LONDON CELTIC PUNKS CHRISTMAS 2022 SPECIAL

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

KRAKIN’ KELLYS – Holiday Season

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

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

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

LOUIS RIVE – A Winters Tale

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

MIGHTY PLOUGHBOYS – I Won’t Be Home For Christmas

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

THE CUNDEEZ – Xmas In The Schemes

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

TIM HOLEHOUSE – Christmas Times Blues

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

FIVE LEAF CLOVER – Taste Of Beaujolais

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

JOHNNY HASH – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

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

PADDY’S PUNK – Irish Friends

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

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

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

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

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

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

*

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LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2019!

Well here we go again. It only seems like five minutes since I was compiling all the votes into last years Best Of that saw The Rumjacks romping home with Album Of The Year. This year has been a bit quieter on the Celtic-Punk front but as last year was so busy that is perhaps not surprising. That’s not to say their weren’t some fantastic releases as their were plenty and it was still really difficult to come up with the various lists below. Not so many big bands this year so it was left to the lesser known bands to shine but remember this is only our opinion and these releases are only the tip of the iceberg of what came out last year. Feel free to comment, slag off or dissect our lists. As a bonus we are adding the Readers Poll again this year so you can even vote on your favourite release of 2019 yourself. If it’s not listed then simply add your choice.

We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…

(click on the green link to go where you will find more information on the release)

1. THE WALKER ROADERS – Self Titled

2. MICKEY RICKSHAW – Home In Song

3. FEROCIOUS DOG – Fake News And Propaganda

4. GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS – Based On A True Story

5. BARLEYJUICE – The Old Speakeasy

6. THE NARROWBACKS – By Hook Or By Crook

7. McDERMOTTS TWO HOURS – Besieged

8. PIPES AND PINTS – The Second Chapter

9. THE RUMJACKS – Live In Athens

10. SELFISH MURPHY – After Crying

11. TORTILLA FLAT – Live At The Old Capitol

12. FIDDLERS GREEN – Heyday

13. THE RUMJACKS – Live In London Acoustic Sessions

14. THE WHIPJACKS – This Wicked World

15. 13 KRAUSS – Redención

16. ALTERNATIVE ULSTER – Craic Agus Ceol

17. AIRES BASTARDOS – Self Titled

18. THE TEMPLARS OF DOOM – Hovels Of The Holy

19. THE FIGHTING JAMESONS – A Moment In California

20. ANGRY McFINN AND THE OLD YANK – Songs of Whiskey, Women & War

21. THE SHILLELAGHS – Ripples In The Rye

22. HELLRAISERS AND BEERDRINKERS – Pub Crawl

23. BODH’AKTAN – De Temps Et De Vents

24. HEATHEN APOSTLES – Dust To Dust

25. SONS OF CLOGGER – Return To The Stones’

26. THE CHERRY COKE$ – Old Fox

27. THE FILTHY SPECTACULA – The Howl Of The Underclasses

28. THE POTATO PIRATES – Hymns For The Wayward

29. TC COSTELLO– Horizon Songs

30. THE TENBAGS – ‘Bags o’ Craic’

How to compete with last year? Every single top band in the genre released an album so things were always going to be a bit quieter for 2019. Top spot this year unsurprisingly goes to The Walker Roaders Celtic-Punk super group! With Pogues, Mollys and Dropkicks making up the team how could they possibly go wrong! Everyone’s ‘next big thing’ Mickey Rickshaw came in a well deserved second and Ferocious Dog took third after releasing their best album, for me, since From Without. Greenland Whalefishers celebrated 25 years on the road with their best album for quite a while and what Best Of would be right without some bloody brilliant Irish-American bands challenging at the top too. Pipes And Pints new album with a new singer received acclaim from across the Punk media and The Rumjacks couldn’t follow up last years unanimous victory despite having two album releases (both sort of live) in the top thirteen. Fiddlers Green continue to make consistently great albums and go into 2020 celebrating thirty years together! Good to see homegrown bands The Whipjacks, The Tenbags, The Filthy Spectacula and Sons Of Clogger making it too. The top thirty was made up of thirteen countries from USA, England, Norway, Czech Republic, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Quebec, Hungary, Spain and Japan.

1. THE LUCKY TROLLS – Self Titled

2. DRUNKEN DOLLY – The Party

3. LORETTA PROBLEM – The Waltz Of My Drunken Dream

4. THE CLOVERHEARTS – Sick

5. KRAKIN’ KELLYS – Irish Tribute

6. THE PLACKS – Rebellious Sons

7. GYPSY VANNER – Five Distilled Celtic Punks

8. THE RUMPLED – Grace O’ Malley

9. FOX’N’FIRKIN – Hey Ho! We’re Fox n Firkin

10. SHANGHAI TREASON – Devil’s Basement

The Lucky Trolls took #1 spot with their brilliant self-titled EP following on from fellow countrymen the Krakin’ Kellys multi award winning 2018. Trust me it would have taken an exceptionally good release to keep The Party by Drunken Dolly off the top spot but that is what happened. Dolly’s excursions over to these shores this year j=has seen them grown in stature and you can’t go to a Ferocious Dog gig without spotting at least a dozen of their shirts. Loretta Problem wowed us with their single ‘Waltz Of My Drunken Dream’ which took us right back back to The Pogues glory days and what about that accompanying video too!! If we had a award for best video then that would have walked it. The Kellys had a quiet year with comparison to ’18 but still managed a respectable #5 and great debut releases from The Placks our sole representative from a Celtic nation (big things are going to happen to this band in 2020 mark my words), Italian/Aussies The Cloverhearts and, from just down the road from my Mammy, Shanghai Treason from Sheffield who only put out one song… but what a song! Eight countries represented from Belgium, Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Scotland, Argentina, Australia and Yorkshire!

AIRES BASTARDOS– ‘Self-Titled’

Argentina is becoming a bit of a hot-spot for Celtic-Punk with not only some well established bands but also some new ones starting up too and with this release Aires Bastardos announced their arrival on the international scene too. Not afraid to dive straight into a folk number after a Cock Sparrer cover they veer from standard Celtic-Punk to Folk and back to fast as hell Punk but in that really accessible way that only Celtic-Punk (and maybe Ska-Punk) bands can do.

1. THE DREADNOUGHTS – Into The North

2. CROCK OF BONES – Celtic Crossbones

3. 6’10 – Where We Are

4. BRYAN McPHERSON – Kings Corner

5. CALLUM HOUSTON – Gravities

6. PYROLYSIS – Daylight Is Fading

7. SEAMUS EGAN – Early Bright

8. LE VENT DU NORD – Territoires

9. DONNY ZUZULA – Chemicals

10. DERVISH – Great Irish Songbook

The Dreadnoughts don’t really think of themselves as Celtic-Punk so I reckon they’d be happier to win this than Celtic-Punk Album Of The Year. A superb collection of sea shanties that is a pleasure to listen to that was always going to be #1. Crock Of Bones representing the London Irish in 2nd with an album of trad folk with punk rock attitude and it’s especially good to hear some originals done in the style of the ‘auld ways’. 6’10 challenged for the top spot as they always do with everything they release and Bryan MacPherson and Callum Houston both produced great releases of singer-songwriter acoustic folk with Irish roots.

Sadly the Celtic-Punk world has shrunk a little regarding Web-Sites. Winners of the last two years the Mersey Celt Punks have been slacking (sort it out lads!) and enjoying their gigs too much to tell us while Shite’n’Onions have been too busy transferring everything onto a different platform and preparing for a bit of a re-launch I expect. Sadly celtic-rock.de have shut up shop after twelve years so it just makes it all the more clear how much we all miss Waldo and his fantastic Celtic-Folk-Punk And More site. As regular as clockwork and all the news that was ever fit (or not!) to print. Closing down the site in its 10th year in March must have been a tough decision to make and so this year we award best Website to Waldo and let it be known that no Celtic-Punk site will ever come close to replacing you. We would certainly not exist without his kind help and inspiration. All the best comrade enjoy your retirement! One welcome addition is Michu and his Celtic-Punk Encyclopedia site from Poland. Worth checking out especially if you are in a band.

We are not alone in doing these Best Of 2019 lists in fact all the major players in celtic-punk do them so click below to check out what they thought.

THE CELTIC PUNKCAST

FOLK’N’ROCK

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

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 admins from the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. The assorted scraps of paper and beer mats were then tallied up please remember not all of us heard the same albums so like all the various Best Of’s ours is also subjective.

This is our 8th year of making these Best Of lists so if you would like to check out out who was where in our previous ones then just click on the link below the relevant year.

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Last year we introduced a new feature THE READERS PICK. We had no idea if it would work or not but it was a raging success so we going to do it all again this year. With well over 500 votes cast you lot chose the debut album from the Krakin’ Kellys as a worthy winner. Only the Top Ten albums are listed but there is an option to write in your favourite release or just to send us love… or abuse!

You are allowed to vote twice but not for the same artist.

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

remember any views, comments or abuse or slander we would love to hear it…

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2020

EP REVIEW: DRUNKEN DOLLY- ‘The Party’ (2019)

Dutch Celtic-Punkers Drunken Dolly must have had a pretty good St. Patrick’s Day judging by the title of the opening track on their new EP! 

Drunken Dolly hail from the working class port city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and in the last 2-3 years have gone from being a band that only people in their own country know of to being one of the most well known Dutch bands around. Despite only having a couple of releases they have managed to ride a wave with England’s own Ferocious Dog that has seen them become one of the Hellhounds (Ferocious Dog’s most loyal group of followers) favourite bands with not a single FD gig passing by without a couple of people in the audience with Drunken Dolly t-shirts. They have even managed to to play over here a handful of times with headline gigs in London and some choice support slots (Rock City!) with FD cementing their popularity.

Formed in 2004 they briefly split up but forged with a love of Irish and Celtic music and punk rock they soon realised they missed the drunkenness and debauchery involved in being in a Celtic-Punk band so re-united in 2014 and decided to take things a wee bit more seriously. Well that or they just wanted to play music, drink beer and party! Their debut release was Drunken Dolly And The Dead Mans Curse. An EP of four self penned songs lasting only ten minutes but made even of an impact to surge to the top of the Celtic-Punk media’s Best Of lists for 2015. This was followed up a couple of years later with the release of their brilliant debut album Alcoholic Rhapsody and again, as their name suggests, beer drinking influences a lot of their lyrical themes. The music was fresh faced, fast and super catchy with a knowing sense of humour that has endeared them to everyone who comes across them.

So can they keep up this record of only producing absolutely fantastic records. Well the answer is of course and there’s no sign of it letting up either! The Party begins with the opening track ‘Let’s Get Fucked Up’ which is near six minutes of some of the best Celtic-Punk this side of the Atlantic. Batten down the hatches and let these shipbuilding folk burst yer eardrums and possibly even make you fall over a wheelbarrow in your back garden and end up with a cartoonish black eye for a fortnight!  Anyone familiar with our own Mick O’Toole will recognise some similarities with the duo banjo/mandolin sound but its the vocal harmonies that set Drunken Dolly apart with some 60’s style crooning straight off The Beach Boys greatest hits album. Michael and Randy share vocals throughout the EP and even though they couldn’t be more different they fit together brilliantly on The Party and its not often a six minute song flies by so quickly either.

They follow this up with the blatantly named ‘Alcohol’ and Michael takes over to sing about his one and only true love. Simple words of love are often the most tender! Pop-punk in the style of NOFX and Blink 182 connects with Irish folk and the result is super catchy and a definite crowd favourite I would think. A song with a chorus of just “Alcohol Alcohol Alcohol” is sure to get them pints in the air! The Party theme continues with ‘Until The Bottles Are Done’ and Randy sings as a punk rock Brian Wilson about the party never ending till all the beer is drunk! Only two songs to go and ‘Without You’ is the shortest track here at just under three minutes and compared to the speed that everything flew by on the debut EP it’s refreshing to hear them not rush things and take their time… even if the songs are still played at breakneck speed!

The Party ends with ‘Never Too Late To Party’ and it’s fair to say that every song here is pure class. Twenty minutes of solid and catchy Celtic-Pop-Punk which has elements of punk bands such as NOFX and Blink 182 as well as the usual suspects of the Dropkick’s and the Molly’s but its those fabulous Beach Boys harmonies that give Drunken Dolly the edge. One hell of a band and as their star rises we going to have more and more chances to see them over here so be sure to catch them when you can.

(In the days leading up to the release of Drunken Dolly’s ‘The Party’ EP their video diary sees them being interviewed on Bang Your Radio and then going off to see Nick Parker live at the Viking Sports Bar in Leiden)

Buy The Party

Contact the band or at their shop here shortly

Contact Drunken Dolly 

WebSite  Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube  LastFM  Twitter  Google+

(Drunken Dolly playing their bloody amazing awesome mega hit ‘Hold On’ at Bevrijdingsfestival Zuid Rotterdam 2018)

ALBUM REVIEW: THE JOHNNY CLASH PROJECT- ‘The Johnny Clash Project’ (2018)

The most novel and interesting covers album you will ever hear! The debut album of The Clash re-imagined as The Man In Black. 1977 punk as boom-chuka-boom-chuka country’n’western with the roots of original rock’n’roll showing.

By some quirk of fate I came across the Italian band The Johnny Clash Project and purely on the name decided to check them out. Well to say I was impressed is an understatement. I was further intrigued to find they would soon be touring the UK so I dropped the lads a message on Facebook to find out if they were playing London but sadly the answer was no. Well a couple more emails and a bit of jiggery pokery and dates swapped round and we landed them to play at the London Celtic Punks show later this month in Leytonstone. More on that later but you may now be wondering what was so special as to warrant all this interest… well here you go.

Covers are not unknown in the Celtic-Punk scene and I dare say 95% of Celtic-Punk releases include at least one or two but The Johnny Clash Project’s album is all covers. Not only that but they are of the same band, The Clash. It is in fact a song-by-song tribute to their self-titled debut album from 1977. Now there’s two ways to record a cover (three if you include f*cking it up like Ed Sheeran’s recent version of ‘Fairytale Of New York’) you can either copy it closely or else breathe new life into it and try and record it in a new style. We are used to hearing both here and they both have value as long as they are recorded with love and respect. The Johnny Clash Project have taken the second route and recorded a whole album that is so God-damn memorable and catchy, its songs haven’t left my brain alone for over a week!!

What they have done is take the songs of The Clash and recorded them in the style of the great and legendary country outlaw Johnny Cash. Yes The Man In Black himself. There’s plenty of elements of blues, Americana, folk and rockabilly but essentially this is country of Johnny Cash of the Folsom Prison Blues era. Cash – Songwriter. Six-string strummer(!). Storyteller. Country boy. Rock star. Folk hero. Preacher. Poet. Drug addict. Rebel. Saint and sinner. Victim. Survivor. Home wrecker. Husband. Father. Son and more… Johnny Cash the ultimate music villain both widely loved and respected by all passed away in 2003  and so this is also a loving tribute to him as well.

The Johnny Clash Project formed in January 2013, in Bologna in northern Italy, and stars Lorenzo Mazzilli (voice and guitar), Paolo Cicconi (guitar and banjo) and Zimmy Martini (double bass). All three are active in other bands, The Giant Undertow, Lucky Strikes and Muddy Worries but here they are united in having only one purpose- to take the songs of the one band whose influence in Punk has never waned and re-imagine them in the style of that ultimate Country outlaw, Johnny Cash and to make them their own and this they have done. With several tours of home behind them and a two month tour last year that took in Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and England they have been causing waves and their live show has been receiving plaudits from all and sundry.

Taking the boom-chuka-boom-chuka of Marshall Grant’s double bass and piling on top a voice that is so close to Johnny’s that it will make you do a double take this album is an absolute must have. It all kicks off with ‘Janie Jones’ and it’s one of a handful of songs here that the original tune stays intact but most of the album is done in the style of ‘Remote Control’ and ‘I’m So Bored With The USA’ where the tune is completely different and it’s not until the chorus that you start to recognise things. There are several high points but to be perfectly honest from start to finish this album is an absolute belter. ‘White Riot’, ‘London’s Burning’, ‘Career Opportunities’ keep the energy of the originals and the fast tempo while  ‘What’s My Name’ and ‘Cheat’ are played as emotional ballads and the curtain comes down with outstanding ‘Garageland’, accompanied by Marc Santò on fiddle and Anna, Carlotta and Giulia on backing vocals, from fellow Bologna band Le Birrette, it even manages to stand out more. Fourteen songs and just over forty-five minutes of musical heaven. There is something about knowing the words to a song that brings you closer to the music and here you often find yourself singing along before you know what the song is!

As said Johnny was the ultimate musical outlaw. Had he been born twenty later perhaps he might have embraced Punk himself. Ever faithful to both the spirit of The Clash and the sound of Johnny Cash this is pure unabashed Country-Folk but would they have got away with it if Lorenzo didn’t sound so much like Johnny Cash? Probably not but so what. Backed by Paolo Cicconi and Zimmy they are also joined here on drums by Matteo Dall’Aglio whose simple rhythms and changes of pace take you back to those halcyon days of the 1950’s. The album was released on St. Patrick’s Day eve this year and has been released on Milan label Rocketman Records. The sound is completely authentic sounding and the whole project reeks of care and attention to detail. Normally we come across albums we love with a sense of joy crossed with dejection. Joy at the discovery of music that will warm your soul but dejection at the realisation that you will never (probably) get to see the band in question perform. Well for some of you those feelings will remain while for Londoners the timing is perfect as we can catch The Johnny Clash Project in the flesh in just a couple of weeks time. Don’t miss this great band and while I do have a tendency to wax lyrical about records I love that the songs on this album are still swimming inside my head as I write this a week after I first heard it so that has to be the best recommendation hasn’t it?

(listen/ stream/ download the whole of The Johnny Clash Project at the link below)

Buy The Johnny Clash Project  FromTheBand

Contact The Johnny Clash Project  Facebook  Bandcamp  YouTube

The Johnny Clash Project will be joined on Friday 27th April by Dutch Celtic-Folk-Punkers Drunken Dolly, also playing in London for the first time, and London’s #1 Celtic-Punkers The Lagan. Live at one of East London’s most popular Irish pubs The Plough & Harrow, 419 High Road Leytonstone, London E11 4JU. Halfway along Leytonstone High Road the nearest tube is an easy 8 min walk from Leyton tube. For up to date information join the Facebook event here.

Full tour dates- Tuesday 24th April at The New Inn, Canterbury * Wednesday 25th April at The Liver Hotel, Liverpool * Thursday 26th April at the Craft Taproom, Liverpool * Friday 27th April at the Plough & Arrow, London and Saturday 28th at the Fez in Margate.

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: DRUNKEN DOLLY- ‘Alcoholic Rhapsody’ (2017)

Happy rocking celtic folk punk party music from Rotterdam!

Coming from the Dutch port town of Rotterdam and formed way way back in 2004 Drunken Dolly are one of the best bands around but you can be forgiven for perhaps not knowing them as in all that time they have only got round to two releases! Inspired by Irish and celtic music and their love of punk rock they briefly split up back in the day but missed the drunkenness and debauchery involved in being in a celtic-punk band so got back together in 2014 and decided to take things a wee bit more seriously.

Their debut release, the 4-track EP, ‘Drunken Dolly And The Drunken Man’s Curse’ came out in May, 2015. Now that was a full eleven years after they first got together so it had better have been good and we are glad to report it bloody was too. You can read our review of it here but rest assured it may not have been very long at only just over ten minutes long but was as good any EP released that year. Four songs of fantastic celtic-punk that we placed firmly within the Dropkicks camp but with equal appeal to fans of the Mollys too.

So a couple of years on and it’s time for their debut album to hit the streets. Alcoholic Rhapsody came out early last month and is 3/4’s of an hour of solid and superb catchy celtic-pop-punk which has elements of punk bands such as NOFX and Green Day and celtic bands like the the Dropkick’s and the Molly’s but also with harmonies straight off a Beach Boys greatest hits album! Kicking off with ‘Endless Party’ and while we are more use to the punkier elements of celtic-punk to be a bit more hard edged Drunken Dolly serve up something a bit more poppy. What pushed punk through to the mainstream a few years back was a new wave of bands who played their punk with a very distinct 60’s feel to it. Bands like Blink 182 and Rancid as well as the ones already mentioned were massive and opened the door to people wanting to check out the roots of punk. Its all very catchy and some would say somewhat throwaway but one thing is undeniable and that is that it is pure good time party music! The banjo is more prevalent in the next song, ‘No Regrets’ and is the albums first celtic-punk number and what a number. A real high octane celtic-rocker.

“The night at it’s end, as the sun hits the sky.
No money for the rent but no regrets for tonight”

The well worn tale of a night out and bugger the consequences! A great song and proof that they have only got stronger in the years since that EP’s release.

Relationship woes rear their heads in the mandolin and banjo driven ‘Time To Leave’ and the lengthy, over five minutes, ‘Whatsherface’ and while you may struggle to find any Gaelic tune up to now it is most definitely what we would refer to as modern day celtic-punk. ‘Dear Friend’ begins with a Tossers sort of intro before Gydo and his amazing banjo playing leads us in a spirited number about what we need the most in life.

“So if you have a friend like him
Raise your glass and we honour them together
It’s a fact that we all need
A dear friend, so lets honour them together”

By now we getting use to the Drunken Dolly way of doing things. Gang vocals with plenty of “Oh-Oh’s and some super catchy choruses to singalong with and ‘Hold On’ is a perfect example though not as fast as some of the fare here. For a sailor’s town it’s inevitable that we eventually must be due a sailor’s song and ‘Sailor’s Song’ is it. They ramp up the speed after a slowish celtic start and a nice catchy gang chorus ends it on a high before ‘Beware of the Fisherking’ and it instantly sounds more traditional celtic-punk fare with a nice Irish tune flowing through the more restrained punk sound but with plenty banjo and mandolin driving it along. ‘Drunken Man’s Curse’ is the first of the three songs from their previous EP that have been re-recorded for Alcoholic Rhapsody. Not a huge amount of difference I have to say except a crisper sound and much more rounder production. This is followed by the other two songs ‘Humongous Tattooed Arms’ and ‘That Kiss’ which was the first single released from Alcoholic Rhapsody and needless to say is one of the album’s highlights.

An absolute stormer of a classic rock number and with some real profound and meaningful lyrics. As someone whose Grandad was his hero they really struck a chord with me. The sound here reminded me of Mick O’Toole and their heavy banjo/mando sound.

“It’s your friends, your mates, your comrades
But mostly your wife you’ll miss
Now i sit here, thinking of them
How they all came to pass
It’s the nights we would drink,
The nights of fun
But mostly I miss that kiss
I miss that kiss”

We are steaming towards the end at breakneck speed and ‘Stop’ drops us by the beach in Southern California again and catchy is the word as we stroll into ‘Beat Up Good Johnny’. It’s another old song from an early Demo that has benefited from a re-fit and a better production. So we reach the end and it’s time for the album’s theme song ‘Alcoholic Rhapsody’ and for the Bhoys to go out on a high. It’s fast paced tale of alcoholic woes and tribulations is the main theme throughout the album and brings the curtain down on this fine album.

The celtic-punk scene in the Netherlands is both a lively and active one with several bands all working closely together rather than competing with each other. The great thing is that they all manage to come from different directions of the scene and none are more different than Drunken Dolly. Their pop-punk sound is pretty original and that fast and furious celtic-punk is super catchy and the perfect accompaniment for a beer or two. Or alcoholic rhapsody if you will!

(you can listen to ‘Alcoholic Rhapsody’ for *FREE* before you buy it by pressing play on the Bandcamp player below)

Buy Alcoholic Rhapsody

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The Drunken Dolly Team

Michael Stoel – Mandolin/Vocals
Kevin Snoey – Bass/Vocals
Gydo Stalenberg – Banjo/Vocals
Scott Merts – Drums/Vocals
Randy van Soest – Electric-Guitar/Vocals

ALBUM REVIEW: McSCALLYWAG- ‘Dirty Water’ (2017)

Celebrate the good life with Dutch celtic-punkers McScallywags. Influenced by traditional Irish folk music, sea-shanties and good ol’ drinking songs McScallywag are on a mission to put a smile on everyone’s face!

Got this album in the post from Waldo over at Celtic Folk Punk And More web-site (always worth checking out here) but with such a backlog of reviews its taken me till now to have a listen and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long!

McScallywag describe their sound as “Dropkick Murphys meets The Pogues” and while live they they provide a healthy mix of classic traditional Irish folk songs and McScallywag originals here on Dirty Water they gone for the originals approach with every song one they have penned themselves. The band are based in the Dutch city of Groningen, an area of the Netherlands renowned for its music and arts. Formed in 2013 when local hardcore punk band De Klootviolen parted ways with their vocalist and the rest of the band decided to continue but in a completely different direction. Armed with new instruments they continue to blaze their way through life celebrating their love for that life through alcohol and folk music. The Dutch scene is particularly strong at the moment with such great bands as Circle J and Bunch Of Bastards , who have both featured on these pages extensively as well as touring these shores, as well as the likes of LQR, Drunken Dolly and The Royal Spuds who we are hoping to catch up with at LQR’s ’10 Pinter’ festival next January.

McScallywag left to right: Tom Kootstra– Guitar, Vocals * Frodo Bosma– Accordion *  Ruud Platje– Drums, Vocals *  Arian Sikkens– Banjo, Mandolin, Vocals * Peter Janssen – Bass Guitar * Talitha Barelds– Cello, Vocals * Ashley Buitenwerf– Guitar, Vocals. Not in picture Sebastiaan Hidding– Violin

So what do we get here. As I say its nine original songs so that is already a plus in my eyes and the whole album comes in just shy of half an hour. the album starts with ‘Billy’s Curse’ and you not sure which way the album’s going with acoustic guitar and accordion swirling round while Arian’s voice sings out both tunefully and strong. The song doesn’t get much faster but does get louder and you can hear the cello here and it sounds great. Not yer typical celtic-punk instrument but all the better for that. Needless to say of course that Billy’s curse was in fact alcohol! ‘Days of Travel’ is up next and the band start to show what they can do here. Fast and furious acoustic celtic-punk party music. Stop and start fast music that owes much to hardcore punk in many ways.

The video gives you a great example of what McScallywag do. That they are acoustic, except for bass guitar, is incredible and reminds me of what was said about The Pogues that they were louder than any punk band! next up is ‘The Road’ and a real Poguesy feel to this. A slow ballad that speeds up near the end with gang vocals and is a real catchy foot-tapper. Some great positive lyrics here too that had me belting out the words in me living room.

So get up while you can, stand up and be a man.

Cuz there’s no such a thing as getting old,

you’ve got to live it up while you can.

So even when this world is at its darkest,

And your just clinging and holding on to that light.

You’ll find again and again that when your drinking with friends,

you’re gonna make it through the night,

shining bright”

Definitely one of the album highlights without a doubt. ‘Letter to Megan’ is about a subject that crops up quite often in celtic-punk. Hopefully as a warning to others? Screwing up your life and hurting the ones you love. The song starts off slow before bursting into life and ending in typical celtic-punk fashion and while the video below shows the song done to perfection it is annoying hearing people talking throughout BUT…

this is music for the live setting and McScallywag come into their own live from what I can see. That’s not to say that they haven’t managed to transfer that sound onto disc as they have done a brilliant job here and the production is perfect. ‘St. Paddy’s Anthem’ is up now and McScallywag’s tribute to that day where indeed

“It’s Saint Paddy’s anthem keep singing along,
as loud as you can, cuz tonight, everybody is an Irishman!”

Great vocals here and as loud a song as any on Dirty Water. Close your eyes and you can forget your not still listening to De Klootviolen and a band containing banjo, accordion, cello and mandolin.

“And the pubs around the corner there,

said: open all night.

There was Dropkick Murphys on the jukebox,

shouting, drinking what a sight.

They passed me down a bottle, and I bought a round of beer.

We raised our glass to the drinking class,

and we all sang and cheered”

This is hardcore punk-folk! Then  we have ‘Eye of the Storm’ and a dramatic shift in style with cello-player Talitha taking over vocal duties for a slow ballad about losing your love at sea. The mandolin accompanies her beautiful voice in a very under stated song where you can smell the salt air. ‘Ashes to Ashes’ is another stand out track for me. As I often say man cannot live on punk rock alone and he needs to slow down occasionally. It’s good for the soul. Vocals are shared again by Talitha and Arian and this is the moment on the album where you must raise your pint to the air. Every half decent celtic-punk album must have one and this is it. Love this song. We nearing the end of Dirty Water and ‘Whiskey I Love You’ is a singalong/clappalong folky number with gang vocals and a catchy chorus. Think Dropkicks ‘Boys On The Docks’ and you’ve got it. The album wraps up with ‘Johnny Went Away’ and it’s more of that stop and start hardcore folk that I love. The mandolin is in overdrive and the band all join in on vocals and bring the curtain down leaving me out of breath!

Having always been a fan of punk music it’s really refreshing to hear a folk band play as though they were a punk band. Its mostly very fast but incredibly tuneful and still folky despite the speed it’s played. They don’t sound like any of the scene’s favoured bands which is something I have said before about Dutch celtic-punk groups and that is something special. A great debut album and a band to watch out for. All the lyrics are on the bands web site (here) and are well worth a look while you listen to the album.

(have a free listen to Dirty Water below)

Buy Dirty Water iTunes

Contact McScallywag WebSite  Facebook  Soundcloud  Instagram  YouTube

(not quite a full length concert but great video with good sound)

EP REVIEW: DRUNKEN DOLLY- ‘Drunken Dolly And The Drunken Mans Curse’ (2015)

Happy rocking celtic folk punk party music from Rotterdam

Funny how things go and only a few days after reviewing the new album from Dutch band Pyrolysis another new release from a Dutch band lands on the London Celtic Punks doorstep. Although relatively new to us Drunken Dolly have been together for six years but ‘Drunken Dolly And The Dead Mans Curse’ is their very first release and we can safely add about bloody time too.

The EP begins with the title track ‘Drunken Man’s Curse’ and from the very start what grabs you is that Drunken Dolly have both mandolin and banjo players and superbly played they are too. It is becoming more common these days and the sound it produces makes for some excellent music. Along with the thrashing guitar and frantic drumming they kick up a right auld celtic punk storm with this tale of a drunken night on the lash.

“You’re drunk and you fell in love
But it’s probably the drunken man’s curse
your front-door key is not your friend you see
When you’re under the drunken man’s curse”

Next up is ‘Humongous Tattooed Arms’ and more of the same with the mando and banjo dualing away but what really grabbed me is the rather sweet and tender lyrics of the song. Telling of a sons love for his father I have to say I am rather jealous of songwriters who can capture life in such a powerful and meaningful way. Well done DD!

“A sleeve full of memories, each picture a story
I’m so proud to be a part of that arm.
Anchors, bottles, ships and a picture of me
as his lucky charm”

Drunken Dolly pay tribute to the biggest day in the celtic-punk diary next with ‘St. Patrick’s Day’. A perfect combination of the best bits of The Pogues and The Clash combining for a real proper catchy tune.

 ‘That Kiss’ brings the EP to an end and again there is no let up with the music coming at you fast and furious. Banjo kick starts it and before long you’re swept away with the highlight of the EP that would easily grace any of the celtic-punk scenes biggest hitters.

Drunken Dolly left to right: Scott: drums * Randy: electric guitar * Michael: mandolin * Kevin: bass guitar * Gydo: banjo * Lead vocals: Michael and Kevin * Backing vocals: everyone

It may not be very long at just over ten minutes but this is as good a EP as has been released this year. Four songs of fantastic celtic-punk that is firmly within the Dropkicks camp but will equally appeal to fans of the Mollys too. I may be new to them but will be following what they do very closely from now on and I suggest you do too.

(to listen to ‘Drunken Dolly And The Dead Mans Curse’ press play on the Bandcamp player below)

Buy The Album

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here’s a full concert from the Bhoys