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

If ever their was a time when we should have a Celtic History Month in schools then March would be it with the patron Saint’s of Cornwall, Wales and Ireland all in the next few weeks. That it will never happen will surprise no one.

Hers is this month’s Odds’n’Sods. All the news fit to print on what’s going in our wonderful Celtic-Punk scene. From the scene’s bands big and small, established or just starting out it’s all in here!

The top two Celtic-Punk bands both have new material out with FLOGGING MOLLY beating the Murphys to the punch with a new EP out ‘Til The Anarchy’s Restored’ which will be available March 10, 2023. As well as the title song it includes two live favourites recorded at Electrical Audio. Buy/stream at https://riserecords.lnk.to/FloggingMolly.

Lots of news from the THE DROPKICK MURPHYS camp this month. They released a new video for ‘Never Git Drunk No More’ featuring Nikki Lane their final music video from This Machine Still Kills Fascists, the Murphys album featuring the lyrics of Woody Guthrie. They also announced last week.

“Keep an eye out for another full length album of DKM/Guthrie tunes…the final instalment of our collaboration…coming this spring”.

Okemah Rising comes out May 12 on CD, LP and on streaming services worldwide. You can pre order CD and vinyl now direct from the DKM web store. DropkickMurphys.com/store. For those who order the vinyl, we’re also kicking in a free 7″ recorded live in Nashville. Finally they announced a live stream of their St. Patrick’s Day show from MGM Music Hall Boston. Check in at midnight UK and Ireland time and look up the Facebook event for regional times. 

Ace Canadian Celtic-Punks THE PEELERS released ‘Stick and Move – Spike O’Sullivan’ from their album Down And Out In The City Of Saints. Song written by D. Barton, filmed by The Peelers, Produced by D. Barton with additional footage provided by Terry McMahon from ‘The Prizefighter’.

RAISE YOUR GLASS are a cracking Celtic-Punk band from Brazil. ‘Suck My Pipe’ is the first single from the bands forthcoming third EP.

The full live set from international Celtic-Punk giants THE RUMJACKS recorded live at Wembley Arena on January 21st 2023. We were all there dotted around in different places!

Old school London Punk band DISSENT have a acoustic version of their last single out now. You can tell they are old-school as none of them went to university or have posh accents.

Canada’s THE STAB ROVERS always put out interesting videos evoking glorious visions of the past and ‘Grandma’s Kitchen’ is no different. 

German band TIR NAN OG new single ‘Firestorm’ cam out in mid-Feb to promote a whole load of gigs so check their Facebook page for dates. 

THE WHARF RAT REPUBLIC are a new band from Edmonton in Canada. They played their first ever gig at the end of January and looking forward to doing it all again over St. Patrick’s weekend.

More footage from a new Celtic-Punk band’s first ever gig this time THE TOSHERS from January 2023 at the Wild Rover in Aachen, Germany. Their a new band so hit them up on Facebook and Instagram and let’s get them growing!

SWAINN perform ‘Dark Angel’ live at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, Texas on December 23rd 2022.

Not a lot of videos out this month but a fair bit of live footage including HEADSTICKS performing ‘Wishing’ as part of their Almost Acoustic set at Nottingham Rough Trade last month.

All girl French Celtic-Punk rockers TOXIC FROGS new single ‘Go Back Again’ taken from the album My Lucky Own. Video directed by @fatcutproduction and @julienrealeproduction. 

When Iain left The Placks it didn’t take him long to gather some great musicians around him who share his vision of what a Scottish Celtic-Punk band should be and sound like. So it was that THE RAMSTAMPITS started. They just released their second video (starring a great friend of ours!) of the track ‘No Place Like Home’ from their almost sold out ‘Light The Beacon’ EP. It’s not up on You Tube yet but can be viewed on Facebook.

THE POGUES have a new album out! Well not really but a double album titled The Stiff Records B-Sides 1984-1987. A collection of The Pogues non-album B sides from the band’s time on the famed Stiff Records label. This collection will be pressed on vinyl for the first time exclusively for Record Store Day 2023. More details from here. 

The MISPLACED PUNK SHOW is a new music podcast playing Punk, Ska, Surf and great bands from Bandcamp with a random sprinkling of Celtic-Punk!  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2125292

THE TOSSERS – The Tossers

FIRKIN – Spice It Up

CARROTTE – Glouton Gluten

RUSSKAJA – Turbo Polka Party

THE PRIVATEER – Kingdom of Exiles

SKALD – Huldufólk

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

Psychobilly has a lot in common with Celtic-Punk both take a old genre and inject it with loud and noisy Punk music. Psychobilly is a potent brew of classic Rock’n’Roll and Punk and some of its best bands can be found on Diablo Recoirds. One of these was CELTIC BONES made up of an assortment of Irish and London Irish rockers date from the early 00’s.

Spanish Celtic-Folk band DEIRA have a new album out called Alba and the title track is available for name your price download. 

BEAU JAMES WILDING has a new single out packed with Folk-Punk attitude. The vocals are gritty, earthy and brilliantly dirty. Bringing in Celtic influences and re-imagines them in a head-on collision with a heavy rock backbone. Direct and takes no prisoners.

SHANGHAI TREASON have a new single ‘The Lighthouse’ will be released on, surprise surprise!, on March 17th! Pre-save here https://tinyurl.com/SaveLighthouse 

10 years on from it’s release FEROCIOUS DOG have re-mastered and re-released their debut album as a double CD including their Live At Leeds Academy orchestral set. Release is March 31st and you can order it via www.ferociousdog.co.uk now.

THE TOSSERS have a new album out now. A bunch of old songs and Irish Folk favourites set to get the blood pumping! You can hear a preview here at https://thetossers.hearnow.com/ 

Hailing from Buffalo NY CAPTAIN TOM & THE HOOLIGANS captured live performing ‘There’s a Fine Line’ / ‘MTA’ at The Banshee Irish Pub

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. Today is the turn of GREEN ASHES who launched into the Los Angeles Irish community in 2009 with one goal: blowing the roof off a pub on St. Patrick’s Day. With depth, range, and brazen musicianship, the band’s music is steeped in raw emotion and runs the gamut from fierce rebel songs to soulful ballads. Drawing on their own Irish-American heritage and diverse musical roots. Following the exit of their lead singer, Sean Lee, this, their second CD was named in honour of their former lead singer.

So slap bang in the middle of the month and a brief respite from Lent is St. Patrick’s and London turns green. Here’s the pick of what’s happening over the weekend. Friday 17th is actually St. Patrick’s Day something that is not always clear from the gig advertisements I see. On St. Patrick’s day we’ll be heading off to see London-Irish psycho ceilidh band NECK doing a couple of sets for free at The World’s End in Camden. Just up the road expect a righteous ruaille buaille from SKIMMINGTON RIDE at the Dublin Castlle. The excellent and great bunch of Folk-Punk folk CROCK OF BONES are at Shortlands Tavern in Bromley. PerKELT play at the Magic Garden,  Battersea Park Road, London, SW11 4LG. Superb Trad band FOUR MEN AND A DOG are playing the 17th and the 18th at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith. The highlight of the day mind is in Amsterdam where FEROCIOUS DOG are playing with cracking Dutch band THE ROYAL SPUDS! The following day sees DAMIEN DEMPSEY at the Electric in Brixton. He has many who try to copy him but there is only one! The BIBLE CODE SUNDAYS are playing several gigs around London the pick of which is Saturday 4pm at the London Irish Centre in Camden alongside the Ireland v England 6 nations game. Not heard a great deal out the CLAN OF CELTS but hopefully this will all change after they announced a headline afternoon gig at The Dublin Castle kicking off at around 2pm. Sunday 19th sees London Irish at home in Brentford in the Premiership Rugby Cup Final, in which they take on Exeter Chiefs. With general admission pricing at £15 for adults and £5 for kids tickets – cup final rugby doesn’t get any cheaper than this! The 25th sees the official end of St. Patrick’s with the annual St. Pats game at London Irish. Always a great day out and with the Bhoys doing better than they have in years the Play-Offs are a good possibility.  

Other non-St Pat’s live news London-Irish Celtic-Punks THE LAGAN have a home game at The Fighting Cocks in Kingston on Saturday 11th March. Tickets have sold out but 30 will be on the door first thing on the night.  Saturday 25th March is STIFF LITTLE FINGERS at the Roundhouse in Camden. Saturday 8th April sees THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG at the Powerhaus. With the demise of the 4 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 the charismatic leader. Playing the 229 on Great Portland Street on Friday 2nd June. American Folk-Country-Doombilly band the HEATHEN APOSTLES play The Lexington in Lings Cross on Wednesday 19th July. The founders of Alt-Country THE LONG RYDERS are coming back to these shores with a full Europe and UK tour.

All the concerts announced by Emerald Events – London last month have been postponed.

Winner of #1 Folk /Trad / Roots 2022 album of the year – Boston born LA based BRYAN McPHERSON is touring the UK and Ireland in April. It is still in the planning stage but he will be playing the London area on April 20 and 21. Thursday 20th he will be at The Bird’s Nest in Deptford with Anto Morra and a t.b.c. and the following day in South-West London venue and supports t.b.c.

Our gig last month with The Whipjacks was a great success and great fun but now we are broke again! All money we raise from the 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. The Harp’n’Bones design now is back in all sizes and 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 we did rid off. 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 fold. It has a stranglehold on all forms of expression that is not good and it’s no surprise to see people leaving in droves. Don’t despair though if you are one of them as you can keep up with London Celtic Punks posts via 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/

The response to the new London Celtic Punks badge has been amazing. Not surprising really as they are just about the nicest bit of merchandise in Celtic-Punk if you ask me! Comes with butterfly clip and made in Ireland (Guaranteed Irish!) 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. Send to Paypal (friends & family) 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!

‘Denis ‘the Menace’ Irish Punk in London 1996 a clip from the 1996 documentary ‘Charlie Harper, 20 Years of Chaos’ directed by Mads Astrup Rønning. Don’t think I crossed paths with this chap. Think I would have remembered him!

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LONDON CELTIC PUNKS 2022 READERS CHOICE WINNER

We finally wave goodbye to 2022 with the announcement of who you the beloved readers of this site have chosen as the best of ’22.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2018 – KRAKIN’ KELLYS 169 votes  (524 total)

2019 – MICKEY RICKSHAW 94 Votes  (476 total)

2020 – THE GO-SET 281 votes  (1105 total)

2021 –  FEROCIOUS DOG 430 votes (1576 total)

The response to this year’s poll has been incredible. Almost every year the poll has run, the number of votes has increased dramatically. This time, by nearly 200 votes to 1,726. From the very start this year it was a two horse race between England’s own Ferocious Dog and Sweden’s Finnegan’s Hell with both way ahead of newcomers to the Celtic-Punk scene Reina Roja from Madrid. For the first time ever the artist with the winning number of votes hasn’t been an album but still an excellent show from Finnegan’s Hell. A mention here for Yorkshire banjo Punks Shanghai Treason too finishing in sixth place. There were over 600 votes in the ‘other’ section which I had to count individually and then go back and double check as some results were very close. Over here we believe in getting things right when people vote (!) so that’s why it’s taken a couple of days to tally up the final scores but here at last they finally are. Congratulations to everyone and cheers and beers to all who voted!

We have had such a diverse group of artists to win this award and this years winners Finnegan’s Hell are no different. We could see the writing on the wall with all the people from Sweden voting. Not that their fan base is reserved to their home country. They’re pretty popular in Hackney too! Reina Roja have done exceedingly well for a new band to these pages, coming in second place. In the Murphys Vs Mollys competition it was Flogging Molly who won easily winning over their Boston rivals in both the official London Celtic Punks Best Of 2022 awards and the 2022 Readers Choice.

1. FINNEGAN’S HELL – One Finger Salute

2. REINA ROJA – Hooligan Folk

3. FLOGGING MOLLY – Anthem

Usually it stands to reason that most votes will go to the ones that were actually listed on the poll but this year Ferocious Dog stormed away with the title with 455 votes. A record for our Readers Poll which they already held from last year! Only two other EP’s gathered any significant votes with loads more getting only single figures.

1. FEROCIOUS DOG – Too Late

2. BRICK TOP BLAGGERS – Obey The Tyrant

3. THE DEAD IRISH – Four Corners Of Hell

Thanks dear readers for taking part in the poll and congratulations to Finnegan’s Hell and Ferocious Dog. The further away we move from the covid lock downs the more it seems like some dystopian nightmare. Those days could have destroyed the Celtic-Punk scene, but on the evidence of last year’s releases the scene has bounced back and is as strong as ever. Our dream is that 2023 will bring these bands the recognition and success they richly deserve. Thanks to you for supporting London Celtic Punks and we ended ’22 with our highest yearly readership of all time, so expect good things from us too! Why not consider subscribing and never miss a post (the box is on the left when viewed on your lap top) or send us your email through the Contact Us page.

PREVIOUS READERS CHOICE – 2018 * 2019 * 2020 * 2021

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : KEN BONSALL

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

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

Name / Nickname : Ken Bonsall (Red Ken)

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 54

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

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

Where do you live : Warsop

Occupation : Musician/Foster Carer

First job : Coal Miner

A job you would have loved to do : Ski instructor

What / Who makes you laugh : Monty Python

Favourite movie star : Victor McLaglen in The Quiet Man

Favourite film / TV show : Schindlers List/Peaky Blinders

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

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

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

First and last record you bought : Uprising Bob Marley

How many instruments can you play : Guitar, ukulele

How many bands have you been in : 1 Ferocious Dog

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

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

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

Describe yourself in 5 words : A Socialist through and through

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

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

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

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

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

Favourite sportsperson : Bode Miller

Favourite sport : Football

All time hero : Dennis Skinner

Favourite book : The man who broke into Aushwitz

Best friend : My dog Jess

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

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

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

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

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

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

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : LUKE GRAINGER

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

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

Name / Nickname : Luke Grainger

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 33

Status : Drums

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Born In Nottinghamshire

Where do you live : Kirkby-In-Ashfield

Occupation : Engineer-Laser Operator

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

A job you would have loved to do : Rally Driver

What / Who makes you laugh : youtube Cat videos

Favourite movie star : Cristoph Waltz

Favourite film / TV show : Original Total Recall

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Flogging Molly

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

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

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

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

Favourite venue / gig attended : Ace Cafe London

Favourite gig : headlining Rock City

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

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

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

Favourite sportsperson : Rodney Mullen

Favourite sport : Skateboarding

All time hero : Fred Dibnah

Biggest influence on career : My Dad

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

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

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

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

Anything to plug / promote : FEROCIOUS DOG 😀

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

Read The Others  Dan Booth   Nick Wragg   Kyle Peters   Sam Wood

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

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

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : SAM WOOD

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

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

Name / Nickname : Sam Wood

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 34

Status : Multi instrumentalist

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

Where do you live : Nottingham

Occupation : Musician

First job : On a farm

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

What / Who makes you laugh : Alan Partridge

Favourite movie star : Steve Coogan

Favourite film / TV show : Red Dwarf

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

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Rumjacks

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

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

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

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

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

Favourite gig : They’re all wonderful

Describe yourself in 5 words : Very very bad with words

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

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

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

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

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

Favourite sportsperson : Paul Peschisolido

Favourite sport : UFC

All time hero : Alex Laiho

Favourite book : The Hobbit

Best friend : My girlfriend Mikala and my housemate Dave

Biggest influence on career : Daron Malakian

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

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

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

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

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

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

Read The Others  Dan Booth   Nick Wragg   Kyle Peters  

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

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

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : KYLE PETERS

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

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

Name / Nickname : Kyle

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 31

Status : Guitarist

Where do you live : Nottingham

First job : Granulating waste plastic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Favourite book : Waking Up by Sam Harris

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

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

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube
Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

READ THE OTHERS – Dan Booth   Nick Wragg

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

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

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : NICK WRAGG

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

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

Name / Nickname : Nick Wragg

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 27

Status : Bass Player

Birthplace / Nationality / Ancestry : Cumbria, UK

Where do you live : Nottingham

Occupation : Musician

First job : Forester

A job you would have loved to do : Tropical Ecologist

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

Favourite movie star : Sean Bean

Favourite film / TV show : Treasure Planet

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

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

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

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

How many bands have you been in : Too many

Favourite venue / gig attended : Bloodstock Festival

Describe yourself in 5 words : A man of many hats

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

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

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

Favourite sportsperson : Callum Powell

Favourite sport : Parkour

Favourite book :  Wheel of Time

Best friend : Sam Wood

Biggest influence on career : Sam Wood

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

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

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

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

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube
Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

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

READ THE OTHERS – Dan Booth

FEROCIOUS DOG Q AND A : DAN BOOTH

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

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

Name / Nickname : Dan Booth

Age (Estimate allowed!) : 42

Status : Violin player/co-founder/band manager

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

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

Occupation : Musician

First job : Stores Manager for an IT repair company

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

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

Favourite movie star : Samuel L Jackson

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

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

Favourite Celtic-Punk bands : Flogging Molly, The Pogues

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

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

How many instruments can you play : Violin and guitar

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

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

Favourite gig : When we played Lowlands Festival in The Netherlands

Describe yourself in 5 words : A man of few words

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

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

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

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

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

Favourite sportsperson : Paul Scholes & Valentina Schevchenko

Favourite sport : UFC & football

All time hero : Dr Dre

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

Best friend : My fiancé Anna

Biggest influence on career : Jon Sevink and the Levellers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube
Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

ODDS’N’SODS. A CELTIC-PUNK ROUND UP JULY 2022

Calling out around the world, Are you ready for a brand new beat? Summer’s here and the time is right, For dancing in the street… well maybe not!

Here’s another Odds’n’Sods. A whole load of Celtic-Punk entertainment from all the scene’s bands big and small, established or just starting out.

We kick off with exciting news out of the FLOGGING MOLLY camp with a new album just around the corner and a full European tour in August. ‘The Croppy Boy ’98’ tells of the 1798 Irish rebellion while we can expect Anthem in early September. Pre-save or Pre-Order the record now at https://riserecords.lnk.to/FMAnthem.

Flogging Molly will be joined on tour by our very own FEROCIOUS DOG so be sure not to miss out on what promises to be a facking marvellous night!!! The tour takes in Ireland as well as Germany and we’ll see you in Dublin so give us a shout if you see us!

Now over to Boston and our bhoys the DROPKICK MURPHYS have a new album This Machine Still Kills Fascists – featuring the lyrics of Woody Guthrie — out on September 30. Pre- order from https://dropkick-murphys.ffm.to/7reo1k8.OYD. The albums 10 songs were recorded by Ted Hutt in Woody’s home state of Oklahoma, bringing Woody Guthries words into the present. All acoustic. Not a single amplifier was used.

Major disappointment around the Celtic-Punk a couple of weekends ago when the DROPKICK MURPHYS televised set at Hellfast 21 festival was cancelled at the last minute. Still the show went on and i still drank the beers I got in and we can now watch it on You Tube.

Another band with a new release coming out is Los Angeles based HOIST THE COLORS whose album, When Daylight Breaks will be coming out on all the usual platforms on Friday, August 26th!!! Pre-sale for the vinyl release is now up on their website. https://hoistthecolors.com/merch

Anyone remember Finny McConnell’s announcement last year that THE MAHONES were going to be retiring from touring? Well absolutely no surprises here to find out they will indeed be touring later in the Summer!! They also announced plans for a new album, Jameson Street recorded by a combination of all the different classic Mahones line ups from the very beginning right up until today’s team. Coming out on True North Records in the autumn and the first single coming in the summer will be ‘Rise Up’, written by Finny and Punk legend Greg Norton from Husker Du.

In the next few days we begin a short series of nine interviews with ‘movers and shakes’ within the Celtic-Punk scene. We start this Sunday with John Murphy, editor of the original Celtic-Punk fansite Shite’n’Onions. They recently reviewed the new solo album from Hugh Morrison of Murder the Stout and ex- Street Dogs. Don’t miss the whole series by checking in daily!

We haven’t heard much over here from AIRES BASTARDOS from Argentina since they won London Celtic Punks best debut album in 2019 but they have kept busy and here’s the first song from a upcoming EP of new material and it is brilliant!

Irish-American Folk-Punk accordion maestro TC COSTELLO is teaching in Spain and is available for online tuition especially language stuff. I’m sure he could help a few London Celtic Punks out!!

I have a long list of favourite Celtic-Punk but their are several ones that I really love and respect and listen to regularly. One such band is from Argentina called RAISE MY KILT who have released a new song called ‘Raise Your Pints’. It’s the first release from their upcoming new album. You can hear it over on Spotify

New Japanese Celtic-Punk out this week 凩KOGARASHI. Not a band I’ve heard from before but a great song and i tracked them down on Facebook so head over and leave a ‘like’.

We had booked Dutch band PYROLYSIS to play London pre-Covid but life thought better than that but they did are playing London on July 15 and have been recording some new material and released ‘The Whalers Lantern’ on You Tube via A Pirates Life Radio. Check it out, a internet radio station for 24/7 pirate music! https://tunein.com/radio/A-Pirates-Life-s294482/

SCHANDMAUL – Knüppel aus dem Sack

DAVE BAINBRIDGE – To The Far Away

THE DREADNOUGHTS – Roll And Go (review on its way)

ALESTORM – Seventh Rum Of A Seventh Rum

CRASH NOMADA – Broar EP

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

Each month we have a ‘blast from the past’ where we feature a band / album from someone we love but missed out on release. These come with a free download so you can enjoy them too. You all (well both of you!) said you enjoyed last month’s excursion away from Celtic-Punk with The Swearengens so here’s some more in the same vein from THE COWSLINGERS. Formed in 1989, the band barnstormed the world, playing more than 600 gigs, from West Virginia to Spain, Seattle to Germany. The Cowslingers’ whomp-and-stomp sound cruised as many musical paths. Over nine albums, 12 singles and two EPs, the band explored dusty detours, from country to punk to rockabilly to hard rock to garage rock. Here’s their debut 1994’s Off The Wagon And Back In The Saddle (Link) and their final album 2017’s Real Big Rooster (Link).

After two years of cancellations they have finally bought the plane tickets so no backing out now! CLOVER’S REVENGE are over from sunny Florida in the US to play in London for only one night making this is a concert NOT TO BE MISSED!! A dangerous intersection of two Irish musical traditions – Acoustic pub music and Celtic-Punk-Rock. Saturday 30th July around 8pm at McCafferty’s Crouch End, 128 Tottenham Lane, London N8 7EL. Nearest rail – Hornsey and nearest tube – Turnpike Lane. Admission is free but don’t be too tight to buy a CD or a t-shirt off the lads. Facebook event.

The following month we have Italian band DIRTY ARTICHOKES – the tidiest Celtic-Punk band in the Celtic-Punk scene – returning to town at the beginning of August and will be playing with THE LAGAN and ANTO MORRA, two artists popular on the London Irish music scene that sadly haven’t been able to play much of late. The gig will be at the Bird’s Nest in Deptford and all details are on the Facebook event.

Londoners PERKELT ‘Pagan Speed Folk’ are joined by PYROLYSIS at the legendary live music venue, The Troubadour, in West London on Friday 15th July (Facebook event). Swill from THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG has a solo show at The Water Rats on 19th August (Facebook event). NEW MODEL ARMY announced 3 dates in early December ending with the Camden Roundhouse on the 10th.

If you like what we do then you can support us by checking out our online store. The Harp’n’Bones design is back in all sizes and on black or white shirts. Also we have new polo shirts, in all sizes, and some nifty woolly hats as well as the Green’n’White ‘Skully Cap’ ringer shirts. 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 shit. Proper shit. That the world’s most ‘popular’ social media site has only 2/5 in the play app store says it all! It’s stranglehold on all forms of expression is not good and it’s great to see people leaving in droves. Don’t despair though if you are one of them as you can keep up with London Celtic Punks posts via our wee group on the phone app Telegram. Similar in style (but better and easier to use) 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/

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!

Last word and it’s a serious one sadly. THE KILLIGANS drummer Shane and his wife are new parents to a wee guy named Wylie. Sadly, they have had some issues with Wylie’s health and The Killigans put an appeal out for any help. Remember folks #onebigcelticpunkfamily https://gofund.me/bfa45f1e

A reminder too that we need your news so anything you would like to share with the rest of the Celtic-Punk scene send it onto us.

If you are new to the London Celtic Punks blog it is easy to subscribe / follow and never miss a post. Bands, promoters, record labels, venues send in any news to londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or via the Contact Us page.

ALBUM REVIEW: BURBRIDGE AND BOOTH – ‘Icons’ (2021)

Make way for a Celtic punk superduo! When the highly respected and prolific Nick Burbridge contacted Ferocious Dog’s Dan Booth, he suggested making an album together. Dan quickly agreed, and the project was on. The result is Icons, an unorthodox folk-punk album that showcases more fine work from these two men. Check it out!

^{Icons by Nick Burbridge (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Dan Booth (fiddle).}

As we all know, Celtic punk often boasts the crunch of an electric guitar and the crack of a drum head. That’s why Icons is not your typical Celtic punk record. The album is entirely acoustic, a stripped-back undertaking that sounds like it could be played at a spontaneous pub session. But don’t be fooled: Nick Burbridge has lost none of his musical competence from the days of McDermott’s Two Hours. His wit is as sharp as ever too, with an onslaught of clever, poetic and politically aware lyrics. The album launches us straight into the action with the title track. “Icons” points the finger at imperialist figures of the past, and the human rights atrocities that wouldn’t be tolerated today. If we all pull together, we can tear these figures down, begins the chorus. Together with the line We stand as one and take the knee, this song makes a clear statement for the current times. The use of the word “icons” is meant in a disdainful, rather than respectful manner.

^{“Icons” is the title track, and sets the tone for the record.}

Nick has struggled with depression over the years, and as such, he uses his work to call attention to people who feel (or simply are) rejected by mainstream society. This theme continues on “Soldier’s Heart”, a song that provides a grim insight into the day-to-day horrors of war, and its ugly brother, war crimes. This creates an atmosphere that only lets up during the mid-section, where a drop in pitch makes way for the warmer tones of Nick’s voice. Another track that provides a temporary break from the hard-hitting lyrics is “Judgement Day”. I had to smile at lyrics like My friend Flynn’s on the last train in, and the line about a sex worker who describes her male customer as “awful small”, to which he replies: I’m gettin’ old now, you’re lucky there’s anythin’ there at all.

Dan Booth, Ferocious Dog and The Levellers

So far, we’ve praised Nick’s contributions highly. But the other half of this record is Dan Booth, fiddler and founding member of Ferocious Dog, no strangers to the Celtic punk fan. Dan takes over the proceedings towards the end of “Cover Me”, which the Dog themselves recorded on 2019’s Fake News and Propaganda. It’s got working down the pit, it’s got prostitution, it’s got fighting. And it’s got wounded souls, who are longing for some protection from the world. As I listened to Dan’s jig, I was transported straight to a pub in Ireland, watching an evening session in an intimate setting. Dan regales us with more slick, fast-paced interludes in “Living on Thin Air”, another Dog number, and if ye’ve never seen the version where Dan, Ken and the lads were joined by Nick on stage, take a look ‘ere, ye ken:

^{Living on Thin Air, played live by Ferocious Dog featuring Nick Burbridge.}

“Dirty Davey” is another title you might recognise. None other than The Levellers covered this one way back in ’93, on their self-titled effort that went all the way to #2 in the UK. The band have cited Nick and McDermott’s Two Hours as a key influence, and the opening piss-take of English Country Garden here is sure to make you smirk. The song then continues in its verbal abuse of political corruption, and the associated treatment of suspects and prisoners.

^{Nick on guitar and vocals, Dan folkin’ the fiddle, and a collaborative album to match.}

Corruption and oppression

When Nick released War Without Honour, a collaborative non-fiction book from 1989, it kicked up a storm. This album might achieve the same, if the intended political targets were to listen to it (it’d be good music for a party). Sadly, it’s doubtful that they will, but the twelve tracks here are still fine examples of Nick’s poetic prowess and Dan’s signature fiddle runs. Icons is a protest album that relentlessly goes for the bollocks, but is sensitive at the same time, looking out for the oppressed and lamenting the corruption of the masters, whatever their various guises may be.

It’s clear that the main goal of the Nick’n’Dan project is not commercial success, but to remind people that corruption and greed are always present. And that it’s up to us individuals to keep them in check. In that sense, congratulations to Nick and Dan on conceiving this unique album, and an additional “thank you” goes to Sarah Huson-Whyte and Tim Cotterell, two more greatly skilled musicians who supplied additional instrumentation to the record.

You can get your copy of “Icons” by going HERE. You’ll also find A3 prints of the artwork that Jez from the Levellers produced for the album! Alternatively, if ye need to support the artists for free, the album is also available for streaming on YouTube, Spotify and the like.

Stay folky,

Andy x

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dynamic music

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

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

Where can I hear the album?

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

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

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

Andy x

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

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

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

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

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

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

Plenty to dance to

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

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

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

Music of the heart

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

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

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

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

Go check it out!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy Tales Of Layton Rakes  Bandcamp

Contact Star Botherers  Facebook  YouTube  

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

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

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

Supporting: Mucky Scoundrel

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

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

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

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

Headlining: Ferocious Dog

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

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

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

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

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

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

Music has the right to children

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

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

All in all…

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

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

Folk on!

Andy x

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contact Shanghai Treason Facebook  Instagram  Twitter

ODDS’N’SODS. A CELTIC-PUNK ROUND UP OCTOBER 2021

It’s time now again for this months London Celtic Punks round-up of all the band news, record releases and videos from bands big and small from across the Celtic-Punk scene.

We start with some interesting news from West Britain Dublin of a new Celtic-Punk band THE BLACK IRISH. Whistle, sax, mandolin, accordion, fiddle, bass, drums, 2 guitars, 4 vocals. Brand new, formed with experienced trad and punk musicians. Looking for gigs in the UK and US. The Bhoys have already played a stack of gigs and have more lined up. Sep 10th – IE – Dublin, Grand Social Sep 25th – FR – Montpellier, Secret Place Sep 26th – FR – Montpellier, Secret Place, acoustic sessions Nov 19th – IE – Dublin, Grand Social, with Booze and Glory Dec 10th – FR – Paris, Montreuil, la Comedia Dec 11th – BE – Ghent, Nazareth, Grand Canyon Jan 7th – NI – Belfast, voodoo. You can check them out yourselves on their Facebook page.

More from the ‘Auld Sod’ now and news of two projects to help and promote the Irish language. The idea is to make music under two different band names – PONCCC and DRAOI.MUIR. As Ponccc it will mostly concentrate on post-punk/shoegaze kind of music. As Draoi.Muir the style of music will be more droney/ambient rock. They recently recorded a King Gizzard cover for You Tube. There’s an example of their work as PONCCCC and the song ‘Mo Scriobhaí’ below. The Welsh languages strong position is due in no small measure to its success in the 80’s/90’s in various music genres from Punk legends Anhrefn to rubbish pop band Super Furry Animals! We hope to be looking into this project in more detail soon.

Even more news from home and their debut song, a hardcore ‘Drunken Sailor’, from up and coming North Sligo band the CHURCH HOUSE CREEPERS. They said to expect more of this kind of stuff to follow so keep an eye out here!

The Graveyard Johnny’s CALLUM HOUSTON has featured on these pages several times and he has just released a radically different version of ‘Gravities’ from the EP of the same name. The EP was reviewed back in 2019 if you want to check out the EP that made #5 in our Best Of list that year.

Prescription Punk Rock interviewed Tim Brennan about the new Dropkick Murphys album Turn Up The Dial. Here’s the whole interview without any editing.

THE BLAGGARDS – Blagmatic (review on it’s way!)

GERRY RAFFERTY – Rest In Blue

PHIL ODGERS – Ghosts Of Rock’n’Roll

TORTILLA FLAT – New Stuff In An Old Barrel (review on it’s way!)

THE STAB ROVERS – Beyond The Waves

CONNEMARA STONE COMPANY – For One Ireland

THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS – In Strange Waters

remember we can’t review what we don’t hear!

Top geeza FRANKIE McLAUGHLIN is keeping busy and has just done guest vocals for another band. This time Greek’s BACK PAGES on their song ‘Glory Comes’. The song features the sound of Greek bagpipes and a wicked geetar solo!

I hate the word ‘contempory’ as it conjures up an image of a table full of ex-public schoolboys stroking their beards trying to outdo each other with the latest trend but for once the word fits quite nicely when applied to GLENN HODGE BANNED. A solo artist whose previous single ‘As It Is’ we positively loved. Well he’s a new album out, The Long Run, and just released the first single ‘Jack Of All Trades’ Filmed in one shot on the iPhone 12 and recorded in a theatre in Camden Town the song speaks of the journeyman artist that continue against all the odds.

Came across this by accident not long back and really liked it. Recent release to YouTube from PINE TREE RIOT. Riot seems to be replacing ‘Bastard’ as the most popular Celtic/Folk- Punk name. I even think the Yanks call this style of music Riot Folk or something. Anyway its pretty decent.

Dutch band PLUNDER released their new album Vrijhaven last July and here have put out the second single from it. Seems to be a bit of a renaissance among Pirate themed bands of late. Absolutely brilliant video.

“LIVE MUSIC LIVE MUSIC LIVE MUSIC LIVE MUSIC”. It just sounds so good even to just say it!!! ‘Bastard’ will always be favourite band-name though (except for one!) and just to prove it here’s BASTARD FOLK from faraway Russia giving it large.

We mentioned the The Swamp Rabbit Celtic Punk Fest in South Carolina last month well it went ahead and was by all accounts a damn good laugh. Here’s our old mate TC COSTELLO who organised the whole shebang playing with THE PYRATE QUEEN.

This section is for Celtic-Punk bands that have (on the large) left us but their music is still deserving to be heard and there are still so many out there that passed us by. Today is the turn of THE SORRY LOT, a nine piece Irish Folk and ballad group from Napa, California. High-energy renditions of trad drinking songs, as well as a few modern and original tunes, while keeping the music true to it’s roots. The Beer Flood EP dates from 2015 and the band have a wealth of other music on their Bandcamp page that is also available for free download including a live album from St. Patrick’s Day 2013 recorded at Downtown Joe’s Brewery in their hometown. It’s a bit unclear if they are still playing or not but you can still contact them over on Facebook.

Don’t forget the big news of next month is the release of the new FEROCIOUS DOG album The Hope. The single ‘The Hope’ comes out on the 10th and the album is out the 15th. Reviews are already sneaking out. You can pre-order it here: https://thehope.ferociousdog.co.uk/

Forty years after breaking up in their prime. A band has returned from the ashes to give it another lash… No not Abba but VENTURA HIGHWAY from Derry. One of the cities original New Wave / Punk bands. Loads of recent live videos over on their Facebook page.

Interesting video here. Yer-man may be a bit of a prick and he could have chosen an actually Irish Folk song (facepalm!) but at least he’s honest prick! Give it a go as some Irish diaspora Hip-Hop out there is pretty good. Check out SLAINE for a start.

The more I see of Facebook the more and more I dislike it. It’s stranglehold on all forms of expression is not good so 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/  

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 available are 2 other shirt designs so click the link below for our full range of other tatt. Shirts, badges, stickers, flags, CD’s and fridge magnets all the discerning Celtic-Punk fan could ever need!  https://the30492shop.fwscart.com/

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

*If you are new to the London Celtic Punks blog it is easy to subscribe / follow and never miss a post. Bands, promoters, record labels, venues send in any news to londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or via the Contact Us page.

ODDS’N’SODS. A CELTIC-PUNK ROUND UP SEPTEMBER 2021

Summer holidays are almost over which in time honoured tradition means its time for the good weather to really kick in. It’s also time again for this months London Celtic Punks round-up of all the band news, record releases and videos from bands big and small from across the Celtic-Punk scene. 

Where better to start than with another bloody brilliant music video from the DROPKICK MURPHYS. This time for ‘H.B.D.M.F.’ taken Turn Up That Dial. While not one of the album’s strongest songs the video more than makes up for it!!!

Sheffield band THE SILK ROAD are the first (I think) of the English Celtic-Punk bands to really start gigging and they already have quite a few under their belts. Here’s them giving it large at a Dronfest ’21 last week. Loads more live videos on their Facebook page.

Regular readers will have seen how we gushed over the new recent Phantom Of The Black Hills album (It’s brilliant!!!) well Mather Louth of the HEATHEN APOSTLES played a huge part in the album success and with the Heathen’s set to tour Europe next month their new release is a 3-track EP as featured in the first Gothic Western animated series The Goodbye Family, by author Lorin Morgan-Richards from his comic book series. The instrumental ‘Lake Of Fire’ is out of this world!

Another band in much the same vein are THE BRIDGE CITY SINNERS from Portland who just released their debut album Unholy Hymns last week. 

FINNY McCONNELL of The Mahones released ‘Someone Save Me’ from his upcoming new solo album The Dark Streets Of Love. Out on True North records on September 4th.

We missed the release of the debut album from SLOPPY BUT LUCKY from Topeka, Kansas. It came out back in January 2020 and seems an awfully long time ago now. Glad I caught up in the end though as its pretty damn good. The guys call it all ‘Celtic Folk-Punk Camping Music’ and aye that’s about right. Hobo Rich is 6 songs of intense acoustic music with all proceeds donated to animal rescues and animal charities. An issue the band are passionate about and good to them.

GREEN DIESEL – After Comes the Dark

VARIOUS ARTISTS – The Electric Muse Revisited: The Story Of Folk Into Rock And Beyond (4CD compilation)

BELLOWHEAD – Reassembled

This section is for Celtic-Punk bands that have (on the large) left us but their music is still deserving to be heard. Anyone who knows us knows how much we love our Aussie Celtic-Punk. With all the ranting and raving we do about it is no wonder. Here’s JACK FLASH a band from Toowoomba in Queensland. Having long departed the scene they left some pretty damn good music behind and where better to start then their last release a recording of their final show, recorded live at The Irish Club Toowoomba on 4th June 2016. The album is available for ‘name your price’ download and there’s a whole host of other releases on their Bandcamp page available the same way dating right back to their debut EP Take Notice from 2007.

Ken from FEROCIOUS DOG recorded this heartfelt music video at Harlech in North West Wales while carrying out a beach clean with Sea Shepherd volunteers to support Sea Shepherd UK, a marine conservation charity. The song will feature as a bonus track on our upcoming album The Hope on the deluxe CD version.

MATT HARTLESS AND THE MAVERICK 7 got an interesting new album out. The Manchester band cover plenty of bases but I thought it may be of interest to you as I know how good the musical taste is of people who read this web-zine.

Some great live gigs coming up if you live here in the belly of the beast. It’s been a long, dark year and a half for the live music industry, both here and beyond, but the resurgence of live music has begun and is returning to London once again. For lovers of Celtic-Metal you in for a treat with a rare London appearance from extreme metal masters PRIMORDIAL over from Ireland supported by one of my genre favourites SAOR down from Scotland as well as Hellripper and Fen. It’s all at The Electric Ballroom in Camden, north London August 29th. Tickets £25 from the Electric Ballroom.

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 discerning Celtic-Punk fan would ever need!  https://the30492shop.fwscart.com/

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The more I see of Facebook the more and more I dislike it. It’s stranglehold on all forms of expression is not good so 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!

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If you are new to the London Celtic Punks blog it is easy to subscribe / follow and never miss a post. Bands, promoters, record labels, venues send in any news to londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or via the Contact Us page.

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

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

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

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

Production: Justin Griffiths Creative * Director: Justin Griffiths

Lyrics: Andrew Hawkins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Production : Justin Griffiths Creative * Director: Justin Griffiths

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

about the revolution in 1817

With Brandreth and Ludlam and a band of fifty strong

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

➖

 A night for revolution, a night to fight

A call to arms in England All workers must unite

Tonight we march on Pentrich with London in our sights

A night for revolution

All workers must unite

And then we fight

➖

Little did we know there was a traitorous government spy

William J. Oliver a man I now despise

The Pentrich revolution was always doomed to fail

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

 ➖

A night for revolution a night to fight

A call to arms in England

All workers must unite

Tonight we march on Pentrich with London in our sights

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

Buy Broken Soldier  Here

Contact Ferocious Dog  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

PRE-ORDER THE HOPE HERE

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund  Facebook

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.

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

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

We kick off this month with some sad news that THE MAHONES are retiring from touring. Easily the busiest band in the Celtic-Punk world they’ve been just about everywhere there is to go… and several times too! I think for many out there they are the only out of town Celtic-Punk band people will have seen. They will pop up for the occasional local gig or festival but that’s yer lot.

“After 30 years, it’s time for The Mighty Mahones to stop touring. There will be no farewell or reunion cash grab tours. We are done the big tours. If you didn’t come in the last 30 years, ya snooze ya lose, but we still love you! “

Other Mahones news leads man Finny has his debut solo album out soon on TrueNorth Records titled The Dark Streets Of Love and is booking now for a solo acoustic World Tour in 2021 / 2022.

Justin Sullivan of Brit Folk-Rockers NEW MODEL ARMY releases his 2nd solo album Surrounded at the end of May released on earMUSIC. Sixteen original songs written through the lockdown.  Pre-order the album(s) here: https://JustinSullivan.lnk.to/Surrounded

You lot must have heard the new DROPKICK MURPHYS album by now and personally I think it’s bloody brilliant! Been playing it non-stop and boucing off the walls here in LCP Towers for the last fortnight. New video from the boys landed in the month and as usual top quality! Turn Up The Dial is out now and we are letting the hoo-har die down before our review which we are very lucky to be able to have a stalwart member of the American-Irish community and the American-Irish Celtic-Punk scene to write it so expect a perspective you won’t see anywhere else.

LONAN are a Folk trio from Leeds and have just released their debut release a beautiful new song with  the proceeds going to St. George’s Crypt who do excellent work in Leeds providing shelter, food and support to the homeless and vulnerable.

Formerly of The Dead 60s and a recent live guitarist for The Specials, MATT McMANAMON has spent a decade putting out his debut album Scally Punk. It is released May 28, 2021 and you can hear a couple of songs on the Bandcamp player below. It is available now for pre-order from Fretsore Records.

The collaboration between NICK BURBRIDGE and DAN BOOTH of Ferocious Dog now has a confirmed release date at the end of May 2021, with pre-orders (including a t-shirt and signed print option) available now from www.nickanddan.co.uk 

THE REAL McCOYS – Outlive Death

TEUFELSTANZ – Decennium

UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS – The Cellar Tapes

BODH’AKTAN –  Live From Both Sides Of The Atlantic

One of the more interesting bands around are TEUFELSTANZ. They hail from Russia and have put out a new live album, Decennium. Recorded at their 10th anniversary concert at The Glastonberry in Moscow. Their unique sound, they call ‘Alternative Medieval Music; is well worth hearing. 

THE SCALLY CAP BRATS formed in Ottawa in the summer of 2010 out of a chance meeting between Mike Pusiak and Mike Franey. They quickly discovered a mutual love for Punk, Oi! and Celtic music which led to talk about starting a band. Take A Shot was their debut release a powerful 5 track EP that first introduced me to this excellent bands. Check out their Bandcamp page for more ‘name your price’ downloads and some very cheap albums. One of the best Celtic-Punkbands of the last decade. 

More Canadian Celtic-Punk from THE GRINNING BARRETTS from Ladysmith, British Columbia. They put out a couple of bloody awesome EP’s back in 2018 but have been a bit on the quiet side since but they have put out a couple of songs already this year. Divided By A Negative is also available as a ‘name your price’ download below.

Yet more from Canada and BODH’AKTAN have a live album out now – De Part Et D’autre De l’Atlantique. Eleven songs recorded at different venues throughout 2019. It is, of course, an absolute belter and watch this space for a upcoming review very soon.

UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS enjoyed live streaming so much that they have gone and recorded an album in the same acoustic style. The Cellar Tapes Vol.1 is out on platforms on May 7th.

Facebook has become an unlikeable monster with more and more good folk leaving. Can’t say I blames you. So we have set up a Telegram group. Similar but better (and easier to use) than Whats App and free from Facebook control. Join us on Telegram and dont miss a beat! https://t.me/londoncelticpunks/

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

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

NEW SINGLE FROM SHANGHAI TREASON FEATURING DAN BOOTH FROM FEROCIOUS DOG

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

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

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

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

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

Contact Shanghai Treason  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

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

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

Your favourite pirate band from Osnabrück in the Caribbean! MR. HURLEY AND DIE PULVERAFFEN released their 7th album recently and this track is the first single taken from it.

Celtic music has plenty of offshoots and not just Punk Rock. Ever heard of Renaissance Folk? Well its pretty massive in the States and Europe (here I don’t know. Maybe someone can enlighten me?) but the kings of it are BLACKMORE’S NIGHT. Created by the utter legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore founder of Metal icons Rainbow and his Mrs, the American singer Candice Knight. Nature’s Light is their 11th album and their first in 5 years combining Folk music traditions and their love of the Renaissance, inspired by myths and legends of a bygone age.

FIVE LEAF CLOVER from Prague with their new single a vigorous Celtic-Rock ballad about the life of the infamous legendary Irish hero Grace O’Malley, the queen of the sea.

New 14 track album from Bristolians THE SURFIN’ TURNIPS.

“We had considered going more folky as we get older – but no! We have created this album in honour of the old Cider Punk scene, you will hear plenty of new cider punk anthems as well as stories of the olden times when cider was stored down the park er else yer Mum would drink it when you got home, of adventures off to brave new lands where you’d risk hoards of local tribes chopping yer head off and using it as a football. There be some salty songs of the sea, some of the fields and orchards too. So when you listens to this, turnip up loud and get thy dancing boots on, get in the pasties and invite round the neighbours, let the party begin and dance like lunatics! We all bin locked up fer too long! See ya all down the allotment!”

Doesn’t seem like it but it’s been 10 years of THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS. Celebrate with them on their free full band live stream on Saturday 10th April. They also have a really nice set of new merchandise out too. Details on their FB page.

NEVERMIND NESSIE – Another Six Pack Of Drinking Songs EP

MR. HURLEY AND DIE PULVERAFFEN – Seemannsgrab

BLACKMORE’S NIGHT – Nature’s Light

THE DEAD RABBITS – 7 Ol Jerks (review in the next few days!!)

SURFIN’ TURNIPS – Down The Allotment

EBRI KNIGHT – Carrer

remember band folk we can’t review it if we don’t hear it! 

This is our feature where we showcase bloomin’ brilliant albums that passed us by when they were originally released. This months ‘Blast’ is from 2018 from Canada and the northern shore of Nova Scotia, a place we have visited many a time and a place steeped in Celtic culture.

“Six passionate musicians come together to create a unique high energy blend of Celtic rock that has a little something for everyone to enjoy as well as a live presence and performance that will keep you dancing and singing all night long.”

THE EAST RIVER RATS are one of many bands in the region proud of their Scottish heritage and their album is available as a ‘name your price’ download from the link below.

Barcelona band EBRI KNIGHT have a new eleven track album out and it is available as a ‘Name Your Price’ download on Bandcamp.

DONNY ZUZULA of Michigan Celtic-Punk band THE TOSSPINTS has released his first solo music since his well received album Chemicals a couple of years ago. Written for St. Patrick’s D as part of a ‘100 songs in 2021 Songwriting Challenge’.

“Beer, Beer, Beer” a great way to celebrate Paddy’s Day from brilliant Russian Medieval-Folk-Punk band TEUFELSTANZ. A pretty unique band they call ‘Alternative Medieval Music’.

More St. Patrick’s Day releases with WIDACRE from Milwaukee playing a supercharged Punked version of the Irish Folk classic ‘Molly Malone’. Available as a name your price download.

As usual lots of news out the FEROCIOUS DOG camp with a massive new tour announced going right from end of Britain to Scotland! (I fancy Edinburgh birthday weekend myself if they’re watching hint hint!!!). Their new album The Hope is also available on pre-order from Graphite Records.

If you missed the St. Patrick’s Day FLOGGING MOLLY live stream from Dublin like me the pre-show video is now out but no sign of the ‘proper’ show yet. Dave King was interviewed by Folk ‘n’ Rock magazine about it.

After 21 + albums with THE MAHONES frontman Finny will be going it alone for his next release. His first solo album will be coming out on True North Records soon.

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

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

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2020!

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

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

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

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

1. OGRAS – No Love In The City

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

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

4. THECUNDEEZ – Teckle And Hide

5. KRAKIN’ KELLYS – Burn Your Flag

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

7. BLACK WATER COUNTY – Comedies And Tragedies

8. McSCALLYWAG – Songs For The Wicked

9. BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO- Hermanos De Guerra

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

11. THE REAL McKENZIES – Beer And Loathing

12. THE MUCKERS – Irish Goodbye

13. CELT & PIPER – No Mercy

14. THE FEELGOOD MacLOUDS – Life On A Ferris Wheel

15. FEROCIOUS DOG – You

16. THE KONA ROGUES – Batten Down The Hatches

17. PADDY WAGGIN- Race To The Bottom

18. BLACK ANEMONE – Chasing The Sun

19. PADDY MURPHY – Rams Rebels Goats And Girls

20. THE STUBBY SHILLEAGHS – Glass To Mouth

21. CELKILT – The Next One Down

22. THE DEAD MAGGIES – More Than Just Ghosts

23. KELTIKON – The Black Boar

24. THE CELTIC SOCIAL CLUB – From Babylon To Avalon

25. BARBAR O’RHUM – Journal de B’O’R

26. JAMESTOWN BROTHERS – Rebels, Rogues And Regrets

27. SMZB – Once Upon A Time In The East

28. THE NEW RUFFIANS – Shenanigans

29. GRASS MUD HORSE – Beijing Bikini

30. NEVER SAY DIE – Punk Rock Pirates

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

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

1. 1916 – Meant To Be

2. SHANGHAI TREASON – It’s Treason

3. BEAVER SECRET HANDSHAKE – Beaver Secret Handshake

4. KILMAINE SAINTS – Off The Wagon Acoustic Sessions

5. LEXINGTON FIELD – Win The Day

6. 7 STOUT CLAN – 7 Stout Clan

7. THE CLOVES AND THE TOBACCO – Jalan Pulang

8. LUCKY LAD GREEN – Get There Somehow

9. BRAVE THE SEA – The Murders Three

10. THE PLACKS – My Dearest Friend

BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO- Hermanos De Guerra

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

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

1. THE WILD IRISH ROSES – Full Bloom

2. CLOVERS REVENGE – Truants And Absolution

3. 6’10 – Carried In Retrospect

4. RUNA – The Tide Of Winter

5. MAGGIES FLOCK – Party At The Cemetery

6. PYROLYSIS – Alotsie

7. PATRICKS – Rocky Road To Ireland

8. HUGH MORRISON – The Other Side

9. TC COSTELLO – The Bluebird

10. PEAT & DIESEL – Light My Byre

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

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

THE CELTIC PUNKCAST  *  FOLK’N’ROCK  *  PADDYROCK

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

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

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

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

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2021

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS 2019 READERS POLL WINNER ANNOUNCED!

The votes are in and have been counted and although it’s just a bit of fun really a champion has been declared the 2019 Readers Poll winner!

One of most popular releases of the year and it showed as they romped home as champions quite safely in the end. In true Mickey Rickshaw style they didn’t ask their fans to vote for them and even agreed with us that the #1 Celtic-Punk album of the year was The Walker Roaders. A very talented yet humble bunch of guys with a great future ahead of them. Well done fellas.

You can stream Home In Song on the Bandcamp below before you part with your hard earned. We promise you it is well worth it.

Buy Home In Song- Bandcamp   ArrestRecords (T-Shirt/Vinyl offer)

Contact Mickey Rickshaw  WebSite  Facebook  Bandcamp  Twitter  YouTube  Instagram

A special edition of Home In Song is available from MacSlons Irish Shop featuring seven (!) bonus tracks from their acclaimed 16 Down And Back Again demo from 2013 previously only available as a download.

With nearly 500 votes cast for thirty (plus three that came out in 2018!) different releases from 2019 it’s been a much more interesting Poll than 2018’s for a variety of reasons.The vote was slightly down on the previous year but was spread among a much wider selection of releases and a lot more votes were cast in the ‘Other’ section than ever before too. Early on it looked likely to be a four horse race between early leaders Ferocious Dog, Mickey Rickshaw, Greenland Whalefishers and Pipes And Pints. As time went by The Rumjacks made it a five horse race but Mickey Rickshaw slowly but surely overtook Ferocious Dog at the top and in the end romped home comfortably by over thirty votes.

In fact the actual winner of the Poll was the ‘other’ section with 20% of all votes. They were spread among twenty-one releases but with Ny’ers The Templars Of Doom hitting 19 votes which lifted them into joint 9th place with McDermotts 2 Hours overall and Seth Mountain not far behind on 17 votes giving him 10th position pushing out The Narrowbacks with The Whipjacks, The Rumjacks and Tortilla Flat all just behind.

So onto 2020 we go and several ‘big’ bands are promising new albums so it all seems set to be another exciting year ahead of us in the Celtic-Punk scene so if you are in a band and have something planned be sure to let us know. We can’t review what we don’t hear of and why not consider subscribing (the form is on the left or below depending how you are viewing this page) and you won’t miss any posts.

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS READERS POLL 2018

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

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

ALBUM REVIEW: THE BLEEDING HEARTS- ‘The Rules Of Division’ (2018)

The Bleeding Hearts from the West Midlands play Folk-Punk for punk folk that you can sing to, dance to and play very very loud. It’s classic Bleeders but with a new sweet and sour twist that will put a smile on anybody’s face. 

Summer 2018 saw England basking in the biggest heat-wave it’s seen since 1976, the year that Punk-Rock exploded onto the red hot and ladybird covered streets of this green and pleasant land. So with the anniversary of punk taking it well into middle age its only fitting that the new album from Midlands based The Bleeding Hearts takes in about every variety of punk you can imagine. Two years in the making the Bleeders may have been quiet on the recording front but they have always been kept busy with playing live and touring. The songs here have been ‘live tested’ over those couple of years and the fields and concert halls of Europe have taken a beating because of it!!

The Bleeding Hearts from left to right: Riley ‘The Destroyer’- Drums * Foxie ‘The Gob’- Lead Vocals, Guitar * Gel ‘The Steamtrain’- Bass, Vocals * Ewan ‘The Keeping It Very Nice’- Mandolin, Cittern, Guitar, Vocals *

This is the sixth studio album from The Bleeding Hearts and it may well be their best of all time. I say may be because I only own the last three. So you could say I’m a big fan and will be a bit biased. Well you are right but I have always thought they didn’t get the attention they deserved so if I can help them along that road I sure as hell will. Formed in 1995 around Birmingham in the West Midlands they have stayed true to their aim of delivering ‘alternative music for alternative people’ ever since and even more important for them they have done it all under their own steam and refused any offer of help from ‘The Man’ and have remained an unsigned D.I.Y. collective. To hear a band combining punk rock attitude and emotion with folk’s harmonies and rhythms is nothing new on these pages but every now and then a band comes along that is that little bit different and even rarer a LOT different. The fiddle from their earlier days has gone so also gone is their most obvious connection to Celtic-Punk but listening to the album their is still loads and loads that will appeal to even the most hardcore of Celtic-Punk fans. In keeping with what we like here at London Celtic Punks the emphasis is on ‘fun’ here whilst still keeping a distinctive message in the lyrics. They may have the bones of a classic punk band but chuck it those folk harmonies and some rousing mandolin and strong passionate vocals and you have a band that is bound for glory.

The Rules Of Division begins with one of the album’s highlights and also one of the first releases from it. ‘The Devil’s Mosh’ kicks off with Gel’s throbbing bass slowly building up into one hell of a opening tune. As soon as the song really gets underway the most distinctive thing I hear is Foxie and his vocals. He doesn’t shout or yell (well he does have his moments) and he possesses a great voice but at all times his voice fits perfectly the music may it be a punk rock stormer, a folky diddler or a ballad or even a Ceilidh foot stomping whiskey swigging rocker like ‘The Devil’s Mosh’.

At the start I said that this album takes in all sorts of punk rock genres and ‘Cool Cats’ is another standout tune here but to save me the bother of telling you the high points just assume every song is one. After all I don’t think their is a weak track on this album. Testament to them deciding to road test them I suppose. Its catchy and gives the impression that their is more than just four of them and they keep it up with ‘Common Man’ where they sort of slow it down a little and even sound quite a lot like one of my favourite bands The Zipheads. Once again its a catchy number with a 60’s feel at times as The Bleeding Hearts reach out to the everyday geezer and try to steer him straight. Lots of ‘la, la, la’ gang vocals in the chorus which I always go for that leads us into one of the albums slower songs. The Bleeding Hearts inhabit a place in the UK music scene that also encompass bands like The Levellers and New Model Army and also newer bands like Ferocious Dog and The Silk Road. On ‘Don’t call This Love’ its NMA that springs to mind but also more Goth tinged bands too. Its excellent and shows the range of the band that its not all about floor fillers and that now, like punk rock, we may have lost some of that youthful vigour that demanded every song be played at 110 mph. Being from the West Midlands and in a Folk-Punk you could bet your shirt that they’ll be some sort of anti-Tory song on here and you’d not be going out in the cold so relax as ‘Tory Attax’ sticks the boot into the government and chiefly their so called ‘Bedroom Tax’ where they charged people extra for living in council housing and having more rooms than the government decided they needed. Its got me thinking of the Newtown Neurotics this one on both sound and content. A great blast of punk rock and a clever way to follow the slower ‘Don’t Call This Love’. Another video release from the album was ‘Pleasure Hive’ and a more ‘La, La, La’s’ bodes well for me. Foxie’s chugging guitar keeps the song from completely disappearing into 70’s prog-rock parody in this tale of the golden bus to Marrakesh and free love, dope and lost days.

Not surprisingly for a band that has spent a huge proportion of its existence performing in fields their is a song about the environment though don’t worry it’s far from preachy and is in fact downright beautiful. I often roll my eyes when i hear this kind of song so ‘This Nature’ is a welcome relief from the moralizing and oft-times insincere type of song you normally hear. We are rocking up towards the end and its time for another punk rocker and ‘Three Wise Monkeys’ keeps it fast with defiant lyrics calling out the rich and corrupt for all their wrong doing in a rootsy punk rock folk style. ‘Down The Hatch’ is more standard Celtic-Punk in both style and lyrics with yer man Foxie proclaiming not another drop of alcohol will ever touch his lips. Will use a straw then I suppose! A cracker of a tune with the mandolin pushed out front for this one. A right foot tapper and one we can all sympathise with though in the end we always return as does Foxie on ‘Whiskey Is The One’ and the real reason why many of us like a drink (or two!) it does actually help you get through things and it would be silly to ignore that. Though I suppose I must add here ‘Drink Responsibly’ dear readers or some posh twat will report me to the Police! So far its been a brilliant romp and The Bleeding Hearts go out on a high with final song ‘All Fall Down’ and its the longest hear. On a album that stretches up to fifty minutes, not that you notice as it flies by in a flash, the five and a half minute ‘All Fall Down’ threatens at times to build into something bombastic but but they rein it in and let the song stand on it’s own. A glorious way to bring down the curtain.

 

With two EP’s and their five albums behind them The Bleeding Hearts popularity has never waned and in part that is due to their constant gigging which has seen them play right across the UK and Europe as well as North America. It’s bands like Ferocious Dog though that have reaped what The Bleeding Hearts have sowed having showed that it is possible to do things yourselves without the need for managers, promoters, PA’s and record industry leeches trying to separate you from your principals as well as your cash. They also showed that to make it in a world where relationships get harder and harder to make that you can treat your fans as family and not consumers there to pay for your livelihood. In this modern world of digital its heartening to find a band that still likes to get out there and write a song, gig it, record it, upload it, download it, do it all again. Keeping it true to their principals of ‘alternative music for alternative people The Bleeding Hearts remain in their twenty-third year a defiantly unsigned D.I.Y collective that the spirit of ’76 lives on in. 

Buy The Rules Of Division

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Discography-

Fly In The Face Of Fashion (2001) * Anarcoustica (2002) * Merchants Of Propaganda (2003) * Politics & Love (2006) * Folk ‘n’ Glory (2011)

To hear tracks from each of their album visit the ‘Hearts Noize’ section of their Web Site.

(Re-recording of old song ‘Caravan Song’ for video release from a couple of years back)

EP REVIEW: THE SILK ROAD- ‘Justice For Daniel’ (2018)

Gritty, honest Celtic-Folk-Punk from the north of England’s The Silk Road and a tale of murder and corruption leading to the highest pillars of the British state.

Despite being one of the best bands in the Celtic-Punk scene on this island The Silk Road remain relatively unknown outside the north of England. Hailing from the Derbyshire town of Chesterfield, whose football team has suffered the same ignominy as my own, Leyton Orient, and dropped out the Football League, they are the unsung heroes of Celtic-Punk in England. It’s not unusual that bands from the main cities get all the glory and sometimes coming from an unfashionable place can even hold you back. It’s just a shame that whoever decides these things doesn’t value the history of a place like Chesterfield with its past steeped in traditions of coal mining and steel production and the accompanying militant trade unionism that goes with it.

The Silk Road left to right: Andy(Rosie)- Guitar/Backing Vocals * Brian- Drums * Tich- Vocals/Acoustic Guitar * Shaun- Bass * Jamie- Fiddle

The Silk Road have been together since 2015 formed by Tich, Andy and Shaun and going on later to recruit both Jamie and Brian. Taking some old demos singer/songwriter Tich had recorded in his studio and re-working them into something new and fresh The Silk Road began to take shape. They released Midnight in July of 2016 as a taster for their forthcoming self-titled debut album that was the light of day in July of last year. The album lit up the Celtic-Punk worlds media hitting their many Best Of’s including ours where it landed a very respectful #14. Infectious and catchy throughout the album had more than enough punk to keep the punks happy and plenty of folk to keep the oldies like me happy too. Owing a debt to the English folk-rock scene that has kept bands like The Levellers and New Model Army in clover The Silk Road have also added their own style of both Celtic and English folk melodies without losing any of the punk urgency that they started out with.

Here on their brand new EP Justice For Daniel The Silk Road have Andy has come in as a extra guitarist and they have added two instruments you don;t hear much in Celtic-Punk with Tom Wood on trumpet and Sarah Reaney-Wood on saxophone who join the band live on stage when time permits. The EP’s title refers to the tragic case of Daniel Morgan. Daniel was a private detective whose gruesome murder still lies unsolved despite being the most investigated murder in English legal history. Police corruption and criminal activity and the conduct of journalists with the British tabloid News of the World lie at the heart of this case. According to a Metropolitan Police investigation in 2007 his murder was because he

“was about to expose a south London drugs network possibly involving corrupt police officers”.

Daniel was 37 at the time of his death in a south London pub car park on 10 March 1987 and in the 30+ years since his death his family have never given up trying to find out what happened and to bring Daniel’s murderers to justice. Their are several excellent places to find out more about Daniel’s case but the best place is the ten-part podcast Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder which topped the UK iTunes chart here.

With family connections to the case and a desire to see justice done The Silk Road have released this EP in tribute to Daniel and in hope of keeping the case alive and it was with Daniel’s families blessing that they went ahead with the song. The EP begins with the title track and Tich tells the full tale of what went on. Its a jaunty and catchy wee number that belies its tragic subject matter. As is The Silk Road way Tich’s vocals are clear and easy on the ear while the music is basically upbeat folkyness with some excellent fiddle work from Jamie. As protest songs go its up their with the best I’ve heard in recent years and you can tell from the passion in Tich’s voice it’s a subject close to his heart. You can have a listen to this grand song over at Facebook here. A brilliant start and they continue with ‘No Reason’. The electric guitar is louder here giving them a bit more punch and gives them the sound that lies somewhere inbetween The Levs and NMA but with added Ferocious Dog too! As usual with The Silk Road its as catchy as hell as police corruption is again tackled. They let fly next with ‘Morgan’s Riot’ and if the Celtic-ness has been somewhat subdued so far they don’t hold back here. Proper pure top of the table Celtic-Punk that will get the auld feet tapping away. Its fast and furious and again Jamie’s fiddle is amazing. The only complaint is that its not longer as at under three minutes I don’t think it does it justice. The curtain comes down on the EP with an acoustic version of the title track ‘Justice For Daniel’. Just Tich and his acoustic guitar, Jamie and his fiddle and the wonderful sound of Sara Haley on backing vocals and the whole gang getting in on the chorus it is, not surprisingly quite an emotional and poignant song.

It may look Celtic but The Silk Road logo of three hares with interlocking ears is actually from the far east where the silk road was the ancient trade route linking Asia to the West.

Clocking in at near twenty minutes its all together a fantastic EP that warrants getting hold of. Brought out by the band themselves and financed in part from sponsorship from the Vape Domain shop in Ollerton, Nottinghamshire its always great to see a band taking their own route and sticking close to their principals, also good to get a dose of real politics into the scene. The Silk Road are not Irish or Scottish but are still most definitely a Celtic-Folk-Punk band and one of the best this island has to offer too. Year on they get bigger and more well known and despite several set-backs we are still going to see them in London town one day soon. It’s a shame the CD is not available as a download but drop the band a line at the e-mail address below and they will let you know how to get a proper CD. It’s worth it for lots of reasons.

Buy The EP

CD only available from the band at the moment. £6-50 via PayPal from brianbuckberry@hotmail.com

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(great video of ‘I Don’t Care’ taken from our debut album)

EP REVIEW: UNDER A BANNER- ‘Riot’ (2018)

Fine purveyors of passionate, powerful and poetic folk-rock Under A Banner unveil their brand spanking new EP this week. 

Under A Banner have featured on these pages several times over the years and strangely, for a English band, they have managed to get here on the strength of their many releases rather than their live performances. Not to say they aren’t bloody brilliant live but that they have hardly ever played in London. We helped put them on once at the legendary Water Rats (where The Pogues played their debut gig) but i couldn’t make it leaving my only Under A Banner gig at a festival in Croydon a couple of years back. Needless to say they outstanding and I’ve tried several times since to catch them but to no avail.

The band hail from the West Midlands town of Wolverhampton and began life as a duo before slowly adding to the roster of musicians until they had gathered around them the core of what would be Under A Banner for quite a while. A heavy touring schedule and a very healthy relationship with their fans (one look at the bands social media shows how much love flows from the band to their fans and back again) has seen their star rise and rise all the time becoming more and more popular. The folk-punk scene in the Midlands has also played a large part in their popularity with bands like Ferocious Dog leading the way and others like The Silk Road, The Whipjacks and Headsticks who all know and support each other. Further proof, if needed, that while the Celtic/Folk-punk scene may not be massive in numbers the people who make it up are the best. Solidarity me Bhoys and Ghirls! With several releases under their banner (ahem!) including a bunch of singles and EP’s as well the albums The Ragged Rhythm of Rain in 2012, Close To The Clouds in 2014 and Wild Places in 2016. We reviewed Wild Places here and  most of their previous releases are available as Pay What You Like downloads on Bandcamp at the link at the bottom if you want to check them out.

 

So with a new band member in tow, new bassist Richard Corry formerly of The Whiskey Syndicate, Under A Banner returned in February this year with a new single and video for ‘Light Breaks Through’. The video was directed and edited by Nick J. Townsend and announced the unveiling of a Crowdfund campaign to raise the necessary readies to pay for the EP’s release. The bands fans came running and here all ready and delivered is the new five track EP which while sounding like the old Under A Banner hasn’t stood still and has taken the band into a much bigger sound.

At the head of it all are the words spun by singer/guitarist Adam

“We always seek to bring passion and power with what we do, although sometimes we just love to spin a good old yarn”

and therein lies the secret of Under A Banners success so far. It’s their ability to combine catchy tunes and stories (with bands like these I prefer to call them stories rather than lyrics as lyrics make them sound trivial at times) that have captured the folk-punk public.

The EP kicks off with the title track ‘Riot’ and with feedback and Richards pounding bass and its a heavier and harder hitting Under A Banner while still keeping their folkier sensibilities. They are constantly compared, especially by us, to New Model Army in the past but the new EP brings in influences as diverse as Anarcho-Punk and bands like The Stranglers, The Cult and Rush. We have said before that they are only a fiddle away from being the next great celtic-punk band but here Kat 70’s and 80’s inspired synth more than makes up for that. At a length of over six minutes the song never runs out of steam and on my first couple of listens I couldn’t believe it was that long as it sounded so short and snappy to me. Next is ‘The Wrong Hands’ and the sound is massive with one of many anthemic choruses on view here giving us all plenty of chances to stick our fists in the air!

“Power in the wrong hands”

Hard rock and synth launch ‘We Want Hope’ and here its the harder edged NMA that springs to mind and more great fist pumping choruses and words that reach you brain as well as your feet. The EP continues in the same vein with ‘Last Orders’ and the quality hasn’t waned and another corker with a all too brief folk/blues interlude before it rocks back into action. The EP ends with possibly Under A Banner’s greatest ever moment (so far!) with the amazing ‘Light Breaks Through’ and here they sound most like the old Under A Banner. Now this is what Folk-Punk should sound like people. Great meaningful lyrics that actually mean something accompanied by a mix of rock and folk that leads into yet another catchy chorus and a real foot/head tapper that should have the dance floor full when they play it. They may be compared to others but Under A Banner have only ever followed themselves.

The EP does have one extra song a radio friendly edit of title track ‘Riot’ at a shorter length of only five minutes. I prefer the longer version!

So what to make of the new direction? I love it! The harder and louder edge suits them and you still hear their folk influences throughout and I’m sure will signal the start of a new era in the band’s history. They are embarking on their most extensive tour to date taking in venues and festivals across the UK throughout the Spring and Summer so be sure to check out their web-site for tour dates, to be announced imminently! Anthemic, loud and heavy it’s the same Under A Banner only bigger and better!!

Buy Riot

(pre-order) FromTheBand (will post link when officially released)

Contact Under A Banner

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• We interviewed Under A Banner last year and it makes for a great read so check it out here and find out a bit more about the bands origins and influences

ALBUM REVIEW: RED OR DEAD- ‘Trotsky Waltz’ (2018)

The self-produced and self-financed debut album from a bunch of socialist folk-punkers from North Wales who will bring down the system or fall asleep trying!

So we can safely say we are into the new year in full swing with this our first review of 2018. Released on new year’s day it’s not yer typical celtic-punk but seeing as how Red Or Dead hail from the Celtic stronghold of north Wales it certainly justifies its place here. While musically its from the same sort of path as ‘festie’ bands like The Levellers, Folk The System or even Ferocious Dog it sticks pretty much to the more modern standard of what passes for folk-punk and while I think it could benefit from a few celtic flourishes it’s fine as it is! The band formed only a couple of years after meeting while protesting outside a UKIP conference. Folk has long been a way for people to push for change and in fact the folk scene could do with a real dose of it now.

Red Or Dead left to right: Dave Sunerton Burl- Bass, Guitar * Rob Murray- Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals * Gala Elvira- Vocals * Emma Sunerton Burl- Cajon/Percussion

Trotsky Waltz begins with ‘I Am The Fire’ and if they weren’t indeed Welsh then I would be bringing the names of some classic English folk-rock bands into the equation. The most stand out thing after first listen is the use of a cajon which is one of those wooden boxes that people sit on and tap and thump instead of having a drummer. This means that it doesn’t ever really fly off into punk remaining solidly within folk. It’s a rousing start to proceedings though and its always sensible to start with a standout track I think. Lyrically its all a bit right on but does at least manage not to fall into cliche, or even worse parody. Robs vocals are strong and with Gala’s backing the two of them work brilliantly together. The following two tracks first appeared on their debut EP from last year and both have been improved on significantly. ‘No One Is Innocent’ sees Gala take over on vocals and she has a certain anarcho-punk sound to her voice reminding me of early Chumba’s perhaps. Looking back I think lot of what we called anarcho-punk back in the day would now be classed as folk-punk. Back when I first going to pubs when I was just a young spotty punk rocker the pubs and clubs use to be full of socialist folky bands, or at least the ones I went to, and how Red Or Dead would have loved those days. 

(listen to their debut release below)

‘Watch It Burn’ is like the rest of the album a call to arms, or at least the street and I will try not to overuse the word ‘catchy’ here though it is going to be hard. Gala belts out the angry ‘In America’ and its on songs like these that the band could benefit from a drummer to give the songs a bit of extra bite. Nevertheless it still trips along nicely until Rob chimes in with

“Land of the free? Fuuuuuck Off!  Land of the rich white man”

bawled out and follows a rant about the state of the nation over there in the USA. I do wonder though how Obama fits into this narrative of the “rich white man” seeing how many dead bodies he was responsible for around the world? ‘Colin Cambridge’ slows it all down and chucks in something you don’t often hear in modern day music of any genre… whistling!

(here is ‘Colin Cambridge’… minus the whistling though!)

In a song that is crying out for tin whistle I suppose you got to go with what you got in a song about privileged people who go on to do nothing with their lives. The best song since the opener is up next with ‘Steeltown’ and is a simple track beginning with acoustic guitar and mandolin and Rob singing over the top about the decimation of the working class and their industries. Coming from a coal-mining family myself I can only agree that it was the Tories and Labour who share the blame for screwing the working class. Its often been said that the Conservatives defend their class and Labour hate theirs. Wales is owed a hell of a lot by the Labour Party for a loyalty that was never deserved. ‘A New Day’ is yer standard victory is in sight song but wishful thinking methinks. While the left is obsessed by poisonous identity politics we are going absolutely nowhere.

‘Never Again’ is a well cliched song title but the song manages to be both angry and gentle and I love that they name check Jimmy Reid the old Scots trade unionist.

“Never again will I bow down to a false ideal or a faded crown”

‘All The World’ plays more of the same and for once the politics take a bit of a back seat. With influences from across punk you can hear The Clash loud and proud within ‘Travel Home’ which comes over as a tribute to ‘Armagideon Time’ and in the following song, ‘Strummer And Burnel’, Rob pays his debt to the heroes who inspired him into a life of music. Bemoaning, and quite rightly, the quality of both today’s music and today’s protest.

“Students they don’t march no more the middle class won that war”

Catchy and thoughtful and with a nice bit of electric guitar that threatens to rock out but just resists. We are coming up towards the final bend and ‘Living In A Life’ is another standout number here and I feel they could certainly rock out more on numbers like this. Would still be a real foot tapper live but just in need of a little extra oomft! The album comes to an end with ‘Make A Stand’ and is the perfect way to end things with a ‘lighter waving in the air’ song.

So a whopping thirteen songs that come in at a also whopping forty-five minutes and if I’m being honest then I would say the album may have benefited from being maybe two or three songs shorter. While the cajon is absolutely fine live it does get a wee bit thumpy on disc and dare I say it monotonous. The music is catchy and solid and lyrics are straight from the heart and sometimes burn with passion making you wish the music was a bit up there too. The major criticism people have of folk-punk is that it is boring but Red Or Dead steer well clear of that and the album is very well paced and recorded with a clear and crisp production too. Unashamedly left-wing and idealistic they are the sort of band that would appeal to fans of all the usual suspects of festival bands and may well pop up playing at a political benefit near you at anytime soon.

(you can listen to the entirety of Trotsky Waltz for *FREE* below on the Bandcamp player)

Buy Trotsky Waltz

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Contact Red Or Dead

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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: FEROCIOUS DOG- ‘Red’ (2017)

In every musical scene every now and then a band comes along that is so good they threaten to break out and become the next big thing. That band is Ferocious Dog and that they have got to where they are solely on their own merits and without any sort of backing is simply incredible. Ferocious Dog are on the brink of something special and their new album Red will only speed them there.

Where to start with Ferocious Dog? I first came upon their name a few years ago whispered quietly upon the internet. They were formed way back in the day but for some reason they raised few eyebrows on the celtic-punk scene despite playing some of the best kick-arse celtic-punk rock you are ever likely to hear. Maybe they were missed because they were tucked away up north or we had them pigeonholed as a punky Levellers or a folky New Model Army and while those comparisons may be true there’s a whole lot more to the Ferocious Dog phenomenon than that. Originally formed back in 1988 as a duo with Ken on vocals and acoustic guitar and Dan on fiddle it wasn’t until 2010 that they took the step to becoming a full band.

It was the famed, and sadly now defunct, Paddy Punx website that first brought FD to my ears. The web site that upset every Celtic band in history by providing free links to pretty much every release by anyone that ever called themselves celtic-punk. Their description of the band as ‘English celtic-punk’ is not an oxymoron trust me and was enough to get me scurrying to my laptop and start downloading their self-titled debut album. From the very first play I knew I had to track this band down. That was back in early 2013 and you knew you were listening to something special straight away. Here was a band that bridged perfectly the folk and punk/rock scene’s perfectly. Since those days their star has risen higher and higher with the release of their acclaimed second album From Without and a bunch of absolutely brilliant EP’s and singles.

For Ferocious Dog it was the year 2015 that saw their promotion to the Premier League of alternative music. The release of From Without accompanied by two awe inspiring singles, ‘Ruby Bridges’ and ‘Slow Motion Suicide’, and a near sell out tour that went from one end of this sceptred isle to the other and across again culminated in a sell out performance in their, near, home town of Nottingham at the famed Rock City venue. The first time in that esteemed venues 35 year history that a unsigned band had sold out the venue in advance! One fan explained

“For me it felt like a real watershed moment for a band I’ve had the pleasure of following for the last few years. It feels like this gig was the moment things might change, they have integrity and strength and a loyal following”

Headline spots at Glastonbury followed and in the years since they have become a de-facto headliner for festivals to fight over. Any festie appearance guaranteeing bums in wigwams. Constant touring has helped to cement their position even if it did mean saying goodbye to two of the original Hounds who helped them on their way, Scott Walters and Ellis Waring.

Ferocious Dog: John Leonard- Banjo, Mandolin, Guitar, Bouzouki, Tin-Whistle, Uilleann Pipes, Accordion and shouting! * Ken Bonsall- Lead Singer/Acoustic Guitar * Les Carter- Lead Guitar * Dan Booth – Fiddle * John Alexander- Bass * Scott Walters- Drums

All this and without even a tiny bit of support from the record industry… and not for the want of either. Ferocious Dog are that rare thing. A band with integrity and belief. Yeah you read that right these guys have been courted by the industry and they have chosen the DIY route. No one controls the bark of this dog! The punk scene is notorious for having bands within it making all the right (on) sounds but the moment any interest is shown they are off like a shot with any principals and convictions left chucked to the floor in the haste to get on board the gravy train. None of that holds any sway for Ferocious Dog and they continue to plough their way through the alternative music scene gathering up more and more fans as they take England (and now the Netherlands!) by storm.

With new members on board, Les Carter, from indie Gods, Carter USM, multi-instrumentalist John Leonard and drummer Alex Smith, and all now firmly bedded in, Ferocious Dog have just released their third and latest album to the world. Titled Red it continues where From Without left off with more of their punk rock infused folk/Celtic sounds but with a more mature feel to it. Everything seems a progression in the FD camp from their gigs to their records and even their merchandise! The six piece band take in elements of punk, rock and reggae and mix it up with Irish and Celtic folk music and biting social commentary that comes from the ‘shop-floor’ not university lectures. The band hail from around Nottinghamshire, a working class area that once was famed for its industry and among the areas most important was coal-mining. In the famed 1984-85 miners strike the majority of Nottinghamshire’s miners sided with the government against their own trade union causing splits among friends, family and work-mates and it’s no exaggeration to say that civil war was breaking out in many mining communities across Britain. My own father worked at a coal mine across the border from Notts in South Yorkshire and never spoke to his strike-breaking brother again, not even attending his funeral. Real life experiences that shape and change minds and whole communities. The politics on Red are from the heart and from the working class. From where real politics come from.

One of the things that has enabled Ferocious Dog to achieve what they have done is the high degree of loyalty they bring out of their fans. Known as ‘Hell Hounds’, taking their name from a song from their debut album, its not unknown for fans to follow the band around the country from gig to gig and its a loyalty that is well deserved. A friendly bunch who make every gig an event and their lively mosh pits are welcome to all. Having seen them play now countless times I can assure you that the Hell Hounds make sure every gig is different and while it is, and always will be, better to see them in a small venue it doesn’t get better than seeing this wonderful bunch live! The first time I saw the band in a packed Half Moon in South London I still managed to have a quick chat with two of the band members after the gig they seemed to know the entire audience by name! Always accessible and available and with a real interest in what’s going on in the scene few bands have the following that Ferocious Dog deserve to have. 

Ken and Dan- original Hell Hounds

Red begins with ‘Black Gold’ and there’s no holds barred from the very beginning with this song telling of the role of the British Empire in slavery. Kicking off with some amazing mandolin before fiddle and electric guitar announce the arrival of the whole band into the fray. Ken has a very strong voice that is clear and precise and his northern accent shines through. I’ll try not to mention that word (catchy) too much in this review but as that word could have Ferocious Dog next to it in the dictionary it may be hard! This is followed by ‘American Dream’ and a bit of a first here in that I think it may be the first song that a proper video was shot for.

This is where the real celtic-punk kicks in. The first few songs remind me of San Diego celtic-rockers Lexington Field and it comes together perfect with superb fiddle driving the song along. ‘Spin’ is up next and begins as a straight up Irish trad tune with tin whistle and fiddle and is a real lyrics heavy track about the state of the country as Ken puts the boot into the Tories. One of the things that Ferocious Dog are famous for is their own compositions but they always throw in a couple of well placed covers and the first here is a version of Steeleye Span’s ‘Black Leg Miner’ that fair raises the roof. It first appeared on their album Hark! The Village Wait back in 1970 and the lyrics spit bile and give an insight into the contempt felt by striking miners and their communities to the weasels who stabbed them in the back.

“Across the way they stretch a line
To catch the throat, to break the spine
Of the dirty blackleg miner.
They grabbed his duds, his picks as well,
And they hoy them down the pit of hell,
Down you go, we pay you well”

The songs origins lay in the Durham coalfields of the 19th century and Ferocious Dog with a sense of their own history have certainly chosen well here. It’s perfect FD fodder with its slowly sung verses and frantic and manic chorus giving the audience plenty of chance to singalong before the moshing starts!

The next track up is ‘Together we are Strong’ and will soon I am sure become a firm live favourite. Catchy as hell and a real fist in the air shoutalong rather than singalong. Pleading for unity among the poor and dispossessed it’s not one of my favourites here but I’m sure the Hell Hounds will lap it up. It just seems a bit formulaic for me still it’s an upbeat number that is designed for the dance floor not critics tapping away on their laptops! So five songs in and the pace has been relentless with the band refusing to let up for a second so we were due a slower song but ‘A & B’ still came as a bit of a surprise. The change in pace is not unexpected but what a song! Up there with the best that they have ever recorded. Fiddle player Dan takes over on the vocals with simple but effective backing from John on acoustic guitar in a beautiful song about “the hardest story to be told”. Inspired by visits to Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps in Poland the song has few lyrics but packs more in than any on this album. Ending with mournful fiddle that brings the song to an end.

We are back in proper FD territory again with the next song ‘The Enemy Within’ and again its a song dedicated to the miners and the strike. For a year the miners held out against a government determined to not only break them but to smash them. The miners went from “saviours of a nation” to, as Thatcher christened them, The Enemy Within. In France as the last coal mine close the miners were lauded as they rose from the depths of the earth. They were feted on live TV and the whole French nation paid tribute to these brave hard working men who faced death every time they left home for work. Here as the pits closed they simply threw the miners and their families onto the scrapheap and did absolutely nothing for the communities that relied so heavily on the industry.

I look around and all the mines are gone, I felt the need to put my feelings into song, You dare to tell me now the miners were all wrong and yes I am your enemy”

So yes a lot of anger and rightly so. Starting with military drumming it soon turns into a potted history of mining over a typical FD mosh friendly Celtic rocker. We are rolling up towards the end now and ‘A Place I Want To Be’ is a bit of a shocker with Les taking on lead vocals and having always been a huge fan of Carter USM it really made my day when they first announced he was joining the band. The song begins slow and gentle with Les picking away on an acoustic guitar before it explodes into action and any tale of a relationship breakdown deserves a bit of passion before it returns to just Les and his guitar. Now many seasoned celtic-punk fans may give a little sigh at seeing ‘Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya’ on the track listing but to be fair it’s possibly not a song that well known to the FD fan base. While many celtic-punk bands have given it a whirl (none have bettered the ‘rebel’ version by Easterhouse by the way here) it’s not particularly well known outside our circles. I’ve a tonne of family in Athy and spent many a summers day there escaping farm work and trust me they never shut up about this song! Here they start off gentle with the Celtic instruments to the fore but its not long before the band have all joined in and turned it into the celtic-punk dance fest its always destined to be. This is followed by ‘Small Town Hero’ and by Christ it’s the album standout for me. A chugging bouncy punk rocker with some lovely fiddle work. Despite Ken’s accent it has a feel of early Dropkicks to me. Maybe its the gang chorus of ‘Heys’ but it’s a real belter of a song and sure to be another live favourite with pints and fist thrust to the air. We have arrived at the end and the curtain comes down on Red with a real surprise number. FD have often flirted with reggae but here they go for a seven minute epic bastard of a song titled ‘Class War’. Now I’m not the biggest reggae fan. Twenty-five years of living in Hackney and listening to selfish bastards playing it out their windows at 3am has turned me right against it but I can appreciate it here and the change of pace is nice but the laid back vibe doesn’t last for long as FD can’t help themselves and before long it speeds up out of the blue and we are off again. Class war is indeed raging on the streets of England but it is not a war between the classes but a war against the working class and our very identity and culture. A great way to finish the album and so ends forty minutes of pure unabashed celtic-punk fun.

So there you have it and this is the longest album review to have ever appeared on these pages and  all written in just a couple of go’s with no notes. Obviously the inspiration flows out of Ken and the Bhoys into us all! The production on Red deserves a mention and Phil Wilbraham at the Electric Bear Studios in Mansfield has done an exemplary job here capturing the sound and feel of FD perfectly. The release comes in both vinyl and CD and the CD comes with a massive 28 page booklet featuring photos and lyrics. As is usual with all FD releases is has been recorded in tribute to Ken’s son Lee Bonsall.

LEE BONSALL

Pivotal to the ethos and drive of Ferocious Dog is the sad fate of Ken’s son Lee. Lee served in Afghanistan from the age of 18, and upon rejoining civilian life took his own life in 2012 at the age of just 24, unable to overcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder stemming from seeing one of his friends being shot dead by a sniper. Lee is commemorated in the Ferocious Dog songs ‘The Glass’, ‘Lee’s Tune’ and ‘A Verse For Lee’. This gave rise to The Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund which raises money and awareness for various causes close to the bands heart. Lee’s story was featured in a BBC documentary Broken By Battle in 2013. It was Lee that actually named the band as a child.

This third studio album from Ferocious Dog shows a band at the top of their game but they seem to have been at the top of their game for so long now that you could regard it as a usual state of affairs for them. It’s hard to see where their progression has come from as they haven’t radically altered their sound from their debut album but the difference from other bands comes from the quality of their songwriting and lyrics. Here three different members of the band take the mic and each excel on songs that range from full on fast celtic-punk rock to soft and gentle tear jerkers while all the time playing with a sincerity that would alien to most bands. I simply cannot state how much respect and love I have for this band and to prove it I am even giving up the heady delights of St Patrick’s Day in the capital with the London Irish to go see them in Oxford so see you there. I’ll be in the middle of the dance floor!

Discography

Ferocious Dog (2013) * Ferocious Dog 3 Piece Acoustic (2014) * From Without (2015) * From Without Acoustic (2017) * Red (2017)

Buy Red

FromTheBand

Contact Ferocious Dog

WebSite  FacebookPage  FacebookGroup  Twitter  YouTube

Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund

Facebook

• If you are at all interested in the world of Ferocious Dog, and why wouldn’t you be?, then a very good place to hook into is the Ferocious Blog. A fans eye view of everything a potential Hell Hound would want to know in the FD orbit. Here!

ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK ANEMONE- ‘In It For Life’ (2017)

Irish folk punk band from Sweden bringing chaos and mischief to the world!

Black Anemone hail from very close to the river Lagan… no not that one but the one just by Jönköping in southern Sweden! Now the Swede’s have quite the liking for celtic-punk music and Sweden has supplied the scene with some fantastic bands like Sir Reg and Finnegan’s Hell for just two and one of the latest are this bunch of young, edgy, sharply dressed folk-punk folk with their excellent brand of straight up, in your face singalong mixture of Irish folk and rock’n’roll and punk attitude.

Black Anemone from right to left: Mattias Sandberg- lead vocals (and various instruments) * Axel Martinsson- fiddle * Andreas Svensson (sitting down)- acoustic guitar, electric guitar * Rickard Olsson- Bass * Tilda Spross- tin whistle, second lead vocals * Adam Bernström- drums * Nermin Festa (sitting down)- electric guitar * Martin Hjärtkvist- banjo, mandolin * Fredrik Nilsson- accordion

Black Anemone formed in 2010 when front man Mattias fell in love at school with old time Irish music and after recruiting his longtime friend Andy on guitar they began to lay the foundations for the band. As Mattias says

”I wanted to mix the sound traditional folk music, mostly Irish trad and fusion it with rock and punk. Having strong roots in the rock and punk genre”

Within a few months and with the addition of several more school friends Black Anemone was formed. Solid rehearsing and some low key gigs saw the release of their first Demo, Let The Freak Show Begin, in 2011. That Demo definitely takes the raucousness of Flogging Molly but takes it to another level with fast Irish folk and Scandinavian raspy but still tuneful vocals. Its been made available by the band as a free download if you like (here). They soon after began work writing songs for their debut album and with a growing reputation as a live act and bolstered by several local music awards this album would be eagerly anticipated not just by their fans at home but also throughout the celtic-punk world. Titled King Of Kings it hit the streets in early 2013 and was eleven tracks of mostly acoustic but upbeat fast played Irish folk that shifts and changes and along the way sounded like most of celtic-punk’s major league players, as well a few that would deserve to be, and added to all that further folk influences sneaking in from all across Europe.

Their new album In It For Life begins with an absolute stormer of a song, ‘Freedom And For All’ with Mattias vocals perched somewhere between Shane McGowan and Joe Strummer it’s a banjo led number that has the feel good factor turned up to eleven and four years on from King Of Kings they haven’t lost any of their bite whatsoever.

‘Amber’s Point’ follows and is more a trad Irish number with a very distinctive Irish intro. Very catchy with a country feel at times and great vocals and lyrics and a banjo/accordion combination to die for! We stay in trad territory next for ‘Every Dog Has It’s Day’ an original song (not a cover of you know who!) and its what passes for the album’s epic slow number except it’s not really that slow but is indeed very epic. It’s the album’s longest track and for me it doesn’t get any better here than this. The accordion drives it along while the band accompany Mattias with the odd yell of ‘Hey!’ and with mandolin giving it that incredible Irish celtic-punk sound we all love so much. The album is only eight tracks and fairly brief at twenty-six minutes long but the Bhoys and Ghirl (an incredible nine members- that’s nearly a football team!) certainly know they way round a tune and the first cover, of two, is up next and yeah, yeah, yeah I know everyone seems to have covered ‘Drunken Sailor’ but there’s an obvious reason to why it’s covered so much and that’s because when its done well it’s quite simply one of the best tunes ever written and here I can be happy to report that Black Anemone turn in as good a version as you will ever likely hear. They keep it short and fast and proper-celticpunk! We are at the halfway point through the LP and next up is the title tune ‘In It For Life’. Again Mattias explains

“In It For Life is our tribute to the love of playing music. The love of playing live, Writing music, traveling and the constant grinding that is the music business today! we are are and will forever be in it for life”

The prominent banjo and alternatively fast punk/ska’ish sound reminds me a lot of our very own English celt-rockers Mick O’Toole. Gang vocals and a brilliant tune that leads us into ‘It’s A Short Life (But A Merry One)’ and they may have turned the punk down a fraction and maybe it’s possibly the odd one out on the album but its still an absolute belter that shifts towards being accordion driven halfway through before joined by fiddle. ‘Hellhounds On My Back’ is next up and funny enough Hellhounds is what fans of English celtic-punk band Ferocious Dog call themselves and the fiddle here gives the song an air of them as well before we get to the last track, and the second of the album’s covers of traditional folk songs. ‘Banks Of The Roses’ was originally made famous by The Dubliners and has been recorded by many Irish and Scottish artists since. The song is given a pretty standard celtic-punk showing and by pretty standard I mean, of course, utterly brilliant!

“On the Banks of the Roses me love and I sat down
And I took out me fiddle for to play me love a tune”

Sounding quite like The Rumjacks when they get hold of an old trad song Black Anemone give it plenty of oomft and the album ends on very much a high note.

In It For Life came out last June and as you can imagine for a nine piece band the sound is incredible so hats off to Alexander Gabara for his amazing work in capturing the band so perfectly. The band have got it exactly spot-on here with both their sound and the combination of folk and punk and folkpunk all underpinned with the trad sounds of Ireland. A superb album and well deserving of your ear time so don’t delay and follow the links below to hear Black Anemone today! 

(listen free to In It For Life before you buy by pressing play on the Bandcamp player below)

Buy In It For Life

FromTheBand  iTunes

Contact Black Anemone

Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Soundcloud   Bandcamp  ReverbNation

(full live concert recorded at Tre Trappor in Sweden last February)

ALBUM REVIEW: THE SILK ROAD’ ‘S/T’ (2017)

Infectious and catchy throughout the debut album from northern English celtic-folk-punkers The Silk Road has more than enough punk to keep the punks happy and plenty of folk to keep the oldies like me happy!

Here’s an album we have been waiting for here at London Celtic Punks with baited breath! Those with a good memory will remember way back last October we reviewed the four track pre-album sampler from The Silk Road and back then we were very impressed

“This kind of music lends itself more to the live experience so if they are able to capture that in the studio then by St George they will have cracked it”

and I am pleased to say they haven’t let us down either!

The Silk Road hail from Chesterfield in the north of England an area famed for it’s industry and for the militant trade unionism that goes with it. Their music reflects this. Their is no pretense or ‘virtue signalling’ here. Their beliefs were learnt at the knee of older generations who lived through times they did not want to see repeated. Formed in 2015 all the band have played music locally going back some twenty years ranging from folk to punk to ska so plenty of experience involved here. Taking some old demos that singer/songwriter Tich had recorded in his studio as a base The Silk Road began to take shape and after adding some new material The Silk Road’s debut album began it’s story.

Musically The Silk Road are cut from the same cloth as three bands who are still regularly packing them in at gigs across the country all year round. The Levellers, New Model Army and Ferocious Dog are the main bands that represent a broad mixture of scenes from folk-punk to celtic-punk to English-folk. The music while it may sound like celtic-punk to some is actually the music of the north of England. Their has always been a strong tradition of folk music among the working class and just as with celtic music it was in the early 80’s that young bands began to change, add and adapt it with hard rock and punk music. For me there is no better example of this than the first two album’s from Billy Bragg. He may be a bit of a wanker now on his farm in Devon lecturing us on how to vote and still pretending he lives in Barking but those albums are an incredible mix of politics and passion that captivated us and I still regularly play them. Armed only with a cheap electric guitar Bragg stormed the Singles charts of the day with his rough but passionate voice and a way of writing straight from the heart. His best songs were always about the mysterious interactions between men and women rather than his left-wing polemics but this was urban folk at it’s finest. Now some 20+ years later The Silk Road take their place on the same path and I’m sure they won’t be moving to Devon the first chance they get!

This self-titled album is thirteen original compositions by the band and though it’s very much a team effort it’s in no small part down to the vision and drive of lead vocalist Tich. A tattooist by trade it was his idea to use the symbol of the silk road as the bands logo. Yes it may look Celtic/Irish but the three hares with interlocking ears is actually from the far east where the silk road was the ancient trade route linking Asia to the West. The album cover itself was designed by no other than celtic-punk’s leading lady Katie ‘Kaboom’ McConnell of The Mahones.

The album begins with ‘No Revolution’ and it’s a loud start. I was expecting something a bit quieter so was pleasantly surprised. Quite a basic 80’s punk sound here which I absolutely love. The fiddle may have been worth turning up a bit but its got harmonica so that’s me happy for the next forty-eight minutes! Tich’s vocals are clear as crystal and so easy to understand, and get, that there is literally no point in putting them in the CD booklet. ‘Find A Cure’ follows the same road except with a short reggae interlude before a great punk rock Irish jig takes over. Great chorus here that will have you singing it in your head long after you’ve heard it. One of the highlights is ‘I Don’t Care’ with it’s snotty punk rock base but with the fiddle in charge and Tich’s great vocals laden over the top. It’s all been very punk rock orientated so far and just as i was settling in ‘Elizabeth Rose’ comes on and by Christ I’m in celtic-punk heaven with this Irish trad punk jig. The fiddle leads the way with the rest of the band pushed to the background and a real foot tapper that I’m sure is a live favourite and gives Tich a chance to rest his lungs. They slow it down next with ‘Scars’, the first song here that featured on that Pre-Album Sampler, and sounds to me not too far from The Levellers. Not a much of a fan of them myself but this is excellent stuff with slow acoustic guitar and fiddle and nice vocals. The welcome sound of the banjo kicks off ‘Master Race’ with what sounds like spoons! Harmonica is top dog here and I love it. A instrument I always feel suits celtic-punk but is criminally underused. ‘Still Breathing’ seems to me a bit out of place here. Hard to say why exactly but its upbeat and jaunty sound perhaps. Not to say it’s not a great song as its class fiddle led punk rock. ‘Breaking Down The Laws’ keeps the music flowing with Brian’s solid drumming. ‘Ancient Road’ leads directly into ‘Montagu’s Harrier’ and while the first three minutes are reminiscent of 80’s anarcho-punk bands like The Mob or Zounds the second half is an absolutely stunningly traditional Irish folk piece/reel dedicated to an endangered bird of prey.

The bodhran is out and it’s not long before the whole band have gate crashed the song and take it another level. These two songs are a perfect introduction to The Silk Road and showcase brilliantly whet they are capable of. We are coming towards the end of the album and it’s clear by now that the band wear their politics on their sleeves and no better than in ‘City Under Siege’. Back in October I wrote

“this kind of music is very much in vogue at the moment. Not played or favoured by fashionista’s or middle class hipsters it comes very much from that sort of old Labour background of trade unionism and old fashioned values like solidarity, compassion and the wish for a better world for all. Things sadly out of fashion at this moment in time”

and while ‘Corbyn’ and the Labour Party’s revival hasn’t completely convinced me I do see hope for my class where once I saw none. Another album high point up next with ‘Boats Come In At Midnight about modern day smuggling. Very catchy indeed and half way through the fiddle comes in giving it a real nice ending. The album ends with ‘On Ya Way’ and maybe it’s a sign of mellowing with age but I really love this song. My favourite track. Tich belts it out from his heart and harmonica and acoustic guitar steer it in a direction that reminds me of Ferocious Dog a little when they slow it down.

Overall this is a great debut from The Silk Road and will win them legions of fans from the trinity of bands I mentioned above. Infectious and catchy throughout with more than enough punk to keep the punks happy and folk to keep the oldies like me happy. Its always brilliant to welcome another celtic-punk band into the scene and even better when they have trodden their own path. Haven’t seen them yet but will be making it my mission to catch them over the summer and I really hope they play ‘On Ya Way’ when I do.

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(full concert from last year)

ALBUM REVIEW: RESTLESS FEET- ‘Homeward Bound’ (2017)

German celtic-punk band Restless Feet’s second studio album playing fast Irish folk from Traditionals to more asskickin‘ stuff about sailing far away and returning home.

In a genre that most music fans would probably think of as being extremely small its heartening when you come across a band that you think is new only to find out they have been around a while and this is not their debut album as originally thought. That after all is a sign of a very healthy scene and long may it continue that I don’t know every band out there!

Restless Feet originate from the beautiful old town of Freiburg in the south-west of Germany and were in fact formed back in November, 2011. Their debut album Almost Irish contained seven tracks of which but two were covers but did contain the amazing track ‘Empire Of Gold’. If I had come across this song back then then I can tell you with all certainty that I would have been following them ever since.

The mini-album also contained a couple of Breton songs showing that Restless Feet know their onions and were not content to just rattle out the old favourites. That’s not to say they can’t play the old faves as it also contained a couple of Irish folk standards but it set the pace for their following album, which was about to hit the streets over three years later, just in time for St Patrick’s Day 2017.

I have mentioned on this site before the special affinity that German’s hold for the Irish. Time and time again when I have met German folk I have been impressed by their knowledge of Irish culture, music and history. That Celtic are by far the most popular foreign team among German football supporters is testament to that affinity. There are several theories for this but my guess is that the Germans love a drink and a good party so it has got to be between us and the Mexicans aint it? Here Restless Feet offer up six self penned tracks and seven carefully chosen covers that go to show that the German love for Erin still shines strong and shows no signs of abating either.

Homeward Bound begins with ‘I Hold Sway’ and gets proceedings off to a great start. All acoustic but with a real punk rock feel. The Irish/celtic sound is supplied by the energetic fiddling of Marcy and Kai on tin whistle and banjo while the rest of the lads, Maggu, Arthur and Alex, supply a steady and sturdy back drop.

(the first single and official video released from Homeward Bound)

Fast and over in a flash and leads into ‘The Cabin’ a very short accordion number used as the intro to the following song ‘Wake’s Souvenir’. Slowish but still tuneful and catchy that speeds up in the middle and its not often you will hear an acoustic guitar being thrashed so loudly! Many Euro celtic-punk bands include flute and I was a late convert to the idea but here, as it usually does, it sounds fantastic.The first cover is ‘The Shores Of Botany Bay. First time I ever heard this was by the legendary Irish folk band The Wolfe Tones and Restless Feet do it justice with a wee Irish trad tune slapped into the middle making it extra bit special. Restless Feet have two main vocalists and they slip from song to song so forgive me for not which is Kai and which is Maggu. They both sing in a distinct German style with the accent strong but at the same time absolutely clear as crystal and while the CD does come with the lyrics included you don’t need them at all. ‘Sailor’s Yarn’ is a great tune with superb fiddle and backing gang vocals. In the search for the song that represents celtic-punk the following, ‘Waste My Throat (On Irish Folk)’, song is a worthy contender. A real footstomper and one for the crowd to join in with cries of “yeah” peppered throughout. Would have maybe perhaps benefited from some driving electric guitar but still a album high point. Restless Feet next show us that their is more to their band than just punked up folk songs with ‘Tuneset’ which is in fact two and a half minutes of full on Irish trad folk with three superb reels- ‘Irish Washerwoman’, ‘Cooley’s Reel’ and ‘Maid behind the Bar’. Banjo, fiddle and flute giving the impression that what you got here is a trad band not an actual celtic-punk one. Next we have ‘Greenland Whale Fisheries’ which I am sure most of you will know as it has been covered by most bands between The Dubliners and The Pogues and has even been taken as a name for one of the celtic-punk scene’s most popular bands. Now I love this song but would have preferred something a little more off the map but we have to remember that to audiences not accustomed to Irish music this is a song that will get people off their bar stools and up jigging. On that first album Restless Feet showed they weren’t adverse to playing the odd rebel song and here they serve up the glorious ‘The Boys Of Wexford’. The song commemorates the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and, more specifically, the rebellion in Wexford.

“We are the Boys from Wexford
Who fought with heart and hand
To burst in twain the galling chain
and free our native land”

Made famous by The Clancy Brothers and The Wolfe Tones its a great version and sure to get the blood pumping of any freedom loving patriot. The last self penned number is ‘The Ballad Of Johnny Doran’ and bejaysus it’s an absolute corker. Loved it. Slowish and catchy with the backing minimal and the fecking brilliant chorus telling of a traveller’s life.

“I’m the Everywhere Man, slán and I’m gone”

The album standout and not just for me either (see the review on Celtic Folk punk here). We are back in Pogues/Dubliners territory again next with version of ‘The Irish Rover’ and not much to add but its as good as you will hear and the Bhoys stick fairly close to that most famous version. We are shipping up to shore and I feel I really must take off my hat and salute Restless Feet for including ‘By Memory Inspired’ here. Growing up with Irish music I thought I had heard just about every rebel song but this had passed me by. Again it’s a song commemorating the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Slow and quiet and beautifully played and sung from the heart.

“By Memory inspired And love of country fired, The deeds of Men I love to dwell upon”

The tragic defeat of that rebellion is remembered and the brave men who gave their lives names are sung with a poignancy that many Irish bands could learn from. Daniel O’Connell, William Orr, John Mitchel, John McCann, John and Henry Sheares, Fr Thomas Maguire, Robert Emmet, and others are recalled. Homeward Bound comes to an end with ‘Rolling Down To Old Maui’ and I was actually dreading another acapello version of this but the Bhoys turn it into a great tune with brass instruments and superb fiddle turning it into one of the best versions I have heard straight up!

So forty minutes of class acoustic Irish folk punk from a bunch of Germans with a real feel for what they are playing. Whether it’s playing their own material, classic Irish standards or even lost and forgotten gems of Irish folk, Restless Legs are a great addition to the celtic-punk scene and to landlubbers everywhere. With recent gigs supporting some of the scene’s biggest bands, including our own Ferocious Dog, the future is looking very bright for them.

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INTERVIEW WITH WOLVES FOLK-PUNK BAND UNDER A BANNER

With just over a week to go before their biggest ever London date London Celtic Punks interviews Under A Banner. Purveyors of passionate, powerful and poetic folk-rock and with a new album to plug and a headline tour we wanted to find out a bit more about them.

First things first can you give us a history of the band? The who, what, why and how? Were any of you in any other bands previously and what happened to suddenly make the leap to forming Under A Banner?

Under A Banner began as a duo around 6 years ago and other musicians were steadily gathered to fill out the sound and make the band a more viable proposition for recording and performing the music I always envisaged the band making. I am the only original member of the band now. I started the whole thing as I desperately wanted to return to performing original music live. I’d previously played in a fairly short-lived band called Approach and have also played acoustic covers in pubs; the termination of the latter course of action triggered a visceral response to what I saw as virtually non-existent local scene for original music. Although I hail from Wolverhampton, the five of us live in three different counties.

You’re from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. Can you tell us a bit about what its like there to be in a band round there. Is there much of a music scene? What about for celtic music?

The unfortunate demise and subsequent closure of Wolverhampton’s Varsity venue hit the local live scene quite hard. We still have the Newhampton Arts Centre, The Slade Rooms and, a little further down the road, Bilston’s popular Robin 2 venue. Each of these regularly play host to both tribute/cover and original music. Without deriding the former too much, it seems that original music (in particular folk infused genres) is once again spearheading a palpable fight back against the nostalgia or copycat music market in the Midlands.

How would you describe yourselves. Folk-punk, English-folk, celtic-punk? Do you think it matters in particular. Who has been your biggest inspiration for Under A Banner?

When asked about Under A Banner’s genre we normally plump for ‘alternative folk-ish hard rock’. This is because we fit into a number of brackets and exist outside of them simultaneously. We draw our inspiration from a very far-ranging and eclectic pot of music. The single unifying genre is metal, which presumably explains the heaviness of a lot of our material, but my own personal influences include New Model Army, Tori Amos, Loreena Mckennitt, Tool, Ambrozijn and Alestorm – to name but a few. Other sources for inspiration include Opeth, Rush, Iron Maiden, Clannad, The Stranglers and Thin Lizzy. A number of these bands and artists have made significant contributions to the continuing popularity of music with a Celtic flavour.

I think it’s fair to say that you are a part of the same scene of big ‘folk-punk’ bands like New Model Army and The Levellers and more recently Ferocious Dog but do you think it’s more important to connect with their fans or get away from the folk-punk ‘ghetto’ altogether and get your music out to new people? What has been the reaction from their fans so far when you have played with them? Do they give you a fair crack of the whip or are they only interested in seeing the headliners?

We were fortunate recently to support TV Smith (formerly of punk heroes The Adverts) and a week later New Model Army. It’s often been noted by fans, reviewers and bloggers that we belong in the ‘Celtic folk/punk’ ‘club’. However, we’ve picked up as many new fans playing to rock and metal crowds. We went down well with the New Model Army crowd, in spite of an incipient chest infection which had begun to weaken my voice a couple of days before the gig. I managed to sing over and through the congestion and got the audience- quite a number of whom at least knew who we were- singing along. I have always known that followers of long standing cult bands like NMA are very devoted to their favourite bands, so, under the circumstances I think we did rather well.

Traditional folk music obviously influences Under A Banner so which individuals or bands do you think have been the important links between rock and traditional folk music in the past?

 In my opinion bands like Steeleye Span and Oysterband did wonders for the synthesis between folk and rock. Speaking personally, I prefer it when bands step out of genre boundaries so frequently that critics can’t pigeonhole them.

What themes do you write about for Under A Banner? Do any of you have backgrounds in folk music and if so does this influence your writing and performing? The folk music scene is very stuck in the mud in my opinion and not very open to change so how has the folk scene been towards Under A Banner?

When writing new songs (I pen the lyrics and chordal skeletons of our songs) we draw upon a number of themes. Not all of our songs are agit-socio-political commentary, and not all are angry. I suppose we write about the same things (life, the universe and everything) as a lot of other bands do; the trick is in being able to express these ideas and abstractions in new and original ways. We at least try. Regarding the repetition of themes on the folk or folk-rock ‘circuit’, there’s something of a tradition within these genres to rage against the system, whatever that actually means.

One thing I have been very impressed with is the connection the band has with it’s fans. Do you think its important to foster a sort of family relationship? 

It would appear that in today’s musical climate, the most successful of bands – especially those without significant financial backing of major labels or other benefactors – are those who foster an ongoing two-way conversational relationship with their fans. This is something that we are acutely aware of and happy to participate in. We make regular use of both a Facebook band page and a gig group as well as Twitter (which appears to be on the decline actually) and a mailing list. The maintenance of each of these is key keeping people abreast of the band’s plans. We have made quite a few friends this way, so it doesn’t feel too arduous.

Now Wolverhampton is a very working class town and like most of the industrial parts of England outside the south-east has suffered under both Labour and Tory governments over the last few decades. How has this changed the town. It’s still massively pro-Labour and was pro-Brexit but what is the town like. Has regeneration achieved anything for the ordinary man and woman in the street. What is their that makes you proud to be from Wolves?

As I previously touched upon, being from Wolverhampton is a mixed blessing. The city doesn’t have such an active and enthusiastic live scene for original music as other places we’ve played, although metal bands seem to have plenty of opportunities to combine forces and work with local promoters. Having said this, Wolverhampton is far from a cultural dead zone. The resurgence in the popularity of real ale and craft beer here has begun to improve the city’s nightlife experience, with several new real ale bars and micropubs springing up in and around the city centre. When these venues host open mic nights at least some small gesture is made to revive part of the live music scene. The recent regeneration projects in the heart of the city’s shopping complex are also beginning to gentrify my hometown. The expected and ubiquitous giants of commerce are still very much the major players, but while some smaller independent retailers have given up their long-held plots under the hammer of ever increasing ground rent, some have clung on and continue to flourish. Metamorphosis has to happen in cities, whatever their size; there are of course winners and losers in this process. On the whole I’m happy to be part of it all. If we, as a band, can make more of a mark with what we do then I could definitively say that Wolverhampton has played its part; it is, after all, where we draw our largest crowds outside of festivals and big support slots.

Now the question that’s caused more rows on the London Celtic Punks Facebook page than the “who hates Maggie Thatcher the most” one. What do you think of Frank Turner? Folk-punk troubadour or spoiled posh brat who hangs around with the royal family?

In answer to your Frank Turner question, from what I’ve heard he’s done quite a lot to give less wealthy musicians a platform. I do like some of his music too. I think it would be churlish to dislike someone on the grounds that they may or may not have had a ‘leg up’ in their chosen cultural or artistic field, that is, if their own brand of art is worth taking heed of. I do, however, have a problem with vapid and vacuous celebrity, especially when its derived from equally facile junk TV shows. Now there’s something to kick against!

That’s it then Under A Banner. Anything you would like to add and people you would like to thank…

 Under A Banner have just embarked on a Spring tour with folk/punk comrades Headsticks. We are also playing festivals right up to Autumn and will continue to write new material. As ever, massive thanks to all the people who’ve connected with us and travelled to see us play live. See you out there.

(have a listen to the latest album from Under A Banner ‘The Wild Places’ by pressing play on the Bandcamp player below)

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LIVE REVIEW: FEROCIOUS DOG AND NECK AT THE GARAGE, NORTH LONDON LAST NIGHT!

We don’t hang about here and hot off the press here’s a review of last nights shenanigans. It all happened in the heart of Arsenal territory in North London but thankfully they weren’t at home and we had the Wetherspoons to ourselves pre-gig. Two of the greatest celtic-punk bands around combined for the perfect night and gave their London Hellhound following a night to remember.

Review by Chris Brown

Tonight’s gig was Ferocious Dog and Neck at The Garage in Highbury.

The Garage

An easy trip from Pimlico to Highbury and Islington on the Victoria line and the venue was opposite the tube station.

Ferocious Dog and Neck have been talking about doing this gig at The Garage for a year or two now and finally it’s happened.

I was there to do Neck’s merch and covered a couple of Leanne’s breaks too. Also had a Sea Shepherd stand next to us so I was able to talk to them about having a stall at my event raising funds for Hunt Sabs and Sea Shepherd in Derby on May 6th. 13 bands in 12 hours and free entry.

pre-gig

Neck’s set was superb. Playing favourite tracks like ‘Every Day Is Saint Patrick’s Day’, ‘Always Upsetting Somebody’, ‘McAlpine’s Fusiliers’, ‘Star Of The County Down’, ‘Everyone’s Welcome To The Hooley’ and ‘The Psycho-Ceilidh Mayhem Set’. A wonderful set of London-Irish Psycho-Ceilidh performed with the added bonus of Ruts DC’s Leigh Heggarty as guest guitarist.

And then, Ferocious Dog tore the fucking roof off. This is the first time I’ve seen Ferocious Dog with their new line-up after the departure of Scott Walters and Ellis Waring earlier this year.

Their more than capable replacements in the form of Hung Like Hanratty’s ex-drummer Alex Smith and multi-instrumentalist John Leonard of Seven Little Sisters have fitted in nicely and added their own thing to the mix that is Ferocious Dog.

From the atmospheric intro written and recorded by Hell Hound John James JJ Kirk to the opening notes of ‘Gallows Justice’ through to ‘Mairi’s Wedding Pt II’ and the encore of ‘Paddy On The Railway’ and ‘Slow Motion Suicide’ via ‘Poor, Angry and Young’, ‘Verse For Lee/The Glass/Lee’s Tune’, ‘Ruby Bridges’, ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘I Stand’, ‘Unconditional’, ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’, ‘Freeborn John’, ‘Hell Hounds’, ‘Criminal Justice’, Blind Leading The Blind’ and ‘Freethinker’ (not in order and a few missing but yeah) the set was non-stop foot-stomping, hand-clapping, Ferocious moshing, heel-to-heeling and toe-to-toeing punk folk at it’s best.

I love the fact that Blind Leading The Blind is reappearing in the set now and that the loss of two very accomplished band members hasn’t meant Ferocious Dog calling it a day. They survived three members leaving before so it was hardly a surprise but I am genuinely delighted that the new line-up sounds so feckin’ good.

There’s life in the old Dog yet.

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thanks to Chris for the review, Amy O’D for the photos.

ALBUM REVIEW: UNDER A BANNER- ‘The Wild Places’ (2016)

Passionate, powerful and poetic Midlands folk-rock band Under A Banner release their superb third studio album.

Under A Banner have been on our radar for a couple of years now and apart from an appearance at a free music festival in Croydon they have as yet, as far as I know, not managed to get a gig in London town. This is something we hope to remedy soon and on the strength of this album it will be an absolute pleasure. They are one of a bunch of Midlands bands playing political folk-punk that straddles everything from the celtic-punk of Ferocious Dog to the anarcho-folk of The Silk Road. Under A Banner play an infectiously catchy brand of folk-punk caught somewhere between The Levellers at their softest and New Model Army at their punkest with a smidgeon of Ferocious Dog and youthful Billy Bragg, before he fled Barking to live in Dorset in a massive mansion and vote Lib-Dem.