ODDS’N’SODS. A CELTIC-PUNK ROUND UP JUNE 2023

If June be sunny, harvest comes early, June damp and warm does the farmer no harm.

in this month’s Odds’n’Sods all the news fit to print on what’s going in our wonderful Celtic-Punk world. From the scene’s biggest and well established bands to those just starting out it’s all in here!

We had a great night out watching THE MARY WALLOPERS playing their final date of their UK tour last month and what a lovely surprise to see legendary Pogues blow-hard Spider Stacy coming on to play a wild ‘Holy ground’ with the Dundalk bhoys.

There’s a couple of different tracks floating round on You Tube from popular Californians THE PROVOS set at the Constellation Room during St. Patrick’s weekend but ‘From Hell To Sea’ is my favourite. New single due out later this week. Really fallen for this band!

CHEERS! Celtic Folk-Punk band brewed in Pilsen in the Czech Republic. The track comes from their new release ‘Flowers In Rye’ – out now.

Still footage appearing from around St. Patrick’s Day and here’s fifteen minutes of the BRICK TOP BLAGGERS playing live at the St. Pat’s 2023 Fremont St. Experience in Las Vegas.

The brilliant new Galician Celtic Celtic-Punk band TECOR SOCIETARIO live in Sala Capitol, Compostela, on February 4th with a new song influenced by Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land Is Our Land’.

Hungarian Celtic-Punks THE CRAZY ROGUES recorded a live session at the Hungarian National Library for the HUN State TV Channel 2. It premiered on TV a couple of weeks ago and is fantastic. Sad news for the band and their fans is that Laszlo, the long-time singer of the band, has decided to move onto pastures new. His decision is amicable and he will return as a guest in the future. The new singer is already up and running!

JESSE AHERN has been over to these shores a couple of times of course the last being the support to the Dropkick Murphys and The Rumjacks and on his new single he’s roped in over all talented bastard Mikee from The Rumjacks to produce and direct the video. The track is from his forthcoming album Roots Rock Rebel – out September 15. Pre-order at https://jesseahern.store

More amazing traditonal Hungarian Celtic-Folk-Punk from a great band JOLLY JACKERS that we have featured several times over the years.

Italian Celtic / Irish trad. Folk band PATRICKS knocked out a great version of ‘I’ll Tell Ma’ last month. I may have heard it a 100,000 times but theirs a very good reason why its so popular… its because its a brilliant song!

DROPKICK MURPHYS – Okemah Rising

DROPKICK MURPHYS – Live At Ryman Auditorium

BRAVE THE SEA – Lady Death

BLOOD OR WHISKEY – Poxy Pub (EP)

BEYOND THE LAMPLIGHT – Don’t Forget to Leave It All Behind

MERRY HELL – Let The Music Speak For Itself

NO MURDER NO MOUSTACHE – There’s A War Going On For Your Mind

Remember we can’t review it if we don’t hear it!

NORTH ALONE are a Folk-Punk/acoustic band from Osnabrück, Germany who have been together just over 10 years and have a new EP out.

WAYNE BRERETON is a Folk and ballad singer-songwriter from Co. Offaly in Ireland. He cites Luke Kelly, Shane McGowan, Sean Keane and of course his multi-talented father as his biggest influences for the crafting of his own style. Wayne is a Gaelic Speaker with a great love for Irish culture, songs and ballads. Pre-order his new album The Robin’s Call via the Bandcamp app.

London alt-folk band LOCKS new single ‘Jars’ is out now taken from their forthcoming EP Tall Tales.

Award winning North- West of England Folk-Rock 8-piece MERRY HELL came from the embers of the much loved Folk-Punk band The Tansads, developing a life and feel all of its own. Through twelve years, six albums and hundreds of gigs they have released Let The Music Speak For Itself a 28 track Greatest hits of sorts. As they say

This collection does not represent the beginning of the end; it represents the end of the beginning…

An ‘eclectic’ (I think the word is!) cover of The Pogues ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ by THE WIGGINS which is essentially Jon Read over there in Houston, Texas. I love it!!

THE TENBAGS are a Folk-Punk outfit hailing from Birmingham, with original boozy Brummie ballads and traditional woozy wailers. Their first release since since the Bags O’ Craic album in 2019.

Welsh one-man-band NO MURDER NO MOUSTACHE have a new album out on May 26. Anti-establishment Punk Rock with Celtic influences. Sometimes acoustic, sometimes not, always #punk.

We’ve been doing this now for nearly 10 years and in that time we have covered 100’s of bands and musicians but still plenty of bands have passed us by. We can’t see everything after all so this column is to remind us of bands that never made these pages at the time but deserve another mention. These hopefully come with a free download like today so you can help yourself to some free music. Last month we had the music of Folk-Punk band Tail Light rebellion and today we go to the where they began their musical adventure in the Celtic-Punk band THE SWAGGERING GROWLERS. A traditional Irish Folk-Punk band based in Boston, Mass. Infusing the spirit and the tradition of Irish session players with the fire, intensity, and heart of Boston Punk and Hardcore, and tempered with the earnestness and soul of American Folk and created an unforgettable musical juggernaut. Here is Outlaw Waltz the last of their three studio albums but all are available here as ‘name your price’ downloads.

With the demise of the four piece Wolfe Tones and the inevitable split into two bands and while both offer a great night out we can’t recommend DEREK WARFIELD AND THE YOUNG WOLFE TONES enough. Power, passion and history with their charismatic leader. Playing the 229 on Great Portland Street on Friday 2nd June. The 3rd sees SKIMMINGTON RIDE play McCaffertys in Seven Kings. American political singer-songwriter DAVID ROVICS is supported by ROBB JOHNSON at LARC in East London on the 8th and Trad band FLOOK are at the Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith on June 10th. Fast-paced trashgrass and blues band from Colorado the TEJON CORNER STREET THIEVES are at the Islington Assembly Hall supported by AMIGO THE DEVIL on Thursday June 22. The following day on the 23rd is the world’s #1 Pogues tribute band THE POGUE TRADERS live at Mill Hill Golf Club. July 18th sees Scandinavian Celtic-Punk pirates YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS at The Black Heart, Camden and the following day American Folk-Country-Doombilly band the HEATHEN APOSTLES play The Lexington in Kings Cross on Wednesday 19th July. The founders of Alt-Country THE LONG RYDERS are coming back to these shores this month with a full Europe and UK tour. RETURN TO LONDON, London’s 25th Festival of traditional Irish music, song and dance is between Friday 27th – Monday 30th October 2023 at The Crown Hotel (Cricklewood) and other local venues – http://www.returntolondontown.org The postponed MR. IRISH BASTARD UK tour is back on and during November they will be heading to Brixton (22nd), Southampton, Bridgwater, Manchester and Edinburgh. Can’t wait! One more thing we saw the OLD TIME SAILORS recently and they were incredible. A 17-piece band playing Irish Folk and sea-shanties half theatre and half the best music show you’ll see all year. Check their Fan-Page on Facebook for gigs near you. They literally play everywhere. I saw them in Guildford and they had driven down from Scotland the night before and the next day theu were heading to wonderful Doncaster to play for my Mammy… and others!

COMING SOON !!!

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS
BRAVE THE SEA (OH. USA) | ANTO MORRA | MORE TBC

American Celtic-Rock / Punk band BRAVE THE SEA on tour in the UK and playing London for the first time supported by London-Irish Folk-Punker ANTO MORRA and GREENFORD BHOY playing all your favourite Irish rock rebel late into the night or until we are asked to leave! Support to be confirmed soon but we promise it will be a packed show. Entry is free but their will be a whip round – as you can imagine getting here from the States as a DIY musicians isn’t cheap. Live at The Bird’s Nest, one of the last standing live venues in SE London and one of the best. Located at 32 Deptford Church Street, Lewisham, London SE8 4RZ. close to New Cross and New Cross Gate tube stations so easily accessible from across London.  http://www.thebirdsnestpub.co.uk/

All money we raise from our merch we put back into the Celtic-Punk scene so if you like what we do then you can support us by checking out our online store and buying something. The Harp’n’Bones design is back in all sizes and also on black or white shirts. Also we have the last few remaining polo shirts, nifty woolly hats and Green’n’White ‘Skully Cap’ ringer shirts that we need to get rid of. Click the link below for the full range of all our other tatt. Shirts, badges, stickers, flags, CD’s and fridge magnets – all the discerning Celtic-Punk fan could ever need! Help keep Punk Celtic! https://the30492shop.fwscart.com/

Facebook is rubbish and I can’t wait to see it go broke and a return to the era of paper flyers and fanzines. It has a stranglehold on all forms of expression that is far from healthy. If you are thinking of leaving and still want to keep up with us you can do via the London Celtic Punks group on the phone app Telegram. Similar to What’s App but completely free from outside interference. Join us on Telegram, don’t miss a single post and even receive the odd exclusive and special offer! https://t.me/londoncelticpunks/

Some new London Celtic Punks merch. The LCP ‘Tricolour Skull’ mug is back after a couple of years. Available for a tenner in the UK (£20 EU) with free badge / coaster/ sticker.  I nearly fell over when I found out its £20 to post to the States but there you go if you desperately want one it’s £30! The ‘Celtic Punks’ metal badge is selling well only a handful left and available for just £5 – UK and £7 – EU post-paid and we’ll throw in a few stickers and a button badge too. For further overseas contact us and we’ll work it out. Also if you want to add more merch from the store above contact us. It helps us out if you buy from Paypal (friends & family) for these items to londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk 

Even though we hate it Facebook does supply the (very) occasional ray of sunshine so a shout out to some good friends of ours over on Facebook. The Dropkick Murphys – Fan Page and the Celtic Punk,  Folk And Rock Fans are two of the best music forums on FB let alone Celtic-Punk. Ran By Fans For Fans just like you and me. Like and join in the fun!

With the sad demise of The Celtic Punkcast over there in Oz we have thrown in our lot with the good folks over at MacSlon’s Irish Pub Radio. Check them out for all the best in Celtic-Punk, Irish Folk and Rock. They also have just about the biggest selection of shirts and hoodys and all sorts of other gear over at the https://www.macslons.com shop.

There are around 600,000 Irish living in Britain, the true figure, if we look at those who are first and second generation, is probably something like 10% of the population of this country – some 6 million people and nowhere is it greater than London and THE KINKS are representative of those numbers.

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

Summer’s here. You can tell from the rain!

This time of year is normally pretty quiet in the Celtic-Punk world as bands concentrate on the upcoming Festival season but we still hunted down all the band news, record releases, videos from bands big and small across the Celtic-Punk scene. 

We start off this month with the new single/ video from FEROCIOUS DOG. ‘Pentrich Rising’ is right up the Dog’s street. A tale of England’s fight for trade union rights in the 1800’s. A brilliant professional looking video it deserves to be splashed all over the TV. The new album The Hope is out in October and is available for pre-order here https://thehope.ferociousdog.co.uk/

20,000 views in just three days shows why FIDDLER’S GREEN are one of the most popular Celtic-Punk bands around. They are also one of the busiest and even the Covid lockdown didn’t slow them down too much!

“One and half years of forced isolation later and we’re back in the studio working on the new album. The numbers are down and falling every day. The tour calender is filling up again. Back in the studio someone goes: „Na, da ist doch Land in Sicht. (See! Land in sight!)” That’s it—the moment grabs us by the balls! That same evening we start fleshing out ideas for a song. Inspired by the moment, the lyrics start to flow. In German. For the first time ever. A glimmer of hope for us all, born of the moment—Land Ahoy, lads! Enjoy!”

All round talented musician and nice guy KANE O’ROURKE has a new single ‘Farewell To Erin’ out now on Celtic Bulldog Records. The track is taken from Kane’s forthcoming album Dance In The Fourth and the video was filmed in New York, London, Hill of Ward, Rathmore Abbey and Trim Castle.

Time to get your wallets out for French band THE MOORINGS. They have just launched a Ulele campaign for their new record called ‘March On ?’. It will be coming out in digital, CD vinyl. The  promotion/pre-order campaign can be contacted here.

At one point the Celtic-Punk scene in Hungary was to be admired the world over. Loads of bands and it seemed there was a new release every couple of weeks (we even ran a feature called Hungarian Celtic-Punk week!!). Well with the lockdown over there the bands are returning. FIRKIN got a new singer and single out and now THE CRAZY ROGUES have released the first track, a semi live version of ‘Empire Of sand’, from their forthcoming new album expected later this year.

One of many great bands out there in the Celtic-Punk scene that deserve a wider audience is the Russian band ZUNAME. I’ve followed them since the early days and always really enjoyed their music so delighted to hear they are half way through the recording of a new album. Punk-Rock with bagpipes from Moscow ‘Señor Diego’ was their last release and is available for just a dollar!

Boston band MICKEY RICKSHAW have a new song out, their first since their last album I think. ‘Athens To The North’ is available on all streaming sites.

South America may not be blessed with many Celtic-Punkk bands but the ones they do are utterly brilliant. Here’s the single from a forthcoming EP from LA FIESTA DEL DIABLO called ‘A Flote’ all the way from Chile. Dedicated to all the people who have lost family members and have suffered as a result of the pandemic and have had to be separated from their loved ones. This link from linktree takes you to all their social media to find out more and download the song.

THE RUMPLED – The Perfect Match

THE BLACK CLOVER –

PUNKREAS – Funny Goes Acoustic

LES NAUFRAGES – Les Naufrages

remember we can’t review what we haven’t heard!

West Midlands based SONS OF CLOGGER would normally around this time preparing to spend every weekend for the next five months playing festivals up and down the country. I’m sure they’ve a few in the bag but they have also just released a new album The Neolithic, available from their web-site.

RAMBLERS PARADE formed in Lisbon in late 2020, mixing Folk music from around the world with the energy and spirit of Punk-Rock, adapting traditions with Balkan, Latin American and European Folk. They have a new 5-track EP out available via Bandcamp.

Load of free Punk-Rock courtesy of Canadian one mand band WilkSHAKE. Brendan Wilkie plays all the instruments here and is also a accomplished writer and poet in true Irish ‘seanchai’ style! The music touches on several themes of interest to Celtic-Punks so give it a look.

Pirate speedfolk band LILY OF THE VALLEY from Berlin have a new song out this week. They play fast and evil music with lots of songs about whaling and trouserlessness. Anyone refusing to dance at their gigs is made to walk the plank! 

LES NAUFRAGES are not a band I know much about but they play a very interesting mix of Rock, Punk, Ska and trad. Folk. Formed in 1986 in Montpellier, France they have released over a dozen albums and have just started to re-release each one re-mastered and re-packaged.

This month we re-visit a free download from six years ago from New York’s THE NARROWBACKS. A official bootleg of five songs from their show playing at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey supporting Flogging Molly. The Narrowbacks have over the years become an integral part of the new York Irish community and continue to go from strength to strength.

A sort of ‘folkier’ offshoot from French Celtic-Punk band THE BOOZE BROTHERS the debut EP from TARA’S FOLK has just come out.

Some London Celtic Punks news now and we still have a handful of Green’n’White ‘Skully Cap’ ringer t-shirts available. They come in all sizes from Small right up to XXX-L and are available from our online store. Also check out our full range of other tatt. Shirts, badges, stickers, flags, CD’s and fridge magnets all the diserning Celtic-Punk fan needs!

https://the30492shop.fwscart.com/

The more I see of Facebook the more and more I am disliking it. If you feel the same you can now subscribe to London Celtic Punks posts via our group on the new phone app Telegram. Very similar in style (but better and easier to use) than What’s App and completely free from Facebook control. Join us on Telegram and don’t miss a single post! https://t.me/londoncelticpunks/  

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

If you are new to the London Celtic Punks blog it is easy to subscribe / follow and never miss a post. We post a couple of times a weeks so we won’t fill up your in-box. Bands, promoters, record labels, venues send in any news to londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or via the Contact Us page.

HUNGARIAN CELTIC-PUNK WEEK PART 4. THE WHO’S WHO TOP TEN!

So hopefully by now you will have equipped yourselves with at least three bands from the Hungarian Celtic Punk scene over the last few days so what better excuse than to give you a Top Ten of the best bands in that wonderful scene. They range from traditional Irish to folk-rock to full on punk but each band contributes to the scene without copying another and that is what makes the Celtic-Punk scene in Hungary so great. Some of the bands have overlap of members and it’s even possible by now that some have disbanded but these are the bands that have given Hungary such a great reputation among the worlds Celtic-Punks! Feast your ears on these lot!

PADDY AND THE RATS

Formed 2008 * From Miskolc * Buy Rat’s On Board

Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  LastFM  MySpace  Spotify  Google+

FIRKIN

Formed 2008 * From Budapest * Buy Finger In The Pie

WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Soundcloud

JOLLY JACKERS

Formed 2013 * From from Dunaújváros * Buy

Facebook Bandcamp YouTube Deezer Spotify

THE SCARLET

Formed 2012 * From Budapest * Buy Midnight Avenue (here)

Facebook  WebSite  YouTube  Twitter  Soundcloud

THE CRAZY ROGUES

Formed 2012 * From Veszprém * Buy Rebels’ Shanties (here)

Facebook  Bandcamp  Soundcloud  Instagram  YouTube

THE O’NEILLS

Formed 2013 * From Budapest * Buy Chapter One (here)

Facebook  YouTube

LOCH NESZ

Formed 2010 * From Budapest * Buy Leave The Captain Behind (here)

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Soundcloud

MAD MAN’S CREW

Formed 2015 * From Veszprém * Buy Riot Without Weapons (here)

YouTube Facebook

COLLEEN

Formed 2014 * From Budapest * Last I heard they had changed their name to Kolorful

Facebook  YouTube

PUNK WHISKEY

Formed 2011 * From Budapest * Buy Delirious (here)

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Soundcloud

If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and you better be) the best place to visit is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

STOP-PRESS in the following weeks after we published this article yet another Hungarian Celtic-Punk band appeared on the horizon so we thought we would add them in at the end here. So here’s one more. The more’s the merrier!

HIGHLAND BASTARDS

Formed 2016 * From Ózd * Buy Lost At Sea (here)

Facebook  YouTube

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2017!

Yes I know it only seems like five minutes since the last one but it’s that time of year again when we give you, for what it’s worth, our opinion on who made the best music in the celtic-punk scene over 2017. It’s been another outstanding year for the music that we all love and some truly fantastic records came out in the last twelve months. So read on to find out who came #1! Remember though this is only our opinion and these thirty album’s are only the tip of the iceberg of what was released last year. Feel free to comment, slag off or dissect our lists. We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…

1. FLATFOOT 56 (Chicago)- ‘Odd Boat’  here

2. THE TOSSERS (Chicago)- ‘Smash The Windows’  here

3. THE BIBLECODE SUNDAYS (London) – ‘Walk Like Kings’  here

4. THE PEELERS (Canada)- ‘Palace Of The Fiend’ here

5. FEROCIOUS DOG (England)- ‘Red’  here

6. BLACK WATER COUNTY (England)- ‘Taking Chances’  here

7. THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS (Germany)- ‘Sign of the Fighter’  here

8. IN FOR A PENNY (USA)- ‘One More Last Hurrah’ here

9. LES RAMONEURS DE MENHIRS (Brittany)- ‘Breizh Anok’  here

10. MATILDA’S SCOUNDRELS (England)- ‘As The Tide Turns’  here

11. KILMAINE SAINTS (USA)- ‘Whiskey Blues & Faded Tattoos’  here

12. ORTHODOX CELTS (Serbia)- ‘Many Mouths Shut’  here

13. UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS (Italy)- ‘Handmade’  here

14. THE SILK ROAD (England)- ‘S/T’ here 

15. FLOGGING MOLLY (USA)- ‘Life Is Good’  here

16. THE LUCKY PISTOLS (USA)- ‘Where The Orioles Fly’  here

17. THE REAL McKENZIES (Canada)- ‘Two Devils Will Talk’  here

18. DRUNKEN DOLLY (Netherlands)- ‘Alcoholic Rhapsody’ here

19. CASSIDY’S BREWERY (Serbia)- ‘One Brew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’  here

20. THE MOORINGS (France)- ‘Unbowed’ here

21. CRAIC (USA)- ‘Sounds Of Vandemark’  here

22. JOLLY JACKERS (Hungary)- ‘Blood Sweat and Beer’ here

23. THE SCARLET (Hungary)- ‘Hardfolk Shanties’ here

24. THE DISTILLERY RATS (Germany)- ‘Tales From County Whiskey’ here

25. CELKILT (France)- ‘Stand’ here

26. DROPKICK MURPHYS (Boston)- ’11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory’  here

27. O’HAMSTERS (Ukraine)- ‘Где бы мы ни бывали’  here

28. SONS OF O’FLAHERTY (Brittany)- ‘The Road Not Taken’  here

29. THE BABES (London)- ‘Greetings From London’  here

30. CHEERS! (Czech Republic)- ‘Daily Bread’ here

Just bubbling under:

THE TEMPLARS OF DOOM (USA), GHOSTTOWN COMPANY (Germany) McSCALLYWAG (Netherlands)

No surprise here at all as all four admins voted #1 for Flatfoot 56 and their utterly brilliant ninth album. Not only that but we also all gave second spot to The Tossers, making it a Chicago #1 and #2! The year began with news of two new Dropkick Murphys albums coming but we only got the one and it met with, well quite a muted response to be honest. Saying that they were fantastic live and they certainly added a new dimension to these new songs when played in the flesh. The list leans heavy towards the bands from these shores it has to be said but it was always going to be with bands we get to see live regularly. It’s especially fitting to see The Bible Code Sundays in there too. In a year when every ‘big’ celtic-punk band released an album the competition was great so well done to all. Keep them coming. If you are not here then it just means we didn’t all agree or even all hear it and maybe we didn’t receive it too. The amount of debut albums from loads of these bodes well for both the scene here and internationally with a great mix of bands from thirteen countries.

BLACK WATER COUNTY- ‘Taking Chances’

This was a very hard category to fill with so many new bands arriving on the celtic-punk scene this past year. Soooo many to choose from but in the end we pumped for our very own Black Water County who just pipped Cassidy’s Brewery and In For A Penny to the title!

1. BLACK ANEMONE (Sweden)- ‘In It For Life’  here

2. RAIN IN SUMMER (Indonesia)- ‘Discordant Anthem From The Gutter’  here

3. IN FOR A PENNY (USA)- ‘Every Day Should be Saint Paddy’s Day’  here

4. THE BOTTLERS (Australia)- ‘The Bottlers’  (here)

5. BLACK RAWK DOG (Indonesia)- ‘Suburban’s Folk Stories’  here

6. BogZH CELTIC CATS! (Brittany)- ‘Kazh al Lagenn’  here

7. THE CRAZY ROGUES (Hungary)- ‘Rebels’ Shanties’  here

8. THE McMINERS (Brazil)- ‘Tales of Betrayal and Deceit’  here

9. BORN AGAIN HEATHENS (USA)- ‘Born Again Heathens’  here

10. THE DEAD MAGGIES (Australia)- ‘Wild Dogs And Flannies’  here

Stand out winner here from Sweden’s Black Anemone which none of us were sure was either a big EP or a small album so we gave it the benefit of the doubt and placed it in here. Outstanding! Two representatives of Indonesia’s fantastic celtic-punk scene made up for no album releases from there last year and one band from a Celtic nation with the BogZH Celtic Cats! The Bottlers sneak in as they only sent it to us the week before Christmas. Glad they did though.

1. DECLAN O’ROURKE- ‘Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine’  (here)

2. ShamROCKS- ‘Ye Ould Chariot’ EP  (here)

3. CRIKWATER- ‘Crikwater’  (here)

4. BEOGA- ‘Before We Change Our Mind’

5. FOLLOW THE CROWS- ‘West is East’ EP  (here)

6. PLASTIC PADDY- ‘Lucky Enough’  (here)

7. DAMIEN DEMPSEY- ‘Soulson’

8. GALLEY BEGGAR- ‘Heathen Hymns’  (here)

9. I DRAW SLOW- ‘Turn Your Face To The Sun’

10. ANTO MORRA- ‘From The Vaults’

Absolutely no question who romped home here. from the first time I ever heard Declan O’Rourke’s monumental album Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine I was simply blown away. I simply cannot recommend it enough. Go and acquire a copy now. A mix of folk and trad makes up the rest of the list with a special mention for Ukrainian band ShamROCKS who play Irish folk as if they were naturals! We would like to feature more trad and folk on these pages in the future hopefully. Also Vince Cayo had a fecking brilliant album but was neither celtic-punk nor folk. Was tempted to make a separate list just for him!

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

This use to be the Celtic Folk Punk And More Best Celtic Punk Web-Site award so often did they use to win but last year it went to the new kid on the block, our good mates over at Mersey Celt Punks. Well we were in a bit of a quandary about who would win this week but then in the last few weeks of the year the Mersey Bhoys upped their game and won a unanimous vote. They finally started to use their Web-Site (here) and published a whole host of great reviews and things like a events/gig section. You can also join in their fun and games at Twitter and Facebook and we heartily recommend you do.

So there you go. Remember we don’t pretend to be the final word on things in fact if you check the other celtic-punk media I’m sure we’ve all come up with relatively different lists. Our Best Of’s are cajoled and bullied out of the four admins from the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. The assorted scraps of paper and beer mats were then tallied up over several pints of Guinness in Mannions. Not all of us heard the same albums so like all Best Of’s ours is subjective.

CARLTON HUNT

Of course we cannot go any further without mention of the saddest news of the year. That of the passing of Carlton , the drummer of The Bible Code Sundays. A friend of London Celtic Punks and an absolute diamond stand up guy he will be forever sadly missed by all who met him. We are grateful To Ronan for penning a few words for him.

We lost Carlton on 3rd November 2017 unexpectedly and it has left a massive hole in our family. Carlton joined The BibleCode Sundays some twelve years ago when we were still called Slainte.

His work ethic was second to none, he even dragged us into the studio to record our first CD, he did a lot of pushing in the early days and the Lord knows we needed it!

He was always the first to say yes to any gig, whether it was a small Irish pub like The Old Crown in Hayes or The Shawl or whether it was some of our bigger gigs. Over the years we played some fantastic gigs and venues, such as The Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Beacon Theatre, The House of Blues in Boston, Shepherds Bush Empire, The Roundhouse, Glasgow Barrowlands, Indigo at The O2, Glastonbury Festival, Finsbury Park, London Irish, on the pitch at Twickenham Stadium and at Celtic Park (the night Celtic beat Barcelona). We’ve played with Elvis Costello, The Dropkick Murphys, The Wolfetones, John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd, the Saw Doctors and he even got to realise a dream when we shared a stage with Thin Lizzy. They were minus legends Phil Linnot and Gary Moore but this mattered not to Carlton, his hero Brian Downey was still behind the drums. Carlton got to meet his idol and even got some Thin Lizzy drumsticks as souvenir, he was like an excited little kid that night. We did TV appearances on Sky Sports, BT Sport and even a live St Patrick’s Day performance on BBC’s The One Show.

We got to travel around on trips and tours all around the UK and Ireland as well as Germany, Italy, Spain and the USA to mention a few. This was all just topping up the stamps on his passport that he had accrued in his days with Bad Manners, Feast of Fiddles and The Melody Fakers and many more as he spent so many years on the London Irish music scene.

Not many would know that he also wrote poetry and song lyrics, they are very clever with pun-tastic wordplay and generally came out sounding like Bernard Cribbins songs with titles like ‘Breakfast Epiphanies’ or the Brighton-themed song ‘All Things Brighton Beautiful’. He used to always say

“I try to be serious but the humour always takes over”

He did, however, manage to pen two of the best songs on our latest album, he was very proud of his songs ‘Disorganised Crime’ and the beautiful ‘Clouds’. Drummers writing songs?! Whatever next?! He truly was the engine room of the band, a quiet and gentle man off stage who turned into a one man wrecking ball when he was sat behind his drum kit.

Things will never be the same without him but he would want us to and we will carry on making music and playing his songs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on drums.. Mr Carlton Hunt

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This is the 5th year of us making these lists so if you would like to check out out who was where in our previous Best Of’s then just click on the link below the relevant year.

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

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

FOLK’N’ROCK

PADDYROCK

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

SHITE’n’ONIONS

MacSLONS IRISH RADIO

CELTICPUNK.PL

remember any views or comments we would love to hear them…

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2018

ALBUM REVIEW: THE SCARLET- ‘Hardfolk Shanties’ (2017)

It’s been five minutes so must be time for another amazing Hungarian celtic-punk release from another amazing Hungarian celtic-punk band!

2015 was the year of the Hungarian celtic-punk band with a seemingly never ending succession of celtic-punk releases throughout the year that filled the end of year Best Of polls for not just ourselves but for all the other celtic-punk media. Well last year was a bit on the quiet side but the Hungarians are back in 2017 with a bang and already this year we have had Hungarian Celtic-Punk week when we reviewed three releases by bands old and new to the scene in Firkin, Crazy Rogues and The O’Neills plus as well as finding space for the excellent Jolly Jackers album and a new Paddy And The Rats release due any day soon its shaping up to be a repeat of two years back. The Scarlet’s singer/songwriter Dániel also plays in The O’Neills and while they are a much more traditional Irish folk band it seems he has chosen The Scarlet to take out his aggression on and their music has a much harder edge to it than previously. Which brings us to this release which came out in March (when else!) and is the debut long player from Budapest based band The Scarlet. They have previously released a Demo (available for free download from here) in late 2012 and in January, 2015 they released their first official record in Midnight Avenue. That was six tracks and twenty minutes of, mostly Dropkick Murphys style, quality celtic-punk that introduced them both to the celtic-punk scene and the world (here). A combination of pirate ‘Yo-Ho’s’ and metal guitar riffs accompanying the celtic instruments it left us itching to hear more and we were jumping for joy on the news that an album was coming out.

Now as is the case with music genre’s many overlap and while to the casual listener it may all sound the same but to those that like to label things this is probably more towards the pirate punk end of celtic-punk and maybe even celtic-metal as well.

The album kicks off with ‘Heroes of Our Future’ and even though it’s the shortest song on the album it’s still one of the high points. The Hungarians love the flute and The Scarlet are no different with Júlia’s flute competing with fiddle and metally punk electric guitar riffs. Dániel’s vocals as on that earlier EP are clear and even with his slight accent the English lyrics are easy to understand though sung in a more rock style than before.

The music has a urgent feel to it and ‘The Darker Shade of Red’ doesn’t let the pace slip while the sea theme continues with ‘We Plunder’. The heavy guitar and thundering bass, which sounds particularly good, give the song a hard feel but all the time the flute and fiddle keep it celtic. ‘Monday Morning’ is another album standout and one of the more ‘trad’ celtic-punk moments on the album. Gang vocals on the track are a nice touch and keep it interesting. We are halfway through Hardfolk Shanties and ‘Son of a Pirate’ keeps the pace up. I am a new convert to the use of flute in celtic-punk. I was never one for it but on seeing the mighty Firkin here in London on NYE 2015 I have to say I was totally won over. The Scarlet and Firkin share a lot of similarities except in sound and once again it’s pleasing that bands have managed to tread separate paths in a, sometimes, one dimensional scene.

Saying that if there was one song on the album that has a Firkin shadow looming over it then it is ‘Take the Wheel’. In a album of high points it’s not hard hard to pick out songs worthy of attention and ‘Heading to South’ is one. Great fiddle work and chugging guitar and a real catchy tune too. We coming up to the end of the album and ‘Battlefield Requiem’ keeps up the good work and another mention here for Dániel’s tortured vocals which fit perfectly with the sound the band are producing. ‘Runaway’ has a punk feel to it with that thundering bass back again and finally Hardfolk Shanties comes to an end with ‘Long Live the Dead’. The song begins folky acoustic style before moving into celtic-punk territory. Another class song and that The Scarlet can pack so much into their songs when the longest here is only just over three minutes long is remarkable.

So the album is over and you get ten songs all penned by the band themselves that comes in at literally just over half an hour long. If you like your celtic-punk a bit different then Hardfolk Shanties will be right up your street. More punk than most and with metal influences that keep it on the harder side side of things but thanks to the addictive flute and fiddle here it is firmly within the celtic-punk scene. Fiddler Dominika can be thanked for the superb pirate themed album artwork and the album was mixed by Zoltán Cs.Szabó, of the Hungarian garage rock band The Trousers, who has done a grand job and got the maximum out of The Scarlet. A great album and as already stated it sits proudly on the harder edged side of things but it is nevertheless still a fine concoction of both old time folk and more modern punk and metal. Heartily recommended ship mates!

(you can hear Hardfolk Shanties by pressing play on the Soundcloud player below)

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HUNGARIAN CELTIC PUNK WEEK! EP REVIEW: THE O’NEILLS- ‘Chapter One’ (2017)

So welcome to you to our third and final part of Hungarian Celtic Punk Week. After two fantastic celtic-punk bands in The Crazy Rogues and Firkin we calm it down a little with The O’Neills and their debut EP. We can be quite parochial in celtic-punk sometimes and tend to stick to bands we know or have heard of but there’s an absolute wealth of music out there begging to be heard and some of it may be from countries you wouldn’t expect. If the only thing this blog does is gain some of these bands a tiny bit of recognition then we are succeeding in what we set out to do. Leave your misconceptions at the door and take off your pub shoes and dip your toes into the celtic-punk scene worldwide and what better place to start off in than Hungary!

The O’Neills formed in April, 2013 and hail from the Hungarian capital city of Budapest. Where as the first two bands we featured this week both play celtic-punk that sees the folk and punk in equal measures The O’Neills are much more of a Irish folk band in the traditional sense. Formed for a one off occasion The O’Neills success led them to be asked to perform on the Irish Stage of the Sziget Festival some months later. The huge impact gave the five-piece group the bit of push they needed to become th regular session band playing traditional acoustic Irish music at Jack Doyle’s Irish Pub. After two years, they tried different pubs and bars in the inner city of Budapest, changing their gigs to an unique show each time. By January 2017 it had led them to become one of the most sought after bands in Budapest and they recorded this debut EP at the Artist Factory studio. As its title they chose ‘Chapter One’ with the band planning to release subsequent chapters annually. Here we get as Chapter One three songs of excellently played music that perfectly evokes the spirit of Ireland.

The EP begins with the Irish rebel song ‘Down By The Glenside’ and is beautifully sung by Krisztina. One of the best known and also saddest of the Irish folk song repertoire it dates back to the time of the 1916 Easter Rising. Written by Peadar Kearney, an Irish Republican and composer who also wrote numerous other rebel songs, including ‘The Soldier’s Song’ (‘Amhrán na bhFiann‘), which would go on to become the Irish National Anthem. Kearney was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, popularly known as the Feniansand the song stands as a call to arms for a generation of Irish people who were used to only political nationalism.

“Some died by the glenside, some died mid the stranger
And wise men have told us their cause was a failure
But they stood by old Ireland and never feared danger
Glory o glory o to the Bold Fenian Men”

The O’Neills version starts slow and maudlin. Just as it should be before speeding up with military style drumming and tin whistle. Never in a thousand years would you guess that this wasn’t an Irish band! The EP dips into more poppy territory with ‘Avicii’ next. The song is a mash-up of three of the house DJ Avicii’s three biggest hits done in a folk style. Again Krisztina’s voice is prominent, and why not when its this good, with the bands instruments wrapped around it. The song is mid-paced and is a catchy as hell foot tapper. Later on Dániel joins in on vocals and is the perfect foil for Krisztina.

“One day my father—he told me,
“Son, don’t let it slip away”
He took me in his arms, I heard him say,
“When you get older
Your wild life will live for younger days
Think of me if ever you’re afraid.”
He said, “One day you’ll leave this world behind
So live a life you will remember”

The EP ends with ‘Country Medley’ and is exactly what it says on the bottle. A compilation of Irished up excerpts of country (ish) classics. Daniel leads the bands on vocals with what must be a sure fire live favourite proving that these Bhoys and Ghirls can certainly play their instruments.

The O’Neills from left to right: Tamás Kaposvári- Cello * Dániel Fekete-Szűcs- Acoustic Guitar, Vocals * Krisztina Hajdu- Vocals * Sophia Lajgút- Fiddle * Júlia Seres- Flutes

All over and done and dusted in just over ten minutes its a great first chapter and though it may not appeal to all celtic punk fans I’m sure there’s plenty out there willing to give a band from the more folkier side of things a chance.

( you can hear the whole of Chapter One below on You Tube)

 

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So all in all a very impressive start for our Hungarian celtic-punk week. Check back in a couple of days for part two of three. If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and if you got any sense you better be) the best place to find it is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

HUNGARIAN CELTIC PUNK WEEK! EP REVIEW: THE CRAZY ROGUES- ‘Rebels’ Shanties’ (2017)

Anyone remember 2015? That was the year of the Hungarian celtic-punk record. A whole host of bands coming together in a perfect storm and absolutely completely dominating the scene that year. Loch Nesz, The Jolly Jackers, The Crazy Rogues, The Scarlet, Firkin and Paddy And The Rats all featured in the London Celtic Punks end of year ‘Best Of 2015’ charts and all received glowing critical praise galore. What quite happened to them all last year is a mystery but the Hungarian celtic-punks are back with a fecking bang! So for one week we are running a Hungarian celtic-punk special. Three reviews in seven days from three amazing EP’s from three equally amazing bands who all have completely different styles of celtic-punk.

The Crazy Rogues are from Veszprém in mid-Hungary and were formed in 2014 making them among the earliest of the second wave of Hungarian celtic-punk bands.With two EP’s behind them, one of Demo versions and another called Chapter 1 which we reviewed back in 2015 here giving it a massive thumbs up. They have named their style as ‘Rogue ‘N’ Roll’ taking in elements of punk, country and bluegrass as well as Irish and Celtic. The EP begins with ‘And Then the Sky Fell’ and its fast fiddle led celtic-punk with good ole’ fashioned punk rock drumming and punk rock guitar playing in the background at times pushing the fiddle forward. ‘Fleet’ is up next and is a bit more traditional celtic-punk of the Flogging Molly kind. One of the things I liked on The Crazy Rogues previous releases is how they can switch from their folkier side to their more punky side with ease. They slow it down next with the sad tale of ‘The Sad Leprechaun’. A leprachaun is a mischievous mythical creature that roams the Irish countryside playing tricks on humans. Many though think they are real, including my Grandparents! Again the fiddle is the lead here and Verrasztó’s vocals are suitably angsty as he tells us of the life of these solitary creatures. The flute appears here and like a lot of Hungarian bands in particular it’s used to good measure.

They speed it up next with the fast paced punky song ‘Mutineers (must DIE)’ and though it does seem funny to call something a ‘traditional punk rock’ song this is it! Shouty gang choruses and fast guitar and then all of the sudden banjo pops up and we get a short blast of each band members individual talents before it ends. Short and sweet and snappy as hell and then we drift into ‘Silver Hair’ which reminds me of the sort of bluesy country folk that Shane MacGowan and The Popes were so f’ing brilliant. Superb mandolin here from Fellegi and I have to say that the mando and the banjo have been a bit low in the mix thus far so great to hear it dominate on this track. Well that is until right out the blue it suddenly switches to a ska song and the song ends with an absolute flourish with electric guitar helping it speed to a finish. The absolute standout track here for me. Can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this song! The EP ends with the song ‘Rebellion’ and is a tribute to the Easter Rising of 1916 when a small band of Irishmen and woman declared war on the British Empire. They took over several important buildings in Dublin and held them for a week against far superior British forces and many died during that week until the rebels were forced to surrender. The British executed the leaders of the rebellion and this led to a wave of sympathy which would eventually lead to full scale war across Ireland that would in the end see freedom for the 3/4’s of the country. Verrasztó’s voice is clear and loud and stamps out where The Crazy Rogues stand. A perfect celtic-punk tune with everything that makes celtic-punk great. Story based lyrics with a solid punk rock base embellished with Irish instruments especially the fiddle again. Songs to get you both thinking and dancing is what celtic-punk is all about!

So six Crazy Rogues composed songs that clock in at a very healthy twenty-five minutes and not a single sign of a cover version. All sang in English with a multitude of musical styles thrown into the celtic-punk mix and with very thoughtful lyrics about a multitude of subjects that are very easy to understand. Rebel’s Shanties is an excellent EP and The Crazy Rogues continue to forge ahead to make a name for themselves in celtic-punk circles. Like both their previous releases Rebel’s Shanties is available for ‘Name Your Price’ download which basically means pay nothing if you got nothing and a couple of pounds (or more) if you got a couple of pounds. This EP is certainly worthy of it.

(listen to the Rebel Shantie’s EP for free by pressing play on the player below)

Download The EP  Bandcamp

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So all in all a very impressive start for our Hungarian celtic-punk week. Check back in a couple of days for part two of three. If you are interested in finding out more about the great celtic-punk scene in Hungary (and if you got any sense you better be) the best place to find it is the ‘Celtic Punk/ Irish Folk Hungary’ group on Facebook here

EP REVIEW: THE CRAZY ROGUES- ‘Chapter One’ (2015)

Irish-country folk-punk from Veszprém in Hungary

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It has been a funny old year in the celtic-punk world I tells you. Last year the most outstanding records and bands seemed to come from faraway Indonesia. An amazing scene with equally amazing bands and releases. Young and vibrant and massive and pretty much everything the celtic-punk scene isn’t in good old London town (only kidding!!). Well this year it is the year of the Hungarian celtic-punk scene. I am beginning to lose count of the number of reviews I have done so far, just this year, of bands from Hungary. A quick check and so far we have already featured this Loch Nesz, The Jolly Jackers and The Scarlet  (and it’s only September!) on top of them there’s a whole host of other bands who haven’t released anything this year like Paddy And The Rats, Firkin and Colleen and Punk Whiskey. The thing that sticks out and I have mentioned it many a time is that even in a small scene, like the one in Hungary, the bands manage to sound quite different to one another with each offering up something fresh and appealing, even to a jaded auld sod like meself!

The Crazy Rogues Standing: Godár Máté (Electric Guitar, Vocals) * Fellegi Krisz (Banjo) * Biermann Teo (Flute) * Szelényi Dániel (Acoustic Guitar, Vocals) * Faragó Dániel (Violin) Front: Nagy Ákos (Drums) * Fazekas Gábor (Bass, Vocals)

The EP is four songs and comes in just slightly shy of fifteen minutes and The Crazy Rogues certainly know a good tune. ‘Chapter One’ begins with ‘Hello World’ and straight from the beginning the sound of banjo and fiddle and flute grabs you and you know this isn’t just a straight up punk band. They sing in English which doesn’t particularly bother me, as if anything I have always preferred bands to sing in their native language, but in a scene dominated by north American bands you would have to agree it’s sadly the easiest way to get known. The song changes in tempo all the way though and at first it seems unusual but you soon get used to them and before you know it you’re not even noticing them anymore.

“When you’re lost for words to tell
If you go to fight in hell
When you meet an Irish fellow
Doesn’t matter, just say hello”

‘Mighty Cowboys’ follows and is the highlight of the EP for me with great music and a superb tune that encompasses both folk and country and Irish traditional. Any second it could break into a ‘hoe-down’ that is kept at bay by the punk rock guitars and drumming. Great lyrics telling of the life of a cowboy.

“Taking all the gold of people
Spending it for beer and trouble
Such a cool life in the wild west
They said my life would be harmless”

It seems to be the way now that new bands must have a signature tune and The Crazy Rogues are no different with ‘The Crazy Rogues’ that kicks off with electric guitar and vocals that remind me of the legends that are The Greenland Whalefishers.

“Here we stand seven old friends folking down the road
That’s exactly how we like it we are the crazy rogues”

‘Rolling Barrels’ brings us the end and in the tradition of celtic-punk they give us a good auld pub song to quench our thirst.

“We can’t be heroes
Just employed slaves
Pieces of machine
That no-one saves
Eight hours of work
Eight hours of rest
Eight hours of fucking entertainment”

A EP that sounds like the band had a bloody good time recording it and you get the impression from ‘Chapter One’ that they are a band that is to be seen live to get the most from them. The Hungarian celtic-punk scene has a lot of very good, interesting and different bands and not only that but it seems to be a very friendly scene as well with the bands helping each other out rather than competing with each other. The majority of the bands make their recordings free to download (in fact check here and go download crazy) though you ought to leave a few pence for them. An all-dayer starring all these bands might even get me to blow the cobwebs off my passport and shift my lazy arse to Hungary. Thats how good they all are!

(you can listen to the whole of’ Chapter One’ below on the Bandcamp player…just press play and the download is free but also ‘Pay As Much As You Like’)

Buy The EP

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you also can hear it on YouTube here

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• their is even more Hungarian celtic-punk to come as I just found out that Paddy And The Rats are releasing a new album very soon to be called ‘Lonely Hearts Boulevard’. So keep watching this space!