretly sent a letter to New York City to John Devoy to organise a rescue plan. Using donations collected from Irish-Americans, a previous escapee, the Boston based John Boyle O’Reilly, purchased the Catalpa and sailed off Rockingham, in Western Australia. On 17th April 1876 Wilson, Thomas Darragh, Martin Hogan, Michael Harrington, Thomas Hassett and Robert Cranston boarded a boat and were then taken aboard the Catalpa and escaped, via several close calls, to New York.

The video was filmed in the bands favourite hangout – Pub 10. Definitly a place to head to for any Celtic-Punk fans visiting this beautiful city. The song was recorded by Kryštof Skřipec and Ondřej Skřivan and mixed and mastered by Kryštof and produced by Foggy Dude.

Chains are ringing

Wood is cranking

50 men and

50 women

 

Huddled wrecks

Below the decks

Awaiting for their

Destiny

 

Winds rise

Tension fills the air

Demons in disguise

Start to swear

 

Van Diemen’s land is calling

Onto thee

But a storm is coming

To set us free

 

CHORUS:

Black rain

Black rain

Black rain is falling down on me

Washing away our freedom’s blood

 

Chains are rattling

Wood is crackin

50 men and

50 women

 

Rebels to rise

Under the skies

Awaiting for their

Time

 

The fight starts

For the demons head

With our bravest hearts

Will soon be in our hands

 

We took the power

From the enemy

Black flag is our

Destiny

Stream it on Spotify

Contact Foggy Dude   https://linktr.ee/foggydude

NEW SINGLE OUT TODAY! FINNEGAN’S HELL

Swedish Celtic-Punk Rockers Finnegan’s Hell are back with another taster from their upcoming new album. If it’s half as good as the songs they’ve already released it’s a winner!!

Today, Friday, October 28th, sees the release of the new Finnegan’s Hell single ‘What Have You Got In The End’ along with a accompanying music video. The song is a tribute to the workshy Celtic-Punk rockers Finnegan’s Hell who question the benefits of working hard. Fans of the band’s critically acclaimed album ‘Work Is The Curse Of The Drinking Class’ (#3 Celtic-Punk album of 2020) will not be disappointed. ‘What Have You Got In The End?’ is the opening track of the long-awaited new album ‘One Finger Salute’, which is released November 25th. Its title track appeared as a single a few weeks ago and received rave reviews all over Europe as well as in the US and Canada. Back home in Sweden, Finnegan’s Hell are often labelled ‘The Swedish Pogues’ by the press even though Finnegan’s Hell have cranked up the volume and the tempo. Sadly it is something that will always happen to Celtic-Punk bands to be compared to The Pogues but at least Finnegan’s Hell share the same kind of infectious melody and straightforward lyrics that was the trademark of Mr. MacGowan and his men.

Finnegan’s Hell left to right: Reverend Mick Finnegan * Pabs Finnegan * Old Roxy * Ace Finnegan * Cozy Finnegan * San Finnegan *

The video for ‘What Have You Got In The End?’ was directed by Michael Ek, who dug deep into the Swedish National Archives to find suitable images of Swedish life to illustrate the message behind the song. As per usual with Finnegan’s Hell the level of care and attention to detail is incredible. Yeah they got the gimmicks but they also have the great songs to go with them.

(Video produced and directed by Michael Ek)

My father worked until he died 

A struggle all the way 

He would never catch his breath 

Until his dying day 

My mother tried to raise us

Doing odd jobs on the side 

They treated her like dirt In the end she lost her pride 

☘

chorus

You scrape to get by 

And you will till you die 

But what have you got in the end? 

Yeah, you scrape to get by 

And you will till you die 

Tell me what have you got in the end? 

Can’t take nothin’ with you, my friend 

☘ 

My brother’s working overtime 

To pay all his bills 

His house, car, tuition fees, 

His wife’s prescription pills 

According to statistics 

He’s happier than most I saw him just the other day 

The man looked like a ghost 

☘

 So whatcha gonna do 

With all your hopes and dreams? 

There ain’t no use in crying for help 

Cause no one hears your screams 

I try to stay away from work 

I do the best I can In order not to turn into 

A wreck like my old man

Contact Finnegan’s Hell   WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

PRE-ORDER ONE FINGER SALUTE

https://orcd.co/what-have-you-got-in-the-end

NEW SINGLE: PADDY WAGGIN’ AND FINNY McCONNELL ‘Life On The Booze’

There’s a price that you pay living life on the booze! The newest tune from Vancouver’s Paddy Waggin’ featuring neighbour Finny McConnell from The Mahones.

‘Life On The Booze’ dates back to 2020 and was written by Aidan Carroll (AKA Paddy) after celebrating his birthday bash. Left feeling the worse for wear and with unusually high levels of hangxiety.

“I penned it all in one go upon waking. Then strummed out the chords in the afternoon as sort of a cathartic therapy for my aching head.”

It seemed like a good way to spend the day recovering and when introduced to the rest of the band they began working on it straight away and plans were made to record it. With it all set to go the opportunity for Paddy Waggin’ to play with Finny McConnell from legendary fellow Canadian Celtic-Punks The Mahones on his solo tour. Finny jumped at the chance to sing guest vocals along with Aidan with everyone sharing backup vocals and choruses and the song was recorded by Larry Lich @ Eagle Ears studios.

Paddy Wagon left to right: Andrew Whyte – Guitar * Aidan Carroll – Vocals * Rob Stewart – Drums * Jon Poliquin – Bass * Philip Meyer – Accordion * Johnny Jandara – Mandolin/ Banjo (plus Bourton Scott on fiddle not in picture)

For the end of year ‘Best Of’ awards we will be introducing a new category for Best Celtic-Punk video and ‘Life On The Booze’ will be a strong contender for #1 spot! The brainchild and creation of Paddy Waggin’ drummer Diamond Dick who sadly missed the recording through illness forcing the band to use a drum machine for the track. Needless to say he wasn’t too happy about being replaced by a drum machine so as part of his healing he took it upon himself to get his revenge by turning the band into cartoon characters! He then created a dancing metronome robot to represent the drum sounds he despised and then destroys it at the end of the video.

No Irishman were hurt in the making of this video.

All characters are purely fictional and not intended to represent real people

I saw Paddy today 

And how he was bragging 

Swearing about how he’s on the wagon 

It’s enough to make 

A grown man cringe 

When you’re waiting for 

Your next last binge 

➖

Chorus 

Hey 

This time it’s true 

I’ve had enough drink

To sink this, ship and its crew 

I’m capsized I’m drowning 

Down here in this brew 

There’s a price that you pay 

Living life on the booze 

➖

I saw Paddy today

And he wasn’t drinking

Swearing about his new way of thinking

Its enough to make

A grown man cry

As he shoots back a shot

With his guilt in his eyes

➖

Chorus 

➖

I saw Paddy today

And he wasn’t on the lash

He swore never again

To drink one little splash

But before I congratulate him on the task

He leans back and takes a big swig from his flask

➖

Chorus

➖

I saw Paddy today

He wasn’t in the cups

Swearing how he

Never touches the stuff

But before I could say

Good job there old man

He took out his knife

And he shotgunned a can

➖

Chorus 

➖

Outro 

I saw Paddy today

And he wasn’t bragging

Taken away in the Paddy Wagon

➖

Your under arrest!

The Mahones have a fabulous new album out called Jameson Street and Paddy Waggin are delighted to have been asked to open for The Mahones on their 30th Anniversary Jameson Street tour. Two shows October 20th and 21st at The Fox Cabaret in Vancouver and expect to hear Life On The Booze’ performed live with Finny.

Please drink responsibly for F@&k sakes!

Contact Paddy Waggin WebSite  Facebook  YouTube 

NEW SINGLE: THE OWEN GUNS PUT THE BOOT INTO EVERYONE’S LEAST FAVOURITE IRISHMAN

We are not fans of Bono. Not many are! This recent track from Aussie Punk band The Owen Guns caught our attention with his heartfelt message to Bono which we can all agree on.

I love the Aussies. They are plain speaking and usually great fun to be around. Now this could possibly be as over 2,000,000 of them come from Irish backgrounds! That is 10.4% of the total population. This might also explain why their Celtic-Punk bands are so bloody good. Today though we are featuring something a little different. Something with a very important message…

The Owen Guns from left to right: Booker – Bass * Mark – Guitar * Ma Tu – Drums/ Tin Whistle/ Djembe/ Vocals * Sean The Bastard – Vocals/ Kazoo/ Theremin *

The Owen Guns are a Streetpunk band based in New South Wales with members split between Sydney and the South Coast. They’ve been active since 2020, releasing two EP’s Violating Community Standards and Electric Boogaloo and have just released their first full length album. Their members are not just veterans of the Aussie Punk and Hardcore music scene but also Canada and China too. Unlike most of the current crop of Punk bands both here and in Oz their are no fake American accents and more importantly no fear of offending people. Known for mixing politics and humour into their songs and for not taking themselves or anyone else too seriously. The Owen Guns are not a safe space!

Give me a B   B 

Give me an O   O 

Give me an N   N 

Give me an O   O

☘ 

Whats that spell?  cunt 

Whats that spell? cunt 

Whats that spell? cunt 

☘

700 million.. yeah that’s a lot of cash 

Maybe you should pay your share in tax 

If you’re really concerned about the poor 

You’re such a bore don’t wanna see you on tv anymore 

Blatant hypocrisy 

Is too big to ignore

☘

Bono Bono you’re shit and you know it

Every time you start to speak you go ahead and show it

Bono Bono you’re shit and you know it

Every time you start to speak you go ahead and show it

☘

Designer glasses…flash designer suit

You talk about the poor while you’re counting loot

You flew your hat first class..half way across Europe

Media slut, Mouth always open,

i wish you’d keep it shut

Your charity’s a fraud and you’re a fucking cunt

You’re a fucking cunt

☘

Bono Bono you’re shit and you know it 

Every time you start to speak you go ahead and show it 

Bono Bono you’re shit and you know it 

Every time you start to speak you go ahead and show it

☘

Bono you’re a cunt

❗

Lots of shouty swearing and fast guitars. The track is taken from the album Dawn Of The Braindead which came out at the end of September. It was recorded and mixed at Rock The Nation Studios by Shoeless Geoff Mullard and mastered by Jason at Goatsound. The album is twelve songs of superb old school Hardcore Punk. Nothing groundbreaking but pure energy throughout though nothing tops ‘Not You Too’ though which let’s face it Bono really deserves, the 2 faced pompous hypocrite. While lecturing us about the environment he did indeed pay for a ticket on a plane and a taxi for his hat! While St. Bono preaches to us from atop ‘a hillside near the town of Capernaum’ about poverty when Ireland ended tax exemption for artists in 2006 the first thing U2 did was immediately move their tax affairs to The Netherlands.

“Well, tonight thank God it’s them instead of me”

The lyric’s for ‘Not You Too’ were penned by lead singer Sean The Bastard whose pathological hatred of Bono is well known. The lyrics were originally written back in 2017 and had to be changed for recording as Bono’s net worth had risen a hundred million dollars in that time – what a cunt! The video was animated by Mike Foxall (theartoffox.com.au) who managed to really capture the feel of the song and the cuntiness of Bono himself. I mean just look at him.  Absolute twat!

(Dawn Of The Braindead is out now on all streaming services and available for purchase on vinyl via the Bandcamp player below)

The Owen Guns  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

 

NEW SINGLE: ITALIAN BAND ZECKYBOYS RELEASE ‘Damned Purple Bus’

Formed just before the pandemic Italian band Zeckyboys have continued right where they left off with a new single of raucous and rowdy Celtic-Punk with some quality Irish trad thrown in as well for free!

Zeckyboys (there is no ‘The’) get their name from a Swiss term for ‘grass trimmer’. Kind of apt for me seeing as that’s about half my job as a groundsmen! So an unusual name for a Celtic-Punk band that is far from your usual Celtic-Punk band! With plenty of influences alongside Punk and Folk through Heavy Metal and even Classical. It helps of course that the members of the band are all experienced musicians with long histories of touring and playing varied musical styles. Zeckyboys is just a bunch of guys (talented ones though) who play music, drink beer and have fun all in the name of Celtic-Punk.

The Bhoys have a new single out titled ‘Damned Purple Bus’ taking in the life long struggle against the clock and everything that causes you rage and frustration. From the moment your wake up you find yourself in a rush to arrive at work in time. The song tells of one of those days when everything that can go wrong does so. Rain, the last seconds of your favourite song on the radio, a traffic jam and that damned purple bus. It won’t let you pass due to the traffic, the people getting on and off and the bendy road slows you down even more so you can even hear the boss threatening to fire you if you’re late again. Everyday you curse that damned purple bus and curse because it looks like it does it on purpose!

Still got the signs of the pillow on my face
Ready to start let’s win the race
Get in the car the music is on
Fuck that song is already gone.

*
Clean my beard from the drool of sleep
Lay down the glass for a bit of breeze
Clogged streets and horns thrilling
Come on

*

Time runs faster minutes go ahead
You must be here the boss said
I see it it’s down the road
Many people are getting on board
*
That damned purple bus

It’s impossibile I can’t pass
The boss will kick my ass
Fuck that damned purple bus
*
Every day it’s always the same
Hands up who knows the blame
Stare at my face deep in my eyes
Not looking for trite lies

*
I could run on every street

Done the bend I sight it
With that colour it’s down the road
Like a big grand candy world

*
Time runs faster minutes go ahead
You must be here the boss said
I see it / it’s down the road
Many people are getting on board
*

That damned purple bus

It’s impossible I can’t pass
The boss will kick my ass
Fuck that damned purple bus

One of the best of the more recently formed Celtic-Punk bands Zeckyboys play fast as hell Celtic-Punk with the emphasis on the Punk but with the ability to break half way and start throwing out some amazing trad Irish Folk. As above where the song suddenly turns into the ‘Swallowtail Jig’ and I’ve always said to be a top notch Celtic-Punk band no matter how good you’re Punk side is you gotta learn a bit of trad. The video is a collage of the band’s gigs through the last summer and includes some short clips of trips, jokes, the various stages, music and of course a lot of beer and you can almost feel the good time vibes coming out through the screen!

Contact Zeckyboys  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

NEW SINGLE: FINNEGAN’S HELL RELEASE ‘One Finger Salute’

Swedish Celtic-Punks Finnegan’s Hell are back again with a new single, the title track from their upcoming (November 25th) new album and we’re happy to report they have all the same swagger, intensity and attitude as before. 

 

Finnegan’s Hell used the shutdown during the pandemic to write a whole new set of big new songs. The best of these bunch will see the light of day on One Finger Salute and first up is the title track along with accompanying music video. ‘One Finger Salute’ is a magnificent marker – a musical middle finger with an infectious chorus sure to evoke a sea of audience middle fingers! Finnegan’s Hell are not about inventing the wheel but what they are about is taking Celtic-Punk and wringing every single bit of fun out of it. They continue on from last album Work Is The Curse Of The Drinking Class (#3 Celtic-Punk album of 2020) in top form sounding somewhere between The Pogues and fellow Scandinavians Greenland Whalefishers and it is catchy beyond words and infectiously so too. Anyone who has ever lived with a monster will recognise the theme of the song and on this evidence someone will have to set a new place at the Celtic-Punk top table!

Finnegan’s Hell left to right: Reverend Mick Finnegan * Pabs Finnegan * Old Roxy * Ace Finnegan * Cozy Finnegan * San Finnegan *

The idea behind the video for the single is to contrast Metallica’s valium-scented ‘Nothing Else Matters’ and shows a band on speed in the studio. It also provides a unique insight into how Finnegan’s Hell interacts with their producer. The images are taken from an upcoming documentary about the band.

Produced and directed by Michael Ek

I have tried to love you   

Swear to God I’ve done my best 

No matter how I’ve tried 

I just don’t seem to pass the test 

I’ve been blind a long time 

But these days I can see 

That you’re a rotten apple 

From a rotten family tree 

▪️ 

Fuck you 

Fuck your brother 

Fuck your sis 

Your mom and daddy too 

▪️

Sure I like a challenge 

But lovin’ you was tough 

Hardest thing I’ve ever done 

Even though I like it rough 

Your love was like a hammer 

Designed to knock me down 

But you can’t swing it any more 

My queen you’ve lost your crown 

▪️

The more I think about it 

I really hate your guts 

I cannot stand your morals 

Your bigotry drives me nuts 

Take a look in the mirror 

There ain’t nothin’ there to see 

But a rotten apple from a rotten family tree

Buy / Stream One Finger Salute  https://orcd.co/one-finger-salute-single

Contact Finnegan’s Hell   WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

Pre-order the album from Seasons Of Mist shop. Album out 25th November.

DEBUT SINGLE FROM AUSSIE CELTIC-PUNKS MADIGAN’S WAKE

We bloody love Australian Celtic-Punk and get really excited when news filters through of a new band coming through and Madigan’s Wake are worth getting excited about!  

Their is something about Australian Celtic-Punk that hits the nail right on the head. It has a grittiness and a rawness about it that is unsurpassed in the scene. The bands have a way of story telling within their songs and subjects that somehow touch upon the history, places and working class politics of Australian life no matter what the subject they are singing about. So we always get a bit excited when we hear of a new band developing over there on the t’other side of the world.

Madigan’s Wake formed in 2021 with brothers Damian and Albert Peck on guitar, mandolin and Irish bouzouki and taking up the main Punk vocalist roles. On violin and tin whistle is Elly D’Arcy who also takes on lilting vocal solos amongst their fast-paced set. Brent Quirk takes his place behind the drum kit and the mixing desk and Jimi Coelli on the bass guitar. Taking traditional Folk instruments and combining them isn’t new but the way they do comes across as fresh and original. This year sees the release of two singles and their debut album through the independent Melbourne record label, Headstone Records. Elly and the Peck brothers come from strong Irish backgrounds and they followed the same path as many 2nd and 3rd generation Irish, listening and loving traditional Irish folk music from the Dubliners, Wolfe Tones, Irish Rovers and Planxty at home and getting into Punk music away from home. Added into the mix were great Aussie bands like Weddings, Parties, Anything and Roaring Jack and you have a dynamic blend of intense, fast-paced story-telling music. Their songs are narratives of Irish people both now and gone before who fought for justice, freedom and a life of opportunity.

Madigan’s Wake left to right: Jim Coelli – Bass * Damian Peck – Vocals / Guitar * Elly D’Arcy – Violin / Tin-Whistle * Brent Quirk – Drums * Albert Peck – Vocals / Mandolin / Irish Bouzouki *

Their debut self-titled single is out now on iTunes and Spotify and is a nod to the Peck brother’s maternal grandfather Thomas Patrick Madigan drawing on memories of growing up in the Madigan family with all its chaos and adventure, the drinking and dancing, with their flaws and generosity, and of life in this working class family in one of the roughest and toughest suburbs in Melbourne, Port Melbourne.

“The gentrified people of Port Melbourne today would be horrified at what the Madigan’s put the good people of Port through back in the day. But as kids we loved it and we loved them. So Madigan’s Wake is a tip of the cap to an amazing, real and often crazy family and to a time long gone.”

(chorus)

Madigan’s Wake Madigan’s Wake

You know the crowd will be so great

Madigan’s Wake Madigan’s Wake

For drinking they won’t hesitate

Madigan’s Wake Madigan’s Wake

Every room in hell will shake

Madigan’s Wake Madigan’s Wake

You better not be bloody late!

*

They picked him up and carried him

And threw him in the ground

They covered him with concrete

So he wouldn’t make a sound

They danced a jig to midnight then

Until the banshee yelled

“He pays the price in purgatory

That’s where he now does dwell”

*

(Chorus)

*

The men were drunk by midday

And the women followed suit

We headed to the Bridge Hotel

We took our usual route

 We sang old Irish rebel songs

And then was asked to leave

I heard stories of my family

Embellished though they be

*

(chorus)

*

They toasted him and roasted him

And told so many lies

They said he was the greatest man

To ever be alive

 When the kids were put to bed

Then things got really strange

I heard my family speak in tongues

And roll around deranged

*

(chorus)

*

As the sun was coming up I went outside to cry

I was sad and broken hearted

That my grandfather had died

 So I walked back to East Esplanade

Where I thought his ghost would show

But I fell asleep and dreamt of him

Where I thought he’d NEVER GO!

*

 Madigan’s Wake Madigan’s Wake

You know the crowd will be so great

Madigan’s Wake Madigan’s Wake

For drinking they won’t hesitate

Madigan’s Wake Madigan’s Wake

Every room in hell will shake

Madigan’s Wake Madigan’s Wake

You better not be bloody late!

Recorded at Headstone Records in December 2021.

Thanks to Headstone Records and video producer Cameron Galea.

*

Their debut album has been recorded and mixed by Brent Quirk, and mastered by Tony Mantz from Jack the Bear’s Deluxe Mastering in Melbourne. Release date is not until February 2023 and will be simply titled Madigan’s Wake. Expect their second single ‘Before the Devil Knows I’m Dead’ in October 2022 and a third single in February 2023 ‘Thunderbolt (The Gentleman Outlaw)’ that will precede the album.

Contact Madigan’s Wake  Facebook  YouTube  Spotify

NEW SINGLE: CZECH REPUBLICAN’S FOGGY DUDE RELEASE ‘Dirty Kelly’

Czech Republicans Foggy Dude keep the music coming with a song about everyone’s favourite lady companion that’s as Celtic-Punk as can be. 

With a couple of solid releases behind them (check out their last EP More Ain’t Less especially) Foggy Dude have bounced back after the pandemic as if it never happened. Already gigging and recording, ‘Dirty Kelly’ their latest single comes hot on the heels of another recent single ‘Ode To Flying Spaghetti Monster’. Formed in 2017 by a bunch of Czech Technical University friends in Strahov in the Czech Republic capital of Prague. They have fully embraced a varied Celtic-Punk sound and have for me become one of the freshest sounding bands in the scene.

Foggy Dude left to right: Joe – Acoustic Guitar * Pe’ta – Drums * Caba – Mandolin * Ilia – Violin * Jirka – Tin Whistle / Accordion * Max – the new bass player*

Sometimes in the past Foggy Dude have enjoyed singing a traditional Folk song like ‘Tell Me Ma’ but with risque lyrics and that gave them the idea for ‘Dirty Kelly’. So putting together some standard Irish tropes, some not-so-subtle lyrics, a catchy happy melody and then in the middle a craic-ing Irish jig and finally a sprinkle of some Foggy Dude magic they came up with this brilliant song. The video was filmed at the Žižkovšiška Club so go check them out if you’re in town. Thanks to Nikola Lizlerova for acting out Dirty Kelly even though she arrived on set direct from Pub 10 with a massive hangover that lasted until they had the hair of the dog (a beer and a shot)!

(Chorus)
Dirty Kelly busty Kelly
You’re my favourite type of jelly
Dirty Kelly you’re so sweet
Best kind of a treat

Englishman took all my sheep
Bloody bastard
But you keep me on my feet
Dirty Kelly

The sweetest peach with the most tender peel
Stopper of a speech and reel
Best you’ll ever see

Scotsman stole my fucking horse
Bloody bastard
But without you it’d be worse
Dirty Kelly

The longest legs that do excite
Fancy afterwork delight
She will do you right

Dirty Kelly lusty Kelly
You’d be a muse of Boticelli
Dirty Kelly, finest art
Keeper of my heart

Leprechaun has fucked my wife
Bloody bastard
Now you’re the flower of my life
Dirty Kelly

The greatest fear of the brides
Lures away even the righteous guys
Revered more than anything

MUSIC: Recorded by Kryštof Skřipec and Ondřej Skřivan * Mix and master by Kryštof Skřipec * Produced by Foggy Dude

VIDEO: Camera and editing by Lukáš Nesvadba * Artwork by Drunken Joe

Download Dirty Kelly  https://linktr.ee/foggydude

Contact Foggy Dude  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

NEW SINGLE: THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS ‘ Only The Bastards’ OUT NOW

Quite a week for Celtic-Punk fans with new singles from Greenland Whalefishers, Pronghorn, The Dead Irish and now a great track from Scotland’s The Gallowgate Murders forthcoming new EP Dead, Gone And Living On out at the end of the month. 

We are the dire streets of Glasgow, the mucky waters o’Leith, polluted Silesian coal mines and the 3 am sway of the Dublin pubs. We are THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS.

I remember a time on a wet cobble street

(Do or die!)

A gathering each night of the worse kinda bastards you ever will meet

(Hopes so high)

A hole in the wall hung a banner that we call home

(We kissed the sky)

Smacking a stack of the black with a man on his throne

*
We ain’t gonna change!
*

Gone away, those days are gone

But the memory still lives on

We’ll never forget and there’s no regrets

‘Cause only the bastards will sing this song

*

A bark at the bar will let everybody know

(Brothers in arms)

The dogs were about for a shout and the kitty would flow

(The streets were ours)

And on a Saturday night, when everyone closed their door

(We’d stay for hours)

The rockers, the punks and the drunks went to Studio 24

*

We ain’t gonna change!
*

Gone away, those days are gone

But the memory still lives on

We’ll never forget and there’s no regrets

‘Cause only the bastards will sing this song

Hey!

*

Wherever you may roam

Keep to heart your home

Make those friends that fight to the bitter end

Dead and gone and living on they’re always in your soul

*

The booze and the sway and the chance to get laid in an opium haze

(Danced all night)

The cobble and stone and the blood crack and bone that would ruin your day

(Fall or fight)

The banshee would scream and we’ll listen til she called her last

(We lived life right)

And we’ll keep going strong on those bleak streets that paved our past

*

We ain’t gonna change!

We ain’t gonna change!

*

Gone away, those days are gone

But the memory still lives on

We’ll never forget and there’s no regrets’

Cause only the bastards will sing this song

*

Wherever you may roam

Keep to heart your home

Make those friends that fight to the bitter end

Dead and gone and living on they’re always in your soul

*

Only The Bastards – written by Tom Coyne

Only the bastards is a shout out to all the times we’ve had in Edinburgh’s alternative scene through the years. A shout out to the bars we love, the times we’ve had, and a homage to the friends we have loved and lost along the way.

The Gallowgate Murders left to right: Shelby (Anna) – Rhythm guitar, Vocals,Tin Whistle Tom – Vocals, Mandolin, Craig – Lead guitar Ryan – Bass guitar Sean – Drums

The launch for Dead, Gone And Living On EP is at Bannermans in Edinburgh on the 28th July. Tickets are available from here with support from Trongate Rum Riots (Who I thought had split up but really loved. Glad to see them back on the scene), Manic Romance and Richy Neill & The Reinforcements.

The six track EP Dead, Gone And Living On will be out at the end of July via band’s own label, Widdershins Productions and the next single will be ‘Sail Away’ which is a sea-shanty that tells the story of children snatched from the streets and shipped overseas to work as slaves. Based on true events, predominantly occurring in 17th-19th C in Scotland and Ireland.

Pre-Save the song here

The Gallowgate Murders  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

NEW SINGLE: THE DEAD IRISH ‘Lost In The City’ OUT NOW

Trad Punk from the depths of Dublin city!

Lost In The City is the first release from Irish trad punk band The Dead Irish. Filmed in Dublin, Ireland during February 2022 and released one evening in July. The band was formed during Ireland’s strict lockdown during 2021 and Lost In The City is the first single to come out from their first EP.

As I walked down to Dublin town one evening in July

I met a little girl on Grafton Street She smiled as she passed me by

Such a charmin’ elf I had to coax myself to see if I was really there

She looked so neat from her head to her feet

The colour of her nut brown hair

I said “hey little girl won’t you tell me your name”

And “can I walk with you a while?”

I’m lost in the city all on my own

Lost in the city far away from home

*

 On Chancery Street at the Christian Mission I was looking for a place to hide

At the gates of Mountjoy Prison I was trying to get inside

She looked at me through her big brown eyes

She looked at me and smiled

She said I am your destiny

We took off side by side

We wandered north, we wandered south

And then we wandered back again

We were lost in the city all on our own

Lost in the city far away from home

*

 When I woke up the next morning

 Well I knew she wasn’t there

She left no note, nothing that she wrote

Just a lock of her nut brown hair

Won’t you listen to my story boys Its a tale I have to tell

If you see the girl with the nut brown hair

 Won’t you say that I wish her well

We talked all night till the break of dawn

 And fell asleep in each others arms

Lost in the city to all her charms

Lost in the city

 All night long

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NEW SINGLE: GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS ‘Celtic Punk Song’ OUT NOW

A great week for Celtic-Punk fans with four new singles from four bands that are both well spread out geographically as well as musically showing that the scene is more diverse than ever before. Saying that the most ‘Poguest’ of all Celtic-Punk band Greenland Whalefishers knock it out the park once again with their new single. 

Now well into their 28th year Greenland Whalefishers have steadily become one of the most famous and respected and well loved bands in the Celtic-Punk scene. You would be right too to think that coming from Norway didn’t help in a scene where Celtic roots are sometimes given too much importance. The hard working band have toured just about every corner of the globe from their home in Bergen. Around long before the Murphys and the Mollys they have always been compared favourably with the kings of Celtic-Punk – The Pogues. They may have an unmistakable Poguesy sound (think first three albums) but they are in no way a covers band. They may sound ‘more like The Pogues than The Pogues are’ but with their constantly developing sound every album (of which their have been many) sounds fresh and innovative.

So how did we end up here again ?

Didn’t history teach us anything ’bout all the fucked up shit back then ?

Once again we’re killing each other, sister and brother, cannon fodder !

Another nation crying out for help in vain

So let’s drink to the brave and pray for the poor, and cry for those who lost a daughter or a son.

Let’s fight this war and let music be our gun !

*

Chorus:

In the end it doesn’t matter what words I say, what I think, what I feel or what chords I play.

It doesn’t really matter if I’m sober or drunk, ’cause after all… this is Celtic Punk !

*

So how can stand aside and just look?

When we were warned about it in all the history books !

Once again we’re bombing each other, father and mother, dead in the gutter !

 Another nation counting all the lives they took

https://open.spotify.com/track/0q2qnq7A6tNfnTByo3jMcn?si=fbc589eda3f84dfb

Contact Greenland Whalefishers  WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Spotify

Check back in a couple days for more new music!

SINGLE REVIEW: JOLLY ROGER – ‘Rum Song’ (2022)

All those jobs can wait until tomorrow! Come have fun drinking rum with Jolly Roger 🏴‍☠️

Jolly Roger hail from Cornwall. Now even though I think they’re happier calling themselves a ‘pirate’ band that does actually qualify them as a Celtic Celtic-Punk band you know! They come from Penzance, world famous for pirates for over 200 years and a area with strong links to both Brittany and Wales in both custom and language. They couldn’t then fail to be be inspired by the sea but these guys take it to the next level and while they may sound like their stuck in the are not stuck in the 18th century their lyrics are from it. Saying that here on ‘Rum Song’ they kinda do! We get two versions. One with all swear words in tact and a more radio friendly version with them hidden out of way of impressionable minds like mine. Jolly Roger comprises of brother and sister, Jae Dennis (guitar/ ukelele/ harmonica) and Samantha Hannah (mandolin/guitar) with Kynan Sandles on the lesser-seen acoustic bass guitar.

So much to do, but so little time
Procrastinate and feel behind
Away, away, away, away, away, away til the very next day
Do it tomorrow, the jobs can wait
It’s time to drink and stay out late
Away, away, away, away, away, away til the very next dayTake your share of food, your stomach needs a feeding
But leave some room for booze coz soon we’ll all be steamingWe’ll do it tomorrow, tomorrow it will be done
Tonight we set the world alight coz we’re out drinking rum
RUM
**** it off
We’re out drinking rum
I promise you tomorrow, that that thing, it will get done

Drink in hand, the night is young
Get in a round, let’s have some fun
Today, today, today, today, today, today tomorrow we’ll pay
If you’re sober, good for you
There’s plenty of us, we’ll drink for two
Today, today, today, today, today, today tomorrow we’ll pay

Take your share of food, your stomach needs a feeding
But leave some room for booze coz soon we’ll all be steaming

We’ll do it tomorrow, tomorrow it will be done
Tonight we set the world alight coz we’re out drinking rum
RUM
**** it off
We’re out drinking rum
I promise you tomorrow, that that thing, it will get done

Hey, you! Join the company
Hey, you! Join the company
Hey, you! Join the company
Hey, you! Join the company
Hey, you! Enjoy the company
Hey, you! Enjoy the company
Hey, you! Enjoy the company
Hey, you! Enjoy the company

We’ll do it tomorrow, tomorrow it will be done
Tonight we set the world alight coz we’re out drinking rum
RUM
**** it off
We’re out drinking rum
I promise you tomorrow, that that thing, it will get done

‘Rum Song’ both versions are available as a ‘name your price’ download meaning you can get it for free if you like but please try and support new bands and new music by leaving something. Alternatively they have some really nice t-shirts of the single cover Artwork by LemonMooseArt so avail yourself of one of them. They are £15 inc P&P – sizes available in S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL and kids small (4-7yrs) or kids medium (8-12yrs). Payment via PayPal.me/jollyrogermusic.

(The sweary version!)

Download Rum Song  Bandcamp  AllTheOthers

Contact Jolly Roger  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

IRISH BAND THE WINTER CODES RELEASE FIRST SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM

Irish folk duo The Winter Codes release the first single, ‘Too Sly To Die’, from their upcoming new album Set The Darkness Reeling. Led by Barney Murray of Blood Or Whiskey fame the song is fuelled by classic Irish folk influences.

Just the other day we received a track in the mail from The Winter Codes, a duo based in the capital town of county Offaly, Tullamore, almost bang centre in the middle of Ireland. Now sorry local folk but Tullamore is only known for one thing. A big thing admittedly mind, the Irish whiskey Tullamore Dew. Traced back to 1828 the original distillery closed in the 1950’s only for the brand to be bought by Powers and resurrected at their Midleton Distillery in Cork, until 2010 when the brand was sold to new owners, William Grant & Sons,  who brought whiskey production back to the town when a new distillery was opened back in Tullamore. Now I’m fond of a bit of waffle (see above for prime example!) but it surprised me that The Winter Codes neglected to make any mention of their ‘heritage’ in one of Celtic-Punk’s all time greatest bands. Now this is a Winter Codes review not Blood Or Whiskey review but you simply cannot understate the effect and influence Blood Or Whiskey had upon Celtic-Punk and it’s development. Here the sound is uncannily similar to BorW and no surprise with Barney Murrray with his unmistakable vocals having teamed up with David Walshe, brother of the late Paul who was also a founding member of Blood Or Whiskey. With a new album, Set The Darkness Reeling, to be released for the 1st August they have put out lead single ‘Too Sly To Die’ this week. The album is an emotional tribute to Paul Walshe who passed away ten years ago. With this release he is immortalised with the album even features some of his expert banjo musicianship on some of the tracks.

Saw you on the high stool holding court I know you ruled by pain and fear

Dishing out the suffering for the sport I’m glad I never got too near

All that unease you couldn’t show you had a conscience like a sieve

Anyone who crossed you came to know you didn’t forget or forgive

Chorus :

I thought you were too sly to die

I thought you were too sly to die

I thought you were too sly to die

But you bought it still

You were no stranger to revenge I know you gave more than you took

Half of the time it made no sense you would avenge a crooked look

Paranoid feelings in your heart though you ignored them come what may

Many had tried to take your part but you held the tide at bay

One cold night one simple mistake they had the whole thing organised

Didn’t feel sad or go to the wake but I really was surprised

(David Walshe and Barney Murray)

On the strength of this single I cannot wait to hear the album August 1st roll round quickly please. The lads are joined on the album by a wealth of Irish music expertise including Daithi Meila from the Irish/Bluegrass band Jig Jam, folk singer Lisa Loughrey, and engineer Sean Montgomery. The album saw the duo travel to the famous Grouse Lodge recording studio in Westmeath, which famously housed Michael Jackson when he recorded there.

“We got the idea to record an EP of five of our songs which then became the Set The Darkness Reeling album.”

‘With Too Sly To Die’ the band stick to their roots of trad Irish folk but with an uplifting and positive twist. The single’s accompanying video was filmed in landmark Dublin pub The Cobblestones. Having hosted traditional Irish music for decades, and being located in one of Dublin’s oldest neighbourhoods, the bar is synonymous with music from the region and with Too Sly to Die, The Winter Codes join the annuls of such musical greats.

Too Sly to Die available across all platforms now. 

The Winter Codes  WebSite  YouTube

EXCLUSIVE! FIRST SINGLE FROM FRANKIE McLAUGHLIN’S NEW PROJECT LIPTON’S ORPHANS

A London Celtic Punks exclusive! We are pleased to be the first to bring you the new single and first release ‘Alang Cam A Boaby’ from Lipton’s Orphan, the long awaited new project featuring former Rumjack, Frankie McLaughlin.

It’s been a long time coming but worth the wait in the long run and we’d like to say a huge thanks to Frankie for allowing London Celtic Punks to share the exclusive first showing of his new music with Lipton’s Orphans with the promise of lots more to come!

“Inspired by true events, and by a creepy little wrong-un from the local constabulary”

ALANG CAM A BOABY

I were were ridin’ by the White Cart, A favourite o’ mine,
I were happy and ma business were mine alane tae mind,
About tae tan a couple o’ cans & leave the world behind,
When alang cam a Boaby, yak de yaldy daa..

(CHORUS)
He were ‘HAW, STOP! Who are you y’f**ker?’ and the rest,
And he’s pointed tae the shiny badge he’d pinned upon his chest,
A dirty trotter point in’ east the other lookin’ west,
A wee fat Boaby, yak de yaldy daa..

Aw Boaby is it lost ye are? and no fed up i hope?
Nae weans left tae batter or nae lassies for tae grope,
Nae gammie up the calton for a baggie fu’ ay dope?
Sick wee Boaby, yak de yaldy daa..

He’s callt me aw the bastarts, spittin’ in ma face,
He’s gone for aw his thingmy-jigs his zappers and his mace,
H’es hi-de-ho’d his radio a squealin for his mates,
A saft wee Boaby, yak de yaldy daa..

Ya pervy little porky bit, i’ll pull ye doon a peg,
Now get tae ‘fore I fire ye oan a roll wi’ beans & egg,
The likes o’ you are overdue a switch aboot yer neck.

All performances: Frankie McLaughlin. Video shot and edited: Frankie McLaughlin.

Welcome back Frankie, what’s the news? Is it a new band you’ve got,.. or are you flying solo?

“Lipton’s Orphan was what my Mother used to call me anytime I was looking particularly scruffy, or came in the door covered head to toe in mud & shite.. so yeah, I heard it a lot I guess,.well into my adult years too.” “It was a popular saying around Glasgow once upon a time, and as it turns out refers to a fella named Thomas Lipton, as in Lipton’s tea. More specifically it refers to his pig.. which he would buy from the market and parade through the town with ‘Lipton’s Orphan’ daubed on the side of it.. apparently to drum up business for his grocery store. He was a definite character, once awarded a cup for being ‘The Worlds Best Loser’.. fantastic!” “Anyway, the name just kept popping up in my life for a bit there again, so I took the cue and adopted it. Sometimes it’s just myself,.. others it’ll be a few other folks involved.. depending on whose hanging about & not up to much.”
“So primarily just a recording project for now, with the occasional pop-up here & there.”

Tell us about the song, and well, ..what is a ‘Boaby’..

“The song came originally from a ‘chance encounter’ with a representative of the local constabulary while out walking the woods near my home at the time, a proper slimy wee wrong-un who displayed some seriously worrying behaviour. I’d finally got shot of the clown and was leaving the woods when I saw the ubiquitous A.C.A.B painted on the underpass, the chorus was born right then in my head, a humorous little ditty,.. I remember in England they used to call a policeman a ‘Bobby’, and in Scotland ‘Boaby’ is the term for the male appendage,.. the rest wrote itself.”

The video is pretty wild, where’s that coming from?

“I took my wee camera for a walk back to the woods and shot all the background stuff. There’s the remains of a fortified Iron Age settlement there, where I shot a lot of bits, it’s an amazing place.” “Apart from the Boaby himself, the only other two creatures I recall from that day were a crow, who just kinda followed me through the wood the whole time, and a stag that I spotted alone in his enclosed field. I’d been bingeing hard on a lot of old films including the original Wicker Man, so the old guising masks were born outta that as a way of telling the story.”

And can we take this as a sign of more to come?

“There’s a whole other load o’ songs around here in various states just now, so I guess we’ll get a few more things out there soon,.. then there’s a bunch o’ stuff that I think’ll better suit an entirely solo approach, so I’ll have a crack at that too.”

The single ‘Alang Cam A Boaby’ will be available this week via all major digital platforms

SPOTIFY

THE SCRATCH FROM DUBLIN. NEW SINGLE ‘Another Round’ OUT NOW!’

The Scratch come from Dublin and have become the latest sensation on the Irish music scene with their loud and catchy as hell acoustic owing much to alternative forms of music as the auld Irish Folk legends.

The Scratch just played in London on St. Patrick’s Day and even though a couple of us noticed the advertisements for it we dismissed the gig and The Scratch as heavy metal. One reason was the name and the other was because the gig was at London’s premier metal venue the Underworld in Camden. It’s no surprise anymore to see shamrocks plastered over everything during St. Patrick’s even when the event has no Irish connection. It wasn’t until a few days later and one of the readers over on the London Celtic Punks FB page left a comment recommending them so I checked them out and bloody hell was I impressed. The band consider ‘Another Round’ as their best work to date so it’s just the perfect way to come in!. ‘Another Round’ is an energetic (soooo energetic) five minute track that builds and builds and builds in what has become their signature and unique way blurring the line between their metal roots and love of old Irish storytelling. The story tells realistically the perils and joys of a night out on the piss.

(Recorded and Engineered by Ben Wanders at Wanderland Studios, Limerick, Ireland.

Starring: The Scratch * Rob Earley * Emma Walsh * Bonnie Dean *)

*

I was down the back of another aul snug just taking the time to watch the wall paint dry

The sound of a bauld aul crowds dull chattering filling the air within an inch of its life

A man on either side of me, the bar to the right

I’d be lucky to make it outta here with me life

And isn’t that your man that barred us last time for singing ‘Ra tunes on a Tuesday night?

➖

Crawling up the walls lookin’ like a rabid hound

Get up outta that, get up off the ground

I’ll tie ya to that chair if ya don’t simmer down

You’re the worlds worst patron saint of stout

Actually didn’t I barr yous last week and what are ya doin’ with a spliff in your mouth?

Alright then never mind what’ll it be lads? Another Round (x12)

➖

Take the edge off the knife

Catch the rain before it all runs dry

Cure the dog of all that ails it

You’ll still be that bitter man inside

➖

They are changing all the taps

Switching off the lights in every room

If the last call has an ending

I swear to god there’s nothing left for you

➖

I was down the back of another aul snug just taking the time to watch the wall paint dry

The sound of a bauld aul crowds dull chattering filling the air within an inch of its life

A man on either side of me, the bar to the right

I’d be lucky to make it outta here with me life

And isn’t that your man that barred us last time for singing ‘Ra tunes on a tuesday night

For singing IRA tunes on a Tuesday night

☘

Guitarist Jordan O’Leary writes

“The song is at its core a drinking song. I don’t think it’s necessarily for or against excessive alcohol consumption, and all that comes with it, but more of an honest portrayal of my own experience with that way of life. It was written back during the first lockdown in 2020. I was craving the warm cozy embrace of my favourite Dublin snug, Bowes bar on Fleet Street. I wrote the song while stuck sitting in a gaff in Palmerstown, Dublin dreaming of the countless nights of craic we used to have in that pub. Most of the references heard in the song are directly related to those nights. The chatter and manic atmosphere of a busy pub, the ever growing rowdiness as the night progresses and the rounds keep coming, the couple of lads in the group that are thrown out for reaching a belligerent state of patriotic pride and singing unsolicited rebel songs at the top of their lungs, and the perpetual and dizzying nature of all of these things combined. The songs structure is essentially a three and a half minute build up that grows more and more tense as it progresses, until eventually it reaches the release and payoff that repeats until its end.”

Contact The Scratch  WebSite   Facebook  YouTube

Download / Stream ‘Another Round’  https://linktr.ee/TheScratch

ST. PATRICK’S CELTIC-PUNK RELEASES : SIR REG, THE DREADNOUGHTS, THE FOGGY DUDE, MAGGIE’S FLOCK, SHANGHAI TREASON, FLATFOOT 56

St.Patrick’s is, unsurprisingly, our busiest time of year and we get inundated with albums, EPs and singles from bands left, right and centre from right across the world. Normally we try our best to get round to reviewing as many as possible and it’s not unusual for us to be still ploughing through them a couple of months later. This year we decided we will group the best of the singles together and then take our time with the bigger releases. So a week on here’s the pick of the Celtic-Punk scene single releases from St. Patrick’s week.

SIR REG – ‘Kick Out The Scum’

Our first track is from Scandinavian Irish rockers Sir Reg and once again the subject of politicians comes up for them and you can possibly guess their take on the matter from the songs title – ‘Kick Out The Scum’! Written by lead singer Brendan it is the third single from their upcoming new album of the same name and set for release in April on Despotz Records.

“When will people learn and stop voting in the same useless shower of twats year after year?!! Let’s all stand together and do something about it once and for all! “

THE DREADNOUGHTS – ‘Cider Holiday’

With over 80,000,000 streams on Spotify they like to think of themselves as “the biggest band you’ve never heard of”! Formed back in 2006, they’ve been on a cider-fuelled bender ever since bringing their furious brand of Celtic-Polka-Punk-Klezmer mayhem across the globe. They recently announced some home show dates in Vancouver for St. Patrick’s and also the release of ‘Cider Holiday’ on the big day itself. The song is the first single from their upcoming 5th album Roll And Go on Stomp Records, and hearkens back to Flogging Molly’s finest material and a Celtic-Punk tribute to real farmhouse cider.

THE FOGGY DUDE – ‘Bella Ciao’

Our favourite Czech Republican Celtic-Punk band released a special Foggy Dude version of the classic great Italian song favoured by partisans during the 2nd World War but first sang by sung in the late 19th century by workers in protest against the harsh working conditions in the paddy fields of northern Italy. The timing is impeccable!

MAGGIE’S FLOCK – ‘The Serpent (Oh St. Patrick)

Now a song from Maggie’s Flock that really got into the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day and a tale of the good man ridding Ireland of snakes. If you would like to learn more about the life and times of St. Patrick have a look at our feature from the 17th. Released on the day itself we are looking forward to another great year from these Dutch Celtic-Folk-Rockers.

SHANGHAI TREASON – ‘Failure To Launch’

A early contender for album of the year Shanghai Treason continue their rise with a track taken from their upcoming ‘B-sides’ E.P release which features 3 tracks which didn’t quite make it onto the bands debut album which goes to show f’ing good it was if this never made the cut!

FLATFOOT 56 – ‘Mud’

We end this feature with the band I’m most excited about, Chicago’s pride, the wonderful Flatfoot 56. One of the most down to earth and grounded bunch of guys you’ll ever meet in the music biz. The song itself is, of course, utterly brilliant and is the lead single for their half of a split six-track EP with The Rumjacks out at the beginning of May.

So their you go six bands with wildly different styles and approaches to Celtic-Punk. Contrary to popular belief not all bands in the scene sound like the Dropkick Murphys! While you are here a word to check out the recently updated Celtic-Punk Playlist from London Celtic Punks columnist Andy @The Celtic Punk Author.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3tv0yD5glCt3aJdJlDIuWX

MOLLYS vs MURPHYS ST. PATRICK’S FACE OFF!

As usual it’s been impossible to keep up with the flow of new music over the St. Patrick’s day period. Not just singles but many EP’s and albums landed on our doorstep that we will get to over the following few weeks but we couldn’t let this years festivities go without a special mention for that oh-so rare occurrence a double release for both the most popular bands in Celtic-Punk – Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys. 

First off the mark on the 10th March were Flogging Molly with “These Time Have Got Me Drinking / Tripping Up The Stairs’. A solid return to form and if anything the classic FM sound of early Flogging Molly. The track is available for streaming and download.

“Morning starts with sunset

As the darkness fills my eye

It’s been so long since another soul,

Occupied this life”

This year the band have been busy with a tour leading up to a all day show at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on the big day itself that was live streamed but was only online for 72 hours before being withdrawn ensuring I never got (and plenty of you too i suppose) to see it!

The Murphys followed this just a few days after with a tremendous cover of the auld Gospel religious song ‘We Shall Overcome’. Descended from a hymn that was first published in 1901 it has since been sung by strikers and protesters and famously civil rights activists in the United States and the north of Ireland. The song begins with the words of Bobby Kennedy as he calls for unity on the day of Martin Luther King’s assassination and they have never ever sounded so relevant. The Murphys belt it out of the ball park and their is surely no better band in the world at turning any song into a full blown anthem.

“Oh, deep in my heart
I know that I do believe
We shall overcome, someday”

The video sees footage of the band included along with historical photos and film of American protest movements – from striking workers and picket lines to the civil rights movement. No band stands up for the working class like the Dropkick Murphys do. As busy as ever too with a tour that went across the States accompanied by The Rumjacks among others that one of the gang was lucky to catch and review. They also managed a fantastic St. Patrick’s Day live stream from the House Of Blues in hometown Boston though theirs was free but in common with Flogging Mollys was also withdrawn after a couple of days. What’s that about I wonder?

Dropkick Murphys Fan Page By the fans – From the fans – Of the fans

Check back with us at the weekend for as comprehensive a round up of all the St. Patrick’s Celtic-Punk music that was released last week as possible!

NEW ST. PATRICKS TUNE FROM GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS

The most Poguest of all Celtic-Punk bands Norway’s Greenland Whalefishers are back again with a new song from their upcoming new album.

Now in their 28th year Greenland Whalefishers have certainly put the work in to get where they are with tours that have took them from their home town of Bergen to just about every corner of the world. Around long before the Murphys and the Mollys they have always been compared favourably with the kings of Celtic-Punk – The Pogues. They may have an unmistakable Poguesy sound (think first three albums) but they are in no way a covers band. They may sound ‘more like The Pogues than The Pogues are’ but with their constantly developing sound every album (of which their have been many) sounds fresh and innovative. This new song from Norway’s unpolished Irish-Punk pioneers again shows their band that can do no wrong!

‘St. Patrick’s Day Drinking’ is a song that celebrates if not the holy aspect of the day but certainly the social aspect! I remember as a kid seeing the normally pretty staid adults around me really let their hair down and celebrate the day when their was no shame but pride in being Irish. Shamrock, the colour green, mass, pre-paid postcards from home, maybe Val Doonican on the telly if we were lucky but always with a drink involved. Now I’m older and barely wiser (certainly not more than those immigrant grafters who put up with so much but never let their chins drop) and it’s my turn to celebrate them and all they mean to me on March 17.

The song celebrates in particular the legendary London Irish Publican Michael ‘Butty’ Sugrue back in 1969 who in the London Irish stronghold of Kilburn gets in some practice in his pub as regulars watch him lift a two hundred weight barrel of beer above his head. Butty Sugrue was best remembered as the man behind Muhammad Ali’s bout against Al ‘Blue’ Lewis in Dublin in 1972, but he was originally known as Ireland’s Strongest Man. One of his most celebrated feats of strength included a tug of war with Butty taking on thirty men live on the BBC on the Simon Dee Show.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY DRINKING

Shovelling shit all through the winter.

March 17th seems so far away.

 

In the weekends you ́re a pro Day 

Drinker.Down at the pub singing Galway Bay

 

And before you know it it ́s March again.

Grab your Scally Cap and call up your friends.

 

Trespassing, drunk, throwing stones.

You are bad to the bones

Sink down some Whiskey and throw on some Cologne

’cause now we ́re all going St. Patrick ́s Day Drinking. 

 

Your lousy dead–end job feels like jail. 

Spend your weekends down Finnegan’s way.

John at the bar has salvation for sale.

Glorious Day Drinking on a Saturday

Contact Greenland Whalefishers  WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Spotify

NEW SINGLE FROM NOVA SCOTIAN CELTIC ROCKERS THE STAB ROVERS

The Stab Rovers have a strong connection to the Atlantic. Born and raised in the Maritime Provinces, and now calling Nova Scotia home these maritime boys play a mix of Trad and original Celtic and Folk inspired tunes, reimagined in a high energy format.

The Irish outside Ireland outnumber those at home many many times. For instance in the mid-70’s it was estimated their were more people from Mayo in Leeds than in the capital of Mayo itself! The children of those Irish are now fathers themselves and so the Irish diaspora continues to grow and hopefully flourish.  Now some places just roll off the tongue when discussing the Irish diaspora, Boston, Liverpool, New York and London but their is nowhere as proud of their Gaelic roots as Nova Scotia is. The very name Nova Scotia translates as ‘New Scotland in both Scots and Latin and the Irish have been calling the area Talimh An Eisc (‘The Land of the Fish’) for centuries. With over 25% of residents ticking the Irish ethnicity box on recent census and many doing likewise with ‘Scottish’ it’s no surprise to find out that wherever Celtic music is you’ll also find Celtic-Punk too.

Formed as a trio in 2014, The Stab Rovers have since grown to include 5 members. The band members possess decades of experience playing in alternative rock and punk bands all over Eastern Canada. Their self titled debut album was released in 2018 and included several traditional tunes but all with original Stab Rover arrangements.

“We like to think that the songs sound much more interesting when re-imagined as if performed by rowdy pirates.”

During the pandemic, the Stab Rovers used their time in the studio to write and record and after two years without live performances The Stab Rovers are happy to be back playing before the masses! Their new single ‘Off To War’ reflects back on the strong military and naval traditions that are so important and engrained here in the Maritimes. It also paves the way for many more forthcoming releases.

The Stab Rovers left to right : Reece Baird – Mandolin, Guitar * Allan Muir – Guitar, Whistle, Vocals * Alden Huskins – Drums, Bass * Kory Wade – Bass, Guitar, Vocals * Cameron Strong – Banjo, Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals *

We like to think we have our collective finger on the pulse of Celtic-Punk but occasionally a band will slip through and we’ll wonder how on earth we hadn’t heard of them. When we first heard of The Stab Rovers we had thought they had disbanded years ago but were delighted to find out we were wrong. It  may have been a few years since their debut album but it’s not that unusual with Celtic-Punk bands who tend to concentrate more on playing live than recording. That debut album is available for download at the link below.

So absolutely great to have The Stab Rovers back in the fold and we look forward to hearing lots more by them in the near future.

Download Off To War  Bandcamp

Contact The Stab Rovers  Facebook  YouTube

THE LUCKY TROLLS ARE BACK. NEW SINGLE ‘CITY OF IRON’

Formed in 2017 it wasn’t till 2019 that they released their debut EP. We loved it and would later award them Best Celtic-Punk EP Of 2019 but they’ve kept us waiting for the follow up and finally this week it has arrived. City Of God the first single of the upcoming album Raised Fist And Rebel Songs.

The Lucky Trolls are an Celtic-Punk band founded in Liège, Belgium, in 2017. The five members are all well respected in the Belgian alternative and Punk-Rock scene (Radio 911, Chump, We Are Minutes, Young Enough, …). With 50+ shows played within two years, the band released their debut self titled 4 track EP in March 2019. The EP was well received and also proved popular with fans at festivals and clubs around Belgium. This led to them opening for everyone from fellow renowned Celtic-Punkers The Real McKenzies to Folk-Rock artists like Jethro Tull.

The Lucky Trolls left to right: Anne Sophie Sauvage (Ms S) : Violin / Vocals * Nicolas Fréson (Mr F) : Guitars / Vocals * Romain André (Mr A) : Guitars / Bouzouki / Vocals * Fabrice Van Bever (Mr V) : Bass / Vocals * Gilles Bruneau (Mr B) : Drums *

Since then, The Lucky Trolls have kept on rocking Irish pubs and fests around Belgium, France and Switzerland. They also entered the studio at the end of last year to record their first full length album. The album’s first single is ‘City Of Iron’ and talks about corruption, political bribes and payoff’s and how this system can be oppressive even in a small town like the one we live in, Seraing, which is also known as the “City Of Iron”.

Released February 21, 2022 * Music and lyrics by The Lucky Trolls
Produced and mixed by Tim Van Doorn at Big Dog Recordings
Video directed by Terry at JNMRT Media

Come in liar, I’ve seen you around

Gimme some reasons to stay in this town

This anxiety is bringing me down

Listen to the story of the city of iron

One more scam in the city of iron

This is the end of the city of iron

*

It happened without a sound

I was caught upside down

By a red hand, a hand that grabbed my soul

And for a century I fuckin fell asleep

With no smile, no smile but a gun

*

Man are you oppressed?

Full of distress?

No one can leave this mess

*

Don’t ask me who, where, when and why

The nightmare has come to life

Hardworking men you feel it in your bones

When today’s friends, yeah today’s friends

Are tomorrow’s killers

Your future is to buy under the table

*

And big brother must die under a fire sky

The city is dead, long live all the lies

And hope will sing along, raised fist and rebel songs

The city is dead, long live all the lies

(You can stream and download City Of Iron by The Lucky Trolls for just a solitary Euro via the Bandcamp player below)

Download City Of Iron  Bandcamp

Contact The Lucky Trolls  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram Spotify

NEW SINGLE FROM SPAIN’S THE GROGGY DOGS ‘OLD MAUI’

Grog-fuelled, rum-thievin’ Punk Metal Pirate Band with a drop o’ Celtic on top!

Fresh from making the top 20 Celtic-Punk albums of 2021 Spain’s The Groggy Dogs have already sprung into action for 2022. Their new single is a cover of the seafaring classic ‘Old Maui’. The song has become a bit of a staple among the Celtic-Punk community with it often sung acapello. Traced back to the mid-19th century it tells the story of a whaling ship returning to Maui in Hawaii after a long season of whaling.

“once more we sail with a northerly gale through the ice and wind and rain”

Canadian legend Stan Rogers released a excellent version but the song was made famous in out circles by The Dreadnoughts on their 2007 album Legends Never Die. The Groggy Dogs stick closely to the Dreadnoughts version but add a fun video where the pirate quintet bring us a funny story about a robbery attempt adds to the song’s legacy.

Just under a year after the release of their acclaimed first album Grog o’Clock the Seville based pirate crew are back on board with the first single from their forthcoming new album Still Groggin. With a good measure o’ Punk, dash o’ light-hearted Ska, hard-hittin’ melodies and lyrics that chronicle the hard life of ship life. Release date for Still Groggin is March 2022, an 8-track album loaded with Punk, Ska and Irish melodies and sea-shantys.

It’s a damn tough life full of toil and strife
We whaler men undergo
And we won’t give a damn when the gale is done
How hard the winds do blow

*

For We’re homeward bound from the Arctic Gound
With a good ship taut and free
And we don’t give a damn when we drink our rum
With the girls of Old Maui

*

(chorus)

Rolling down to Old Maui, me boys
Rolling down to Old Maui
We’re homeward bound from the Arctic Ground
Rolling down to Old Maui

*

Once more we sail with a Northerly gale
Through the ice, and wind, and rain
Them coconut fronds, them tropical shores
We soon shall see again

*

For Six hellish months we passed away
On the cold Kamchatka sea
But now we’re bound from the Arctic ground
Rolling down to Old Maui

*

(chorus)

*

Once more we sail the Northerly gale
Towards our Island home
Our whaling done, out mainmast sprung
And we ain’t got far to roam

*

Our stans’l booms is carried away
What care we for that sound
A living gale is after us
Thank God we’re homeward bound

*

(Chorus)

*

How soft the breeze through the island trees
Now the ice is far astern
Them native maids, them tropical glades
Is awaiting our return

*

Even now their big, brown eyes look out
Hoping some fine day to see
Our baggy sails running ‘fore the gales

*
Rolling down to Old Maui

Rolling down to Old Maui, me boys
Rolling down to Old Maui
We’re homeward bound from the Arctic Ground
Rolling down to Old Maui
Rolling down to Old Maui, me boys
Rolling down to Old Maui
We’re homeward bound from the Arctic Ground
Rolling down to Old Maui…

Contact The Groggy Dogs  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

SIR REG NEW SINGLE ‘OPEN THE PUBS’ OUT NOW

With impeccable timing the new single from Sir Reg just beat the Irish government to ‘Open The Pubs’. A sentiment we can all agree with!

In a world of uncertainty, there’s few things that will lift your spirits like a raucous, rollicking slice of Celtic-Folk-Punk, and Swedish/Irish band Sir Reg are happy to oblige! Formed by Irishman Brendan Sheehy, who left his home-town of Dublin and headed to Sweden with a guitar and a dream.
Boasting songs that bring together everything from the issues of modern day society to finding the right bar on a Saturday night, powered by strong melodies and irresistible energy. Add to the mix an explosive live show and it’s easy to see why, Sir Reg have a formidable reputation in the Celtic-Punk scene. Since 2009 they have released five critically acclaimed albums and 2022 will shortly see them return with album #6 ‘Kings of Sweet Feck All’. First new single from the album is called ‘Open The Pubs’ on Despotz Records.

“If anyone told you a few years ago that pubs would be closed for months on end, you’d think they were having a laugh! Was no laughing matter indeed! That delicious pint of Guinness your favourite bartender pulled for you was suddenly taken away and you could only dream about it midst the ongoing nightmare!”

Lyrics: Brendan Sheehy, Chris Inoue

Directed by: Johan Lundsten

It’s 3 in the morning, I’m lying in bed

I stare the ceiling, shit thoughts in my head

I’m sick of the Netflix, it fills me with dread

Would rather a beer with my buddies instead

*

The pubs they are closed and we can’t buy a beer

I’ve been fucked during lockdown, this lousy year

Me liver is screaming to feed him a sup

So come on you bastards and open the pubs

*

The sound of the postman, highlight of my day

Whistling his song through the echoed hallway

Would rather be drinking a round at the Dub

So come on you bastards and open the pubs

*

Drinking at home, no it isn’t the same

I’m scratching me balls here just watching a game

But nobody’s cheering when they score a goal

Ah just open the pubs, I’ve a pain in me hole

(you can listen/ stream/ download the track on the Bandcamp player below)

Contact Sir Reg  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

THE POGUESTRA LATEST RELEASE ‘Fiesta’

The PoguestrA is back again this time with the perfect Christmas party song.

A group of musicians from across the world united by a love of The Pogues playing together remotely. Listen on as they continue their quest to cover all our favourite Pogues songs!

The PoguestrA continue their quest to cover everyone’s favourite Pogues song and their latest release is a song that has always been able to get the festivities going. Usually live it signaled the end, and if not the end then very near, of their gigs so it is also remembered with a tinge of sadness. Still, a grand choice of song, especially considering the time of year and also for us as it comes sandwiched perfectly between a review, by The Celtic Punk Author, of the new Shane McGowan biography, A Furious Devotion, last weekend and an interview with the books author Richard Balls coming next weekend.

Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan

‘Fiesta’ first appeared on the 1988 album If I Should Fall From Grace With God before being released as a single. It was the last time The Pogues with Shane at the helm would break into the top thirty and reached a respectable #24 in the UK charts. The rowdy video for the song was directed by Young One’s star and comic actor Ade Edmondson and filmed in Barcelona. The song itself comes from the time the Bhoys found themselves in Almeria in southern Spain as guests of cult film director Alex Cox. The film was a low-budget spaghetti Western called Straight To Hell, and also starred the likes of Joe Strummer and Courtney Love. It’s definitely no Fistful Of Dollars and at the time I wasn’t alone in thinking it an indulgent mess but I have warmed to it more as the years have passed. The last few years have seen the film being released as director’s cut and also a half decent soundtrack too.

In the words of Pogues guitarist Phillip Chevron

“‘Fiesta’ actually came out from our time in Spain. We had peculiar hours. We would get up at 6 in the morning and drive to the set, which was about 25 miles from the hotel. This meant that we had to get to bed relatively early, which was difficult enough for The Pogues. The actual hotel in the film is the one we stayed in. Typically we would get back at 8 O’clock, have a bite to eat and a few drinks to unwind and then go to bed. We were filming at Fiesta time, and the Spanish take their Fiestas very seriously. The problem with the Fiesta is that they start at sun down and continue to sun up. That wouldn’t be too bad except the noise of the fiesta is something else. All through the time we were in Almeria there was two tunes that kept playing, they came like Chinese water torture. It would stop for five minutes and then start again. The first tune was what we made the main tune in ‘Fiesta’ and the other one was coming from the doll-selling stall. You know the line ‘will you kindly kill a doll for me!'”

Appropriately the last line of the song reads “the shouts outside of the houses.”

Fiesta performed by The PoguestrA

Written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan

I am Francisco Vasquez Garcia
I am welcome to Almeria
We have sin gas and con leche
We have fiesta and feria
We have the song of the chochona
We have brandy and half corona
And Leonardo and his accordione
And calamari and macaroni

*

Come all you rambling boys of pleasure
And ladies of easy leisure
We must say Adios! until we see
Almeria once again

*

There is a minstrel, there you see,
And he stoppeth one in three
He whispers in this one’s ear
“Will you kindly kill that doll for me”
Now he has won chochona in the bingo
All the town has watched this crazy gringo
As he pulls off the doll’s head laughing
And ­miraldo! throws its body in the sea

*

El vienticinco de agosto
Abrio sus ojos Jaime Fearnley
Pero el bebe cinquante Gin-campari
Y se tendio para cerrarlos
Y Costello el rey del America
Y suntuosa Cait O Riordan
Non rompere mes colliones
Los gritos fuera de las casas

*

PoguestrA credits

Cisco: Vocals (Italy) / Yuri Lemeshev: Accordion (New York) / Nandu Popu: Harmonica, Vocals (Salento) / Daniel Al-Ayoubi: Mandolin (Germany) / Brandon Caylor: Mando-Guitar (California) / Giacomo Chiaramonte: BanjoBass (Italy) / Helena Cooke: Tenor Sax (England) / Tanis de Simón: Guitar (Almería, Spain) / John Dunne: Trumpet, Vocals (England) / Mark Hamilton: Accordion (Alberta, Canada) / Kaelin Harding: Banjo (Wyoming, USA) / Elizabeth Harman: Fiddle (California) / Robin Hiermer: Vocals (Germany) / Marc Hoper: Vocals (Germany) / Jez Ingarfield: Vocals (England) / Mattia Malusardi: Bouzouki (Italy) / Vince Martini: Bass (California) / Eddie ‘Hernandez’ Moss: Saxophone (UK) / Nick Neale: Drums (Canary Islands) / Rick Nuttall: Vocals (England) / Moisés Álvarez Rodríguez: Ukulele (Spain) / Daniele Rubertelli: Accordion (Italy) / Ron Spee: Banjo (The Netherlands) / Daniele Tristano: Guitar (Matera, Italy) / Geert van Beek: Drums (The Netherlands) / Marcel van Bergen: Guitar (The Netherlands) / Tim van den Hombergh: Tin Whistles, Piano (The Netherlands) / Paddy Vervoort: Vocals (The Netherlands) / MeLinda Wright: Alto Sax (Austin, Texas) / Zac: Vocals (Italy).

Audio & Video editing by Tim van den Hombergh

If you are interested in joining the PoguestrA for future songs then get in touch with the gang viaYouTube orFacebook

FINNEGAN’S HELL RELEASE ‘Christmas Day’ TO KICK YULETIME ’21 OFF!

Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall?
It’s the time that every Santa has a ball
Does he ride a red nosed reindeer?
Does he turn up on his sleigh
Do the fairies keep him sober for a day?

It’s Christmas… nearly. I’m not one of them zealots who has the tree up in November but have to say it’s my favourite time of year and second only to St. Patrick’s Day for the flurry of activity in the Celtic-Punk scene. Kicking off Christmas 2021 are the fantastic Finnegan’s Hell who are no strangers to the auld Christmas song genre with a new song and video for ‘Christmas Day’.

(Official Finnegan’s Hell music video directed by Michael Ek)

Well, it’s Christmas again and I’m cold to the bone

It seems Santa ain’t coming this year

Such a shame I have seen this before

It’s become a tradition Christmas alone

It’s just me and my beer

*

 A choir on TV is singing their hearts out

The children are smiling, there’s joy everywhere

But here in my room there’s just misery and gloom

I wish I was dead drunk, but I really don’t care

*

Well, it’s Christmas again

Just a year since the last one

It’s a curse, such a bummer one cannot escape

It’s snowing outside and I try to keep warm

 But the window is busted and I’m all out of tape

*

Well, it’s Christmas again and I sure miss my family

My wife took our children and they all ran away

I don’t know why they left they sure ain’t coming back here

I’m alone in this hell How I curse Christmas Day!

*

A dystopian in your face tale of a dysfunctional Christmas day and not one I would wish on anyone! As far away from the world of sugarplums and tinsel as is possible but then again the most famous and bestest Christmas song in the world is as well! Don’t despair though we’ll be back with something a bit positive any time soon. As a wee bonus a film team got the rare opportunity to follow Finnegan’s Hell during the studio recording their time recording ‘Happy Christmas’. This is the story behind the music.

Contact Finnegan’s Hell  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

Stream / Buy ‘Christmas Day’ : https://orcd.co/happy-christmas

THE CLOVERHEARTS NEW SINGLE ‘Thorn In My Side’

The brand new video from Aussie/ Italian Celtic-Punkers The Cloverhearts. ‘Thorn In My Side’ with a strong message against bullying. Lots of change for the Italian band. A new manager and band members but the same ol’ Cloverhearts sound at heart!

‘Thorn In My Side’ is a bagpipe-driven power anthem about staying true to yourself, and not letting the words of others get you down. In 2021, where the cowardly stalk their prey from behind computer screens, it’s important to remember the words of the weak don’t define who you are.

The Cloverhearts – Thorn in My Side

You were the thorn in my side, You were the thorn in my side.

I’m digging down, to cut you out.

You won’t break my stride.

*

Oh, the thorn in my side. Oh, the thorn in my side.

Keep diggin’ in, but you won’t win.

Oh, thorn in my side.

*

You’ve been the thorn in my side,

But you won’t get the best of me,

You won’t get the best of me, Oh no.

*

Your sticks and your stones,

Won’t break my bones, oh no.

Won’t break my bones, No they won’t.

*

Your words won’t work, No your words won’t hurt,

You won’t break this soul…

Your words won’t work, No your words won’t hurt,

I’m letting you know…

*

You’ve been the slap in my face,

But I’m ’a turn the other cheek,

I’m ’a turn the other cheek, I will.

*

Because your sad little words,

Come from insecurity,

And they won’t get the best of me, Oh no.

*

Oh, you won’t break these bones.

Oh, with your names.

Oh, you won’t break these bones.

Oh, not today.

Oh, thorn in my side.

*

Directed by Francesco Agostini Produzioni * Filmed at Spazio Webo

Music and Lyrics by Sam Cooper

The Cloverhearts are a Italian Celtic-Punk band, founded in 2019 – just months before the pandemic hit. From the start, the response towards The Cloverhearts’ music has been overwhelmingly positive! With a year of touring booked for 2020 and beyond, the future of the band was looking bright.

Then, pandemic. And then, nothing.

Now as we see glimmers of hope on the horizon, we’re looking to get back to work. We’re raising funds to pay off minor debts, and to pay for minor expenses such as merch production and travel costs to help us get back on the road in 2022. Coming soon will be an acoustic album supported on Kickstarter. To find out more watch the video where Sam explains the current goings on at Cloverhearts HQ. 

Download Thorn In My Side   Spotify  iTunes 

Contact The Cloverhearts  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram  Bandcamp

NEW SINGLE ‘2 Birds’ FROM BRYAN McPHERSON

Not many folk have featured on these pages as much as Bryan McPherson has. To say we are fans is a massive understatement. Bryan’s new single landed yesterday and he celebrated after the video release with a ‘Live Stream’ show.

Been waiting for this for the last few weeks the new single from London Celtic Punks favourite Bryan McPherson. It’s two years now since fiery, Folk-playing, Irish-American blue-collar native of Boston Bryan put out the album Kings Corner and he has recently announced the release of a new album How To Draw Everything for early 2022. Produced by Ted Hutt (who makes another regular appearance on here!) and with several top-notch guest musicians including ex-Dropkick Murphys’ Marc Orrell on mandolin and a load of other instruments as well, Dustbowl Revival’s drummer Josh Heffernan, violinist Chris Murphy and Ted Hutt again on bass and percussion.

“How To Draw Everything isn’t just Bryan’s latest record; it’s a whole new beginning for him as an artist. On the meditative “2 Birds,” he muses, “There’s something about the sky that makes me grateful to be alive.” From the perspective of age comes a spiritual death of what was, and in its place, a re-discovering of peace, country, and self are found. Hope finally outweighs despair and can be reclaimed, like a child wondering at the seeds of a dandelion. Bryan defies us to admit hope was there all along.”  – Aaron Carnes

A simple search for Bryan through this site will throw up a list of reviews and other articles into the double digits. So where to start? With nearly every artist I can think of I would never dream of suggesting someone start with the new (let alone unreleased!) material but for Bryan I would. That’s about the highest compliment you could pay ant musician I think. Yeah go ahead and definitely check out his back catalogue (it’s brilliant!)  but be sure to keep a beady eye out for that new album when it comes out.

Pre-Save ‘2 Birds’ on Apple Music, Spotify, and More

Contact Bryan McPherson  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube 

How To Draw Everything – Digital Release, CD, and Double LP Coming in early 2022

SINGLE REVIEW: BASTARD HYENA – ‘All Hyenas Goes To Heaven’ (2021)

New Celtic-Punk band alert!!

The new single from a band less than a year old we give you Bastard Hyena.

One thing the Celtic-Punk scene has never been short of is bands with the word ‘Bastard’ in the title. Great bands like Uncle Bard And The Dirty, Mr. Irish, Bay Street, Middle Class, Smokey (no not them), Bearded Irishmen, Bunch Of, On Parade and even Aires Bastardos from Argentina! Now we can add another one this time from Gothenburg in Sweden. Bastard Hyena are pretty much the newest band in Celtic-punk having come together towards the end of 2020. With a love of both Celtic and Bluegrass music they chuck in melodic Pub-Punk and come up with ‘Trashgrass’ with songs about dopamines, loss, love and middle finger to right wing politics.

The single is a loving tribute to a beloved friend and sister that recently passed away. For someone who would’ve been disappointed to have a slow, sad song and instead got the upbeat party song they wanted and deserved! The first track is ‘All Hyenas Goes To Heaven’ a fast and furious thrashy Celtic-Punk number with the emphasis on fast. It’s only just over two minutes long and Carl’s vocals remind me of snotty American 80’s Punk bands. Played with heart and banjo heavy it’s very definitely a unpolished gem but what it’s missing in production value it more than makes up for in heart!

“I know you wouldn’t want me to write a slow sad song

So I wrote this song for you and others to shout and sing along

Through cheers and tears we raise our glass to honor who you were

A lovely friend, so confident and covered in striped fur”

The only other track is ‘Old And Golden Days’ and follows much the same path only shorter and faster! Telling of the past and the adventures we get up to and the memories we will always hold.

All Hyenas Goes To Heaven is available on Bandcamp at the link below for ‘name your price’ download. Meaning you can pay whatever you like for it. The near future will see Bastard Hyena release a split tape with acoustic songs which will be available physically and digitally on Bandcamp in the new year. It’s fair to say that the Celtic-Punk scene is heavily biased to just a handful of bands but hopefully it’s changing as new bands come along and are introduced to wider audiences. This site isn’t for the Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Mollys it’s for bands just like Bastard Hyena.

(You can stream or download All Hyenas Goes To Heaven via the Bandcamp player below)

Download All Hyenas Goes To Heaven  NameYourPrice

Contact Bastard Hyena

EXCLUSIVE! FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE GOBSHITES NEW SINGLE ‘America’

The casual Celtic-Punk fan may not be aware of Boston Irish band The Gobshites but for obsessives like us they are one of the leading Celtic-Punk bands out there. Time to change that and get these Bhoys the love and respect they deserve.

FREE DOWNLOAD 

It was back in 2002 Boston Irish-American punk rocker Pete Walsh, then the lead singer and rhythm guitar player for punk band Meat Depressed, decided he wanted to start up an Irish band. Within a few weeks The Gobshites were up and running and were even supporting New York Irish legends Black 47 in their first gig. The band has seen many line up changes over the years but every now and then they manage to stick together long enough to release some of the best records in Celtic-Punk history. Debut album, When The Shite Hits The Fans, instantly struck a chord in the American-Irish community and led to them playing all over the northeastern United States as well as the renowned Shamrockfest in Washington DC. That year they even famously played on a float on the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade! Two more albums, Get Bombed and Another Round, came in quick succession then a wee gap before Songs Me Da Got Pissed To and the official live bootleg Poitin. They continued to play intermittently leading up to The Whistle Before the Snap in 2017 which featured Ritchie Ramone on drums and which, for the first time, consisted of solely Gobshites penned songs. Since then things have slowed down leading to the release of All The Best, a Gobshites greatest hits album that I never tire of recommending to anyone. The Gobshites never give up though and just recently we have seen a return to form with a cover of the House Of Pain classic ‘Jump Around’ (almost… yes almost, as good as the original!) and now a cover of the Neil Diamond classic ‘America’. Gobshites singer Pete Walsh has also turned his hand to producing and is responsible for the release earlier this year of what is planned to be a series of albums in tribute to seminal American-Irish band Black 47. The first After Hours compilation came out earlier this year and features several of the scenes best or upcoming bands. Well worth checking out.

Far
We’ve been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a star
Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream

On the boats and on the planes
They’re coming to America
Never looking back again
They’re coming to America

Home, don’t it seem so far away
Oh, we’re traveling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm

Home, to a new and a shiny place
Make our bed, and we’ll say our grace
Freedom’s light burning warm
Freedom’s light burning warm

Everywhere around the world
They’re coming to America
Every time that flag’s unfurled
They’re coming to America

Got a dream to take them there
They’re coming to America
Got a dream they’ve come to share
They’re coming to America

They’re coming to America
They’re coming to America
They’re coming to America
They’re coming to America
Today, today, today, today, today

My country ’tis of thee
Today
Sweet land of liberty
Today
Of thee I sing
Today
Of thee I sing
Today

‘America’ was written by Neil Diamond and first appeared in the movie musical The Jazz Singer in 1980 and tells the story of a young Jewish man played by Diamond who is torn between tradition and pursuing his dreams as a pop singer. The film ends with Diamonds character Yussel Rabinovitch now known as Jess Robin (“and they never even got so far that they could change our names”) performing ‘America’ in a spellbinding end to a rather unremarkable film. The song tells of the history of immigration to the United States and is no doubt a tribute to Brooklyn born Diamond’s own family who emigrated out of poverty and discrimination from Russia and Poland but also the untold thousands who came to America in similar circumstances to make a better life for themselves and their children.

Get your **FREE** download of America below. Only until November 18th.

HERE

Contact The Gobshites  Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube  Twitter  LastFM

THE CRAZY ROGUES NEW SINGLE ‘Empire Of Sand’ OUT NOW

Hungarian Celtic-Punk band The Crazy Rogues are back with a new Folk-Punk song inspired by a different part of the world than usual but still with as much crazy, rogue vibe as they could muster.

2015 and 2017 were the years that Hungarian bands dominated the Celtic-Punk scene. A whole slew of bands had releases that filled those years Best Of charts and one of the many bands was The Crazy Rogues. Founded in 2014 in the city of Veszprém their stated aim was to spread the mood and atmosphere of Irish pubs all over Hungary.
One of the things the Hungarian scene was famous for was not sticking to the standard Celtic-Punk formula and The Crazy Rogues mixed in plenty of other influences from around the world for a sound they called ‘Rogue’n’Roll’.

With things returning to normal it’s great news to see bands back on the stage and back in the studio and a brand new track, Empire Of Sand, came out last week. The video below is a slightly different version from the one released so be sure to listen to the Bandcamp one below as well. The song is the first single from The Crazy Rogues forthcoming new album, set for release soon, and blends their trademark Celtic-Punk sound with Arabic tunes. It will feature twelve songs, of which eight will be new compositions from the band, and we can’t wait to hear it.

The Sun goes high,
Crawls towards the top of the Sky…
It shines so bright
It makes you wish you could die

Masters they watch
Whipping on our backs one more notch
We work all day
We won’t live too long I’m afraid

Our name in your mouth:
stinky slave dog
You think my life or
death’s worth even less than a great slog
You refuse to rest
at our campfire
But our dirty hands
are building your empire

Chorus:
Hot sand in waves
worn-out slaves
Just keep the pace
It’s a deadly place
Pyramid’s tall
I will outlive you all
building it up
you will have to fall

The Crazy Rogues: Teo Biermann – Flute, Vocals * László Verrasztó – Lead Vocals * Dávid Csillag – Violin, Vocals * Krisztián Fellegi – Banjo, Mandolin, Vocals * Gábor Fazekas – Guitars, Vocals * Péter Németh – Bass * Ákos Nagy – Drums *

Buy Empire of Sand  Bandcamp  Deezer  Apple Music  

Contact The Crazy Rogues  Facebook  SoundCloud  YouTube  Instagram

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

IT’S A NEW FLOGGING MOLLY SONG !

A band that need no introduction! 

FLOGGING MOLLY

We spotted a new song that appeared on You Tube a couple of days ago. Flogging Molly are one of the two BIG Celtic-Punk bands but do spend a lot of time in the Dropkick’s shadow due mainly to how busy the Murphys keep themselves. So it is that when we get a morsel we do tend to get over excited about it. Maybe that’s the same reason why Beth Schmit has labelled it ‘Coffee Boy’ rather than ‘Croppy Boy’! Only joking Beth thanks for uploading.

No other information on where / when it was recorded but they are currently on a co-headline tour in the States with the Violent Femmes so it must have been on one of them. Maybe someone can confirm?

The phrase ‘Croppy Boy’ dates back to the late 1700’s and the fashion at the time among the aristocracy was to wear powdered wigs (think series 3 of Blackadder) and revolutionaries in Ireland followed the lead of their friends in France by shunning these wigs. These young men cropped their hair instead and were often found to be associated with the patriotic Society of United Irishmen. Because of this they were often picked up by the British authorities for interrogation. This interrogation was more akin to torture as the use of flogging, picketing and half-hanging was commonplace . As was the horrific use of pitchcapping, or An Caip Bháis in Irish, which was the act of pouring hot tar into a paper cap which was then placed onto the suspect’s head, let cool and then ripped off taking with it skin and tissue. This was used specifically against the Croppies but they retaliated by cropping the hair of their enemies making it harder to identify people and their sympathies.

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)

*

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/ )

*

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

 ➖

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

UKRANIAN BAND SHAMrocks NEW TRACK FROM FORTHCOMING NEW ALBUM

Celtic-Punk is a worldwide phenomenon these days and a perfect example is band ShamRocks. The first band of Ukraine’s Celtic-Punk scene and originators of ‘Stout Rock’ – a blend of Irish, Scottish, Breton, Finnish and Folk music with Punk, rock and metal.

Here they have released the first song from their forthcoming new album Bring It On!

ShamRocks were born in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev in 2009 so in a slow moving scene they are still  relatively newcomers. With a mutual love of traditional Irish and Scottish music, Finnish polkas, ancient sea shanties and good old fashioned Punk-Rock and Metal ShamRocks have released three albums with some of the best modern adaptations of classic Folk songs put to record. Traditional melodies played on fiddle, mandolin, flute and accordion and mixed up with head-banging riffs that are still heavy and danceable but with their roots intact.

ShamRocks – (top) Andrew Neretin – Guitar, Vocals * Alexey Sletkov – Drums (bottom) Sergiy Khudoliy – Keytar, Vocals * Anatoliy Khomenko – Violin, Mandolin, Vocals * Serge Vdovychenko – Bass, Vocals *

Their album’s Captain’s Log (2016) and Ye Olde Chariot (2017) both had that ‘crowded pub’ feel to them and more charted high in the end of year London Celtic Punks Best Of polls, with Captain’s Log reaching the heights of #4 that year. So it was with Covid coming along and spoiling everyone’s plans Bring It On! had to be delayed but buoyed by the massive success of the Dropkick Murphys Paddy’s Day live stream a couple of days later ShamRocks played a fantastic set broadcast across Facebook to every corner of the globe. The (almost) full set would become their third album FCP Live and with no ‘post-production magic’ it’s the pure ShamRocks experience. Original songs, Folk tunes, sea-shanties, Celtic-Punk classics and pub songs, ShamRocks can take any tune and turn it into a crazy and unique sounding experience!

No question as tired and old

“How much value does freedom hold

As bodies pile up in the morgues?”

We’re paying the ultimate price

The blank stare in dead soldiers’ eyes

There is no return; if we struggle and fall

There won’t be a flag left to mourn

You thought you could test our will

That centuries dulled our steel

You tried to go in for the kill

It’s time to stand proud

(We rise with our kin!)

It’s time to stand free

(We fight and we win!)

The aging empire can go and get bent

We’re drawing the line in the sand

Till our last breath we’ll

Stand fast

Another day passed

It won’t be our last

You know we can’t afford to fail now

We’ll reap what we’ve sown

Protect what we’ve grown

We’ll hold the line with pure anger

All our frustration

Determination

We are the ultimate punk nation

We need no masters

Now could you bastards

Fuck off to kingdom come

You know we won’t succumb

Whoa! Who-oa! Who-oa! Who-oa-oa-oa!

Who-oa! Who-oa! Who-o-oa!

Whoa! Who-oa! Who-oa! Who-oa-oa-oa!

Who-oa! Who-oa! Who-o-oa!

Whoa! Who-oa! Who-oa! Who-oa-oa-oa!

Who-oa! Who-oa!

YAAAR!

Stand fast

Another day passed

It won’t be our last

You know we can’t afford to fail now

We’ll reap what we’ve sown

Protect what we’ve grown

We’ll hold the line with pure anger

All our frustration

Determination

We are the

Ultimate

Punk

Nation

We need no masters

Now would you bastards

Just Fuck!

OFF!

The struggle shall go on!

Video shot by Aleksey Khoroshko and Iryna Piatanchuk. Edited by Sergiy Khudoliy

Mixed and mastered @Komora Studio, 2021

ShamRocks have just come back from playing their first live festival in two years and are finally looking forward to getting back to normal starting with the release of their next studio album. The plan is to release a few more singles along the way as they work on recording the rest of the album. Understandably they are reluctant to give a release date but stay in touch with us here at London Celtic Punks as we can’t wait to hear it and we will be among the first to break the news!!

(‘Punk Nation’ can be streamed and/or downloaded from Bandcamp for just $1)

Contact ShamRocks  WebSite  Facebook   YouTube   Bandcamp   VK.Com

NEW SINGLE FROM OGRAS ABOUT NORWEGIAN IMMIGRANTS IN RED HOOK, BROOKLYN

Yes its been rather slim pickings so far in 2021 for Celtic-Punk fans. There’s been a few gems (The Black Clover, Real McCoys, The Peelers, Sean Tobin and, of course, the new Dropkick Murphys album) but if there’s one band that can be relied on for providing some decent tunes it’s Ogras! The six-piece band from western Norway shot onto the scene last year with the release of their album No Love In The City. The album went on to hit the #1 spot in the Best Of 2020 polls for both us and Paddyrock and never before had we both agreed on the best Celtic-Punk album of the year. Not bad for a band no one outside Norway had heard of 12 months previous.

One of the joys of Ogras music is not just the music, though that is damn good, is the stories they tell within the song. These guys have truly embraced the ancient Irish way of the Seanchaí who would roam the land recording and then telling the history and stories of the old ways. That Ogras can tell a tale within the confines of a three or four minute song is an amazing feat and all a million miles away from the usual drinking’n’fighting we usually hear. On No Love In The City it was circus performers, outcasts, freaks and other round pegs in square holes while the follow up single ‘Sideshoe Hallelujah‘ stayed in the same territory and the hypocrisy in cheering for the sideshow freaks during the show and mocking them afterwards.

GOSPEL

We’ve seen trouble

in kerosene light

We’ve seen murder

over methanol delights

And we’ve seen worries

in the cold, cold rain

And we’ve seen pain

*

There’s a shadow in Red Hook

It’s there day and night

Through the smoke of ol’ barrels

You can see the Brooklyn lights

➖

But it’s home to the queen, the mayor

the wolf and to me.

➖

So we’ll stay here

We’ll cry here

We’ll pray here

We’ll die here

We’ll never grow old

So we’ll make us a life here

➖

It’s home to the queen, the mayor
the wolf and to me.

GOSPEL

Love’s the only thing brave girl

Love’s the only thing to slip away

I still miss the old country

Sometimes I even miss the snow

I keep my dreams to myself

So no one can ever know

➖

That this is the home to the queen, the mayor
the wolf and to me.

Ogras new single ‘Red Hook’ is a gospel-infused up-tempo Folk-Rock tune, as always done with a very particular acoustic/electric mix. The lyrics are inspired by the horrific stories of poor and unemployed Norwegian immigrants to New York 100 years ago. The homeless gathered in a community called ‘Ørkenen Sur’ (‘The Bitter Desert’) in Red Hook, Brooklyn. At a time when people from every European nation were fleeing from poverty, oppression and unrest in search of happiness and prosperity in the States, between 1825 and 1925 almost a million Norwegians left for North America. Roughly a third of the entire population of Norway, a higher proportion of any other country other than Ireland. Those early immigrants were almost all farmers so settled in rural areas in the Midwest becoming the most rural of any group arriving in America in the nineteenth century. Others, mainly sailors, were drawn to the city where competition for jobs and housing were high and many slipped through the gaps thankful for a place where they would find if not material needs at least a little comfort and love.

“Between barrels, pipes and in wrecked cars they made their home and where they lived, in summer and winter. Instead evolved into a separate small community.”

The setting for both On The Waterfront and Last exit To Brooklyn, Red Hook was, in the 1990s, named  in Life magazine as one of the “worst” neighborhoods in the United States and as “the crack capital of America”. A legacy no doubt of how much was cared for the working classes and the places they lived.  Today the Norwegian diaspora in the States is the tenth largest from Europe and the ancestors of those early settlers still celebrate their roots and traditions in high numbers.

Ogras (left to right) Knut Peder Voldset – Guitars * Aleksander Eidsvåg – Fiddle * Filip Eidsvåg – Drums * Thomas Dahle – Bass * Pål Elnan – Piano, Organ and Trumpet * Paul Solåt – Vocals

‘Red Hook’ was recorded at Ocean Sound Recordings in Norway and mixed by Jordon Silva (California), known for mixing The Avett Brothers, Flogging Molly among others. The video was shot in the landfill docks of Åndalsnes and, as usual, made by the exceptional one-man production team of Thomas Dahle.

Download Red Hook  Here

Contact Ogras  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

WE’RE ON THE MARCH WITH STEVIE’S ARMY! THE CUNDEEZ ANTHEM FOR THE SCOTLAND NATIONAL TEAM

Ready to banish all memories of 1978 Scotland have qualified for Euro 21 and to start off the campaign Dundee band The Cundeez present ‘Kilts On Taps Aff’. A football anthem to beat all other football anthems 6 (six)- 0!

This year members of the Scotland national team will have to find someone else to tend their gardens as they will be otherwise occupied! 2021 sees a rare summer outing for the Scotland national team and it’s only fitting that our favourite Scottish band The Cundeez should celebrate Scotland’s qualification for this years European Championships with a rockin’ Celtic-Punk number that’s sure to be a big hit among the Tartan Army and their fans in the Celtic-Punk scene.

Scotland narrowly missed out on automatic qualification for UEFA Euro 2020, but nail-biting victories in penalty shootouts in the play-offs against Israel and Serbia meant Scotland under the leadership of manager Steve Clarke were into their first major tournament since 1998.

*

Thirz an army massed, see the banners fly

Thirz a saltire set on a clear blue sky

The pipes fire up an wir on wir way

Oor time, oor place, this is oor day

*

Kilts on taps aff, Kilts on taps aff

Kilts on taps aff, Kilts on taps aff

*

Highs an lows we’ve had a few

Ups and doons but we’ll follow you

Fae the Highlands, islands, hills and glens

Fae the city streets. here we go again

*

Kilts on taps aff, Kilts on taps aff
Kilts on taps aff, Kilts on taps aff

*

Voice of the past, hear the Hampden Roar

The terrace chants singin’ “We want more!”

Itz in the blood, runnin’ through oor veins

The Celtic spirit they can never tame

*

Kilts on taps aff, Kilts on taps aff
Kilts on taps aff, Kilts on taps aff

*

Battle hardened an wir on the move

The Tartan Army gonna raise the roof

Thirz a Lion Rampant an a beatin’ heart

So come on boys, this is just the start

*

We’ll be backing Na H-Abhagan Breacan (The Tartan Terriers) through the tournament up to the final on Sunday 11th July and will be glued to our telly’s watching their games.

Monday 14 June: Scotland vs Czech Republic (3pm, Glasgow)

Friday 18 June: England vs Scotland (9pm, London)

Tuesday 22 June: Croatia vs Scotland (9pm, Glasgow)

The Cundeez don’t have a huge media machine or major record company backing, just the small but brilliant independent label Tarbeach Records based in New York so give a lads a hand to take over the Summer by sharing and, of course, purchasing. The track is available to download direct from Tarbeach via credit card or PayPal. The band recently released their fifth album Teckle And Hide which hit the dizzy heights of #4 in 2020’s London Celtic Punks album of the year.

“Bagpipe heavy Celtic-Punk that is never afraid to stray off into other genres. Possibly their most accessible album to date it still has their trademark fast, punchy, catchy Punk-Rock and the same shouty vocals delivered in that raw Dundee dialect but their Celtic and Ska influences see them moving into new territory without ever watering down their music or their identity.”

Teckle And Hide is available on CD and vinyl(download coming soon I am told!) from Tarbeach Records.

Contact The Cundeez  Facebook  YouTube  Spotify  Twitter

SINGLE REVIEW: THE POKES – ‘Sail’ (2021)

The Pokes rock. The Pokes are danceable.
Berlin’s No. 1 Folk-Punk band are back with a new 7″ vinyl release.

It’s been seven years since The Pokes were last featured on these pages for their album Mayday, and the intervening years seem to have done them no harm judging by this their new single. Now two tracks in seven years doesn’t seem like much of a return but I have to say that both these songs are top notch and I thoroughly enjoyed them and hopefully they point to a rejuvenated Pokes and new recordings to come. Based in Berlin, Germany ‘Sail’ is the bands sixth release since their debut EP Hello, My Dear in 2005 and show a band that has always took it’s time and never rushed out their releases. On their web-site you can download for free a whole bunch of songs from their previous albums which track their progression from those early days and their incorporation of genres like Klezmer and Ska into their trademark sound. In the review of Mayday I compared them to legendary Geordie Folk-Punkers The Whisky Priests but here on ‘Sail’ they have a far more punky sound while still retaining a whole host of Folk and Celtic instruments.

The first track here is ‘Catch Me’ and a tale of a harassed delivery driver rushing from delivery to delivery (“Call me wanker, Call me Santa, I’m the parcel guy on the run”) and a plea for us all to be nicer to them though I must admit to not finding it easy when you find a parcel outside in the rain because they haven’t rang the doorbell! Catchy as feck with chugging guitar and fiddle the song soon sweeps away with accordion and drums kicking in. The Pokes manage to convey their message with humour something a lot of bands ought to realise makes it easier to digest. (“Yeah, one day I am going to burn, Burn all your parcels and quit”) A fantastic start which even sees the pipes taking a turn halfway though the song and we can never resist the sound of that magical instrument. The title track ‘Sail!’ is the flipside and again is sung in English, not untypical for German bands at all. The song has a sea-shanty feel to it unsurprisingly and while it may have been middle-class hipsters that brought the sea-shanty back out into the open again Celtic-Punk bands have been singing them for decades now. The accordion is king here and leads from beginning to end as the catchiness reaches #11!

Together the 7″ lasts almost eight minutes so decent value too. Released primarily on vinyl which has slowly but surely started to return to Celtic-Punk the cover features accordion player Matthias and is released on the famous German DIY label Mad Butcher Records. These two songs can be viewed as a taster as the good news is that a fifth Pokes album is currently on the way and will also be released by Mad Butcher. What can we say except more of the same please guys!!

Download Sail  MadButcherRecords (Vinyl) Amazon (Download)

Contact The Pokes  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

 

NEW SINGLE FROM AUSSIE CELT-ROCKERS SHAMBOLICS

Things have been a bit quiet on the Aussie Celtic-Punk scene of late but just like buses prepare for some of the best Celtic-Punk in town with todays offering from Shambolics and the new EP from The Ramshackle Army coming soon. 

Shambolics (there’s no The!) hail from Adelaide which is the capital city of South Australia (and yes they do a knock out version and play good auld fashioned Poguesy style Irish Celt’n’Roll. The sort of tunes you are just as likely to hear at your local Irish centre with yer Nan as well as at a Punk gig at some rundown dive. Formed out of the ashes of another Celtic-Punk band, The Gartloney Rats, they have featured here in the past with reviews of their debut release the six-track EP Pogue Mahone (in gaelic ‘póg mo thóin’) which is of course the Irish for ‘kiss my arse’ and also the original name of The Pogues (until the Brit media realised what it meant and made them change it!). The Pogues reference fits Shambolics well as unlike the majority of Aussie Celtic-Punk bands they follow a much more folkier path than. Well that was 214 and two years later came there debut album Riot On Race Day with ten original songs from rollickin’ Celtic-Punk to Country and spaghetti western.

“A love and respect for folk music but which is never afraid to take it and shake it and give it a nudge up to the modern day”.

So it’s been a good few years that the Bhoys have graced the pages of London Celtic Punks not that they haven’t been busy and their regular updates have shown a band that gigs regularly in and out of town and is more than a little well known overseas too.

The new track ‘Goin Off’ takes Celtic-Punk into the realm of Surf-Rock and a sorta Irish take on both the Beach Boys and The Ramones. Catchy and totally different but yet unmistakably Shambolics still. Written by frontman Jimmy I hope this heralds a new wave of releases from the band as they have been sorely missed. The song is available for just a measly single dollar so support Celtic-Punk musicians in these shitty times.

Contact The Band  Facebook  Bandcamp  Soundcloud  Twitter

NEW SINGLE ‘As I Roved Out One Morning’ FROM CALLUM HOUSTON

Acoustic Alternative Folk Rock.
Made in Bretagne. Inspired in Ireland.

We’re big fans of Callum Houston and when we heard he had a new single out we had a quick chat to find out the lowdown on what it was all about.

This song first started out as a chord pattern I randomly came up with and posted on Facebook. I was then convinced to make a song out of it by my friend Anthony who plays with the Ska band The Groovin’ Jailers from the North of France. I had meet him previously while on tour with the Graveyard Johnnys when we had shared a stage together. I quickly made a structure for the song and sent it to him to put record some Dobro over the top. I had just got back from doing a week long St Patrick’s Facebook tour where I played live with a number of musicians in different locations all across Bretagne. My head was full of old Irish ballads so I cut a load of lines from songs and pasted them together to make a Frankenstein style ballad of my own. The words seemed to fall into place easily and actually pretty well portrayed the week that proceeded them. Both my parts and Anthony’s parts were recorded in our own home studios. I then sent the track over to another great friend and even better musician Sleeper Bill from Rennes, he added some piano and then with ease took over the mixing and mastering malarkey which I am hopeless at. The beautiful artwork was hand crafted by my good neighbor Maire Pauline. It was great fun creating it together and I hope you can enjoy it as much as I did. More music will follow in the coming months and some concerts (fingers crossed).

As I roved out one morning, at the dawning of the day,

I meet a pretty maid, traipsing along my way,

Like a fox caught in the headlights,

I looked with surprise,

My mind being bent on rambling,

away I did fly

*

I said no nay never, no never again,

I’ve traveled many miles, from glen to glen,

There’s some that you fuss over, and some that you forgo,

I fell right for a raggle taggle gypsyo,

*

 Her eyes they shone like diamonds,

she’s the queen of this town,

Like an angel I have lost my wings, fallen to the ground,

There was whiskey in the jar, and the maid behind the bar, it was the parting glass,

Her eyes they shone like diamonds,

she’s the queen of this town,

Like an angel I have lost my wings, fallen to the ground,

There was whiskey in the jar, and the maid behind the bar gave the parting glass,

That went just a little too far

*

 Now through the Foggy Dew,

I search for you, as I rove around,

the streets of this Dirty old Town.

*

Callum Houston – Guitar, Vocals / Anthony Francois – Dobro / Sleeper Bill – Piano
Mixed and mastered by Sleeper Bill / Artwork by Marie Pauline Van Parys

To promote the single Callum performed a craicing live stream set of original material. If you missed it fear not click here to be re-directed straight there! Music begins from 3 minutes in and lasts just over a hour. The single costs just €0.99 so help out struggling artists by helping them to get a pint!

Download As I Roved Out One Morning  FromCallum

Contact Callum Houston  Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube  Spotify

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 SINGLE FROM A NEW BAND! ALL THOSE EMPTY PUBS

There’s a new band on the Celtic-Punk scene and what a great name! All Those Empty Pubs hail from up in the Swiss Alps and have just put out their debut release. We got to ask Diego the bands only member (!) a few questions.

Not a great year for music was 2020 but it did have small rays of sunshine and one has to have been the birth of All those Empty Pubs, created as a solo music project by talented multi-instrumentalist Diego. With over twenty years of Punk-Rock experience, with brief sidetracks into Medieval Folk and Ska, backed up with more live shows than hot dinners and multiple publication and internet features he has finally arrived at the best music in the world. That of Celtic-Folk-Punk.

It’s not uncommon these days for solo acts to give themselves grandiose names but these are usually of the dreary, wailing and whining singer-songwriter type. Here although the band is but Diego he’s not averse to new band members hopping on board so if you live near him then give him a shout and bring your talent. The ‘groups’ first release is ’40 Days’ and as a solid a opener as any band had. Diego utilises all his talents here with mandolin, flute, acoustic guitar, bag pipes and even Hammond organ alongside your more usual Rock band instruments. It just don’t get more DIY than this and the song rattles along at a great pace. Having no musical talents at all (I wasn’t even trusted with the triangle at school!) I find it absolutely incredible what has been achieved here. The track is available for the equivalent of around £/$ 1 so time to support new artists and more all-new All Those Empty Pubs tracks will be arriving soon I am promised.

Diego says of his arrival in the Celtic-Folk-Punk

“All Those Empty Pubs was founded 2020 in the Swiss alps as a solo project. I had been playing for nearly twenty years as a guitarist and singer,  with fifteen of those in the German speaking Punk band, Die Grimmelshäuser. I had the opportunity to play over 100 live concerts and to record some albums. Over the years I’ve contributed to the punk scene as a concert organiser and I’ve also had  the chance to create some Punk compilations.

Some years ago I played in a Medieval Folk band. We experimented a lot and everyone played all the instruments a wee bit. So I came into contact with the Irish bouzouki, tin whistles and the Hümmelchen (small baroque bagpipes). I’ve also tried some musical stuff like early Reggae and Ska. Two or three years ago I started to play the mandolin and learned some traditional Scottish and Irish tunes. Before that, I used to mainly listen to modern Celtic-Punk and Celtic-Rock.

Since I’m living in a rural, mountainy place, it’s hard to find other musicians. Of course there are some great ones. But to find people who like the same music as you, have talent and time is pretty hard. So after the Corona outbreak I decided to start a solo project. Maybe it’s easier to find other people, if there’s already a foundation.

For my first track, my band member of Die Grimmelshäuser lent me his voice for the backing vocals. Thanks Matthias! As a part of the do it yourself attitude I learned over the past years to record and mix audio tracks. At the moment I’m also training to be an audio engineer. So I have the great opportunity to record and mix my songs in my home studio.”

So there you go. A fantastic debut and we look forward to hearing more and in the spirit of these more enlightened times not a single mention of Toblerone’s or cuckoo clocks or even my second favourite Laurel And Hardy film.

(Stream / download ’40 Days’ from the Bandcamp player below)

Contact All Those Empty Pubs  Facebook  YouTube  Bandcamp

NEW SINGLE ‘Camden Lullaby’ FROM TRAVIS O’NEILL FROM PINTS AND PIPES

First new solo music in four years from Travis O’Neill Sligo born resident of Prague and vocalist for legendary Czech Celtic-Punk band great Pipes And Pints. An ode to his days in North London!

Camden and North London at the time I lived there was a real stronghold of the Irish and the London Irish and it had a massive sense of community. Like all cities, sometimes it could get dangerous but mostly fun. However it always had a this sense of family especially among the minorities and outcasts, I count the Punks, Skins, Goths, Irish and London Irish. The diaspora as big family or a movement. It made you feel like you were living in a separate island apart from the rest. It was an amazing time, I have friends that still feel as close as family from there and that will never leave, although I moved on from Camden. Ten incredible years that made me more streetwise, a better musician and more connected to my roots than actually living in Ireland. Very proud of what we had there, Miss the old stale beer smell of the Elephants Head and stagger home after a night there.

Travis O’Neill. March 2021

Walking down by Camden lock

Punker’s, Skins and the junkies flock

We sat on our leather jackets and listened to the band

Hearts full of dreams,

Black stout in my hand

*

 The Irish, Flats, Goths stood as one

this was our home, castle, kingdom

Call me a romantic ol drunken fool

Those were days we stood together we ruled

*

 Sweet Camden lullaby

Memories soaked in whiskey till we die

raising our glass to London Irish skies.

*

 Ronnie, Damo, Luke singing scripture

Philo Lynott comin to get ya

Don’t you ever feel so alone,

Céad míle fáilte in every Irish pub around the world

we scream, Sláinte

*

Camden lullaby

Memories soaked with whiskey until we die

and we fly raising our glass from London Irish skies.

*

 I will leave you one day, for distant winds I am sailing

Singing the parting glass through tear soaked eyes

 This is my Camden lullaby

Vocals/Guitar Travis O’Neill / Guitars, Bass, Keys, Drums and everything you hear by the Maestro Guy Bennett / Violin by Martin Manouche Horse

Dedicated to the Irish diaspora spread across the world, one family. This is my love letter to Camden, Sligo, Punk-Rock, the London Irish, The Boogaloo, The Elephants Head, Filthy McNasty’s and the MacGowan man who proved it was possible!

Happy St Patrick’s day to all! To my Jameson Whiskey Czech Family.Thank you!

Download Camden Lullaby  Spotify  Apple

Contact Travis O’Neill  WebSite  Facebook

Contact Pipes And Pints WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

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

SINGLE REVIEW: THE ROYAL SPUDS – ‘The Couch Potato Specials’ (2021)

A bit of Punk, a pinch of good old rock music and whole load of folkie tunes. In the studio, festival or concert venue The Royal Spuds are at home everywhere. So, if you want a party, you know where to go!  

Oh we got so damn close to getting The Royal Spuds over to London last year. We had even booked the iconic Dublin Castle in Camden for a Dutch Celtic-Punk double header with Pyrolysis but then the dreaded lockdown and despite my prayers and promises to never miss mass again the gig was eventually cancelled. Still hope remains that it will happen again. After all nothing is off. It is only put off for now!

The Bhoys have kept themselves busy through lockdown and just recently have released a couple of singles. It’s been a couple of years since their full length studio album Forgotten Lore was reviewed on these pages so it’s time to re-visit Leiden in the south Netherlands and see what The Royal Spuds are up to. ‘Alien’ came out in February and is available as a ‘Name Your Price’ download. Fast, furious and happy Celtic-Punk with plenty of gang ‘ooooooo oooooo’s’ throughout. Accordion Punk-Rock with a sense of humour. It isn’t illegal yet to have a laugh but you never know in these strange times!

They followed this up last month with the release of The Couch Potato Specials. A two track single also available as a ‘name your price’ download. This basically means if you’re skint then download for free but if you’re rich like a politician then you have no excuses not to send a few beer tokens to the guys. The first track is ‘The Wellerman’ a sea-shanty about the workers on board whaling ships owned by the Weller Brothers. Just recently the se-shanty has seen somewhat of a renaissance with it’s discovery by hipsters on Tik-Tok but Celtic-Punk bands have been singing these songs for decades now. The Royal Spuds describe it perfectly as

“what happens when six couch potatoes miss the hype train but still run to catch the bandwagon.”

Only two songs here but both quality and ‘The Scotsman’ is another cover lovingly covered by the Spuds. Also known as ‘The Drunk Scotsman’ it was originally written by Tennessee singer-songwriter Mike Cross, in or about 1981 but this somewhat bawdy (!) ballad has become a bit of a folk staple, covered by countless folk singers most famously I suppose by American Bluegrass artist Brian Bowers and is performed by Brian as an acapello song.

Well a Scotsman clad in kilt left the bar one evening fair
One could tell by how he walked that he’d drunk more than his share
He fumbled round until he could no longer keep his feet
Then he stumbled off into the grass asleep beside the street

*

Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, ring-di-diddly-eye-oh
He stumbled off into the grass asleep beside the street

*

About that time two young n’ lovely girls just happened by
One says to the other with a twinkle in her eye
“See yon sleeping Scotsman so strong and handsome built
I wonder if it’s true what they don’t wear beneath the kilt”

*

Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, ring-di-diddly-eye-oh
I wonder if it’s true what they don’t wear beneath the kilt

*

They crept up on that sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be
Lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see
And there behold for them to view beneath his Scottish skirt
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth

*

Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, ring-di-diddly-eye-oh
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth

*

They marveled for a moment then one said, “We must be gone
Let’s leave a present for our friend before we move along”
As a gift they left a blue silk ribbon tied into a bow
Around the bonnie star the Scot’s kilt did lift and show

*

Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, ring-di-diddly-eye-oh
Around the bonnie star the Scot’s kilt did lift and show

*

Now the Scotsman woke to nature’s call and stumbled towards the trees
Behind a bush he lift his kilt and gawks at what he sees
And in a startled voice he says to what’s before his eyes
“Ah, lad I don’t know where you’ve been but I see you won first prize”

*

Ring-ding-did-a-little-la-di-oh, ring-di-diddly-eye-oh
“Ah, lad I don’t know where you’ve been but I see you won first prize”

*

So a fantastic wee single from The Royal Spuds. Two auld songs updated and brought back to life so get straight onto the downloads and hopefully look forward to seeing them in the flesh sooner rather than later!

(stream or download The Couch Potato Specials on the Bandcamp player below)

Buy The Couch Potato Specials  FromTheBand

Contact The Royal Spuds WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Bandcamp

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!

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.

NEW SONG AND VIDEO RELEASE FROM OGRAS

Ogras are a six piece Celtic-Punk band from Norway that shot to fame this year with the release of No Love In The City acclaimed as one of the best Celtic-Punk albums of 2020.

Back in April an album dropped through the digital letterbox at London Celtic Punks Towers that’s fair to say blew us all away. No Love In The City, the second full length studio album from Celtic-Rockers Ogras from western Norway, hasn’t been off our stereo since! On Friday they released their new single recorded in the world renowned studio Ocean Sounds Recordings and accompanied by a music video, shot in Aalesund. Joining Ogras on bagpipes is Anders Norudde, from the famous Swedish Folk music band Hedningarna/The Heathens.

OGRAS – ‘SIDESHOW HALLELUJAH’

Hear the Big Top windjammer

(Hear the screamers, all you dreamers)

I play the very sound of sin

To the drum beat of the sledgehammer

(Hear the screamers, all you dreamers)

The euphonium will lure you in

And as I sit there, I observe

Your angry eyes, I think we struck a nerve

This masquerade is challenging your faith

It’s hard to love when you’re so full of hate

And you all scream hallelujah,

You say that we sin, but it’s the world we’re living in

We’re tired of “How do you ya do” now!

It’s one – two – three, and we’ll punch you on the chin

You think you caught us by surprise

(Hear the screamers, all you dreamers)

Surrounded by your ragged friends

We play the Stars and Stripes Forever

(Hear the screamers, all you dreamers)

We know how the story ends

*

Ogras last album No Love In The City while not quite a concept album told varied stories of travellers. Those who up sticks and take to the road. Tales of outcasts, freaks and other round pegs in square holes. Most of the songs centred on circus performers and their difficult and lonely life on the road. ‘Sideshoe Hallelujah’ tells of a fictional travelling circus in the USA about 100 years ago and the hypocrisy in cheering for the sideshow freaks during the show and mocking them afterwards. Payback is due!

The song will be available for download (on iTunes Music Store and others) as well as for streaming.

*

No Love In The City stands out as one of the highlights of 2020 and it’s great to hear new music from the guys. They promise another single release in early 2021 before their next album, due next year.

 

“No Love In The City came as a complete surprise to me. Expecting wild Poguesy style Irish Folk what we actually get is on of the most imaginative and novel Celtic-Punk records of recent years. With it’s tales of circus strong men and disasters and bleak dark themes all wrapped in music that stays firmly in its own lane with influences from the American scene that we don’t often hear in Europe and from the East that Ogras incorporate into their own sound. A truly magnificent record and one that be can already be guaranteed to be one of the albums of the year.”

Not only that but they also had one of the standout Live Streams since the ‘clampdown’ playing a full band set aboard the MS Progress a 1914 built former fishing boat these guys showed why are they rapidly gaining a name for themselves in the Celtic-Punk scene. Well they just re-mastered and re-cut the show and put it up on You Tube so please I implore you to make yourself comfortable and feast your eyes and your ears on this magnificent production.

Contact Ogras  WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

NEW SINGLE FROM LUTON IRISH BAND MISSING THE FERRY

The sound of a second generation…

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 Dublin-bound ferry from Holyhead will get the name.
Don’t be Missing The Ferry yourselves! 

Released November 13, 2020
Music and Lyrics by Paul Anderson.
Produced by Chris Anderson and Luise London

A barely heard phrase spluttered over the noise of a dimly lit Hackney Irish bar. A snatched image of an old fella nursing a pint and a chaser in a backstreet, Luton boozer. Just a couple of influences that lead to the creation of this tune.

Remembering a generation fast dying out along with their stories of love, loss, heroism and the mundane.

Our small tribute also this November to the bravery, senseless loss and sacrifice induced by war.

“God bless you and keep you.”

An old man leaves the pub his final farewell, coughing into the cold night air his breath still visible for a few moments before disappearing into the darkness.

(stream God Bless You And Keep You  on the Bandcamp player below)

Download God Bless You And Keep You  FromTheBand

Contact Missing The Ferry  Facebook  YouTube  Bandcamp  Instagram

OíCHE SHAMNA SHONA DAOIBH! NEW HALLOWEEN SINGLE FROM GRASS MUD HORSE

Chinese Celtic-Punk band Grass Mud Horse release a special Halloween themed single today but do you know that Halloween is a lot more than trick or treating and fancy dress? It’s origins go back to Ireland over a thousand years ago. Regarded as time of ‘The Celtic New Year’ marking the end of summer and the end of the harvest period. 

Woah Oh Woah Oh feed the hungry ghost

*

Come to the sea and swim at night

Where the darkness keeps us out of sight

We’ll drag you down and hold on tight

accept your fate don’t try to fight

When your spirits gone and I’ll let myself in

I’m free to walk about inside your skin

Come swim with us late at night

Where the darkness keeps us out of sight

*

Woah Oh Woah Oh feed the hungry ghost

*

When you’re walking home late at night

Try to keep yourself in the light

If you hear your name whispered slight

Don’t turn around don’t respond take flight

When your spirits gone and I let myself in

I’m free to walk about inside your skin

So don’t go walking late at night

Where the darkness keeps us out of sight

*

Woah Oh Woah Oh feed the hungry ghost

*

The Dead are literally rising from the grave

It’s pure chaos mass hysteria

The gates of hell have been thrust open

The souls of the hungry and forgotten march forth to exact their revenge

We’ll stay with you to the very end

May God have mercy on us all

*

Woah Oh Woah Oh feed the hungry ghost

*

Our new album Beijing Bikini is a collection of recordings we made in our first year, most of these where written before we had a band name or any musical direction. Many of the songs deal with life in China from a foreigners perspective. One of the songs I’m particularly proud of is the Hungry Ghost. I wrote it during the Chinese Ghost Month festival. It’s actually a really annoying time of year, cos people burn paper money, cell phones, e-bikes, and even little paper guitars and houses and things in the middle of the streets. We have to close all our windows in the height of the summer.

Anyway I was told some stories about why they make these offerings and I thought it was some of the spookiest shit I’ve ever heard! They burn these paper offerings to keep the ghosts of their ancestors happy and satiated, because during the ghost month the gates of hell open and they (the ghosts) can return to earth. Ghosts who have been forgotten by their families or committed evil during their life return as really dangerous hungry ghosts.

One thing they warn is not to swim during at night as the hungry ghosts are waiting to pull you under and drown you. But the story I thought was really cool and spooky, was if you’re walking home late at night and you hear someone calling your name behind you, DO NOT look behind you…it’s a hungry ghost who wants to eat your soul. Me and Rocco wrote some lyrics and I put it to music in the style of horror-punk for obvious reasons. We’ve made this video for the song to reflect the halloween season and the times we’re currently living in. I hope you enjoy it very much and Happy Halloween! 饿鬼👹

Chris from Grass Mud Horse. Qinhuangdao, China

Beijing Bikini is available on download only from the Bandcamp link below. You can support the band by buying the album or even just the song if you wish for just a measly dollar!

To find the origin of Halloween, you have to look to the festival of Samhain in Ireland’s Celtic past. Samhain had three distinct elements. Firstly, it was an important fire festival, celebrated over the evening of 31 October and throughout the following day. The flames of old fires had to be extinguished and ceremonially re-lit by druids. It was also a festival not unlike the modern New Year’s Day in that it carried the notion of casting out the old and moving into the new. To our pagan ancestors it marked the end of the pastoral cycle – a time when all the crops would have been gathered and placed in storage for the long winter ahead and when livestock would be brought in from the fields and selected for slaughter or breeding. But it was also, as the last day of the year, the time when the souls of the departed would return to their former homes and when potentially malevolent spirits were released from the Otherworld and were visible to mankind.

SAMHAIN AND ITS PLACE IN THE CELTIC CALENDAR

The Celts celebrated four major festivals each year. None of them was connected in anyway to the sun’s cycle. The origin of Halloween lies in the Celt’s Autumn festival which was held on the first day of the 11th month, the month known as November in English but as Samhain in Irish.

The original Celtic year 

Imbolc: 1st February, Beltaine: 1st May, Lughnasa: 1st August, Samhain: 1st November

The festivals are known by other names in other Celtic countries but there is usually some similarity, if only in the translation. In Scottish Gaelic, the autumn festival is called Samhuinn. In Manx it is Sauin. The root of the word – sam – means summer, while fuin means end. And this signals the idea of a seasonal change rather than a notion of worship or ritual. The other group of Celtic languages (known as Q-Celtic) have very different words but a similar intention. In Welsh, the day is Calan Gaeaf, which means the first day of winter. In Brittany, the day is Kala Goanv, which means the beginning of November. The Celts believed that the passage of a day began with darkness and progressed into the light. The same notion explains why Winter – the season of long, dark nights – marked the beginning of the year and progressed into the lighter days of Spring, Summer and Autumn. So the 1st of November, Samhain, was the Celtic New Year, and the celebrations began at sunset of the day before its Eve.

THE ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN’S SPOOKINESS

For Celts, Samhain was a spiritual time, but with a lot of confusion thrown into the mix. Being ‘between years’ or ‘in transition’, the usually fairly stable boundaries between the Otherworld and the human world became less secure so that puka, banshees, fairies and other spirits could come and go quite freely. There were also ‘shape shifters’ at large. This is where the dark side of Halloween originated.

To ward off the evil let loose at Samhain, bonfires were lit and people wore disguises to confuse the spirits and stop the dead identifying individuals who they had disliked during their own lifetime. They also made a lot of noise to unsettle the spirits and drive them away from their homes. The timid, however, would leave out food in their homes, or at the nearest hawthorn or whitethorn bush (where fairies were known to live), hoping that their generosity would appease the spirits. For some, the tradition of leaving food (and a spoon to eat it!) in the home – usually a plate of champ or Colcannon – was more about offering hospitality to their own ancestors. Just as spells and incantations of witches were especially powerful at Samhain, so the night was believed to be full of portents of the future.

DOWNLOAD A FREE BOOK ON HALLOWEEN

The National Folklore Collection, which is managed at University College Dublin, has published a free booklet for Halloween. It explains the origins of Halloween and explores old Irish tales, legends and customs. You can download it (pdf 950Kb) here: Dúchas – Halloween.

NEW SINGLE FROM GRASS MUD HORSE ‘The Hill I Chose To Die On’ OUT NOW

Grass Mud Horse are one of the newest additions to the Celtic Punk Scene. Strong song-writing and a fascinating backstory has helped this China based three piece turn a lot of heads.

Grass Mud Horse was originally just a group of mates who got together each week for beer and BBQ. They would come up with song ideas and even rap about their lives in the “Big Red” (China). Chris turned these ideas into punk songs and started recording some of the better ones. The band is comprised of expats living in Northern China, Chris Barry (Guitars Mando, Tin Whistle, Vocals) from the UK/Canada, Will Wyld (Drums) from Texas and Rocca Desta (Bass) from Scotland.

Their debut single “Christmas Time in China” was a catchy and hilarious fish out of water Christmas sing-along. Since then Chris and Grass Mud Horse have released a second single, the pirate punk “No Prey No Pay” (we exclusively released the video here on London Celtic Punks), and an Acoustic EP “The Quarantine Sessions.”

The EP, a mix of originals and traditional folk songs, was written and recorded on a porta-studio in an Inner Mongolian kitchen with whatever instruments Chris could find whilst the band was split up on lockdown in various parts of China. Like I said this band has a very interesting back story…

“…Where I was food ran out, we had martial law basically. I saw a woman push past a government check point and get battered by a dude in combats. We lost a lot as band, some big opportunities, including a tour opening for a big headliner….”

Chris on how the CORONAVIRUS has affected Grass Mud Horse. Things are now getting better in China, Chris and Will are back together jamming again (Rocco is still stuck in Scotland) and released their third single on May 15th “The Hill I Chose to Die on.”

(You can stream The Hill I Chose To Die On on the Bandcamp player below. It is also now available on most other download/ stream sites)

The new single is a welcome return to the “plugged-in” full-band sound for Grass Mud Horse. The song begins with a single mandolin, which is quickly joined by thunderous toms, accordion and thick punk rock guitar. The Intro peaks when the tin-whistle jumps in with a catchy riff. The first verse sees the arrangement reduced as the accordion and tin whistle drop out. Chris’s snarling vocals from “No Prey No Pay” return belting out the first lines “This is the hill I chose to die on, This is where you’ll find my grave…” The hook and content of the song has a bit of a story behind it too.

“…It was a Facebook fight! Two keyboard warriors where going at it, calling each other “millennial”, “boomer”, “gammon” etc. Somehow that whole thing with the bakery refusing to make a cake for a gay couple had come up again and the “millennial” posted about how he was amazed that this was the hill so many “gammon”, “boomers”…(or whatever I can’t remember exactly)….chose to die on. I’d heard the phrase before, but it hit me that in the context of this “generation war” that’s going on, it was very poetic and I grabbed me notebook and starting writing…”

The second half of the verse builds again with the reintroduction of the Accordion, before a brief dropout announces the arrival of the PreChorus. Yet another shift in dynamics brings the tin whistle back, but this time it sits back and harmonises with the catchy vocal Refrain “The World is changing so fast without me…” Another dynamic breakdown leads us into the first Chorus and the arrangement now includes all the instruments together in support of the hook. Following the first Chorus the tin whistle takes the lead again, with a return off the riff from the intro and then we have a repeat of the first verse, but this time the arrangement is broken down to just a little guitar, mando’ and light drums. The last few bars of this verse feature an energetic build up over the lines “…quiet, reserved, with not much to say…” and then we go back to the pre-chorus and repeat the chorus twice to see the song out.

The Hill I Chose To Die On is about keyboard warriors in an angry exchange and that is how the song plays out. The song builds as the anger builds, ending in a crescendo of passionate exchanges. The protagonists are angered and spent but the listener is exhilarated and excited like a near death experience. At just under two and a half minutes it’s a short but sweet song that will have you wanting to listen again. “The Hill I chose to Die on” is a well-produced song, but I’m left hungry for a full length release from Grass Mud Horse, which is something they do have in the works apparently.

The future for Grass Mud Horse like many bands right now is fairly uncertain. Chris tells me they have more songs from the Quarantine Sessions that they plan to release as a Part Two and possibly even Part Three EP. However the real focus will be finishing a full length Celtic Punk Record comprised of the singles so far and new material, which Chris hopes they will release later this year.

Download The Hill I Chose To Die On  Spotify  Bandcamp

Contact Grass Mud Horse  WebSite  Facebook   GMH Blog  YouTube

NEW SINGLE FROM TC COSTELLO ‘THE PANDEMIC’ AND LIVE STREAM ANNOUNCEMENT

Irish-American multi-instrumentalist TC Costello is back with a new album in the Summer but to keep us happy he’s released a 2-track single available as a ‘Pay What You Like’ download.

TC Costello is no stranger to these shores (in fact he’s spent more time in my spare room than me!) and was due over here in a months time for a series of dates across England before returning back to South Carolina. So then coronavirus and blah blah blah and everything is off until further notice. Luckily the Celtic-Punk scene has been well served with a bunch of shows live streamed over Facebook. The pick of the bunch so far have to have been the Dropkick Murphys, 1916 and the Brick Top Blaggers shows (all still available to view on their FB pages) so today is a double hitter for TC with the release of ‘The Pandemic’ and a Live Stream announcement for his UK and Euro fans but more on that later.

Now I’m not a big fan of The Misfits. Not that I don’t like them I just never heard much by them so the opening title track is a cover of them with TC doing his best Punky vocals. Its a fast thrashy number which TC wrote with his brother Daniel and is followed by a much more typical TC song a cover of Dexys ‘Come On Eileen’ with the lyrics suitably adapted for a song called ‘Covid19’. Armed with his trusty accordion it’s a spirited version and with TC having lost both his jobs as a musician and driver you are invited to donate to his ‘Broke Musician’ fund. This song is available as a ‘Pay What You Like’ download which as TC himself says also includes nothing.

So look after each other and wash your hands and we are all in the same boat but if you can afford it send a beer or two TC’s way.

LIVE STREAM ANNOUNCEMENT

Par for the course and ages after everyone else has had a go we are doing a LiveStream. We sadly had to cancel the TC Costello/Tim Holehouse gig next month but TC still wants to play for his UK based fans so he will be streaming from South Carolina while hopefully Tim will fit in a show for us soon afterwards.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1150555188477972/

So the 20th May was all set for his 5th triumphant return to The Lamb but fear not his UK and European fans London Celtic Punks and The Lamb Surbiton will be presenting TC playing live from South Carolina direct into our phones and computers.
He will go live at 8pm on his page https://www.facebook.com/tccostello2/ and will play till his hands go sore… so that’s about a hour. Tune in there and then and we’ll see you in the comments section.

LOUIS RIVE NEW SINGLE ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’

New single ‘Business As Usual’ by Catalonia-based Scottish singer Louis Rive tips its hat to hip-hop and cuts into the powers that be during the crisis with blistering lyrics that give voice to the anger of a generation.

When the powers-that-be looked at the ever-more distant European Union with its rising death tolls, unfamiliar looking police cars and panicked sound bites in languages that we don’t understand; they took a familiar and predictable line: It’s ‘business as usual’ here is the UK.

A few weeks later and we are reaping the seeds that we sowed, the leader who preached Blitz spirit, the importance of the economy and the certain loss of family members lies incapacitated by the virus. British spirit and stiff upper lips didn’t hold up against a pathogen that doesn’t discriminate between bank balance and social class. Still, the government’s negligence of our well being was evident and the damage had already been done. The message was clear; it’s better to be sick and working than to be poor and broke. Being ill has become preferable to being poor in a modern UK.

Louis Rive is no stranger to tackling social issues through music. His previous single ‘The State of the Nation’ pours scorn on the dual hypocrisy of both the Scottish and British governments in a post-Brexit UK. While such acerbic takes are unlikely to earn him a spot on breakfast radio, they remain more relevant than ever in a society which is currently under the microscope provided by the current crisis. This is what folk music was made for, protest and the highlighting of social issues. In a world where folk is often relegated to the immaculate dress code and unsubstantial lyrics that plague coffee shops and identikit bars, Louis’ fire puts more of the original punk attitude back into the genre.

It’s a loving tribute to the essential workers who are holding society together, and clear references to the shop workers and delivery workers who keep the nation fed and help those unable to leave their houses are interposed with the sense of powerlessness. At the same time visceral lyrics tear into the pillars of faceless capitalism, the stooges of ignorance and arrogance that have left the workers of this nation on their knees, frantically trying to keep it all together.

“Did you listen to the laughs, the cheers, the profiteers?
Bank balances embellished with an extra zero
You’re nothing but a number on a payslip given in the name of the minimum wage”

The corrupt ‘greased palms’ of politicians who put party donors before the folk that they are supposed to represent are joined by the convenient absence of organised religion in a time of crisis. Louis is unafraid of asking difficult questions, questions that deserve an immediate answer.

‘the money men, imitation Don Draper, sending out Deliveroo for toilet paper’

The bathroom with no window, mirror mirror on the wall
Who’s the fairest of them all, the undisputed belle of the ball?
Walking through the rain ‘cos the train’s on strike
But they had the gall, to label you ‘essential’
Against all common sense, now we sit on the fence
Waiting for someone just like me to take the fall

Did you think about the money men, imitation Don Draper?
Sending out Deliveroo for toilet paper
No contract means no consent about the wiping of a rich man’s arse
From ‘The Cheap Part of Town’ to this human zoo
A house made for seven that accommodates two
In splendid isolation, equality’s a farce

A murmur from the depths of hell grows louder every day
The economy is paralysed, the bill arrives and there no-one there to pay
We’ll remember next election who our friends are
Greased palms by example, champagne on standby
But in case you’ve forgotten the motto it’s never to late to be left at the bottom
When we hold all the cards

Did you listen to the laughs, the cheers, the profiteers
Bank balances embellished with an extra zero
You’re nothing but a number on a payslip given in the name of the minimum wage
The words of wisdom they spoke
Better to be sick and working than poor and broke
What’s the point in growing up? It’s time to act your age

Don’t turn to the clergy, don’t turn to organised religion
When the church door has been closed with lock and key
If you’re looking for solace in your fellow human
Now’s the time to drop the ten pound note for a shot of solidarity

Weights and measures, weekend pleasures, hidden treasures
It’s been too long
Interest rates mounting, advice from accounting, crying and shouting
It’s been too long

Too long, too long, far too long
Too long, too long, far too long

Did you imitate Cain and Abel to put food on the table
Starting at the grave and ending at the cradle
Stable living at the price of the thousands falling through the cracks
Paying off the jury, blood sweat and tears
Pound signs gleaming in the eyes of the overseers
Feeling the threat of the whip across your back

Nothing left to worry, nothing left to choose
Nothing, and when all’s said and done
Nothing left to lose
Rotten to the core, riven by disease
Learning how to walk again
From a life lived on my knees

Too long, too long, far too long
Too long, too long, far too long

There are plenty of traditional influences from his native Scotland in this, you can hear the bitterness of Dick Gaughan and the humour of Matt McGinn, but there is another edge evident in the single. Drawing from new influences in the world of hip-hop, Glasgow’s Darren McGarvey aka Loki, Belfast’s Jon Tsu and London’s Akala, Louis’ lyrics and musical delivery take on a new machine gun like delivery, dropping the buck squarely at the door of those who have left us in a situation that has brought to light the inherent inequality in the UK more than anything in this generation’s memory.

(Stream from Bandcamp. Business As Usual is available as a ‘Name Your Price’ download)

Download Business As Usual  Bandcamp

Contact Louis Rive  Facebook  Instagram  Spotify  Twitter  YouTube  Soundcloud

PREMIERING TODAY! DEBUT SINGLE/VIDEO FROM SHANGHAI TREASON

Highly rated and future A-Listers South Yorkshire based Celtic-Punk band Shanghai Treason release their third single today and you can watch the video exclusively here!

Let’s Shanghai Treason!

The Buzzcocks first ever gig supporting The Sex Pistols in Manchester in 1976 at a gig that has entered into music folklaw. Forty odd years later a young bunch of Celtic-Punkers from Sheffield played their debut gig supporting The Buzzcocks in Manchester. That band was Shanghai Treason and they went down a storm with a set of powerful Folk tinged Punk-Rock. Fast, melodic and catchy as hell.

Just before that gig Shanghai Treason  released their debut single the rip roaring ‘Devil’s Basement’ which announced their arrival on the Celtic-Punk and Punk scenes. Premiered on this here site the video soon shot past 40,000+ views with exposure across the Celtic-Punk media. They followed this with a extensive tour taking in shows in Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool, York. London’s Water Rats (where The Pogues first trod the boards) and the band’s first headline show at Sheffield’s #1 music venue Corporation.

Their second single ‘Drowning Heart’  further helped to cement their loyal local following and more exposure across the Celtic-Punk scene through The Celtic Punkcast and MacSlons Irish Pub Radio that they hope to expand on with their new single ‘Can’t Even Hang A Man Right’. A song about Brexit but released during the corona virus pandemic with the country finally rallying together after a turbulent number of years. Let’s hope we’ve seen the back of sleight of hand dirty politics from Westminster and the beginning of something else but as the lyrics suggest

“You can’t trust the rats by the river”

Video by Ben Parr and Elliot Beese of Quiet Tiger Productions

Johnny Hangman, can ya tighten my noose

Feels a little flimsy I’m afraid i’ll come loose

Johnny Hangman, can you shorten this rope

I’ll likely land on my feet, it don’t give me much hope

Johnny Hangman, don’t want my coffin to shake

Lets tighten this up, get a clean break

Johnny Hangman, heard you hung men in the war who didn’t suffer like this,

what ya playing me like this for

*

Let’s drop

We ain’t got all morning

Let’s drop

Don’t fancy purgatory

No

*

Can’t even hang a man right

Can’t even hang a man right

Not quite Albert Pierrepoint, more a slow and poisonous snake bite

Can’t even hang a man right

*

Oh John, you’ve made a reyt old mess of this chief

Let me standing here waiting on death’s sweet release

Oh John, this wait it should be a sin

Pass me the gun, I’ll do it me sen

*

Let’s drop

We ain’t got all morning

Let’s drop

Don’t fancy purgatory

No

*

Can’t even hang a man right

Can’t even hang a man right

Not quite Albert Pierrepoint, more a slow and poisonous snake bite

Can’t even hang a man right

*

When the light, it shines in from the cold

No hope left for the young or old

And the fruit you bore has all but become rotten

And i’m left shaking in the cold

*

Let’s drop

We ain’t got all morning

Let’s drop

Don’t fancy purgatory

No

*

Can’t even hang a man right

Can’t even hang a man right

Not quite Albert Pierrepoint, more a slow and poisonous snake bite

Can’t even hang a man right

*

Oh John

What are you like Johnny

Oh what are you like

What are you?

*

You can’t trust the rats by the river

You can’t trust the rats by the river

You can’t trust the rats, the aristocrats

Couldn’t even hang a man right

Get Can’t Even Hang A Man Right  Pre-Save

Contact Shanghai Treason  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram  Twitter

NEW SINGLE FROM INDONESIAN CELTIC-PUNK BAND THE WORKING CLASS SYMPHONY

The new single/ video release from one of the best bands around and from a non-English speaking country too! The Working Class Symphony play a brand of Celtic-Punk that is totally influenced by Irish traditional folk music. If only more Irish bands played with this much passion and pride!

The new single ‘Alerta Song’ from one of the best bands in today’s Celtic-Punk scene who also happen to be one of the most under rated too!) The Working Class Symphony. Formed in 2010 in Surakarta, in central Indonesia when a couple of friends were listening to Irish music in an internet cafe in the city. This sparked the idea to start up a band playing similar music and soon after The Working Class Symphony were born!

Life in this country is already very difficult, if it still has to be added by listening to mainstream music as it is today … Really it will be FORGETTING..There is no other way than making music that can be uplifting … God Save The Working Class !!!!!

Their new single is a tribute to Cornel Simanjuntak who is credited with the development of Indonesian music with his heroic and patriotic songs against the occupation of Indonesia. His words still inspire today to inflame the spirit of resistance to fight injustice, fight for rights and for truth. The Working Class Symphony dedicate this song to Cornel. With straightforward lyrics, as a picture of the reality that is happening here. Finally, keep on loving our country no matter what happens until the end of closing of your eyes… Freedom.

 

Cornel Simanjuntak 1921 – 1946

“Those in power write the history, while those who suffer write the songs.”

so said Frank Harte and by heavens he was right you know. The man that The Working Class Symphony pay tribute to is little known outside Indonesia and even at home his contribution is almost never taught in the schools anymore. Part of Cornel’s song ‘Maju Tak Gentar’ are incorporated into the Alerta Song! A man who fought for Indonesia  in every way possible and in the end gave his life for Indonesia’s independence. 

THE SMART MUSIC LOVING KID

Cornel was born in Pematang Siantar in 1921. His musical talent has emerged when he attended school and at that time he was already playing guitar and singing western songs that he heard on the radio and watching movies. Around 1937, Cornel went to school in Muntilan and his friends recall he was an intelligent, brave, honest student and never reluctant to defend his and others stand. While there he learnt to play music joining the symphony orchestra playing the work of Beethoven, Bach, Haydn, Wagner and Schubert. One of Franz Schubert’s songs, Ave Maria, became Cornel’s favorite song. Here he discovered the works of Indonesian poets: Amir Hamzah, Sanusi Pane, JE Tatengkeng, and Sutomo Djauhar Arifin and a love of literature becoming familiar with familiar with Goethe, Schiller, Heine and Shakespeare among others.

SONGWRITER

Cornel would become a teacher in Magelang, Central Java around the time Japanese fascist forces attacked in 1942 leading to the one of his earliest songs ‘Mekar Melatiku’. In 1943 having moved to Jakarta he worked at the Japanese Culture Office where he was assigned to make propaganda songs. Many songs were created: ‘Asia Has Awakened’, ‘Destroy Our Enemies’ and ‘Beware Of Britain And America’. The 1943-1945 period was the peak of Cornel’s creativity making songs simple songs that were easy to understand, but very agitative and able to capture the feelings and spirit of the common person

INTO THE REVOLUTION

In 1945, when the fire of revolution burned the bosom of youth and people everywhere, he chose to go directly into the revolution. Cornel said to a close friend at the time

“If you want to find me, don’t look at home. I am at API headquarters, Menteng 31. For a while I leave music. I now feel free as freely as I can and with the freedom I have gained, I will certainly be able to block my soul. I don’t want that feeling of freedom to disappear. If our independence is taken by people, it will also disappear. Now there is a battle for this freedom. I’m stuck in it.”

He shouldered a rifle involved in battle until he was shot. Not fully recovered, the allied forces conducted a sweep in the hospital he was being treated in and Cornel was hurriedly evacuated by comrades and taken outside the city of Jakarta. From there he was sent to Yogyakarta and it was in this city that his many heroic and patriotic songs were born. ‘Land Of Blood Spilt’, ‘Forward Undaunted’, ‘In Heroes’, ‘Indonesia Remains Independent’ and many others. His body weakened he cared little for his health and continued to work to produce songs of struggle hoping to ignite the heroic spirit of the Indonesian people. On September 15, 1946, Cornel, sadly only 25 years old, breathed his last. He was buried in the Kerkop Cemetery in Yogyakarta. He had given his life to the revolution and to the liberation of his country.

Contact The Working Class Symphony  Facebook  ReverbNation  Instagram  YouTube

For the best introduction to the Celtic-Punk scene in Indonesia you simply cannot go wrong than checking out Wind From The Foreign Land- Indonesian Celtic Punk Compilation’ from 2014. An album of fourteen tracks from fourteen different and diverse Celtic-Punk bands from right across Indonesia. From traditional Irish folk right up to Celtic-Oi! and ballads to full on rockers its all here and just goes to show why the scene in Indonesia is both wonderful and always interesting. No self respecting Celtic-Punker should not have at least a couple of favourite Indonesian bands in their arsenal so get along here Wind From The Foreign Land is one of the best compilation albums you will ever here. That’s a London Celtic Punks guarantee!