CELTIC CELTIC-PUNK. BLACK FRIDAY LIVE IN CORNWALL FEBRUARY 13th 2016

Traditional celtic punk for a real shanty knees up!

Straight out of Kernow and heading our way to London real soon here’s a review of a recent Black Friday gig to wet your whistles for the real thing. A high energy Celtic folk band from St Germans in Cornwall. They play a fine mix of original songs, traditional Irish jigs, reels and ballads and a few cover’s thrown in by bands such as the Pogues, Flogging Molly and the Mahones. 

They have toured all over England and Europe including a variety of venues and festivals such as The Maker Festival, The Port Eliot Lit Fest, The Electric Picnic in Ireland, The Plymouth Folk Festival, Calstock Biker Festival, Burnham-on-Sea Folk Festival and Wimbourne Folk Festival as well as a tour of Austria, which including playing at the worlds largest festival, the Donauinsel Fest. After playing at the reknowned Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues Club in London they were spotted by top Radio DJ, Marc Lamarr, who invited them to record a 6 song session at the famous Maida Vale studio in London for his show. Whilst they were there, they played for and met their hero and Pogues singer, Shane MacGowan. In 2015 the band got into the Guinness Book of Records for performing the most gigs in one day, 30 gigs in 12 hours!

Live at The Inn On The Shore, Downderry, Cornwall

OK, full disclosure here, I was really in attendance at this gig to help a good friend celebrate a significant birthday in my local but, by happy accident, this coincided with the chance to see one of the most highly respected bands currently working the circuit in Cornwall. Black Friday ply their trade in the realms of celtic folk but there is so, so much more to them than that. With all seven members squeezed in to one corner of the pub, the group set about winding up the atmosphere slowly, raising the temperature and creating an atmosphere. Original compositions mixed in amongst classics like ‘Dirty Old Town’ and ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ without missing a beat, showing the quality of the band’s rendition of these classic songs.

It is, however, in the live arena that this collective excels and, even in a tiny space, they can’t help but perform like the natural entertainers they are. From the lowest slung Banjo I’ve ever seen to some seriously fierce Mandolin work, Black Friday an absolute joy to watch if you can manage to take it all in.

The folk ethos is up front for everyone to see but then you’ve got elements of Blues, Country, Rock’n’Roll and, when that wah-wah pedal kicks in, things get a little funky as well. I’ll admit that alcohol and socialising deflected my full attention but I’ll definitely be checking these guys out again. On first impressions, if you want a band to turn up, play fiercely uplifting music that will get the place jumping and have any audience eating out of the palm of their hands then Black Friday are the guys and girls for you, make no mistake.

Review by LISTEN WITH MONGER

check out their blog here

Black Friday make a rare foray into enemy territory and play a gig in good old London town soon in the run up to St Patrick’s Day. Performing at the infamous ‘Gaz’s Rockin Blues’ club at the St. Moritz, 159 Wardour Street, Soho, London W1 (nearest tube Tottenham Court Road). An amazing club run by Gaz Mayall from the legendary celtic-ska band The Trojans who has been running this night every Thursday for the past 30 years. So as you can see it’s not to be missed and you can check out what’s happening at the Facebook event page here. One thing though the gig doesn’t start till 10pm so might be worth throwing a sickie and enjoying a long weekend!

Contact Black Friday

WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  Soundcloud

for an excellent resource on Cornwall go check out ‘An Omsav- The Cornish Republican’ here

“It’s not that Cornwall became part of England, it’s just that the English forgot Cornwall was not part of their country”

LIVE REVIEW: THE POGUE TRADERS at The Water Rats 13th December 20015

Reviewed by Heather Hoy

It was on the 4th October 1982 that The Pogues played their first ever gig at The Pindar of Wakefield on London’s Gray’s Inn Road.

Back then, they could never have imagined the impact their music would have on the world around them or how people’s lives would be changed as they introduced the audience to a slightly different style of Irish Music, Celtic Punk.

 Over thirty years later, on Sunday 13th December 2015, The Pindar of Wakefield, which is now called The Water Rats, recreated that historic day and welcomed The Pogue Trader’s. The band are described as ‘the UK’s number one Pogues tribute act’ by Pogues drummer Andrew Ranken and were playing their first gig at the venue that night.

Comrade X

There were two support acts on the bill, Comrade X and Anto Morra, both guitarist singers who played sets of just over half an hour each.  Both were entertaining and energetic and treated anyone who turned up early to a lively versions of a range of folk and punk songs.

 

 As 9.30pm approached, the room filled up and the atmosphere was electric as The Pogue Trader’s took to the stage. They started the show with ‘Streams of Whiskey’, from The Pogues first album, Red Roses For Me, which The Pogues have usually started their own sets with since they reunited in 2001.

The Pogue Traders

This was followed by a wide range of Pogues classics, ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, ‘Sally MacLennane’, ‘Dirty Old Town’, ‘Fiesta’, ‘Transmetropolitan’, ‘Poor Paddy on The Railway’, ‘The Irish Rover’, ‘Waxie’s Dargle’ and the classic ‘Fairytale of New York’ were amongst the many highlights and they even did an excellent rendition of ‘Johnny Come Lately’, a Steve Earle number for which The Pogues provided the backing.  The show was about an hour and a half long and The Pogue Trader’s, sounding every bit like the real Pogues, gave it their all even though there was not much room on stage for dancing. From start to finish, the crowd sang along and danced just the same as they would had they have if they had been watching the originals. By the end of the night, the bar was almost drunk dry and there were a lot of people who left The Water Rats in high spirits happy to have been part of this momentous occasion.

The Pogue Traders are without doubt, one of the finest Pogues tribute bands around and their sound is so close to the original band that sometimes it is hard to differentiate between them, which is what a tribute band should be about.

Unlike some of the other tribute bands around, they seem to have the ability to balance correct style, choice of instruments and musicians which is a formula that works well.

• thanks to Heather for the review. She does an excellent blog on The Pogues here called Pogues Fan 4 Eva so go and check it out.

The Pogue Traders

are available for the proverbial weddings, christenings and bar mitzvah’s so give them a knock if you want them to come play for you.

Facebook  WebSite  Soundcloud

and here for Comrade X and here for Anto Morra

for me though there is no bigger or better band in celtic-punk than The Pogues so here’s this here

The Best Pogues Related Sites

In The Wake Of The Medusa * Paddy Rolling Stone * The Parting Glass * Pogues Facebook Page

For me though the best place on the internet for The Pogues is this unofficial group on Facebook (here) all the diverse views you would expect from a bunch of people who follow The Pogues. Be sure and join up won’t you?

photos by Nessa and Comrade X

PREPARE YOUR LIVERS FOR THE WORSE LONDON! COMING SOON…

Sorry if you don’t live in London but if you do you lucky souls are in for a cracking weekend from December 11th to the 13th!

FRIDAY 11th DECEMBER 2015

IRISH MUSIC FOR PALESTINE
BENEFIT CONCERT FOR ‘VOICE OF GAZA’
We are proud to announce a benefit gig in aid of the Palestinian charity ‘Voices For Gaza’
We have lined up some of the best Irish acts around for you with the marvellous BIBLE CODE SUNDAYS set to headline. They are simply the best band in the Irish scene in London.Best described as “The Clash on Irish steroids”. NECK are the original celtic-punk band. Taking The Pogues and The Clash and The Dubliners as a starting point they invented their own genre ‘Psycho-Ceilidh’ and have toured the world spreading the London Irish message to the masses and ANTO MORRA a singer-songwriter of great standing. Anto (real name Anthony Morrissey) was raised in London by Irish parents, and this background provides a theme that runs throughout his fantastic music. Three fantastic acts representing the London Irish community and Neck and The Bible Codes haven’t taken the stage together since the days of The Galtymore so you’rein for a rare treat.
Tickets are £10 in advance with no extra fees. All money going to ‘Voices For Gaza’. Get your ticket from here. Official Facebook event here.
The gig is being held at Hennesseys Bar, 399 Northolt Road, South Harrow, HA2 8JE. Nearest tube is South Harrow on the Picadilly line so come out of the train station and turn left and walk approx 500 metres.
Buses galore but 140, 487, 258 stop directly outside the bar. Live music is from 7-30pm till 11-15pm and last tube is around 11-45pm so people can get back to central London.
…but for those that stay our special guest DJ MR GREENFORD BHOY will be spinning the best in Irish rebel folk rock and more till the early hours.

Voice Of Gaza (VOG) project, is helping young Gazan female students to overcome trauma through writing about their experiences. They will participate in a 2 year programme learning all aspects of English, so their voices can reach out into the world. VOG has no tuition fees, to enable any student access to the project. Abedalrahman Elderawi has established an Educational Non-Profit Center in Gaza. This programme will give these young people:
The tools they need to become more effective writers and speakers
The platform to help their expressions reach the larger world
Build their character as future leaders able to speak eloquently for the Palestinian people
Enhancing their spiritual side through music and arts, while also helping them cope with the trauma of war and occupation.
Voice Of Gaza Facebook page here.
If you can’t make the gig feel free to still buy a ticket to support the great work ‘Voice Of Gaza’ are doing or go to the Go Fund Me page here and leave a donation.

SUNDAY 13TH DECEMBER 2015

THE LONDON CELTIC PUNKS /URBANKELT CHRISTMAS PISSUP BASH

On October 4th back in 1982 something happened that would forever change peoples lives and perceptions. A band called THE POGUES took the stage in an iconic old venue in Kings Cross and the rest as they say is history!
with THE POGUES run of yearly Christmas shows seemingly ended we know you all miss a good auld Pogues yuletide pissup so hows about the UK’s Number One Pogues tribute band THE POGUE TRADERS live at the very venue that The Pogues actually had their first ever gig!
And its not just a marketing ploy to describe them as the UK’s best Pogues tribute band – that’s what The Pogues own drummer Andrew Ranken said about THE POGUE TRADERS ably supported by COMRADE X one man whirlwind of numerous influences and traditions best described as “Woody Guthrie meets Oi!”. One geezer, one guitar, three chords and the truth. ANTO MORRA is back again. A singer-songwriter of great standing. Anto (real name Anthony Morrissey) was raised in London by Irish parents, and this background provides a theme that runs throughout his music. In the best tradition Luke Kelly, Brendan Behan and Shane himself.
and all at the historic music venue The Water Rats at 328 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8BZ. Situated just a couple of minutes walk from Kings Cross station so perfect for loads of rail and tube links and with the music set to finish around 11-30pm you will be able to get back to anywhere in London or further afield.
The bar will stay open a little longer and we will have MR GREENFORD BHOY dj’ing all your favourite celtic-punk, Irish, Punk and rebel tunes until we are shown the door.
Admission is only a fiver so you’ll already be saving £30 on the real band! Tickets are available from here. Official Facebook event here.

So prepare your livers… and your wallets and see you there!

P.S we will have the new London Celtic Punks t-shirts (and Badges) available so bring plenty of cash wont you. They will make great Christmas presents.

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS OUR BEST OF 2014!

TOP TWENTY CELTIC PUNK ALBUMS OF 2014

Last year our ‘Best Of’ list was completely dominated by bands from these shores but this time there’s a much more international flavour to 2014’s Best Album’s list. Again Irish influenced bands dominate but the absolute standout album for me was without a doubt Uncle Bard And The Dirty Bastards from Italy who nailed their fusion of punk rock and traditional music completely. With their own roots and influences included along with some amazing uilleann piping they are deserved winners of the Best Album spot. Kitchen Implosion join them in what has been a great year for Italian bands. Sure not all of these twenty bands are celtic-punk in the dictionary definition of the phrase but sod that anyway. These are what we liked and they all fit in in some way. Twenty bands from thirteen countries (Italy, England, Sweden, Brittany, Canada, Ireland, USA, Australia, Brazil, Catalonia, Germany, Switzerland and Belguim) which only goes to show the international appeal of the celtic-punk scene these days. A special mention for London Irish band Creeds Cross superb debut album. Only just caught them live and they were awesome so hoping to see much more of them around town in 2015.

As ever we have reviewed some, though not all of these albums, so click (here) after the title and you will be re-directed to our review.

We compiled the ‘Best Of’ lists together from the scraps of paper handed to me by the various admins from the London Celtic Punks facebook page.

1. UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS- ‘Get The Folk Out!’ (here)

2. CREEDS CROSS- ‘Gods And Fighting Men (here)

3. ROVERS AHEAD- Always The Sinner, Never The Saint (here)

4. LES RAMONEURS DE MENHIRS- Tan Ar Bobl (here)

5. THE MAHONES- The Hunger And The Fight

6. BLOOD OR WHISKEY- Tell The Truth And Shame The Devil (here)

7. THE ROUGHNECK RIOT- Out Of Anger

8. BASTARD BEARDED IRISHMEN- Rise Of The Bastard (here)

9. JAY WARS- Carry Me Home (here)

10. THE RAMSHACKLE ARMY- Letters from the Road Less Travelled

11. 6’10- The Humble Beginnings Of A Rovin’ Soul (here)

12. LUGH- Quando Os Canecos Batem (here)

13. SIGELPA- TerraMorte (here)

14. KITCHEN IMPLOSION- Pretty Work Brave Boys! (here)

15. THE KILKENNY KNIGHTS- Bradys Pub Tales (here)

16. BEYOND THE FIELDS- The Falcon Lives (here)

17. THE YOUNG DUBLINERS- ‘Nine (here)

18. KELTIKON- Agenbite Of Inwit (here)

19. FM 359- Truth, Love And Liberty (here)

20. THE BLACK TARTAN CLAN – Scotland in Our Hearts

a special special mention for three absolutely brilliant compilation albums too. Can’t really include them in the Best of charts so heres all three in no particular order at all as they are all 11 out of 10!

a class album with 4 songs per band and an absolutely beautifully put together record. THE PORTERS/ THE JUDAS BUNCH/ THE MAHONES/ MALASANERS 4-WAY SPLIT DOUBLE ALBUM- ‘Welcome To The Folk Punk Show’ (2014)  here

a mostly Russian compilation paying tribute to all (lets just face it they are!) our favourite celtic-punk band- ‘Ex-USSR Tribute To The Dropkick Murphys’ (2014)  here

this ought to be the number one album of the year to be honest. a fecking amazing compilation of Indonesian celtic-punk bands.the quality is amazing throughout.absolutely stunning. I cannot recommend enough!! ‘Wind From The Foreign Land- Indonesian Celtic-Punk Compilation’ (2014)  here

TOP FIVE CELTIC PUNK EP’S OF 2015

No question which EP deserved this and Russia’s Middle Class Bastards just blasted us away with their follow up to their 2013 album. Superb use of bagpipes and brass instruments combined with fast but tuneful punk rock. A bit unfortunate for Black Water County who looked nailed on to win this for most of the year with their fantastic 2nd EP. The Breton band The Maggie Whackers released their EP back at the start of the year while The South Sea Ramblers from South Africa literally released theirs just a couple of weeks ago while LQR from Holland slipped theirs out in time for St Patricks Day… ooh err missus! So spread out across the year but these are the ones that left their mark. Looking forward to hearing more from them all and long players must be arriving soon I hope.

1. MIDDLE CLASS BASTARD- Rebel To The Core (here)

2. BLACK WATER COUNTY- Fellowship Of the Craic (here)

3. THE MAGGIE WHACKERS- Naoned Whisky (here)

4. LQR- A Touch Of Liquor (here)

5. SOUTH SHORE RAMBLERS- Bare Knuckle Blackout

TOP FIVE TRAD ALBUMS OF 2014

As the blog is for (mostly) celtic punk so it is that we only review stuff that isn’t celtic punk if we really really (really!!) like it. All these rocked our boat and we loved them all to bits. Hard to decide which order they should go in but this is how we ended up. Turned out to be an all Irish list with I DRAW SLOW from Dublin with beautiful alternative country sounds and both Cork’s THE BUACHAILLS and London’s THE CRAICHEADS going head to head with both bands playing similar styles of music while Irish-American supergroup THE ALT’s debut album was a worthy runner-up to fellow Irish-Americans RUNA’s brillliant fourth album.

1. RUNA- Current Affairs (here)

2. THE ALT- ‘The Alt (here)

3. THE CRAICHEADS- Brewed in London (here) 

3. THE BUACHAILLS- At Your Call (here)

5. I DRAW SLOW- ‘WhiteWave Chapel (here)

BEST CELTIC PUNK WEB-SITE OF 2014

once again there is no question who gets this

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

(find it here)

 keeping the whole wide world up to date with what’s going on and who is doing who within celtic punk (and more!) while also supplying us with regular free downloads and free compilations. Waldo you’re great. Keep it up mate!

BEST GIGS

Apart from the ones we put on which were all amazing and showcased some amazing performances from JAY WARS and THE DEAD MAGGIES from Aus, THE GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS from Norway, a couple of benefit gigs for Mad Dog out The Popes (hope youre back on your guitar highkicking soon pal!), BLACK WATER COUNTY played their London debut and went down a fecking storm, me O’s mates STEVE WHITE AND THE PROTEST FAMILY were as superb as ever and released a fantastic album. One of the major highlights was discovering the quintessential London Celtic Punk in ANTO MORRA and we look forward to working with him again in the future. We teamed up with fellow Londoners of Urbankelt and will be doing so again too.

I also saw DAVID ROVICS for the first time, THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG’s amazing 30th anniversary show was incredible, NECK and their sadly ended residency at TChances which had us all pissed on Polish lager on Sunday afternoons for the first 6 months of the year, FLOGGING MOLLY in Reading in June which showed they havent lost a thing and are as great as ever, THE POGUE TRADERS were the best Pogues tribute band I ever seen. Disappointing was missing so many gigs where I just didnt have the cash especially The Pogues various outings. THE STANFIELDS from Canada seemed like a decent bunch of lads but their London gig was a total rip-off. The pre-gig ticket price was £7-50 which more than doubled to £15 on the door on the night. Oi bands watch out for charlaten promoters won’t you? Rebellion music fest brings loads of decent bands over to play but that means that they all end up playing in the same week so I had to forgo THE GO-SET’s return to London. Missed out on THE WOLFE TONES London gigs too due to work. All three of them! THE LAGAN have been brilliant. Far far too many of their gigs to go into detail so we have choosen the whole of St Patricks Weekend as our Number One! With NECK playing three gigs over the weekend and both THE BIBLE CODE SUNDAYS and THE LAGAN playing on the same day as well it seen a clean sweep of all the London bands done. Afterwards sick days were phoned in, headache pills were taken and the best St Patricks in donkeys was had.

Now were just looking forward to catching THE DROPKICK MURPHYS ‘Celtic Invasion ‘ Tour in Dublin and London this year round St Patricks Day.

Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- 2015

 

Of course all these things are very subjective so don’t be dismayed if your album ain’t here. What appeals to one don’t neccessarily appeal to another. It would be impossible to keep up with the multitude of celtic-punk related releases so these are the best of of what we actually did get to hear. All the various sites in the celtic-punk family had different winners so to see what they thought check out the Best Of lists of the following sites…

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

IRISH PUNK

PADDYROCK/GRINNNING BEGGAR

MacSLONS IRISH PUB RADIO

click on the blog logo at the top of the page to find more of this kind of stuff…