With Christmas just around the corner it’s time for an annual catch up of all this years Yuletide songs and videos. As varied as ever with everything covered with bands from around the world!
KRAKIN’ KELLYS – Holiday Season
One of my favourite bands and they love a Christmas song and deliver another great one for 2022. As catchy as hell and what about that accordion? Celtic Skate Punk, beer and bar fight !
DRUNKEN DOLLY – It’s Christmas (Ho Ho Ho)
Not heard much out the Dolly camp in recent years bur this short (very short!) Christmas Celtic-Punker reminds me exactly why I love them so much.
LOUIS RIVE – A Winters Tale
Scots singer-songwriter Louis Rive plays Folk music; not the kind about orcs, glens, wizards etc, more about people and places. Like Tom Waits and JudyCollins if either of them wrote about Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire. Closer tae home he wants to follow on from top lyricists like Michael Marra, Liz Lochead, and Hamish Imlach.
MIGHTY PLOUGHBOYS – I Won’t Be Home For Christmas
Irish-American Celtic-Punk from Connecticut and bloomin’ good it is too. A bit sad but it’s not all tinsel is it. You can get a free download of the song by subscribing to their mailing list like I did.
THE CUNDEEZ – Xmas In The Schemes
Dundee’s The Cundeez got around to making a video for a song that originally featured on their 2012 album Murder On The Oary Express… and what a bloody great video it is!
TIM HOLEHOUSE – Christmas Times Blues
The ever prolific Tim Holehouse. Music for music’s sake with it’s roots in Delta Blues with his own personal twist on it. A friend of his from Winnipeg once told him – Creativity, Adventure and People.
FIVE LEAF CLOVER – Taste Of Beaujolais
Christmas, eggnog, jingle bells, snowflakes and… Beaujolais! Czech republicans Five Leaf Clover know that not everyone enjoys Christmas. For some, it’s just another sad evening and this song is for them.
JOHNNY HASH – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Belfast collective been a bit quiet this year but found time for a slow and Ska-ish cover of the John Lennon song that is usually quite apt at this time of year and sadly, most years.
PADDY’S PUNK – Irish Friends
German band Paddy’s Punk new release isn’t a Christmas song but as it came out only a few days ago it finds itself here. The piano gives it a festive air and it’s a lovely song too.
HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT – IT’s Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas
We end this selection of this years songs with a song that is neither from this year or Celtic-Punk but sums up perfectly what we think of Christmas.
Christmas is a busy time for the Samaritans. Decorations go up across the country, but there will still be people feeling down. And the worst part? Many of those struggling to cope will do so with a smile on their face. Because that’s what we do at Christmas, right? We eat, drink and be merry?
Christmas can be tough for people. But the Samaritans will be there, ready to answer every call for help they can – putting in a shift even during the darkest hours of the night.
Whatever you’re going through, call us free any time, from any phone, on 116 123.
A funny auld month this. Loads of Celtic-Punk’s premier league bands have releases out and two others have them coming soon!
Find out who they are is in this month’s 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 this month with a shout out to our good friend Roger Goeddey whose just come out of hospital after a serious operation. Thinking of you from over here and best wishes from the gang.
First we had the Murphys, then the Molly and TMTCH and now it’s the turn of THE REAL McKENZIES to release a new album, Songs Of The Highlands, Songs Of The Sea coming on November 18th on Stomp Records in Canada and FAT everywhere else.
THE OUTCAST CREW out of Laois in the Irish midlands have a new single and video out directed, filmed and edited by Thomas Moyles. 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!
We lapped up SHANGHAI TREASON at the Underworld in Camden last month. Supporting The Rumjacks they played a blinding set and we were happy to see a big chunk of it appear on You Tube with all yer favourite London Celtic Punks silhouetted against the stage!
Another live set this time from Oz and Flat Cap Productions of the raging 100% Colonial Bush Folk / Punk band HANDSOME YOUNG STRANGERS recorded last week at the Crown And Anchor, Adelaide.
Nearly all the big guns get a mention this month and THE MAHONES released the first single from upcoming album Jameson Street (out October 7th). ‘Holloway Jack’ is now available on Spotify and the other platforms.
A great cover of ‘These Hands’, originally by Scots band The Wakes, from Belfast based singer-songwriter STIOFAN on his debut album Rebel Heart which you can hear on Spotify.
Sad news out of the Highlands that Iain has left THE PLACKS. No need to go into the reason but unsure if this means they will carry on but the good news is that he’s already settled into a new band THE RAMSTAMPITS and they’ve been recording so expect new material very soon. Here they playing at Punk Rock In The Peninsula in August which had a awesome line up and looked bloody marvellous!
STOP PRESS – Just heard the new album is available for pre-release from Mainstage Merch.
Ace Brazilian band LUGH we haven’t heard much from recently so completely awesome to hear new material from them with an accompanying video chronicling their 13 years on the road. 13 MORE!!!!
Comedy song from Barcelona based CAL MURPHY about an issue affecting many men… but one in particular! All proceeds from this song will be donated to charities aiding Ukrainian families affected by the war. What better way to help than by having a laugh at the expense of the prick who caused it?
We love a new band so we do! THE ENDINGS from Telford in the English Midlands have probably been around a while (some of them look like it anyway!!!) but we only just come across this video. We checked out some more of their stuff on You Tube and its well f’ing catchy! Give em a like over on Facebook and look forward to seeing them featured on these pages real soon. Whole gig here.
Came across this shared on Facebook and it blew me away! DAMH & DOVE are an American duo with drums and original Viking warrior pipes that sounds bloody amazing. Send them a like on Facebook to hear more. Recorded at this years Oregon Renaissance Fayre.
This led me onto this. This is some scary battle shit from CU DUBH another duo with absolutely stunning pipes and drums. Ancient thundering war drums and swirling bagpipe to put the fear of God into your enemies. These folk don’t need no microphones either! Send a like over on Facebook you know the score.
HOIST THE COLORS – When Daylight Breaks
DROPKICK MURPHYS – This Machine Still Kills Fascists
FLOGGING MOLLY – Anthem
MULHOLLAND – Cumha An Ri
THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG – Running On Ice
WE BANJO 3 – Open The Road
Remember we cannot review it if we don’t hear it first!
Scots singer-songwriter LOUIS RIVE didn’t bring the weather with him when he returned to Scotland from Barcelona! Now firmly settled back in he’s still as prolific as he use to be and has a new EP just out Dear Green Place. A four-song personal journey through North-East Glasgow. From the high flats, to the M8 Motorway. From Provanmill to Springburn to Alexandra Parade and back again.
A great friend of ours in the United States has a new album out Cumha An Ri the solo album from MULHOLLAND. Loads of distorted guitars and vocals played at breakneck speed about Irish and Irish-American history. Here’s my favourite about the lie that Irish slavery never existed and to hear the rest check out the entire YouTube Cumha An Ri playlist. Written, composed, performed, recorded, mixed and produced by the very talented Colin Mulholland.
THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG have a new digital only release out from their Bandcamp page with all money to go to their Album Fund. This is the second of TMTCH’s rolling programme of digital EP’s and contains the title track, a dystopian fable set in a menacing ice rink, a cover of Ronnie Lane’s classic ‘How Come’ and original demos of two new songs, ‘Islands Of Silver And Gold’ and ‘Lonely Train’.
One of my favourite Celtic-Punk bands the Orange County based BRICK TOP BLAGGERS have a new EP Obey The Tyrant out on all platforms. Here’s ‘Denial’ from St. Patrick’s Day 2021. Watch this space for a review coming soon. (Hint – It rocks!)
In the 9 years we’ve been doing this 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 we feature PFC PIERCE and his 2018 five track EP Songs Of Hope And Hardship. It was while reviewing the debut single from Coxey’s Army recently that we came across this release. It is Coxey’s Army vocalist Nate Rising who founded PFC Pierce a sometimes solo acoustic project described as Positive Blue Collar Folk. Drawing from his extensive travels and experiences, Nate pairs positive themes to catchy, Celtic rooted, tenor guitar music. All the music is available as a ‘name your price’ download but as usual if you can afford to leave him enough for a Guinness or two as a tip.
Acoustic Irish bands THE SCRATCH and THE MARY WALLOPERS are both touring in December and playing Camden in north London so watch out for dates and a wee article on that. Expect to see a few of us at one of them. Haven’t decided which yet! MAD DOG McCREA headline Nells, 3 North End Crescent, West Kensington, London W14 8TG on Friday 21st October. It’s a eye watering £22 but they are a great band so youse get what you pay for. NEW MODEL ARMY play 3 Christmas dates ending at the Roundhouse starting on the 10th. The BIBLECODE SUNDAYS are at the Powerhaus in Camden (formerly Dingwalls) on Saturday November 5th. DROPKICK MURPHYS have announced THE RUMJACKS, PENNYWISE and JESSE AHEARNE as support for their Euro tour starting in Jan and arriving in London on Saturday 21st January and then just 7 days later its THE REAL McKENZIES at the New Cross Inn. All these but the top gig going on this month is just coming up …
Forty years ago The Pogues played their first gig at The Pindar of Wakefield in Kings Cross. On 4th October 1982 James, Shane, Spider and Jem took the stage as Pogue Mahone and would go on to change peoples lives. The Pindar Of Wakefield is now The Water Rats and Kings Cross is, unbelievably, a most desirable place to live and The Pogues are no more either. Their spirit lives on though within The Pogue Traders. Now in their 15th year themselves of bringing The Pogues back to life they will tread them same boards 40 years on. Support for the night is from Paul ‘Mad Dog’ McGuinness And Band. Paul toured with Shane MacGowan for almost a decade as a founder member of The Popes. For an hour before that Shane’s official biographer Richard Balls will be doing a Q And A and copies of his recent book ‘A Furious Devotion: The Life of Shane MacGowan’ will be available.
THE WORKING CLASS SYMPHONY are one of the best Celtic-Punk bands in the world. You don’t know them well that’s probably because they are from Indonesia but we love them and guarantee you will too. Check them out on You Tube and Facebookand look forward to catching them live in Europe at the end of the year. They are heading over sometime between December – January and need the help of the Celtic-Punk community. If you can help with the tour in any way then drop them a lineand let them know.
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 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/
Well we have been blown away by the response to the new London Celtic Punk badge. Not surprising really as they are so bloomin’ gorgeous. Just about the nicest bit of merchandise in Celtic-Punk if you ask me! Comes with butterfly clip and made in Ireland (Guaranteed Irish!) It’s 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!
We end with something a wee bit different. No bagpipes or shouting but some beautiful acoustic music from Scots singer-songwriter Dan Wilson who records under the name WITHERED HAND. His fantastic debut album New Gods has just been re-released with bonus tracks.
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.
We want to move away from just being ‘ReviewReviewReviewReview’ so we have started this monthly feature that comes out on the last day of each month. 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 sadly), live streams, crowd funders etc., to us at londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk or through the Contact Us page and it will go in here!
Celtic-Punk major leaguers THE REAL MCKENZIES are back with their eleventh full-length album, Beer And Loathing, set for release on July 3rd on Stomp Records. More epic tales of alcohol soaked debauchery, historic sagas and hard-fought personal battles are promised and it will be coming out we are promised on Seafarer’s green and Beer Piss yellow vinyl and is available for pre-orderfrom several different sites.
With the new album from THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS, Dogs On The Leash, just released here’s their first single. Easily one of the most prolific bands in Celtic-Punk it never ceases to amaze me the high quality of their output. As an aside my Mammy is from Mitchelstown and she’s proud as punch to see a song named after her home town.
We’re still plodding our way through reviews from St. Patrick’s week releases but the Celtic-Punk/Folk-Punk world continues to turn and here are all of the most recent ones we aware of
BLACK ANEMONE – Chasing The Sun
KELTIKON – The Black Boar
THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS – Dogs On The Leash
FIDDLER’S GREEN – Acoustic Pub Crawl II (Live In Hamburg)
NORTH ALONE – Quarantine Coverage (EP)
DAYS N DAZE – Show Me The Blueprints
THE GO SET – Of Bright Futures
THE GO SET – …And Broken Pasts
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Raise Yer Pints Volume 5 Compilation
(remember if you want a review of your release we have to hear it first!)
Manchester based Derry born Gaelic Hip-Hop maestro DANNY DIATRIBE released At War With The Morning on May Day. A five track EP of modern day Irish immigrant Rap’n’Roll for a fiver!
For those of you who may have missed it the GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS premiered via live stream the professionally recorded live concert Barely Alive On The Inside filmed live at Inside Rock Cafe in their home town of Bergen in Norway on February the 15th 2020. It’s now available to watch on You Tube and is incredibly good!
The fourth album in ten years from JOHNNY KOWALSKI AND THE SEXY WEIRDOS and the first with new fiddle player Katherine McWilliam. Seven original tracks with weird instrumentals rubbing up against references to anti-fascism and conversations with the undead!
We gave it a small mention last month but full details are now available for THE PLACKS upcoming 7″ vinyl single. Limited to only 300 copies and on red vinyl it’s available for pre-orderand features the songs ‘Rebellious Son’ and ‘The Bomb, The Bullet And The Gun’. Get it now as the pre-sale has gone fast.
South Yorkshire band SHANGHAI TREASON can do no wrong and their latest video is another masterpiece. Sooooo looking forward to seeing these Bhoys soon as the clampdowns over. ‘The North Shall Rise Again’ is dedicated to the music venues of the North of England and hopefully they’ll be some left to watch them in at the end of all this! Their debut release comes out in the next few days so keep a eye on these pages.
Aussies MEDUSA’S WAKE have some new material out soon and I can tell you now it’s very good and we are very excited to hear more. We will be interviewing their singer and writer the Premier county born Eddie on all things Aussie Irish very shortly.
With no festivals or concerts PADDY ROCK has put together an Online Celtic Feston 13th June 13th. No tickets, no commitments just eight hours of awesome Celtic music staring among others Bill-1916, Mike- Mickey Rickshaw, Sean- The Lucky Pistols and many more.
Scots born/Catalan based LOUIS RIVE has a excellent new single out called ‘Whitewashing‘ and we will be announcing a London Celtic Punks Live Stream with Louis soon! Just working on a date.
Our man in South Carolina T.C. COSTELLO has had a busy month. Two features on these pages for a single, ‘The Pandemic‘, and his forthcoming album The Bluebird and he released a new video for new song ‘Lord Randall’ as well. On top of that he played a very entertaining Live Stream for London Celtic Punks last week which is still available to view over on the London Celtic Punks Facebook page.
BRYAN McPHERSON spends his life on the road so holed up with his Mam and Dad in his hometown of Boston must be particularly tough on him. I’ve been loving his regular live streams and here’s one of the best ones. You can support Bryan by getting one his special limited edition Quarantine Time t-shirts and he also put out some Ramones themed tee’s too and on top of all that he also has a new single out, a cover of an old school Rancid song called ‘Olympia WA‘.
London Celtic Punks fave ANTO MORRA has no record to flog (but if you do like what you hear check out his last album Twenty) but he did put out this the other day and I loved it so here it is.
London Irish Punk Folker ANTOis keeping busy though and on Wednesday June 3rd is performing live on Facebook in the third in a short series of Live Streams of artists that we bloody love. Think Christy Moore meets Billy Bragg but more fun and a better singer! Join the FB event for up to date info and on the day see you at the London Celtic Punks FB page at 8pm for an hour of surprises!
This July CLOVER’S REVENGE were set to wing their way over from sunny Florida to play London and we were looking forward to sharing a few beers with them but well you know… Anyway to make up for it they are also performing a full band Live Stream on Tuesday 25th June which will be on the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. Check the FB events page for any further information.
The new album from French band CelKILT, The Next One Down, came out yesterday and will be reviewed here any day soon but in the meantime enjoy this excellent track from the album.
The Irish music scene in Serbia is extremely popular with the biggest being the amazing Irish Stew Of Sindidun and SCORDISCI are the latest to throw their hat into the ring. Celtic-Punk from Belgrade, Serbia formed early in 2014 they have just released a new single – ‘In a Year Or Two’.
Ambitious plans from Holland’s MAGGIE’S FLOCK. A single released on the 23rd of every month during 2020 and then at the end of the year all twelve songs will become the album Party At The Cemetery. Aprils’s song is ‘Drunken Train’ and earlier this year the singles ‘Battle Song‘, ‘Bored Beyond Death‘ and ‘Maggie Of The Moor‘ were also released. Since I wrote this they have already released another song so to to be kept in the loop like them on Facebook.
New ‘clampdown’ video from THE RUMPLED one of the best bands in what seems to be the hottest Celtic-Punk scene around at the moment over there in Italy. They also put out a video with Silvano from UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS last week too.
The clamor for a decent DROPKICK MURPHYS group on Facebook has been getting increasingly louder and its finally arrived so hightail it to the DROPKICK MURPHYS FAN PAGE and join up for all the best news, views and reminiscences on the DKM’s. If you missed their live stream on May 29th then it’s now uploaded to YouTube and is worth multiple views. The Springsteen songs are right at the end.
… and finally it doesn’t seem like it but it’s ten years since THE LAGAN set out on the rocky road. A pity they couldn’t celebrate it in style down at the sweatbox that is The Fighting Cocks but Brendan and Andy got together on Saturday 10th May and rattled off a handful of original Lagan songs and a few covers and it was terrific. If it’s still up get the beers in, settle down and UP THE FUCKING LAGAN!
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.
New single ‘Business As Usual’ by Catalonia-based Scottish singer Louis Rive tips its hat to hip-hop and cuts into the powers that be during the crisis with blistering lyrics that give voice to the anger of a generation.
When the powers-that-be looked at the ever-more distant European Union with its rising death tolls, unfamiliar looking police cars and panicked sound bites in languages that we don’t understand; they took a familiar and predictable line: It’s ‘business as usual’ here is the UK.
A few weeks later and we are reaping the seeds that we sowed, the leader who preached Blitz spirit, the importance of the economy and the certain loss of family members lies incapacitated by the virus. British spirit and stiff upper lips didn’t hold up against a pathogen that doesn’t discriminate between bank balance and social class. Still, the government’s negligence of our well being was evident and the damage had already been done. The message was clear; it’s better to be sick and working than to be poor and broke. Being ill has become preferable to being poor in a modern UK.
Louis Rive is no stranger to tackling social issues through music. His previous single ‘The State of the Nation’ pours scorn on the dual hypocrisy of both the Scottish and British governments in a post-Brexit UK. While such acerbic takes are unlikely to earn him a spot on breakfast radio, they remain more relevant than ever in a society which is currently under the microscope provided by the current crisis. This is what folk music was made for, protest and the highlighting of social issues. In a world where folk is often relegated to the immaculate dress code and unsubstantial lyrics that plague coffee shops and identikit bars, Louis’ fire puts more of the original punk attitude back into the genre.
It’s a loving tribute to the essential workers who are holding society together, and clear references to the shop workers and delivery workers who keep the nation fed and help those unable to leave their houses are interposed with the sense of powerlessness. At the same time visceral lyrics tear into the pillars of faceless capitalism, the stooges of ignorance and arrogance that have left the workers of this nation on their knees, frantically trying to keep it all together.
“Did you listen to the laughs, the cheers, the profiteers?
Bank balances embellished with an extra zero
You’re nothing but a number on a payslip given in the name of the minimum wage”
The corrupt ‘greased palms’ of politicians who put party donors before the folk that they are supposed to represent are joined by the convenient absence of organised religion in a time of crisis. Louis is unafraid of asking difficult questions, questions that deserve an immediate answer.
‘the money men, imitation Don Draper, sending out Deliveroo for toilet paper’
The bathroom with no window, mirror mirror on the wall
Who’s the fairest of them all, the undisputed belle of the ball?
Walking through the rain ‘cos the train’s on strike
But they had the gall, to label you ‘essential’
Against all common sense, now we sit on the fence
Waiting for someone just like me to take the fall
Did you think about the money men, imitation Don Draper?
Sending out Deliveroo for toilet paper
No contract means no consent about the wiping of a rich man’s arse
From ‘The Cheap Part of Town’ to this human zoo
A house made for seven that accommodates two
In splendid isolation, equality’s a farce
A murmur from the depths of hell grows louder every day
The economy is paralysed, the bill arrives and there no-one there to pay
We’ll remember next election who our friends are
Greased palms by example, champagne on standby
But in case you’ve forgotten the motto it’s never to late to be left at the bottom
When we hold all the cards
Did you listen to the laughs, the cheers, the profiteers
Bank balances embellished with an extra zero
You’re nothing but a number on a payslip given in the name of the minimum wage
The words of wisdom they spoke
Better to be sick and working than poor and broke
What’s the point in growing up? It’s time to act your age
Don’t turn to the clergy, don’t turn to organised religion
When the church door has been closed with lock and key
If you’re looking for solace in your fellow human
Now’s the time to drop the ten pound note for a shot of solidarity
Weights and measures, weekend pleasures, hidden treasures
It’s been too long
Interest rates mounting, advice from accounting, crying and shouting
It’s been too long
Too long, too long, far too long
Too long, too long, far too long
Did you imitate Cain and Abel to put food on the table
Starting at the grave and ending at the cradle
Stable living at the price of the thousands falling through the cracks
Paying off the jury, blood sweat and tears
Pound signs gleaming in the eyes of the overseers
Feeling the threat of the whip across your back
Nothing left to worry, nothing left to choose
Nothing, and when all’s said and done
Nothing left to lose
Rotten to the core, riven by disease
Learning how to walk again
From a life lived on my knees
Too long, too long, far too long
Too long, too long, far too long
There are plenty of traditional influences from his native Scotland in this, you can hear the bitterness of Dick Gaughan and the humour of Matt McGinn, but there is another edge evident in the single. Drawing from new influences in the world of hip-hop, Glasgow’s Darren McGarvey aka Loki, Belfast’s Jon Tsu and London’s Akala, Louis’ lyrics and musical delivery take on a new machine gun like delivery, dropping the buck squarely at the door of those who have left us in a situation that has brought to light the inherent inequality in the UK more than anything in this generation’s memory.
(Stream from Bandcamp. Business As Usual is available as a ‘Name Your Price’ download)
Brand new single from one of our favourite artists the Catalonian based Scots singer-songwriter Louis Rive. Together ‘The State Of The Nation’ with the B-side ‘In The Shadows Of Big Ben’, takes a critical look at the double standards of living in Great Britain in an age defined by Brexit.
Scottish singer-songwriter, based in Barcelona, Louis draws on all aspects of folk music from the traditional ballads of the barroom to the modern day tale-tellers and poets. Influenced by The Pogues, Hamish Imlach, Matt McGinn and The Corries, to name but a few, Louis has set out to continue the grand tradition of the storytelling musician. His debut album, The Cheap Part Of Town, featured herelast year and even went as far as #2 in our Top Ten Folk And Trad releases of 2018. The album was a truly wonderful and original half hour plus in the company of a singer-songwriter that deserves to more widely heard. Telling tales of working class life in folk music is not unusual but what is unusual is for them to be told with such passion and feeling and the taste and smell of authenticity that fills your senses with the legends of Louis life across Europe.
“Folk music is storytelling. Storytelling is poetry. Poetry is songwriting when you can’t play the guitar. Collecting stories of people and places and putting them into song is what I do. I’ve met every type of person there is to meet, especially through my work over the last decade. These are their stories, the stories of the street.”
The new single is available across all digital platforms and ‘The State Of The Nation’ aims to capture one of modern life’s most mysterious of traits, that of being Scottish in the modern day, and what relevance, if any, that moniker has any more. It’s nostalgic in a pointless way, and fairly lacking in optimism, so at least analogous with the general experience of being from north of the border.
The ‘State of the Nation’ is about the UK. It’s about being Scottish and it’s about living in Europe during a time of uncertainty. It may not be feel-good, but it might make you think, something that’s been fairly absent in the UK of late, in the wake of the great Brexit divide. In the wake of his critically acclaimed debut album and fresh from a summer of festival appearances across the UK, including Black Deer Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe, Louis’ new single provides a soundtrack to a land at odds with itself.
THE STATE OF THE NATION
Two-hundred years being wrapped snug in tartan
Made to sing ‘God Save the Queen’
Your forefathers say ‘Be a proud son of Scotland’
But in this day and age what do they mean?
We’re all rebels and princes, fighters and lovers
Feeling on top of the world
Oh the few who will feature on the pages of schoolbooks
And the many who’ll never be heard
We’re solving the mystery without any proof
Oh enough of your lies, won’t you tell me the truth?
Are we up to our necks in the blood of old Jock Thompson’s bairns?
All the sugar, tobacco, cotton, molasses
Looking at history through rose tinted glasses
Nemo me impune lacessit, and other such joys
Be you Scottish or British or English or Irish
Tick the box for your colour or creed
Cultural appropriation on a packet of biscuits is the only real reference I need
From Ossian’s diaries to the Highland Societies
Inclusion behind padlocked doors
But the word ‘Caledonian’ was coined by the Romans
Just to mark out the mad bastards up north
Is it ‘yes’ is it ‘no’, is it getting beaten 3-0 at home?
Is it a pregnant teenager at the end of a phone?
But she hasn’t the time to read ‘Rob Roy’ nor ‘Ivanhoe’
Nothing to do so go out for a pint eh?
The blue-blooded bowler hats shout 1690 Next generation take heed and sharpen their swords
All suited and booted all dressed to the nines
In a Royal Stewart kilt from some factory line
‘Made in China’ hiding away under a plastic cockade Is it brains over brawn?
Is it link over lorne? Is it choosing the right football team?
The echoed frustrations in a half-empty Hampden With Gemmill, Dalgleish and Gordon McQueen
How do you feel about god or the devil? The ‘Flowers of the Forest’ for sale?
The young ones will pays for their parents’ transgressions
While the old ones rehash the old tales
Night by 15:30, cold mince and tatties
A wink to the lads and a toast to the lassies
A night at ‘Her Majesty’s Pleasure’ to round it all off
The blue and the white on a sky of slate grey
The grovelling politicos with nothing to say
But it’s hard getting by given neither the time nor the day
Hey for ‘Bobbin’ John’, hey for cockolorum
Tha tighin fodham, fodham, fodham
Oh well you take the high road and I’ll take the low
The ‘Skyscraper Wean’s’ got nowhere to go
Now the blue paint’s all smudged on the face
Of the star of the show
(you can stream/download State Of The Nation below for just £2)
Well it seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in Mannions in north London totting up the votes for the Best Album Of 2017 over a couple of pints and so here we are again. Everyone loves to give out there opinions and we are no different so for what it’s worth, here’s who we think made the best music in the celtic-punk scene over the last year. 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. 2017 saw just about every major player in the scene release an album while in 2018 they left it to many of the lesser known bands to dominate! 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. As a bonus we figured out how to attach a poll at the end so you can even vote on your favourite release of 2018 yourself. If it’s not listed then simply add your choice.
We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…
So absolutely no surprises here at all. In fact The Rumjacks have pretty much swept the board across the Celtic-Punk scene with what we even thought was their best release since their groundbreaking debut album Gangs Of New Holland. The Bhoys are going from strength to strength and are set to go through the roof in 2019. They remain as humble as ever and downright lovely folk to know which reminds me, congrats from us all here to Frankie and LCP’er Anna on their engagement. Other notables were Sir Reg who even flew over to London to premier their new album The Underdogs before later returning to embark on a successful nationwide tour… while I was on holiday! London-Irish band Clan Of Celts, despite a few teething problems, delivered a fantastic debut album as well as, my personal favourite of the year, Belgium’s Krakin’ Kellys. A dual release of an album and a EP on the same day is a novel approach but it paid dividends for Lexington Field as they were both brilliant. Sinful Maggie have just been getting bigger and bigger all year and we expect this to continue into 2019. Three albums from the Celtic nations with two from Galicia from Falperrys and Bastards On Parade and Cornwall’s Pirate Copy. All together we have bands from twelve countries with Germany with the most placings alongside Australia, USA, England, Belgium, Sweden, Hungary, Canada, Italy, Galicia, Cornwall and Japan.
I was not the only one at London Celtic Punks Towers to be abso-fecking-lutely blown away by the Krakin’ Kellys debut album. Fast and melodic skater style punk rock with bagpipes that will blow the cobwebs away off off anyone! They made quite a wave in the scene thanks to their brilliant videos so go check them outhere. This section was the easiest one to award by far!
MOSCHE DI VELLUTO GRIGIO- Of Pain And Glory hereand RAISE MY KILT- A New Tartan here
At one point this was heading towards being an Australian #1, #2 and #3 but at the last minute our local favourites The Lagan released Let’s Do It Again at the end of December and wrestled it away from Medusa’s Wake. Their first studio release in a hell of a long time it came out too late to trouble many of our friends ‘Best Of’ lists but their loss is our gain! Besides them and our Aussie friends the list was made up from bands from the USA, Holland, Italy and Austria which goes to show the international nature of the scene. As an aside you can get the brilliant bagpipe punk debut EP from Scotch for free by following the link to their review. For lovers of the McKenzies you’ll not be disappointed!
bubbling under: THE BRANDY THIEVES- The Devil’s Wine here
Always the hardest to do this section as our scope has become fairly wide over the years and gone beyond Celtic-Punk but Irish-American’s Marys Lane managed at once to be a record both me and my Mammy love! Even better the Cleveland based band have made it available to download for free/donation so follow the link above. Scot Louis Rive’s debut album really impressed me and was one of my most played albums of the year and The Craicheads capped a great year with a fantastic single and their lead singer Mick making the papers and the telly for saving a Mum and her babies lives (here). Good on yer Mick. It’s a privilege to know you. More local talent at #4 which ended a year where Man The Lifeboats have gone from first band on to headline shows and a mention for the amazing Finbar Furey who put a most excellent LP at the tender age of only 72.
MERSEY CELT PUNKS
We may be a wee bit biased here but last years winners take it again this year too. 2018 saw them continue to develop the site into an all-round resource for Liverpudlians and further afield. Yeah these guys are always blowing our trumpet we know and we have shared a good few scoops with them, and will again not long after this is published, but we enjoy what they write and it’s all done with an enthusiasm that us auld hacks are constantly jealous of. Plus you are not a major player in the Celtic-Punk scene unless you had your picture took with Elliot! You can also join in their fun and games on their Twitterand Facebookand their Web-Zine. Be sure to subscribe.
So there you go. Remember we don’t pretend to be the final word on things in fact if you check the other celtic-punk media I’m sure we’ve all come up with relatively different lists. Our Best Of’s are cajoled and bullied out of the admins from the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. The assorted scraps of paper and beer mats were then tallied up please remember not all of us heard the same albums so like all the various Best Of’s ours is also subjective.
This is our 6th 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.
The debut album from Louis Rive a Scottish singer-songwriter drawing on all aspects of folk music from traditional to barroom ballad to modern day tale-tellers and poets. Influenced by The Pogues, Hamish Imlach, Michael Marra and The Corries Louis has set out to continue the grand tradition of the Celtic storytelling musician.
Funny sometimes the circumstances you first hear a new song or a new album. In the case of the new Louis Rive album I was trying to get to sleep one night but had such a pain in my knee I could not drop off so having the next day off work I got up in the middle of the night and went downstairs. The Cheap Part Of Town had been in my huge to-listen pile for a couple of weeks so on a whim I thought I’d give it a whirl and see what it was like. Well initially I thought it was the combination of a couple of beers and a handful of strong painkillers but I ended sitting up till the early hours with the the album on repeat so much did I love it!
The Cheap Part Of Town is just Louis on his own. Nothing else just him and his acoustic guitar. Plenty of thrills but no gimmicks, except for a wee bit of fiddle. Just straight up acoustic folk with tales of Louis life tacked onto it. Born in the Edinburgh you won’t see on the postcards in the centre of the city or on programmes about the Festival he later had the same ‘rite of passage’ as many Scots of his, and indeed many previous, generation and moved to London. It was in London he garnered many of the ideas of the songs on the album but three years grafting shitty odd jobs in London was three years too many and he fled to Spain where after two years getting pissed and stoned in a village in Andalusia before a cheap flight took him to Barcelona, basically because of a cheap flight. Not wanting to go back to that existence of badly paid jobs purely to cover the rent he decided to concentrate on his music and with a wealth of stories from the shiteholes he has lived and the interesting folk that he has met he began to put these stories to music. As Louis himself says
“Folk music is storytelling. Storytelling is poetry. Poetry is songwriting when you can’t play the guitar.”
The Cheap Part Of Town begins with ‘Francis Drake’s Last Trip’ and after all my talk about the album being full of his life experiences this I doubt does. The tale of Sir Francis Drake famed English sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer and explorer of the Elizabethan era and his adventures fighting the Spanish whilst attempting to capture gold and silver and bring it home to London. Drake died of dysentery in January 1596 and while he is celebrated here he has always been labelled a pirate in Spanish quarters.
As stated their are no gimmicks just Louis and on this evidence he doesn’t need any. Blessed with a strong voice and a ear for a catchy tune as well as a way to tell an interesting story all wrapped up in just over four minutes. He follows this with ‘Streetlights Of London’ and the story of the N19 bus which use to take Louis from the working class Highbury Estate to the graveyard shift in posh hotels in the centre of London. The song tells of the life on that bus from cleaners in the morning to drunks in the evening with all of society’s excess and necessity reflected on the top deck of an out-of-hours mode of transport. The song is played faster than ‘Francis Drake’s Last Trip’ and still carries on the theme of catchy, tuneful and interesting story telling that flows throughout the album.
“Running through the underground
with a carrier bag of sin
Constabulary absence opportune moment for another tin
The carriage was dark but there’s nobody there”
Another fascinating character in Louis life was the subject of the next track ‘Cider Al’. Drinking in the The King’s Arms, Tollcross back home in Edinburgh the karaoke gave you a free shot of shit whiskey for entering so all the local pissheads would come down and do a song and get free booze.
One such fella was Cider Al who always sang the same song ‘Common People’ by Pulp. In life you come across these people who come and go in your life.
“We heard Pulp’s ‘Common People’ for the seventh time
You stumbled through the lyrics as you spilt your wine
And we all laughed and joked and said that you’d be fine,
we were wrong”
I am getting sick of using the word ‘Catchy’ but there yo go there’s no better word for what I’m listening to. A loving tribute but also a sad one. The sad songs pile up now with ‘Mulberry Mews’ up next and the stories of childhood and growing up, buying drink and fags, the boredom of the high street, visiting his great-aunt in an old people’s home and that you can never get away from where you came from.
“Oh mister barman pour me another
I know the night is drawing near
They’ll carry her body down to the churchyard,
Sunday morning
Where there’ll be no-one to shed a tear”
A bleak tale about a neighbourhood of Edinburgh that doesn’t exist. next up Louis writes about Hospitalet de Llobregat, a satellite town now merged into Greater Barcelona, in the title track ‘The Cheap Part Of Town’. The forgotten part of Barcelona and the song speaks about all the folk on the street, the gypsies, drunks and prostitutes. It was a tough area with a incredibly rich array of characters but these places are always more interesting than the rich part of town, which is why the rich always want to live there but without the threat and danger. Give it a couple of years and I’m sure the yuppies will have turned Hospitalet de Llobregat into just another bland suburb. Gerry Denis adds some reserved fiddle here that fits just in. All the songs here are varied and original and from ballad to foot stomper’s like ‘House Of God’ and ‘Lowlife’ great tunes abound with great hooks. Every song tells a story. The failings of the church towards the poor or the awful memories of a life in service that a soldier attempts to block through drink. While the rite of passage for recent Scots was a journey down South to Kings Cross in times past it was Americas that the Scots went. Large-scale emigration began in the 1700’s, after the defeat of the Jacobite rising and the resulting breakup of Highland Clearances (the Scottish An Gorta Mór). Displaced Scots left in search of a better life and settled initially around South Carolina and Virginia and then further in successive generations. ‘Take Me To Virginia’ tells of one of these Scots working his hands to the very bone but refusing to give up on the land he works.
“They took me to Virginia
Four and twenty years ago today
I’m still working the land
Blood and stones with both my hands, Virginia”
The idea that there’s always something better over the horizon is something I can relate to. Being half Scottish and having left the frozen north back in 1990 I can testify the sight as you got off the train at Kings Cross back then would be enough to make you turn tale and head back to comfort of your Mammy’s bosom. The curtain comes down with the album highlight the beautiful ‘Alone’ and here Louis brings together all the strands of the previous songs and as with all the songs presented here it offers you the chance to enjoy the music wash over you as well as to listen to the words and dissect them.
A truly wonderful and original half hour plus in the company of a singer-songwriter that deserves to more widely heard. To tell tales of working class life in folk music is not unusual but what is unusual is for them to be told with such passion and feeling and the taste and smell of authenticity that fills your senses with the legends of Louis life across Europe. Louis has a grand future ahead of him and on listening to The Cheap Part Of The Town I want to come with him.
(have a free listen to The Cheap Part Of Town before you buy on the Bandcamp player below. It’s only a fiver so support independent artists and get your wallets out!)
Well we have been blown away by the response to the new London Celtic Punk badge. Not surprising really as they are so bloomin’ gorgeous. 
1. THE LAGAN- Let’s Do It Again
1. MARYS LANE- Wild Unknown 
The forgotten part of Barcelona and the song speaks about all the folk on the street, the gypsies, drunks and prostitutes. It was a tough area with a incredibly rich array of characters but these places are always more interesting than the rich part of town, which is why the rich always want to live there but without the threat and danger. Give it a couple of years and I’m sure the yuppies will have turned Hospitalet de Llobregat into just another bland suburb. Gerry Denis adds some reserved fiddle here that fits just in. All the songs here are varied and original and from ballad to foot stomper’s like ‘House Of God’ and ‘Lowlife’ great tunes abound with great hooks. Every song tells a story. The failings of the church towards the poor or the awful memories of a life in service that a soldier attempts to block through drink. While the rite of passage for recent Scots was a journey down South to Kings Cross in times past it was Americas that the Scots went. Large-scale emigration began in the 1700’s, after the defeat of the Jacobite rising and the resulting breakup of Highland Clearances (the Scottish An Gorta Mór). Displaced Scots left in search of a better life and settled initially around South Carolina and Virginia and then further in successive generations. ‘Take Me To Virginia’ tells of one of these Scots working his hands to the very bone but refusing to give up on the land he works.
Andy the Celtic Punk Author
celticpunkcast
classicalbumreviewer
essexmarv
gtmellon
kevingrooney
The Don
shaneoneill1888
Stephen Francis Bourke
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londoncelticpunks.wordpress.com 
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