Edinburgh Celtic-Punk band The Gallowgate Murders have made a new video for the standout track from their debut EP Dead, Gone And Living On.
Directed and Edited by: Sergio Cosme * Assistant Director: Penny Skanborg * 2nd Assistant Director: Lucia Ransolo * Stage Lights and Venue Manager: Matt Justice * Music production and master: Matt Harvey at Maybank Studios, Glasgow
Recorded at La Belle Angele and Bannermans
I remember a time on a wet stone cobble street
(Do or die!)
A gathering each night of the worst kinda bastards you ever will meet
(Hopes so high)
A hole in the wall hung a banner that we call home
(We kissed the sky)
Smacking a stack of the black with a man on his throne
We ain’t gonna change!
Gone away, those days are gone
But the memory still lives on.
We’ll never forget and there’s no regrets
‘Cause only the bastards sing this song!
A bark at the bar would let everyone know
(Brothers in arms)
The dogs were about for a shout and the kitty would flow
(The streets were ours)
And on a Saturday night, when everyone closed their doors
(We’d stay for hours)
The rockers, the punks and the drunks went to Studio 24
We ain’t gonna change!
Gone away, those days are gone
But the memory still lives on.
We’ll never forget and there’s no regrets
‘Cause only the bastards sing this song!
Wherever you may roam
Keep to heart your home.
Make those friends that fight until the bitter end,
Dead and gone and living on they’re always in your soul!
The booze and the sway and the chance to get laid in an Opium haze
(Danced all night)
The cobble and stone and the blood crack and bone that would ruin your day
(Fall or fight)
The Banshee would scream and we’ll listen till she called her last
(We lived life right)
And we’ll keep going strong on those bleak streets that paved our past.
You can streamDead, Gone And Living On (including ‘Only The Bastards’) and download the EP via the Bandcamp player below)
It’s that time of year again for the London Celtic Punks annual Best Of list. Has it really been a year since The Peelers waltzed (or should that be jigged) off with album of the year? It’s been possibly the best year for Celtic-Punk since we started doing this site and this was easily the closest it has ever been in that time. Pretty much all the big hitters, with one or two one notable exception (The Tossers where were you!), released records and on top of that a bunch of debut albums that were top class too.
so without further ado…
CLICK ON THE GREEN LINK TO BE FORWARDED TO REVIEW
2022’s #1 was the amazing new album from THE MAHONES. That they are as prolific as they are and yet can still put out quality like this 30 + years on is incredible. Well done Finny & co. FLOGGING MOLLY won the battle of the big Celtic-Punk 2 with the DROPKICKS and were also the best gig of the year for me personally (August in Dublin with Ferocious Dog). THE LUCKY TROLLS followed on from their Best EP award from 2019 with the highest place for any ‘outsider’ this year while Scandinavian stalwarts SIR REG gave us possibly their best album yet. REINA ROJA from Spain were another highly placed new band and their were several others among the Top 30. Their were also a handful of albums that didn’t qualify for the chart but were worth noting including a couple of greatest hits albums THE REAL McKENZIES – Float Me Boat and UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS – The Story So Far that were both superb introductions to the bands, the second volume of the Black 47 covers compilation AFTER HOURS VOL. 2 and finally the HEADSTICKS 10th anniversary album of the best songs of their career to date re-recorded.
As funny as it may seem the Best Debut Album award for 2022 was decided way back in January last year when the long awaited self titled debut album from Yorkshire banjo Punks SHANGHAI TREASON arrived in the post. Eleven original songs of high tempo energetic Celtic-Punk with some of the best banjo we heard all year long! On top of that later in the year they released a 3-track EP of songs that didn’t make the album that was also superb! That’s not to say it was a easy choice as by the end of the year REINA ROJA, THE LUCKY TROLLS and ZECKYBOYS all put out albums that challenged the Treason and in any other year could easily have won the award themselves.
A well deserved top two for THE RUMJACKS and their new singer Mikee. The split EP with FLATFOOT 56 in particular was absolutely flawless! Their were fantastic debut releases from THE DEAD IRISH, THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS and THE RAMSTAMPITS out of the Celtic nations of Ireland and Scotland that completely blew us away and were eagerly anticipated. A word here for BOG IRON from California who I found completely by accident and been playing ever since.
In what is usually the hardest category to choose from we actually had a very easy choice this year with the new album from Boston singer-songwriter BRYAN McPHERSON never off our play list all year long. The great news is that Bryan is heading to these shores in the Summer and we are very happy to be helping out. Dundalk’s THE MARY WALLOPERS were busy all year round and ended 2022 with a sell out London show and a debut album in December. The debut album from THE WINTER CODES saw a welcome return to the wider music scene for Barney the original vocalist for Blood Or Whiskey. Some may be surprised to find the first solo album from MARCUS MUMFORD listed but it really was a great album both musically but especially lyrically.
A new section this year and the first winner is THE OUTCAST CREW out of Laois in the Irish midlands. A new single and video directed, filmed and edited by Thomas Moyles that came out at the end of the Summer. Laois is famous for an abbey, some gardens, a castle and a couple of lakes and now a kickarse class Celtic-Celtic-Punk. They won the 2020 Celtic Punk debut album of the year and it’s about time we heard some more guys!
The competition for best Celtic-Punk video of the year was incredible so next year (which will be our 10th anniversary) we will make a bit more effort and maybe even include you in the decision!!
There were several people involved in the collation of these results and so it is that some of those people may not have heard every album listed or released through the year. If you’re album is not listed maybe you didn’t send it us or not all the folks here heard it so couldn’t give a opinion so really don’t feel too put out. We’re not perfect but we do try our best.
This is the ninth year we’ve been doing these Best Of lists. It seems incredible looking back at some of the previous winners and also-ran’s just how many bands are still with us from Year 1. Have a look for yourselves just click on the year below to redirect.
If you like what we do then why not visit our shop where you can buy all manner of Celtic-Punk tatt including t-shirts, badges, stickers, CD’s, fridge magnets, patches, Celtic nations flags and we just got in new for ’22 some bobble hats and polo shirts.
Alongside the Best Of polls we also run a special Readers Choice poll where you get to pick your favourite release of the year. This will be the fifth year it’s been running with Krakin’ Kellys, Mickey Rickshaw, The Go-Set and Ferocious Dog our previously champions! Last year we had well over 1500 votes (the most ever!) so remember the auld Irish adage ‘Vote Early – Vote Often’. There is only room on the form to list the Top Ten albums but there is an option for YOU to write in your favourite release (album or EP) of the year.
Poll will run until midnight on Tuesday 31st January 2023. You can vote twice. If the release you want to vote for is not listed then you can write it in.
Keep up to date with London Celtic Punks web-zine for all the latest news, record reviews, features and plenty more. Find all our social media here
Four great album releases including three bands who released their debuts in 2022 and one celebrating their 10th anniversary all get the London Celtic Punks treatment. Ranging from Celtic-Punk to Irish-Folk to Punk these are the bands that make our nights out special.
Hoping you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year. After everything we’ve all endured (politicians excepted!) we all deserve it. it’s been a excellent year for Celtic-Punk. After the drought of recent years we’ve been caught in a deluge of music we tried our best but found hard to keep up with. Any regular reader know we prefer to do detailed reviews and even though we can’t give these albums the justice they deserve here we simply had to get them in somehow before the end of the year. Each one impressed us immensely and all are worthy of your time so go ahead and check them out. We begin with artists from Britain and Ireland.
THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS – ‘ Dead, Gone And Living On’
A booze fuelled gang of Celtic bastards, immigrant vagabonds and travelling rovers, boasting male and female fronted duel vocals the Gallowgate Murders blew onto the stage supporting The Rumjacks on their extensive pre-Covid UK tour and almost stole the show impressing every lucky fecker I met who had seen them. See I was ill and missed the London date but I was sure it wouldn’t be long and then the dreaded lockdown struck and a full stop was put to their march for the next two years. Needless to say I still haven’t seen them and am looking for a ‘sugar daddy’ to pay for them to come down and play here again if anyone is interested in the role. They did manage to put out this self titled six track EP as soon as the lockdown was lifted and I still find it hard to believe that we never got around to doing a proper review at the time. Apologies for that guys and gal. Dead, Gone And Living On certainly deserved one.
One of the EPs highlights is ‘Scáthach’, the tale of a powerful mythical Scottish Warrior Queen. A legendary martial arts teacher who trains Irish hero Cú Chulainn and the Celtic goddess of the Dead ensuring the passage of fighters killed in battle to Tír na nÓg, The Land of Eternal Youth. Another great song here is ‘Only The Bastards’ a catchy Celtic-Punk number that has a Irish-American style to it (I listen to a LOT of Celtic-Punk!) but the whole EP is superb. The EP comes in at over 22 minutes so the six songs get plenty of room to develop and we have reviewed much shorter albums over the years.
We were lucky enough to catch Dundalk’s The Mary Wallopers just a couple of weeks ago at a sold out show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom. A raucous celebration of Irish music but not without it’s more serious and poignant moments too. That gig is replicated with ease on their self titled debut album which came out at the end of October and heralded a huge tour of Ireland and its neighbouring island. Propelled into the spotlight during the pandemic by a series of hilarious live streams where they would chat, joke about and play good old fashioned Poguesy / Dubliners-ish Irish music. Expanding from the original 3-piece of the 2 brothers , frontman Hendy, banjoist Andrew and guitarist Seán McKenna to a seven piece was a stroke of genius and can only see them continued success. The sold out show in Camden has already led to a headline gig at the Kentish Town Forum in May. Highlights include ‘Building Up And Tearing England Down’ which laments the spilt blood of the Irish working class who rebuilt post war Britain and received nothing but the minimum of wages along with scorn and ridicule for doing so and the haunting ballad ‘John O’Halloran’ about the Irish experience of immigrating to England.
“Ah! the weary months in search of work, I tramped through street and road,
A shake-me-down in Camden town, it was my first abode.
No friendly glance to cheer my heart, no man to to take my hand,
No easy gold, only rain and cold in this god-forsaken land.”
The Mary Wallopers are well aware of the relationship the Irish diaspora over her have with the place we grew up in and luckily for them their is a rich vein of songs for them to mine from.
The gig like the album is a series of covers that contain the famous and critically popular, one or two overplayed ones and even a few me auld Mammy would have a hard time remembering. The jewel in the crown though judging from the reception it got in Camden is their cover of ‘Orange Juice And Cod Liver Oil’. Originally written by Ron Clark and Carl Mac Dougall it was made famous by Scottish Folk singer-songwriter Hamish Imlach (please also check out the original it’s long been one of my favourite songs) who like The Mary Wallopers had a terrific sense of humour and was quite the rebel in more ways than one.
An outstanding album packed with great songs and it’s very hard to record a album of covers and expect the punters to just take it but The Mary Wallopers really stamp their brand all over each song and you can forget that they were ever recorded before. This band is going to be massive and while the press will continue to label them the new Pogues we’d have to see some originals to prove them true but I think these fellas could just do it!
We try and cover all the new bands we come across in one or another and sometimes it gets to the point where I think we’ve covered everyone and everything and then I find out that I am massively wrong and what we have covered is in fact just the tip of the iceberg. Great examples this year have been The Endings and Twelve Sullivans both bands I really am looking forward to seeing. Another is super-charged folk ensemble Dirty Old Folkers from Birmingham in the West Midlands. Once a powerhouse of the Irish diaspora the city has gone through a transformation but the Brummie Irish remain and while the council is determined to rid the city of all it’s famous hostelries and replace them with flats the Irish continue to play their part in Midlands life. Thinking of themselves, rather marvellously as “a Viz comic, being narrated by the Pogues” Dirty Old Folkers debut album is a window into 21st Century Birmingham life containing Irish and English Folk music with comedy, cabaret and political satire.
The Bankers’ Bonus system and the Coalition Government of a few years ago get a verbal kicking making me think that some of these songs here have been laying around in the Dirty Old Folkers set-list for quite a while. Influences range from Irish and English Folk, Bluegrass, Blues, touches of Jazz and Classical Music and even a nod to fellow Brummies Black Sabbath.
Ten years is quite the milestone for any band and to reach that milestone with the same members is highly unusual. Most Celtic-Punk bands go through more members than The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra do, so for them to remain friends and comrades through the decade I really love. It’s seven years since we first reviewed them on the London Celtic Punks site for their album Muster and we’ve followed them ever since, right up to last years release of their fourth studio album C.O.W. So it is that we know all fifteen songs included here like the back of our hand even though the band have taken the songs and re-recorded and re-jigged them for this release. Hailing from Stoke in Staffordshire, once famed for it’s industry, it’s still an area with a proud working class and trade union tradition and where Headsticks get their passion and influences from. Since day one they have championed the ordinary folk in the street while writing lyrics that tell real stories and even when they are at their most polemic it still doesn’t feel like you’re being bashed round the head with a newspaper unlike some other bands I could mention.
Singer and songwriter Andrew Tranter leads us through the album sometimes coming off like Jello Biafra and other times soft and tender but always passionate. More Bob Crow than Jeremy Corbyn! In their early days comparisons were made to New Model Army but as they have evolved their sound has become much more their own and while it’s a shame that the songs here aren’t the originals so you can see for yourself the re-recordings have given them a uniformity of the same power.
This may not be the kind of album that readers here are use to but these round ups give us a chance to share with you, via artistic license, to include releases that we loved during the year and that we feel you will love too. Headsticks have always been one of those bands and their constant innovation and evolving sound deserves to be heard and loved by more.
Quite a week for Celtic-Punk fans with new singles from Greenland Whalefishers, Pronghorn, The Dead Irish and now a great track from Scotland’s The Gallowgate Murders forthcoming new EP Dead, Gone And Living On out at the end of the month.
We are the dire streets of Glasgow, the mucky waters o’Leith, polluted Silesian coal mines and the 3 am sway of the Dublin pubs. We are THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS.
I remember a time on a wet cobble street
(Do or die!)
A gathering each night of the worse kinda bastards you ever will meet
(Hopes so high)
A hole in the wall hung a banner that we call home
(We kissed the sky)
Smacking a stack of the black with a man on his throne
*
We ain’t gonna change!
*
Gone away, those days are gone
But the memory still lives on
We’ll never forget and there’s no regrets
‘Cause only the bastards will sing this song
*
A bark at the bar will let everybody know
(Brothers in arms)
The dogs were about for a shout and the kitty would flow
(The streets were ours)
And on a Saturday night, when everyone closed their door
(We’d stay for hours)
The rockers, the punks and the drunks went to Studio 24
*
We ain’t gonna change!
*
Gone away, those days are gone
But the memory still lives on
We’ll never forget and there’s no regrets
‘Cause only the bastards will sing this song
Hey!
*
Wherever you may roam
Keep to heart your home
Make those friends that fight to the bitter end
Dead and gone and living on they’re always in your soul
*
The booze and the sway and the chance to get laid in an opium haze
(Danced all night)
The cobble and stone and the blood crack and bone that would ruin your day
(Fall or fight)
The banshee would scream and we’ll listen til she called her last
(We lived life right)
And we’ll keep going strong on those bleak streets that paved our past
*
We ain’t gonna change!
We ain’t gonna change!
*
Gone away, those days are gone
But the memory still lives on
We’ll never forget and there’s no regrets’
Cause only the bastards will sing this song
*
Wherever you may roam
Keep to heart your home
Make those friends that fight to the bitter end
Dead and gone and living on they’re always in your soul
*
Only The Bastards – written by Tom Coyne
Only the bastards is a shout out to all the times we’ve had in Edinburgh’s alternative scene through the years. A shout out to the bars we love, the times we’ve had, and a homage to the friends we have loved and lost along the way.
The Gallowgate Murders left to right: Shelby (Anna) – Rhythm guitar, Vocals,Tin Whistle Tom – Vocals, Mandolin, Craig – Lead guitar Ryan – Bass guitar Sean – Drums
The launch for Dead, Gone And Living On EP is at Bannermans in Edinburgh on the 28th July. Tickets are available from here with support from Trongate Rum Riots (Who I thought had split up but really loved. Glad to see them back on the scene), Manic Romance and Richy Neill & The Reinforcements.
The six track EP Dead, Gone And Living On will be out at the end of July via band’s own label, Widdershins Productions and the next single will be ‘Sail Away’ which is a sea-shanty that tells the story of children snatched from the streets and shipped overseas to work as slaves. Based on true events, predominantly occurring in 17th-19th C in Scotland and Ireland.
March – that most Celtic of months and time for another Odds’n’Sods. A place for all the Celtic-Punk scene’s bands big and small, established or just starting out.
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.
We start off this month with the new single from Scandinavian / Irish rockers SIR REG. Taken from their upcoming new album (due soon!) they are representing the whole continent at the awesome ShamRock Festival in Washington later this month. ‘The Kings Of Sweet Feck All’ tells of British soldiers raiding the home of an Irish family during the war of independence. The soldiers didn’t want to be there, but it was their job and their duty. A reminder that even enemies feel compassion for each other.
London Celtic Punks numbers went down by one when Anna upped sticks to move to Scotland to marry some Scotch fella. Theirs no evidence he’s dragged her to Celtic games yet though but she did form the marvellous GALLOWGATE MURDERS who recently played Edinburgh. We are trying to hunt down the official footage of the entire gig to bring you so watch this space.
We’ve been lucky to have been able to put THE DEAD MAGGIES a few times on their travels over from Tasmania and they are one hell of a great band. Here’s the recently uploaded ‘Billy Hunt’ from their 2015 album Well Hanged live at the HOBOFOPO2021 festival they put on back at home.
THE CLOVERHEARTS are at it again! One of the busiest bands in Celtic-Punk they have followed their recent cover of ‘Country Roads’ with a great version of the Johnny Cash belter ‘Ring Of Fire’.
Was great to hear all the way from Salt Lake City from WHISKEYS WAKE who sent us their new eight track album Wake Up Whiskey. Everyone here really loved it so expect to be reading a very positive review any day soon!!
The new album from FOLK THE SYSTEM, Tales Of Tyrants, Demons & Kings, came out at the arse end of ’21 but we were suffering ‘review fatigue’ so we’re now calling it a 2022 release! Formed in leafy Banbury in 1992 they recorded a handful of tracks, played 100’s of gigs and then split up before reforming in 2013. Their debut album Unrest In The Wolds was released in 2015 we described as ‘raw Punk Folk from the Shires’ in our review. The new album like a lot of releases was delayed by ‘you know what’ and is 11 tracks of catchy leftie British Folk played with humour and spirit.
GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS are playing their home town Bergen on St. Patrick’s day and also releasing a brand new single and video.
A cautionary tale of rats, bargains with the devil and nautical disaster ‘Chip’ was the lead single from THE REAL McKENZIES 2008 album Off The Leach but the guys just released a new re-mastered version on You Tube to announce the release of a career retrospective or as they call it Greatest Hits. The double album is available for pre-sale from Fat Wreck Records.
THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS hail from Spain (I think!) and aye we may have heard it 1000+ times but I love nothing better than a good version of ‘Drunken Sailor’ and this is one. Couldn’t find much about these guys as I think they are pretty new but they sound like fun.
DRUNKEN FIGHTERS – Someday
WHISKEYS WAKE – Wake Up Whiskey
THE KINGS PIPERS – Tradition
SLAINTE – Up Down 95
THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG – Red Kite Rising
THE ROUGHNECK RIOT – Burn It To The Ground
remember we can’t review it if we don’t hear it
A bit off our well beaten track with some Metal but he’s a great guy and the new song from MULLHOLLAND is all the work of just on fella. Written, composed, performed, recorded, mixed and produced by proud American-Irishman Colin Mulholland.
Russia has had some absolutely amazing Celtic-Punk bands in recent years the latest of which are RIOT FOLKS who put up a live concert from last year. Really, really good!
We loved the last album from KEV O’D and he’s just released this song and video in tribute to…
Sydney bhoys HANDSOME YOUNG STRANGERS are one of the leading lights in the Aussie Celtic-Punk scene and are always great to hear from. Their new single is a cover of another band from Oz the Melbourne band Sons Of Lee Marvin.
Blast from The Past is dedicated to bands, many of whom are no more, who put out great music but were never featured on these pages at the time. Usually they come with a free download link. This months band is MOTOR PERKINS who hailed from Donramiro in the Celtic nation of Galicia, currently occupied by Spain. They have split up and there’s not a lot on the internet to be found about them but they were one hell of a band. The album is sixteen tracks, mostly originals with a few local and Irish Folk covers. It was recorded live at Praia América on August 16, 2009 and then mastered and released a couple of years later. Ao Vivo can be downloaded for free simply click the link below on the Bandcamp player.
New craic-ing video from SWAINN (formerly known as Cockswain). The song comes from their fantastic recent album, Under A Willow Tree which we reviewed recently and reached #15 in the London Celtic Punks Best Of 2021.
Highlights of this month are that the DROPKICK MURPHYS tour of the States has begun with THE RUMJACKS in tow. Early reports are that the Bhoys are still on top of their game and we must send our thoughts over to Al Barr and his family, who has had to drop out of the tour due to extremely sad personal circumstances. There’s been loads and loads of videos coming out (the quality of some is absolutely incredible!) but the BIG news is the Bhoys are live streaming their St. Patrick’s Day concert from Boston for free over on their Facebook and You Tube channels. It’s 1am here so check their page for local times. The perfect way for us to wind down! FLOGGING MOLLY just announced a gig in Dublin in August later in the year which may see an exodus of London Celtic Punks to the capital of West Britain! They are also in the midst of touring and will also be live streaming from The Hollywood Palladium for the princely sum of almost £15. Lots of things will be happening around St. Patrick’s weekend, too many to mention but we’ll do our best to feature them on the LCP events page. We will begin the day at The Cock Tavern in Euston at 2pm with MISSING THE FERRY before going on the lash around South London leading all the way to the Half Moon in Putney to watch THE POGUE TRADERS, the world’s #1 Pogues tribute. Don’t take our word for it “The Best Pogues tribute band I’ve ever seen” – Andrew Ranken. Tickets are on sale from the venue.
I didn’t watch it all and there’s a few points I would disagree with like how can you live in a country with 40,000,000 Irish-Americans and not get it that their might be a similar thing in London! Any how it’s a good watch and the music is fantastic and they are a likeable pair!
Facebook is shit. Proper shit. It’s telling that it only has 2/5 in the play app store! It’s stranglehold on all forms of expression is not good and people are leaving in droves. Don’t despair though you can still keep up with 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 but the best thing of all is that it is 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/
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 wooly 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/
Even though we hate it Facebook does supply the occasional ray of sunshine so a shout out to some good friends of ours over on Facebook. The Dropkick Murphys- Fan Pageand 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!
Coming up this month we will have reviews from several of the bands mentioned in the new releases but we are particularly looking forward to @theold69th and his live review of the Dropkick Murphys and Rumjacks gig. It’s also worth mentioning that March is the month when three of our Celtic nations have their Saints feast dates. St. David of Cymru on March 1st, St. Piran of kernow on March 5th and St. Patrick of Eire on March 17th. We look forward to this month being designated as Celtic History Month in tribute to the millions of working people from the Celtic nations who did so much for and gave so much to the world.
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.
There has been a huge gap in the Celtic-Punk scene since the sad demise of the Celtic Folk Punk And More web-zine so in an attempt to make ourselves useful and fill it we’re starting a new regular monthly feature here. All news items that we otherwise miss will get a mention but I need YOU to be the eyes and ears if it’s going to work so send over to us any band news, record releases, videos, tours (not individual gigs though yet), live streams, crowd funders etc., to us at londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or through the Contact Us page and it will go in here!
The best Celtic-Punk album I have heard yet in 2020 has been the debut long player from Norway’s OGRAS and they have a new video out featuring Children Of Dust a standout track from their recently reviewed album No Love In The City.
The video to the debut single from new highly rated Edinburgh band THEGALLOWGATE MURDERS Wreck Head Wedding came out to a big fanfare. Filmed and directed by the main geez himself Frankie McLaughlin in Govan and Edinburgh. One of a few new bands in the scene we are expecting to here an awful lot more from once the lockdown ends!
Rose family Irish-American supergroup THE WILD IRISH ROSES album ‘Full Bloom‘ which was reviewed during St. Patrick’s Week is now out on vinyl.
After the hugely positive response to THE PLACKS debut single, My Dearest Friend the band are releasing a second single in May. Official release date will be announced soon but it will again be available for download and this time also on 7″ vinyl.
March was a mental time for releases and far too many came out for us to get round to but we did our best and hopefully we’ll get round to them all but these are the most recent releases we are aware of.
FEROCIOUS DOG – ‘You’
LEXINGTON FIELD – ‘Here’s To You: Ten Years Of Fiddle Rock’
NORTH ALONE -Punk Is Dad’
BLACK WATER COUNTY – ‘Comedies And Tragedies’
THE DEAD RABBITS – ‘The Dead Rabbits’
PADDY MURPHY – ‘Rams Rebels Goats and Girls
PEAT & DIESEL – ‘Light My Byre’
HUGH MORRISON – ‘The Other Side’
Been a good few years since the series of Shite’n’Onions compilation albums came out but luckily MacSLONS IRISH PUB RADIO have taken on the job and Volume 5 of Raise Your Pints is all set for release in early May. The Cloverhearts, The Placks, The Rumpled, Krakin ‘Kellys, The Gallowgate Murders, Ferocious Dog plus loads more. Find out more direct from MacSlons.
New York Irish rockers 1916 have a new album out later in the year and released the first single / video. After a successful St Patrick’s Week where they live streamed several entertaining shows including both full and acoustic band gigs and some solo shows from frontman Billy this is the Celtic-Punk scenes most anticipated album of 2020.
The crowd-funder for the second full-length 6’10 album, ‘Carried in Retrospect’ has ended and so the album is set for release sometime in the next few weeks.
THE DROPKICK MURPHYS after their Paddys Day show on Facebook are now even more bloody popular and celebrated with the release of a new single. The rather laboured ‘Mick Jones Nicked My Pudding’ is backed by the brilliant cover of Black 47’s ‘James Connolly’ and is available everywhere.
German band THE FEELGOOD McLOUDS may not be a band on every bodies lips but they are a bloody good band and have their new album ‘Life On A Ferris Wheel’ out very soon and having heard it can guarantee it will be one to watch for the end of year Best Albums Of 2020.
Swedes BLACK ANEMONE are very active in promoting the Celtic-Punk scene and have made a lot of friends because of that but they are also a cracking band and they have a new album due out any day. Here’s the title track and even with the current condition they still manage to bring out a decent video.
There’s a new Celtic-Punk band on the scene and thanks to SCORDISCI from Serbia for alerting us to the release of their cracking new song and video, a cover of The Pogues ‘I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day’. Watch out for these guys!!!!
Having suffered the lock down longer than the rest of us Chinese band GRASS MUD HORSE have a had a busy couple of months with a fantastic new logo c/o Laurence Crow Illustrations and a massive range of merchandise for you to spend your hard earned on. They also put out the 6-track Quarantine Sessionsof Irish covers and also featured on the Beijing Underground music compilation (both available for free) and also have an EP of original material out soon.
The Italian Celtic-Punk scene is on fire so far in 2020 and I’ve had a sneak peak at the new album from UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS ‘The Men Beyond The Glass’ and can confirm it is another brilliant release. They put out ‘Back on Your Feet’ as the first single from the album.
To wrap up our first edition of Odds’n’Sods we have two local bands to us the first being the excellent CALICO STREET RIOTS who were just getting into their stride with a whole pile of gigs lined up before lockdown came along. Their new single was written by bassist Nick about his son Harley and shows the Riots more reflective side.
London Irish alternative trad folk rockers and one of my favourite bands CROCK OF BONES released the video for the beautiful ‘Ferry’ and as all the videos here is well worth a look.
Finally (tomorrow May 1st) streaming site Bandcamp are doing away with revenue fees for the day so all money will go direct to the bands so check out your favourite bands BC sites and send rest assured that for one day at least these vultures won’t be pocketing a decent sized share of your money for doing absolutely nothing.
So you get the idea so all we need to do now is fill it 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.
As funny as it may seem the Best Debut Album award for 2022 was decided way back in January last year when the long awaited self titled debut album from Yorkshire banjo Punks SHANGHAI TREASON arrived in the post. Eleven original songs of high tempo energetic Celtic-Punk with some of the best banjo we heard all year long! On top of that later in the year they released a 3-track EP of songs that didn’t make the album that was also superb! That’s not to say it was a easy choice as by the end of the year REINA ROJA, THE LUCKY TROLLS and ZECKYBOYS all put out albums that challenged the Treason and in any other year could easily have won the award themselves.
Ten years is quite the milestone for any band and to reach that milestone with the same members is highly unusual. Most Celtic-Punk bands go through more members than The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra do, so for them to remain friends and comrades through the decade I really love. It’s seven years since we first reviewed them on the London Celtic Punks site for their album 
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