Tag Archives: The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats

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

Australia, Odds'n'Sods November 1, 2021 Leave a comment

Summer is over. Was it ever really here? Anyway it’s hard to get seriously Rock’n’Roll in the sunlight so time for dark nights and mischief and also for this months London Celtic Punks round-up of all the band news, record releases and videos from bands big and small from across the Celtic-Punk scene.

They only just missed last months Odds’n’Sods so pride of place to French Celtic-Punk band TOXIC FROGS. Officially the Celtic-Punk-Rock Chicks band!! The new video for ‘Bestie Life’ taken from My Lucky Own EP released earlier this year.

THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS celebrate their tenth anniversary with In Strange Waters and reaching the highly impressive target of 100,000 subscribers on You Tube. A greatest hits album with their favourite songs adapted into Pop, Metal, Ska and even Barbershop! In case you missed we were lucky to have Anto Morra review it on its release.

Nebraskan band THE KILLIGANS recently announced on their Facebook page a grand album give away!! All you need to do to receive a free download code for their album Dance On Your Grave is to send them a personal message on their Facebook page. The album made the 2018 Celtic-Punk Top Twenty and our review of the album can be found here. The Bhoys are busy working on a new album, with 3 songs already recorded. Expect a video for the first single sometime around Christmas.

A new mix, courtesy of ChuckRD, of the superb Christmas track ‘It’s In These Times’ from the sadly missed now defunct Irish/ Danish Celtic-Punkers ROVERS AHEAD. They really were one hell of a band and very high up my list of bands I wish would reform. To be honest I can’t tell any difference. I don’t have an ear for this sort of thing.

PALAZOR is a solo music project who describes himself as a “mediocre musician”. I quite liked it!

THE WILD COLONIAL BHOYS – Remote Ruaille Buaille

GREEN GUARD – Devil’s Lung

FEROCIOUS DOG – The Hope

HOLD FAST –  Last Of The Rebels

JOLLY ROGER – Ship Or Bust

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

This section is for Celtic-Punk bands that have (on the large) left us but their music is still deserving to be heard and heard for free courtesy of a free download. We tried to book the Welsh band KILNABOY several times to play in London but it never came off for several reasons. At the time they were quite the name on the Punk scene but I was pretty sure they had split up but it seems not so keep a eye out for them. Sharing their name with a tiny village on the West Coast of Ireland they played energetic catchy Irish Folk-Punk and Prison Bars And Battle Scars dates from 2014. If you like it check out the rest of their back catalogue on Bandcamp as it is all available for ‘name your price’.

Live footage from one of the trailblazers of the Celtic-Punk scene. THE CROPDUSTERS were contempories of The Pogues and The Men They Couldn’t Hang and played their brand of ‘Cow-Punk’ / Folk-Punk back in the day. I went to their rather under whelming final gig at The 100 Club a good few years back after they had an almighty falling out but things must be sorted now as they recently played the Barnstormer festival at the Cerne Abbas Brewery in Devon. Watch this space for news of other gigs. Also playing the same festival was another blast from the past with Brit band PRONGHORN announcing a new album next year.

Now it’s been a looooong time since I was a fan of Grunge pioneers THE MELVINS and there was a time this news would have really got me excited but that was then. They have just announced a 4-disc reimaging of all their favourites songs done acoustically. Five Legged Dog is out now.

Moscow based ‘Punk And Bagpipes’ band ZUNAME announced a new album, Vertigo, to be released on Christmas Day and the first single to follow shortly!

Man can’t live on Celtic-Punk alone and personally I’m rather partial to the sound of Psychobilly and one of the scenes leading lights Philip ‘Doyley’ Doyle has just written a book detailing his time growing up in Ireland and moving to London. Starting the infamous Klingonz and the wild stories of a life spent in the Psychobilly scene. A crazy but lovable journey packed with funny and interesting stories/ You can pre-order the book with optional CD’s from the Diablo Records Bandcamp site.

In case you haven’t noticed our big rival out there is the American Celtic-Punk site SHITE’N’ONIONS. I think they were the first and are still going strong now. I much prefer the site now it’s moved over to WordPress and of course we only mean a friendly rivalry as its all #onebigcelticpunkfamily as you all know. They recently had an interesting interview with Nashville based Dubliner singer-songwriter Dylan Walshe well worth checking out.

Cornish Pirates JOLLY ROGER UK have a new EP out in the next few days. Ship Or Bust is available now on a pre-save link. As we’ve said before theres barely a fag paper between Celtic-Punk and ‘Pirate’ music at times and Jolly Roger are one of the best I’ve heard in a good while. They’ve just ran a successful Kickstarter appeal to buy a new van so hopefully we might see them away from the South-West coast soon. They’ve recorded a bunch of short promos on their You Tube channel besides this one.

One of my favourite bands the American Celtic-Rock/Punkers SEVEN NATIONS have just put out a rather amazing animated video for a track from their last album Tales From The Eighth Nation.

TROLL BENDS FIR are based in Saint Petersburg, Russia and have just released a new single. ‘В плену грибов’ (or in English ‘Taken Captive By Mushrooms’) from the upcoming new album Troll Gnet Yel. Russian beer folk they call it and it has some cool bagpipes and fiddle. I also have a soft spot for dual vocals too which they pull off here very well and even fit in a bit of Metal style riffs and vocals too.

The more I see of Facebook the more and more I dislike it. It has a stranglehold on all forms of expression and any wrongdoing in it’s eyes is punishable by excommunication. This isn’t good and anything that breaks their monopoly is a great thing (except Twitter!) so if you feel the same you can now subscribe to London Celtic Punks posts via our group on the new phone app Telegram. Very similar in style (but better and easier to use) than What’s App but the best thing is that it is completely free from Facebook control. Join us on Telegram and don’t miss a single post! https://t.me/londoncelticpunks/  

Some live music news for all you Londoners. Luton Irish band MISSING THE FERRY play The Cock Tavern, Phoenix Road, NW1 1HB  and MATT McMANAMON and THE BIBLECODE SUNDAYS play the Castle, Commercial Road, E1 1LN sadly both on Saturday November 13th. Bit of a dilemma that! DAOIRI FARRELL plays Nell’s, 3 North End Crescent, W14 8TG the following day on the Sunday. The legendary WOLFE TONES (now 50+ years strong!) play Camden IC on November 17th and 18th; and the Hare & Hounds, 325 Purley Way, Croydon CR0 4NU on November 19th. We can’t promise to print all live news but please send in anything for consideration.

Some London Celtic Punks news now and we still have a handful of Green’n’White ‘Skully Cap’ ringer t-shirts available. They come in all sizes from Small right up to XXX-L and are available from our online store. Also available are 2 other shirt designs so click the link below for our full range of other tatt. Shirts, badges, stickers, flags, CD’s and fridge magnets all the discerning Celtic-Punk fan could ever need!  https://the30492shop.fwscart.com/

Also now a wee plug for London Irish Rugby Club. After years in the wilderness out in Reading and some would say a watering down of the club’s Irish ethos they arrived back in London at the tail end of last season and a joy to behold it was too, except for the last minute defeat after being miles ahead at half time!! The club is back in the heart of the Irish community so check out the clubs merchandise and show your roots and get some mates together and get down there. Eight train and tube stations within a 20 minute walk and no shortage of decent pubs too means their is literally no excuse.

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

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ALBUM REVIEW: THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS – ‘In Strange Waters’ (2021)

Album Review, Germany October 26, 2021 1 Comment

Seems like only five minutes since their last album The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats reel off another one! This time In Strange Waters celebrates their 10th anniversary together but not as you’d expect it to do. Nine of the best Paddyhats songs played in completely new arrangements and genres and a bonus of a completely new song. There’s only one man we know that can get to grips with that. Take it away Anto Morra.

The Paddyhats have got to be one of the hardest working bands around, even managing to release the brilliant ‘Dogs On A Leash’ in 2020. How many gigs they managed from their accompanying tour is anyone’s guess! Clearly German work ethic is unfazed by the pandemic. I was delighted and privileged to be asked to review their 10th Anniversary offering ‘In Strange Waters’ not just a compilation album re-mastered and packaged with an extra song, but a brilliantly executed snapshot of their 10 years together with 9 of their best songs re-imagined, arranged and recorded and a previously unreleased song.

The album opens with their 100% party song ‘Barrels of Whiskey’. Here the drums are stripped back, a bottle-neck guitar is added together with a more refined moody vocal style. It has an almost Alabama 3 quality, and the horn section at the end is a lovely touch. Taken from their 2016 album ‘Seven Hearts One Soul’ is ‘Fair Old Lady’

The 10 year version starts with a beautifully sparse piano making it very mellow and as it continues it becomes more Celtic Mysticism than Celtic Punk, reminding me of Enya’s 1988 hit ‘Orinocco Flow’ but with a much more earthy vocal and a lot less pretentious. There is an unaccompanied section with just vocal harmonies, which works brilliantly.

‘Ferry Man’ from 2020’s ‘Dogs on a Leash’ is taken up a notch in party stakes and with a terrific horn section, almost ventures into Two Tone territory, while amazingly still maintaining an overall Irish feel.

‘Light Up’ is the only song I’ve not heard before, and is a craicin’ song in the Shanty tradition with a perfectly subtle banjo break. Ed Sheerhan’s ‘Galway Girl’ springs to mind when the funky pop rhythm of ‘Irish Way’ kicks in. It’s an age old tale of men being led a stray by the smarter sex, and a very fresh and far removed update from their 2017 album ‘Sign Of The Fighter’.

‘We’re bollocks full of Sin’ has got to be one of the best line in a song ever! So glad it’s still in this really interesting, less aggressive and more melodic version of their 2018 album title track ‘Green Blood’

Followed by another album title track 2020’s ‘Dogs On A Leash’

This time done as a wonderful sparse acoustic version,with almost barbershop vocal harmonies. Before you get too comfortable and start to think they may have lost their edginess ‘We All Know’ shows off a more Metal influence and is almost ‘Black Sabbath’ in places and Death Metal in others. ‘Beautiful Fear’ is a wonderful song and this new Shanty version with big dramatic drums gives it all the pathos the lyrics require.

2018’s ‘Yesterday’s Rebel’ closes the album and once again it’s softened with a host of synthetic pop additions reminding me of what Sinead O’Connor did with traditional songs on her album ‘Sean-Nos Nua’

This is possibly The Paddyhats easiest to listen to album. A real testament to their song writing and creative abilities, great songs can be done in lots of different ways and this proves that in so many ways. This band do not let the grass grow and I’m so glad they’ve dared to do this different. They still are and always will be one of the best Celtic Punk Bands around and their humour and versatility has never been more prevalent than on this record. Well done Paddyhats, Keep Punking about and mixing it up!

Buy In Strange Waters  FromTheBand  StreamingSites

Contact The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats

Born and raised in London by immigrant parents from Ireland Anto Morra swapped the Smoke for the Swamp in 1989 and adopted Norfolk as home but still returns often to visit his Mammy and play for London Celtic Punks. At times a pogoing, gobbing Punk, a lazy pot smoking hairy Hippy, a bopping Rock-A-Billy, a sharp dressed Mod and even a Bauhaus loving Goth he’s soaked it all in and none of it and all of it has been an influence on him.

https://www.antomorra.com/

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

Canada, Germany, Nova Scotia March 31, 2021 Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

New 14 track album from Bristolians THE SURFIN’ TURNIPS.

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

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

NEVERMIND NESSIE – Another Six Pack Of Drinking Songs EP

MR. HURLEY AND DIE PULVERAFFEN – Seemannsgrab

BLACKMORE’S NIGHT – Nature’s Light

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

SURFIN’ TURNIPS – Down The Allotment

EBRI KNIGHT – Carrer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ALBUM REVIEW: TIR NAN OG – ‘Sing, Ye Bastards!’ (2021)

Album Review, Germany March 7, 2021 Comments: 2

Love, life, death and lots of alcohol! Yeah the sort of themes you expect to hear on a Celtic-Punk album but in the hands of German band Tir Nan Og on their new album Sing, Ye Bastards! these traditional themes are anything but traditional!

Fifteen years and hundreds of gigs later sees the the sixth album from the Bavarian based Tir Nan Og. Germany is the epicenter for all things Celtic-Punk in Europe and if any North American bands are reading this forget about touring anywhere else if you want to actually play to more than 2 men and a dog! We’ve touched on the various reasons for why they love the music before so no need to go into it again suffice to say the mutual love of alcohol between the Irish and the Germany plays a large part in it. Tir Nan Og play a mean drinking song but by no means is that all they’ve got in their cannon and they are as likely to delve into Irish mythology as dive into a public house.

The album begins with ‘Fear Gorta’ and a story about the Great Irish ‘famine’ of 1845–1852. I say ‘famine’ because their was plenty of food available in Ireland at the time but it was being escorted by large military force outside the island while the Irish literally starved by the roadside. Numbers vary but millions died and many more were forced to flee overseas to escape death (sadly for many this wasn’t possible as the ships that took them across the Atlantic ocean were later to be called ‘coffin ships’). 

There are many legends about the time, one being the story of the Hungerman (Gaelic: Fear Gorta). A ghost that would collect the souls of the starving.

“God Almighty have mercy on our souls.
Save us from Fear Gorta and please fill our bowls.”

The song is fast paced and with great dual male/female vocals with a multitude of instruments smoking away. The best Irish Folk music tells a story and Tir Nan Og put many Irish bands to shame with this little known story. Robert sings in that very distinctive German way. Hard to explain but it is very clear and absolutely no need of a lyric sheet as every word is crystal clear and without even a hint of a German accent too! Most of the album is original material without any of the Irish standards beloved by most German bands. Maybe they got them out of their system in their previous albums but its original material that impresses us and here we have plenty to be impressed by. The quality of the music here is superb and on ‘Last Order’ a combination of piping and ‘poppy-country-ish’ Folk works well but the Celtic-Punk tag is maybe a tad too much for them as they are in essence a trad Folk band and no better on this album is that proved on the fiddle led ‘Maelstrom’, the upbeat ‘The Wanderings Of Oisin’ (a poem by William Butler Yeats) and ‘Green Pill’. Three songs which showcase the bands range from fast as hell right through to fast and then just catchy. Through all the songs different instruments are given the lead and used to perfection but no matter which is leading the songs still have that Tir Nan Og trademark sound. The first inkling of the band’s Celtic-Punk roots is the short (but sweet) ‘We’ve Been Everywhere’ and again Sarah and Robert work brilliantly together on vocals on a tongue in cheek song about dragons! I was thinking this may have been the start of the album turning in a heavier direction but ‘Sláinte’ is a bit too jolly for this gnarley faced old Punk rocker! Work on Sing, Ye Bastards! took two and a half years from beginning to end product and right when they might be thinking of a release date Covid lockdown appeared and everything was postponed or cancelled. Tir Nan Og rose to the challenge as drummer Volker said.

This album was created in difficult times and that’s why we were particularly able to empathize with the Irish attitude towards life, to stick together despite difficult times and to make the best of it.“

‘I Sold My Soul’ introduces a slight Ska beat to the bands repertoire with great bagpiping from Andreas. A song that would not be out of place in a Irish pub with the album’s title as the song’s chorus it’s a song to be played as fast as you can and shouted as loud as you can. It was often said that The Pogues were louder with their acoustic instruments than many Punk bands and this song shows that you don’t even need to pay particularly fast or manic to achieve that Punk ‘feel’ while playing what is in reality trad Irish Folk music. Sarah takes the vocal duties on ‘Stone Cold Heart’ and it kind of reminds me of the type of rock ballad (with a Celtic edge though) that Springsteen would have sung in his hey day. The second single to be released from Sing, Ye Bastards! was the ballad ‘Sea Of Sorrow’. The song was written about migrants crossing the Mediterranean sea.

A topic not too dissimilar to the ‘coffin ships’ mentioned earlier. The song completes the cycle for Tir Nan Og. Listening to the album so far the only thing is was missing was a hard hitting ballad and both lyrically and musically it delivers.

“You’re asking me, to sing a happy song
But how could I when happiness is gone?
See the tears and the world is going by,
Sing a happy song when all I want is cry”

We down to the last three songs and Sarahs voice is as strong and powerful as ever on ‘The Song Remains’. It’s the last of the Tir Nan Og compositions with the final two numbers covers from the Dutch Harmony Glen and fellow Germans The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats. ‘O’Hanlan’s Last Words’ is magnificent banjo led tune about a convicted criminal with one hell of a bagpipe solo and the album ends with a superb version of the Paddyhats ‘The Firestorm’.

So love, life, death and plenty of alcohol. It’s all here on an album that sees Tir Nan Og’s progression into a band that could oh so easily fall into the Irish Folk category. The quality of the music, songs, lyrics all point to a band that has outgrown the Celtic-Punk tag but we’ll hang onto them for a bit longer yet! Thirteen songs and eleven original Tir Nan Og compositions that come in just short of fifty minutes long. Songs that uplift in parts and make you think in others. The gloom sometimes descends but is soon followed by something to raise your spirits whether in anger or joy. Another great album from Tir Nan Og and considering the circumstances of its release a massive achievement. Well done folks.

Buy Sing, Ye Bastards!  Prosodia: CD or Download

Contact Tir Na Og  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

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

England, Folk, Folk-Punk, Germany, Ireland, Irish-American, Italy, Piedmont, Scotland, Traditional, USA January 31, 2021 Leave a comment

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

We kick off this months Odds’n’Sods with two London-Irish bands. The first is the latest from CLAN OF CELTS and ‘My Eternal Tomb’. Their first single in three years a haunting tune of a strickened deportee ship leaving Ireland heading towards the penal colony in Australia, with a cargo of chained prisoners getting caught in a typhoon and being hauled to the bottom of the ocean and perishing. Available on all platforms to stream and download.

Next a new song/video from one of our most favourist bands CROCK OF BONES. ‘Nothin Worse’ is an original song and it’s mighty fine of course!

So nice to hear a band that you thought had split up is still active and one of my favourite bands KITCHEN IMPLOSION from Novara in Italy have indeed been constantly releasing music since the last I heard of them the brilliant ‘Pretty Work Brave Boys!’ album from 2014. They put out an EP Analfabeta Esistenziale in 2019 and the single ‘Coprifuoco’ last year available for download for a Euro.

Scots band THE CLELANDERS formed in 2017; with three brothers and a mate of theirs, bringing together a love of Irish and Scottish Folk music and throwing in a bit of Punk and Rock. All members grew up in the small mining village of Cleland in North Lanarkshire. They’ve a load of music up on their Facebook page but soon as they can are going to be recording more. They’ve a single out ‘Favourite Son’ about local Bhoy and Celtic (and Manchester United) legend Jimmy Delaney in benefit of their local Celtic Supporters Club Charity Fund named in honour of Jimmy. The song has been played at Celtic Park and is available for download for only 99p.

More from Scotland with the new video from THE CUNDEEZ of ‘Horo Gheallaidh’ one of the highlights of their recent album Teckle An Hide. A cover of a track by fellow Scots band Peat & Diesel. Fast, thrashy guitars telling the tale of a night out in the Highlands. Brilliant!

German band THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS have long become one of my favourite bands and they follow up last years cracking album Dogs On The Leash with a Christmas release for the single ‘Joy Of Life’ that passed us by at the time. The Bhoys kick out a ballad which they are equally good as the kick arse Celtic-Punk they more famous for.

Pogues legend Terry Woods has contributed banjo, mandolin and veillette to a new song ‘Wide Eyed Lady’ by Irish/singer songwriter LOU McMAHON. Originally released in 2010 it has been remixed, re-mastered and released as a single as part of an album release in 2021. ‘Wide Eyed Lady’ is a dark folktale that interweaves Goth-Rock with Folk, guided by mythology, folklore and fantasy.

The fantastic Texan Celtic-Punkers THE DEAD RABBITS have a new album out soon on Roach Guard Records. These guys have the best graphics in Celtic-Punk!

London based RANAGRI (pronounced Ra-na-grye) release their new single ‘Follow Me Up To Carlow’, on February 8th. Pre-release here.

If you are looking for quality Celtic-Punk and for the bargain price of absolutely nothing then Oxford based LIDDINGTON HILL have only gone and made their last three singles free to download over on their web-site.

MICK McLOUGHLIN aka ‘Mick The Busker’ has been busking along Henry street in central Dublin for the last 10 years and has finally got some songs down on disc. The Busker is his third release but his first featuring his own material. It’s available on CD from him and download from Bandcamp.

TIR NAN OG – Sing Ye Bastards (Album)

BARDS FROM YESTERDAY – Demia (EP) -See Reviews

YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS – Drawn and Quartered (EP)

JASON STIRLING AND THE BLUE MOON BAND – Locked Doors And Lost Keys (EP)

TOXIC FROGS – My Lucky Own (EP)

Remember if you want your release featured then we have to have heard it first!

A new project out of Brittany with influences sometimes trad, sometimes rock. The BRETONS collective is 15 musicians on stage evolving on stage like a storm, ready to bewitch the halls of Europe!

More from the forthcoming new Rumjacks album with the release of title song ‘Hestia’ last week. Out in early March and available for pre-order here.

The debut studio album from Jay Terrestrial and the Firepit Collective dates back to 2014 and the band continues to play and record today. Recently they have had a string of sold out dates cancelled-rearranged-cancelled- rearranged-cancelled in London due to the ‘clampdown’. Jay is better known as the singer from London Punk/Dub band the Inner Terrestrials while the Firepit Collective has become his folky side project. This album combines new arrangements of trad songs and tunes along with original material. Here Jay and Chezney Newman are joined by friends Jess Cahill, Jez Hellard, David Garner, Rosie Nobbs, Chris Bowsher and Del Wilson.

German Celtic-Punkers MUIRSHEEN DURKIN have announced a St. Patrick’s Live Stream free on Facebook. Playing live from the Sauerland Theater in Arnsberg at 6pm on Saturday 20th March. Join the FB event to reminded nearer the time.

Canadians THE PEELERS have a new album out in March called Down And Out In The City Of Saints on Stomp Records.

MacSLONS IRISH PUB RADIO have announced the next installment of their Raise Your Pint compilation album series titled Corona Sessions. They are looking for 20 bands that have recorded songs during the course of the pandemic. If you want to take part in this please contact them at raise.your.pints@macslons.com

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

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

ALBUM REVIEW: PADDY MURPHY- ‘Rams Rebels Goats And Girls’ (2020)

Album Review, Austria, Bagpipes, Country, Folk, Folk-Punk, Ireland, Punk September 8, 2020 Leave a comment

If you want to indulge in Celtic Folk Rock, you will definitely take pleasure in Paddy Murphy. Homesickness, the struggle for freedom, sailor’s yarns, love of the odd drink and the rebellious Irish spirit coming together in a musical whirlwind from Austria!

With the popularity of Celtic-Punk in Germany second to none it’s perhaps no surprise that this love should have spread to their next door neighbours in Austria. Still it’s not a country particularly well endowed with bands with only Scotch from Weyer in Upper Austria making a mark upon the scene (their fantastic debut EP Last In The Bar is still available for free download). In common with the bands from Germany Paddy Murphy (a band not a fella!) don’t just perform straight up Celtic-Punk but rather their own interpretation. An individualist streak that flows through the scene that manages to stop bands being too samey.

In common with Scotch Paddy Murphy also hail from Upper Austria in particular the town of Steyr and though they not be particularly well known this side of the English channel in Europe they have a strong pedigree of touring going back well over a decade. Paddy Murphy have been taking their brand of Irish Speed ​​Folk Rock as they describe it themselves to a multitude of festivals across Germany, France and Switzerland in particular and headlined to tens of thousands at festivals in Italy in Padova and Rasa. Founded in 2008 Rams, Rebels, Goats & Girls is Paddy Murphy’s third studio album after 2012’s Dog’s Dinner and 2014’s Coffin Ship. Both of which you can hear on their Web-Site. They also released a handful of singles and EP’s over the last few years (all with absolutely stunning artwork most featuring their logo of a goat!) which has boosted their popularity with a great selection of covers and original material.

Paddy Murphy from left to right: Florian Aufreiter – Drums * Franz Höfler – Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Irish-Bouzouki, Harp, Vocals * Ingolf Wolfsegger – Bass, Vocals * Hermann Hartl – Fiddle, Vocals * Oliver Loy – Electric Guitar, Vocals

Rams, Rebels, Goats & Girls was released in early March and came out on ATS Records. It’s been sitting round LCP Towers ever since and due to a mix up over who was going to do it it never got the review it deserved at the time. Still hopefully this will make up for it! Fourteen songs (the CD has a extra two live tracks) in total that comes to just under a hour about that green island, women, whiskey and Guinness! The album begins with ‘We Hoist The Sail’ and bursts with energy out of the speakers and if its top quality Celtic-Punk you are after then you have come to the right place my friends. Echos of fellow German bands The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats and The Feelgood MacLouds but this band have their own style. A great opener and vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Franz Höfler certainly knows his history of Ireland in a song that even uses the popular Irish term ‘Amerikay’. ‘My Dark Foamy Friend’ is a song that has a dual meaning of the sea or the pint but I know which one is preferred! Released as a single it reached over 20,000 listeners within a few weeks on Spotify. I have to say that the fiddle on this album is absolutely brilliant so hats off to Hermann Hartl for his incredible work. It is seriously some of the best fiddle I have ever heard on a Celtic-Punk album and i Happy to hear it used extensively throughout the thirteen tracks. ‘Black Ones Brown Ones Blond Redhead’ is another dual song meaning beer and this time women and this time they prefer women to beer! Fast and energetic and whats that I hear its the harmonica one of my favourite instruments and criminally underused in Celtic-Punk.  When I first played this album the next track stood out on its own. Paddy Murphy like their own stuff but are not averse to the odd cover and their ‘Basket Case’ by Green Day done Irish style and it is an absolute belter of a song! Give it a listen and be hooked.

Very clever and highly original it is a great choice of song and makes a change from ‘I’ll Tell Me Ma’. If I’ve played this song once I’ve played it a 1,000 times. Another couple of drinking songs follow telling the different sides of life ‘Just One Drink’ is a jaunty wee number while ‘Time to Make Some Changes’ sees a life in turmoil on a visit to Ireland. Slow, sad and swirling in that traditional Irish way that makes you want to put your arms around a complete stranger (even in these strange times!). Who said Celtic-Punk can’t do emotional? We do it better than fecking anyone! Time for a famous song and they don’t come more famous than ‘The Irish Rover’. Known to everyone and covered by just about everyone too. They make a decent job of it nothing particularly special but you know if you heard this down the pub you’d be banging on tables and shouting your lungs out along to it. The Country influenced ‘At Least for Tonight’ is catchy as hell. What I call a thigh slapper.

“Get up and dance and drink all night”

‘American Dreams’ is the albums longest song heading towards six minutes and not for one second outlives its welcome. Franz again opens up and his aching vocals make for a great song. Irish themes abound and one of the standout things about this album is the quality of the lyrics. Pure poetry and proper story telling whether its a pub song’ or a Punk-Rock thrasher. We in Pop-Punk territory next with ‘You’ll Never Bring Us Down’ with the Celtic competing with the Punk. The song ends with being both and will be a real dance floor filler once we’re allowed back on the dance floor that is.

So we’ve had quite the album so far that has taken us around the Celtic-Punk scene and it’s many influences and they may have almost gone ballad in places they deliver it next with ‘The Cliffs of Grey’. A beautiful and touching yet haunting ballad whose depth will shock those here only for the drinking songs. After that the aptly titled ‘Gloomlifter Jig’ shows Paddy Murphy have even more left in their arsenal with a perfect traditional Irish that soon enough sees the electric side of the band coming in and we end up with a song that would have graced any Horslips album. Another catchy as hell number on a album where their is absolutely no filler at all. Each song is of an incredibly high standard and it’s no surprise why when you trawl their photos on Facebook their live gigs are always packed out. The work for Rams, Rebels, Goats & Girls began a whole year before its release and the hard work shows. ‘Epic Scene of Life’ is a perfect example of their sound.

Uplifting and bursting with energy and at all times refreshing in a scene that as I said can be a bit samey. The curtain comes down on the album with a amazing version of Scottish singer-songwriter Eric Bogle’s ‘No Man’s Land’, probably better known as ‘The Green Fields Of France Written in 1976 it’s message is ever lasting sadly and here Paddy Murphy perform one of the best versions I have ever heard. Bagpipes add to the songs emotional roller-coaster and is the perfect way to see the album out.

Irish and Celtic music appeals to people of all ages and nationalities. That is what is really special about it and Paddy Murphy are immersed in that sound and this Austrian Irish Folk-Rock Band is committed to continuing that tradition! Celtic-Punk is often derided or misunderstood by Irish Folk snobs purists who think the artists are more influenced by Sid Vicious than Matt Molloy but this is a direct descendant of the music played in Ireland 100’s of years ago. That they can keep that tradition while also throwing in the Punk/Rock sound they have is testament to the bands outstanding musical ability. Fiddle, banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar, bodhran, drums, electric bass, electric guitar and five male voices have made this album what it is and it would be a act of criminal negligence for the Irish music scene and its fans to pass it by.

Buy Rams Rebels Goats & Girls – CD- FromTheBand   ATS Records  Download- AppleMusic  

Contact Paddy Murphy – WebSite  Facebook  Instagram  YouTube

ALBUM REVIEW: THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS- ‘Dogs on the Leash’ (2020)

Album Review, Germany June 23, 2020 1 Comment

Germany and Celtic-Punk go together like Guinness and chips and there’s no better purveyors there than the wonderful O’Reillys And The Paddyhats. Our man Anto Morra runs the critical rule over their enjoyable fourth album.

This record opens with the title track, which is a craic’r and appears to have it all, just what Dr Folk Punk ordered. A song written from the perspective of those in charge wanting to keep the people drunk, drugged up, calm, quiet and brilliantly concluding

‘We won’t back off, We will free ourselves from the leash’.

“Here it goes again” levels the class playing field with the clever observation that no matter how financially wealthy or poor, we all go through the motions of endless struggle or celebration, to the point at which it becomes mundane. So the chorus wisely informs us to ‘Get out of your castle get out of your shack, It’s not Groundhog Day so leave the bloody track’ and all with a great punky reggae party feel.

An exquisite fiddle and banjo leads us into “James Brian” for a bit of Celtic mysticism. The story of a man that mysteriously vanishes from the bog because he worked into the night, this is a great arrangement with hints of klezmer and The Levellers springing to mind at times.

“Captain Without A Ship” kicks of with a brilliant twinned guitar harmony part in the style of Thin Lizzy, continues to rock out the middle 8, and ventures into Status Quo playing Oi -if you can imagine that! After another rousing chorus, we are treated to a fine bit of plank spanking from Jan, that’s not unlike the great solos of Kane Roberts on Alice Cooper’s Constrictor album.

“Millions” ‘How many millions do you need to say that you succeed?’ an appealing sentiment, big chorus with a Klezmer crescendo- what more do you need? Sounds like a recipe for success to me.

“Ferryman” is a lament that if it was wearing a different outfit could be described as a power ballad, the arrangement is perfection. Thankfully, because Franz does not sing like Bruce Dickenson, it works beautifully with the low whistle and other trad instruments, which keep it flowing, grounded and not at all laboured.

“From Dublin To Moscow” is a superb tale of five courageous 17th century adventurers whose only fear is running out of beer. It is at the same time a clever doff of the hat to the Irish traditional songs, like the ‘Blarney Stone’ and ‘Star Of The County Down’, that mention many place names as comfortably possible to appeal to everyone from those places. Of course, I was delighted that London got a mention!

“Overtime Work” is just over 3 minutes of more fun than I’ve ever had doing overtime, but I think I could have spent time as a CEO of the company supplying this overtime.

The strength of “Hobo Of Mitchelstown” is the fact it can not really be compared anything, while at the same time sitting comfortably in the folk punk genre. The heavy rock guitar sound could place it, dare I say, in the folk rock genre.

“Beautiful Fear” is a terrific song, full of romantic imagery, but the humour is not far away. I feel as this is an anthem for people like myself that suffer dreadfully from FOMO (fear of missing out). This track could also be called “Beautiful Fiddle” as the solo is just spot on.

In true punk style they appear to have stolen this Bobby Sands/Gordon Lightfoot classic “Back Home In Derry” with no credits on the sleeve notes. It’s a very fine version with a different member of the band on each verse, and that enchanting fiddle playing again. The last verse is reserved the great face of the band Benny, ending with a huge chorus which without missing a beat goes seamlessly into “Shoe Shine Boy”. If you weren’t paying attention when you hit the chorus, you may think you were still back home in Derry, but this is a wonderful song about a wise shoe shine boy and an arrogant rich man. ‘Things change farewell, farewell my friend’ – “Farewell” is just a joyous closing track. ‘We are drinking lots of beer, we’re not asking our livers’ is my favourite line!

The O’Reillys and The Paddyhats succeed where so many celtic folk punk bands fail, is with the quality of singing. Franz has a great strong engaging voice, and Tim adds the aggressive rasp that is essential in punk and rock music. The song writing is intelligent, witty and at times a little comical, but never novelty or flippant- if their musicianship wasn’t top notch they would not be able to successfully execute the humour they do! This is their rockiest offering so far, but they have not lost any of their German Irish charm. Just go and buy it because it has been a joy to review.

Buy Dogs On The Leach  CD/Download- FromTheBand

Contact The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube

Album Discography (Click for review)- April 2016 Seven Hearts One Soul * February 2017 Sign Of The Fighter * September 2018 Green Blood *

***

London Irish, Punk Folk singer, songwriter and artist Anto Morra lives in East Anglia and is a regular performer on the Norfolk Folk Roots and acoustic music scene as well as the London Celtic Punks scene. He’s even second cousin to Morrissey!  he did a special Live Stream London Celtic Punks show on June 5th and no it wasn’t suppose to be sideways!!

ODDS’N’SODS. CELTIC-PUNK ROUND UP JUNE 2020

Odds'n'Sods May 31, 2020 Leave a comment

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-order from 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-order and 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 Fest on 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 ANTO is 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.

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2018!

Album Review, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bagpipes, Belguim, Best Of's, Canada, Cornwall, England, Folk, Folk-Punk, Galicia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, London, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Sweden, Traditional January 21, 2019 Comments: 6

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…

1. THE RUMJACKS- Saints Preserve Us  here

2. 1916- Far Beyond The Pale  here

3. CLAN OF CELTS- Beggars, Celts & Madmen  here

4. KRAKIN’ KELLYS- Promised Land  here

5. THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS- Green Blood  here

6. SIR REG- The Underdogs  here

7. TIR NA OG- From The Gallows  here

8. FIRKIN- We Are The Ones  here

9. THE MAHONES- Love + Death + Redemption  here

10. THE MUCKERS- One More Stout  here

11. BASTARD BEARDED IRISHMEN- Drinkin’ To The Dead  here

12. HOLD FAST- Black Irish Sons  here

13. LEXINGTON FIELD- Dreamers  here

14. THE RUMPLED- Ashes & Wishes  here

15. TAN AND SOBER GENTLEMEN- Veracity  here

16.THE KILLIGANS- Dance On Your Grave  here

17. ALTERNATIVE ULSTER- Pog Mo Thoin  here

18. PADDY AND THE RATS- Riot City Outlaws  here

19. IRISH MOUTARDE- Perdition  here

20. BASTARDS ON PARADE- Cara a Liberdade  here

21. MR. IRISH BASTARD- The Desire for Revenge  here

22. PIRATE COPY- Swashbuckle & Swagger  here

23. SINFUL MAGGIE- S/T

24. JOLLY JACKERS- Out Of The Blue  here

25. MUIRSHEEN DURKIN AND FRIENDS- 11 Pints And 3 Shots  here

26. THE CHERRY COKE$- The Answer

27. THE CLAN- Here To Stay  here

28. KINGS & BOOZERS- Still Got The Booze  here

29. FALPERRYS- Nova Abordagem  here

30. AIRS & GRACES- Voting At The Hall  here

bubbling under: MALASANERS- Footprints  here

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.

KRAKIN’ KELLYS- Promised Land  here

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 out here. This section was the easiest one to award by far!

1. THE LAGAN- Let’s Do It Again

2. MEDUSA’S WAKE- Rascals & Rogues  here

2. HANDSOME YOUNG STRANGERS- The Bleeding Bridge  here

4. THE DANGEROUS FOLK- One  here

5. LEXINGTON FIELD- Modern Times  here

6. SCOTCH- Last In The Bar  here

7. TULLAMORE- Déš An Pr’i Strà, Déš An Int ál Bar  here

8. THE GRINNING BARRETTS- The St. Padraigs  here

9. IN FOR A PENNY- Sometimes Its Better To Not  here

10. THE ROYAL SPUDS- Unforgotten Lore  here

bubbling under…

MOSCHE DI VELLUTO GRIGIO- Of Pain And Glory here and 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!

1. MARYS LANE- Wild Unknown  here

2. LOUIS RIVE- The Cheap Part Of Town  here

3. THE CRAICHEADS- S/T  here

4. LANKUM-  Between Earth and Sky here

5. MAN THE LIFEBOATS- Man The Lifeboats  here

6. SLIOTAR- Voyage

7. CLOVER’S REVENGE- Gotta Get O’Raggednized  here

8. BLACKBEARDS TEA PARTY- Leviathan  here

9. THE LED FARMERS- Irish Folk Out Straight

10. FINBAR FUREY- Don’t Stop This Now  here

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 Twitter and Facebook and 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.

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

THE CELTIC PUNKCAST

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

FOLK’N’ROCK

PADDYROCK

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

MacSLONS IRISH RADIO

Now here’s a new feature. Pick your own favourite below! The Poll will end on the final day of the month!

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

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2019

THE CELTIC PUNKCAST. BONUS EPISODE- TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2018

Australia, Bagpipes, Best Of's, Celtic Punkcast, Folk-Punk, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, USA December 17, 2018 Leave a comment

December is usually the time when all the various Celtic-Punk media begin to compile and release their Best Of charts. There’s already been a couple and we are no different with ours traditionally released in the first couple of weeks of January. Our stablemates over at The Celtic Punkcast have just put out a special episode featuring the best song from the ten best Celtic-Punk albums of 2018 and I can tell you it’s a good one. 

Hi everyone, I thought I’d drop a little something extra this year for December in addition to the Christmas Special, it’s my top 10 albums of 2018 as judged by me and my old kelpie Banji. Some fantastic music came out this year and I swapped a lot of these artists albums positions around many a time before settling on the final rankings. Rankings are always suggestive so if you disagree with my list then feel free to let me know yours. Here’s the rankings/playlist:

10: ALTERNATIVE ULSTER – ‘No Queen, No Crown’  from BOOBIES BANJOS BEER AND BAGPIPES

9: THE LANGERS BALL – ‘No Irish Need Apply’ from HARD TIMES IN THE COUNTRY

8: THE O’RIELLYS AND THE PADDYHATS – ‘Green Blood’  from GREEN BLOOD

7: BASTARD BEARDED IRISHMEN – ‘Pirates Of Three Rivers’ from DRINKIN’ TO THE DEAD

6: MR. IRISH BASTARD – ‘Oliver Cromwells Head’  from THE DESIRE FOR REVENGE

5: KRAKIN’ KELLYS – ‘Anarchy In The Double K’  from PROMISED LAND

4: SIR REG – ‘Don’t Let Go’  from THE UNDERDOGS

3: MEDUSAS WAKE – ‘Hobart Sailor’  from RASCALS AND ROGUES

2: THE RUMJACKS – ‘The Foreman O’Rourke’  from SAINTS PRESERVE US

1: THE MUCKERS – ‘Black Irish’  from ONE MORE STOUT

CLICK HERE

So there it is. Any thoughts send them to me on Twitter, Facebook or via email and I look forward to more great music in the new year.

Muer ras, Gareth & Banji

Contact The Celtic Punkcast  Facebook  WebSite  Twitter  E-Mail

  • The London Celtic Punks Best Of 2018 lists will appear in the next few weeks covering the best albums, EP’s, Folk/Trad releases, Celtic-Punk media and more so if you don’t want to miss it then be sure to subscribe to our E-Mail alert list. The box is on the right or below depending on how you are viewing this page.

ALBUM REVIEW: THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS- ‘Green Blood’ (2018)

Album Review, England, Folk-Punk, Germany, Ireland, Live Review December 9, 2018 1 Comment
Here’s a German band that makes authentic Irish music with their third album release Green Blood. That may sound all a bit strange to yer average Joe but not to London Celtic Punks favourite Anto Morra. The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats are by no means a goose that thinks it’s a fox though they are much more fox and goose in one. This is an album that builds the bridge to those who carry green blood and those who want it. Because the yearning for Green Blood is insatiable.

There’s a London Celtic Punk sticker that reads ‘It’s not blood that makes you Irish but a willingness to be part of the Irish nation’ and The Paddyhats are most certainly proof of that. Their latest offering ‘Green Blood’ must surely be a contender for best Celtic Punk album of 2018.
The cover art is exceptional and could even double as an advertisment for Peaky Blinders! Like all their albums to date, this is available on vinyl and appropiately limited edition green vinyl, so definately one for those vinyl junkies and collectors like myself. This is what more records should sound like these days. The mix and production here are second to none. It does baffle me how a singer that is not singing in his first language, is so much easier to understand than the majority of those singing this type of Celtic Punk in their own language. It’s very refreshing. Here’s the running order and little about each song.

The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats from left to right: Tom O’Shaugnessy- Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals * Dr. Bones- Drums * Ian McFlannigan- Show, Backing Vocals * Sean O’Reilly- Vocals, Guitar, Tin and Low Whistle * Dwight O’Reilly- Vocals, Banjo, Mandolin, Accordion * Mia Callaghan- Fiddle, Vocals * Connor O’Sullivan- Electric guitar *

Green Blood
Pulled in by the tribal sound of the pounding drum and Celtic mysticism of the uilleann pipes & fiddle, with distorted guitar and bass feedback threateningly hiding down low in the mix and within 30 seconds you know what you’re getting! Green Blood, Green Blood, Green Blood is the chanting war cry and it’s powerful, aggessive and blissful. More Irish than Brennans Bread or Barry’s Tea and a true and honest celebration of the things that make people glad to be Irish and those that aren’t, wishing they were.

Another Town Another Girl
This is the Only Ones ‘Another Girl Another Planet’ meets Donegal Danny. The age old tale of the womanizing blaggard only in this case the man knows he is gonna get his comeuppance when he will ‘Drown in his self made crown’. It’s all very shanty until the stunning guitar solo reminds you that these aren’t a beardy, finger in the ear, woolly jumper and craft beer band. They’re very much Punk Rock.

Circus Of Fools
This one is a belter! The opening verse I can’t help but guess is aimed at the Trump administration but as the song progresses you know it’s a much broader reflection of the sickness of those in power. We are treated to almost Eastern European rhythmic chops on this and it’s two a half mins of no nonsence.

Gamble With The Devil
A perfect folk love song warning us not to gamble, especially with the devil. I don’t want to give too much away in a spoiler alert way, all I will say is that it is a craicin’ little story.

Swing Your Hammer
Starting like an Enio Moricone spaghetti western theme before leaping into a Ska-Punk dance beat and the big chorus in the work song tradition. Wonderfully tight banjo and fiddle instrumental breaks tie this catchy song together.

Promise
Now this is refreshing. A drinking song about abstinence! There’s an old country song that drones on about ‘One day at a time sweet Jesus’ well this is kind of that; but for people that fight instead of pray for the strength to stay sober and look forward to the day they can throw the towel in and get stocious again.

Boys On The Green
A celebration of the beautiful game and the ritual that surrounds it. No mention of fighting, just the pride in your club colours, the comaraderie of meeting before the match for a pint and singing song together on the terraces.

Greg O’Donovan
This one takes us away from terrafirma and puts us in the charge of an heroic captain, as he slaughters Spanish and drowns in the worship of women after. This has a great low whistle or flute hook, that sounds a little like the Fury’s ‘Lonesome Boatman’ on amphetamine suphate.

Roasie Lou
A beautiful bit of fiddle playing helps us feel the heartbreak in this love ballad and lament dedicated to a true love and criminal partner.

This is Our Time
…”To right the wrongs because failure is part of our lives” is the general message I get from this pounding, Poguesesque four minutes of fun.

Rockstar
This is the familiar sentiment for anyone who aspires to make a living in the music industry today. A fabulous female vocal performance and guitar solo puts this forward as one of the best tracks on this record in my opinion.

Where Your Heart Is
A joyus stomper “Your feet will take you where your heart is” and that’s down the boozer where you can see your mates and “blow the ladies a kiss”

Yesterday’s Rebel
Craicin’ closing song about an IRA man finding himself in hell after killing a policeman.

LIVE AT FOLK IN A FIELD IN THE SUMMER

Back in July I had the pleasure to witness their live show when the played my local festival in Norfolk. ‘Folk In A Field’ has been going about 4 years now and have had some great acts so far including Ferocious Dog, Punkfolkers, LongShore Drift and the Nobel Jacks – the latter due to headline in 2019 but The Paddyhats topped the bill and nailed it this year.
Their set as well as including songs from their first two albums

there was also time to throw in the odd Irish standard

and the most unexpected.

As well as playing each year, I also run the merchandise stall at ‘Folk in a Field’, so when The Paddyhats turned up, they took over my stall for the last couple of hours. I can honestly say a nicer bunch of people you couldn’t wish to meet. They came all the way from Germany for one show, with a small road crew and giant merch man

all of which were really easy going, friendly and a pleasure to have at the festival. I just hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.

Buy Green Blood

FromTheBand  Amazon

Contact The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Google+  Spotify  PaddyhatsMerchandise  PaddyhatsNewsletter

Thanks to London Celtic Punks favourite Anto Morra for the review. Songwriter, performer and multi media artist that believes ‘Life is for laughing and fighting injustice’. Traditional folk songs and punk rock of his formative London years, along with his Irish roots and Norfolk home are the inspiration behind his work. You can catch up with Anto here or just look through the pages here to find several of his releases.

Web-Site  Blog  Facebook  Reverbnation  Twitter  YouTube  Bandcamp

 

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2017!

Album Review, Australia, Best Of's, Boston, Brazil, Brittany, Canada, Chicago, Czech Republic, England, EP Review, Folk-Punk, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, London, Netherlands, New York, Obituary, Scandinavia, Serbia, Sweden, Traditional, Ukraine, USA January 22, 2018 Comments: 6

Yes I know it only seems like five minutes since the last one but it’s that time of year again when we give you, for what it’s worth, our opinion on who made the best music in the celtic-punk scene over 2017. It’s been another outstanding year for the music that we all love and some truly fantastic records came out in the last twelve months. So read on to find out who came #1! Remember though this is only our opinion and these thirty album’s are only the tip of the iceberg of what was released last year. Feel free to comment, slag off or dissect our lists. We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…

1. FLATFOOT 56 (Chicago)- ‘Odd Boat’  here

2. THE TOSSERS (Chicago)- ‘Smash The Windows’  here

3. THE BIBLECODE SUNDAYS (London) – ‘Walk Like Kings’  here
4. THE PEELERS (Canada)- ‘Palace Of The Fiend’ here
5. FEROCIOUS DOG (England)- ‘Red’  here

6. BLACK WATER COUNTY (England)- ‘Taking Chances’  here

7. THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS (Germany)- ‘Sign of the Fighter’  here

8. IN FOR A PENNY (USA)- ‘One More Last Hurrah’ here

9. LES RAMONEURS DE MENHIRS (Brittany)- ‘Breizh Anok’  here

10. MATILDA’S SCOUNDRELS (England)- ‘As The Tide Turns’  here

11. KILMAINE SAINTS (USA)- ‘Whiskey Blues & Faded Tattoos’  here

12. ORTHODOX CELTS (Serbia)- ‘Many Mouths Shut’  here

13. UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS (Italy)- ‘Handmade’  here

14. THE SILK ROAD (England)- ‘S/T’ here 

15. FLOGGING MOLLY (USA)- ‘Life Is Good’  here

16. THE LUCKY PISTOLS (USA)- ‘Where The Orioles Fly’  here

17. THE REAL McKENZIES (Canada)- ‘Two Devils Will Talk’  here

18. DRUNKEN DOLLY (Netherlands)- ‘Alcoholic Rhapsody’ here

19. CASSIDY’S BREWERY (Serbia)- ‘One Brew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’  here

20. THE MOORINGS (France)- ‘Unbowed’ here

21. CRAIC (USA)- ‘Sounds Of Vandemark’  here

22. JOLLY JACKERS (Hungary)- ‘Blood Sweat and Beer’ here

23. THE SCARLET (Hungary)- ‘Hardfolk Shanties’ here

24. THE DISTILLERY RATS (Germany)- ‘Tales From County Whiskey’ here

25. CELKILT (France)- ‘Stand’ here

26. DROPKICK MURPHYS (Boston)- ’11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory’  here

27. O’HAMSTERS (Ukraine)- ‘Где бы мы ни бывали’  here

28. SONS OF O’FLAHERTY (Brittany)- ‘The Road Not Taken’  here

29. THE BABES (London)- ‘Greetings From London’  here

30. CHEERS! (Czech Republic)- ‘Daily Bread’ here

Just bubbling under:

THE TEMPLARS OF DOOM (USA), GHOSTTOWN COMPANY (Germany) McSCALLYWAG (Netherlands)

No surprise here at all as all four admins voted #1 for Flatfoot 56 and their utterly brilliant ninth album. Not only that but we also all gave second spot to The Tossers, making it a Chicago #1 and #2! The year began with news of two new Dropkick Murphys albums coming but we only got the one and it met with, well quite a muted response to be honest. Saying that they were fantastic live and they certainly added a new dimension to these new songs when played in the flesh. The list leans heavy towards the bands from these shores it has to be said but it was always going to be with bands we get to see live regularly. It’s especially fitting to see The Bible Code Sundays in there too. In a year when every ‘big’ celtic-punk band released an album the competition was great so well done to all. Keep them coming. If you are not here then it just means we didn’t all agree or even all hear it and maybe we didn’t receive it too. The amount of debut albums from loads of these bodes well for both the scene here and internationally with a great mix of bands from thirteen countries.

BLACK WATER COUNTY- ‘Taking Chances’

This was a very hard category to fill with so many new bands arriving on the celtic-punk scene this past year. Soooo many to choose from but in the end we pumped for our very own Black Water County who just pipped Cassidy’s Brewery and In For A Penny to the title!

1. BLACK ANEMONE (Sweden)- ‘In It For Life’  here

2. RAIN IN SUMMER (Indonesia)- ‘Discordant Anthem From The Gutter’  here

3. IN FOR A PENNY (USA)- ‘Every Day Should be Saint Paddy’s Day’  here

4. THE BOTTLERS (Australia)- ‘The Bottlers’  (here)

5. BLACK RAWK DOG (Indonesia)- ‘Suburban’s Folk Stories’  here

6. BogZH CELTIC CATS! (Brittany)- ‘Kazh al Lagenn’  here

7. THE CRAZY ROGUES (Hungary)- ‘Rebels’ Shanties’  here

8. THE McMINERS (Brazil)- ‘Tales of Betrayal and Deceit’  here

9. BORN AGAIN HEATHENS (USA)- ‘Born Again Heathens’  here

10. THE DEAD MAGGIES (Australia)- ‘Wild Dogs And Flannies’  here

Stand out winner here from Sweden’s Black Anemone which none of us were sure was either a big EP or a small album so we gave it the benefit of the doubt and placed it in here. Outstanding! Two representatives of Indonesia’s fantastic celtic-punk scene made up for no album releases from there last year and one band from a Celtic nation with the BogZH Celtic Cats! The Bottlers sneak in as they only sent it to us the week before Christmas. Glad they did though.

1. DECLAN O’ROURKE- ‘Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine’  (here)

2. ShamROCKS- ‘Ye Ould Chariot’ EP  (here)

3. CRIKWATER- ‘Crikwater’  (here)

4. BEOGA- ‘Before We Change Our Mind’

5. FOLLOW THE CROWS- ‘West is East’ EP  (here)

6. PLASTIC PADDY- ‘Lucky Enough’  (here)

7. DAMIEN DEMPSEY- ‘Soulson’

8. GALLEY BEGGAR- ‘Heathen Hymns’  (here)

9. I DRAW SLOW- ‘Turn Your Face To The Sun’

10. ANTO MORRA- ‘From The Vaults’

Absolutely no question who romped home here. from the first time I ever heard Declan O’Rourke’s monumental album Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine I was simply blown away. I simply cannot recommend it enough. Go and acquire a copy now. A mix of folk and trad makes up the rest of the list with a special mention for Ukrainian band ShamROCKS who play Irish folk as if they were naturals! We would like to feature more trad and folk on these pages in the future hopefully. Also Vince Cayo had a fecking brilliant album but was neither celtic-punk nor folk. Was tempted to make a separate list just for him!

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

This use to be the Celtic Folk Punk And More Best Celtic Punk Web-Site award so often did they use to win but last year it went to the new kid on the block, our good mates over at Mersey Celt Punks. Well we were in a bit of a quandary about who would win this week but then in the last few weeks of the year the Mersey Bhoys upped their game and won a unanimous vote. They finally started to use their Web-Site (here) and published a whole host of great reviews and things like a events/gig section. You can also join in their fun and games at Twitter and Facebook and we heartily recommend you do.

So there you go. Remember we don’t pretend to be the final word on things in fact if you check the other celtic-punk media I’m sure we’ve all come up with relatively different lists. Our Best Of’s are cajoled and bullied out of the four admins from the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. The assorted scraps of paper and beer mats were then tallied up over several pints of Guinness in Mannions. Not all of us heard the same albums so like all Best Of’s ours is subjective.

CARLTON HUNT

Of course we cannot go any further without mention of the saddest news of the year. That of the passing of Carlton , the drummer of The Bible Code Sundays. A friend of London Celtic Punks and an absolute diamond stand up guy he will be forever sadly missed by all who met him. We are grateful To Ronan for penning a few words for him.

We lost Carlton on 3rd November 2017 unexpectedly and it has left a massive hole in our family. Carlton joined The BibleCode Sundays some twelve years ago when we were still called Slainte.

His work ethic was second to none, he even dragged us into the studio to record our first CD, he did a lot of pushing in the early days and the Lord knows we needed it!

He was always the first to say yes to any gig, whether it was a small Irish pub like The Old Crown in Hayes or The Shawl or whether it was some of our bigger gigs. Over the years we played some fantastic gigs and venues, such as The Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Beacon Theatre, The House of Blues in Boston, Shepherds Bush Empire, The Roundhouse, Glasgow Barrowlands, Indigo at The O2, Glastonbury Festival, Finsbury Park, London Irish, on the pitch at Twickenham Stadium and at Celtic Park (the night Celtic beat Barcelona). We’ve played with Elvis Costello, The Dropkick Murphys, The Wolfetones, John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd, the Saw Doctors and he even got to realise a dream when we shared a stage with Thin Lizzy. They were minus legends Phil Linnot and Gary Moore but this mattered not to Carlton, his hero Brian Downey was still behind the drums. Carlton got to meet his idol and even got some Thin Lizzy drumsticks as souvenir, he was like an excited little kid that night. We did TV appearances on Sky Sports, BT Sport and even a live St Patrick’s Day performance on BBC’s The One Show.

We got to travel around on trips and tours all around the UK and Ireland as well as Germany, Italy, Spain and the USA to mention a few. This was all just topping up the stamps on his passport that he had accrued in his days with Bad Manners, Feast of Fiddles and The Melody Fakers and many more as he spent so many years on the London Irish music scene.

Not many would know that he also wrote poetry and song lyrics, they are very clever with pun-tastic wordplay and generally came out sounding like Bernard Cribbins songs with titles like ‘Breakfast Epiphanies’ or the Brighton-themed song ‘All Things Brighton Beautiful’. He used to always say

“I try to be serious but the humour always takes over”

He did, however, manage to pen two of the best songs on our latest album, he was very proud of his songs ‘Disorganised Crime’ and the beautiful ‘Clouds’. Drummers writing songs?! Whatever next?! He truly was the engine room of the band, a quiet and gentle man off stage who turned into a one man wrecking ball when he was sat behind his drum kit.

Things will never be the same without him but he would want us to and we will carry on making music and playing his songs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on drums.. Mr Carlton Hunt

This is the 5th year of us making these lists so if you would like to check out out who was where in our previous Best Of’s then just click on the link below the relevant year.

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

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

FOLK’N’ROCK

PADDYROCK

MERSEY CELT PUNKS

SHITE’n’ONIONS

MacSLONS IRISH RADIO

CELTICPUNK.PL

remember any views or comments we would love to hear them…

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2018

ALBUM REVIEW: THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS- ‘Sign of the Fighter’ (2017)

Album Review, Germany February 12, 2017 1 Comment

Hot on the heels of their second album is The Sign Of The Fighter the brilliant new long player from German celtic-punkers The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats. 

paddyhats

Well it only seems like five minutes since we reviewed the second album from The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats and in fact it is. Last November we raved to the high heavens about Seven Hearts One Soul (here) and it ended the year a very respectful #16 (here) in the London Celtic Punks Best Of 2016 poll.

paddy-hats

Formed to play at a local wedding near Dortmund back in June 2011 they have since quickly shot to the top branches of the European celtic-punk tree. These Bhoys and Ghirl hail from the small town of Gevelsberg which is just down the road from the city of Dortmund. The local football team of course being Borussia Dortmond who have long had a kind of special relationship with Celtic supporters going right back to the 1980’s when Dortmond signed Celtic legend Murdo McLeod. As well as that the German celtic-punk scene is among the best in the world with bands such as Mr. Irish Bastard, Fiddler’s Green, The Porters, In Search of A Rose, The Ceili Family and the sadly deceased Auld Corn Brigade spreading celtic music and culture while entertaining the world!

(a teaser for the album giving a quick run through of several songs)

The Sign Of The Fighter is the band’s third album and begins with the title track ‘Sign Of The Fighter’ and it starts off right from where Seven Hearts One Soul finished. I mean if you got a winning formula why bother changing it? A bluegrass tinged celtic-punk epic with a great big chorus ready to shouted out at the top of your lungs. Great fiddle work and a a superb start to proceedings. They follow this up with the more traditional celtic-punk ‘Come On Board’ with more fast paced tales of the ocean. More celtic punk themes next with ‘Barroom Lady’ and their very distinctive sound is aided by Sean and Dwight’s vocals and their familiar shouty choruses that beckon you to join in. ‘In Chains’ has a sort of ska beat to it in places and again the fiddle is cracking here. The album’s first cover is of the traditional sea shanty ‘Haul Away Joe’ dating from the early 19th century. To haul, in nautical terminology, means to pull on a rope and is designed so all the men haul at the same time. The story told is of a sailor who has trouble with his Irish girl and goes to sea, it’s usually played as a acapello song The Paddyhats choose to sing it with the band backing but in a much more subdued style and the song works perfectly. The fiddle, mandolin, banjo, accordion, whistles and wash board are back for the following song, ‘Irish Way’, and its time get tapping your toes again while ‘Interlude’ sets the scene with a little story with the sound of cop cars and water at the beginning which spirals into ‘White River’,the tale of a serial killer ‘on the job’ as it were and is accompanied by a great video below.

(Video by Wüstenberg & Römer)

One thing The Paddyhats are famed for is their videos and again its another top notch production that only adds to the song. Great lyrics though not a subject for everyone’s taste I’d suppose!

“White river washes me clean again
Clean my soul and take away the pain
White river washes me clean again
So the keys to heaven will be mine again”

Pirate ships are back next with the catchy ‘Bucket Of Blood’ while in ‘Old Gang’s Lullaby’ the band slow it down but a chugging guitar keeps the punk spirit intact. ‘Paddyhats’ is up next and is the longest track her at just over four minutes and though I still no idea what one is this is where the band truly hit the heights. It’s all here with the folky instruments leading the way while the fiddle shines and the “Hey Ho” chorus gets the old blood moving. We are nearing the end and ‘Ghost Of A Soldier’ continues the way we have have trodden the previous eleven songs. The album wraps up with the first  proper cover version to be found here ‘The Boxer’. Written by Simon And Garfunkel (here) and appearing on their fifth studio album Bridge over Troubled Water in 1970. The song’s lyrics describe the struggle to overcome loneliness and poverty in New York City. The final verse switches to a third-person sketch of a down and out boxer, who has spent his whole life fighting and is still fighting now.

“In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev’ry glove that laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
“I am leaving, I am leaving”
But the fighter still remains”

Its a return to the bluegrass tinged celtic-punk of the early songs on the album and though I hate to say that a cover is the album standout I have to here. The Paddyhats stamp their name all over the song and bar the “Lie-la-lie…” chorus you’d have a job to nail it down. A fantastic choice of cover and a brilliant way to end The Sign Of The Fighter.

paddyhats

left to right: Fitzgerald O’Brien (Bass) ; Sean O’Reilly (Acoustic Guitar, Flutes, Lead Vocals) ; Emily O’Farrel (Fiddle) ; Dr. Bones (Drums) ; Ian Mac Fannigan (Backing Vocals, Washboard, Chain) ; Dwight O’Reilly (Banjo, Mandolin, Accordion, Backing Vocals) ; Ryan O Leary (Step Dancer) ; Connor O’Sullivan (Electric Guitar)

Celtic-punk can sometimes feel a bit bland on record. After all it is designed to be heard in the public house as it is the official feel good music to the world but The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats have done a top job of transferring their great live sound onto record.paddy-wagon-17 The production here is amazing and is completely faultless. The band play with an passion and pride in Irish music and culture that is a joy to behold and constantly find it within themselves to come up with a fresh and original approach to their music. Whether it’s their amazing videos or their amazing artwork The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats put their everything into the band and it shows. They are already in the top division of the German scene and with output of this quality their name is spreading beyond their local scene and we look forward to seeing them in Germany on the London Celtic Punks Euro tour in September for the Paddy Wagon festival. Lots of great bands including The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats and a whole host of other bands we have featured in the London Celtic Punks site and that we never thought we’d get to see. If you are interested in joining us then contact us and we’ll add you to the event so we can make arrangements nearer the time.

Discography

2012 Sound Of Narrow Streets * 2016 Seven Hearts One Soul * 2017 The Sign Of The Fighter

Buy The Album

FromTheBand  Amazon

Contact The Band

WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Google+  Spotify  PaddyhatsMerchandise

The scenery of the places and towns is footage of fans. They were asked to film their ‘home’ or those places that mean ‘home’ to them. You will see Mexico City, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Munich, Gevelsberg, Schwelm, Hagen, Usedom and many more. The Song ‘Fair Old Lady’ is about a man who sees his hometown as an old lady that breathes and lives just like a family member.

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS THE BEST OF 2016!

Album Review, Australia, Barcelona, Belarus, Best Of's, Boston, Brazil, Catalonia, Czech Republic, EP Review, Germany, Glasgow, Holland, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, New York, Russia, Scandinavia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, USA January 16, 2017 Comments: 7

Yes I know it only seems like five minutes since the last one but it’s that time of year again when we give you, for what it’s worth, our opinion on who made the best music in the celtic-punk scene over 2016. It’s been another outstanding year for the music that we all love and some truly fantastic records came out in the last twelve months. So read on to find out who came #1! Remember though this is only our opinion and these twenty-five album’s are only the tip of the iceberg of what was released last year. Feel free to comment, slag off or dissect our lists. We don’t pretend to be the final word as that my friends is for you…

bestof2016b

TOP 25 CELTIC PUNK ALBUMS

1. THE RUMJACKS (Australia)-‘Sleepin’Rough’  Review

2. THE NARROWBACKS (New York)- ‘Arrogance & Ignorance’  Review

3. THE CLOVES AND THE TOBACCO (Indonesia)- ‘Across The Horizon’  Review

4. MICKEY RICKSHAW (Boston)- ‘Behind The Eight Ball’  Review

5. THE WAKES (Glasgow)- ‘Venceremos!’  Review 

Absolutely no surprise here at all. For the first time we had an unanimous vote from all the admin’s that sees The Rumjacks sail away with the #1 spot for the second year running. It’s been an outstanding year for the Bhoys and with an American tour on the horizon they about to take another giant step in their campaign of world domination! Other notables were NYC’s Narrowbacks whose second album really showed the depth of their songwriting and could just have easily won the folk/trad best of too! The Cloves And The Tobacco deserve plaudits galore in another fantastic year for Indonesian celtic punk bands while Mickey Rickshaw could probably be said to have won the ‘unified title’ across all the various celtic-punk sites. In all we have twenty five bands from fourteen countries including USA x 6, Australia x 3, Indonesia x2, Germany x2, Netherlands x2, Catalonia x 2, Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Spain, Czech Republic, Russia and Belarus with The Wakes being the only Celtic country based band which goes to show how international the scene has become.

6. THE CLAN (Italy)- ‘All In The Name Of Folk’  Review

7. HOIST THE COLORS (USA)- ‘Mourners’  Review

8. SIR REG (Sweden)- ‘Modern Day Disgrace’  Review

9. FOX n FIRKIN (Australia)- ‘No Vacancy’  Review

10. FIDDLER’S GREEN (Germany)- ‘Devil’s Dozen’  Review

11. LUGH (Brazil)- ‘Histórias Do Mar’  Review

12. JAY WARS AND THE HOWARD YOUTH (Australia)- ‘Love In The Time Of Fear’  Review

13. BUNCH OF BASTARDS (Netherlands)- ‘My Drinkin’ Ain’t Done’  Review

14. SIGELPA (Catalonia)- ‘Rabant Original’  Review

15. TENHOLES (Indonesia)- ‘Loyalty’  Review

16. THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS (Germany)- ‘Seven Hearts One Soul’  Review

17. 13KRAUSS (Spain)- TheEnd Is Nigh’  Review

18. DRINK HUNTERS (Catalonia)- ‘Shameless’  Review

19. PIRATES OF THE PUBS (Czech Republic)- ‘Drunken Forever’  Review

20. THE MUCKERS (USA)- ‘The Muckers’  Review

21. LQR (Netherlands)- ’10 Pinter’  Review

22. THE Пауки/THE PAUKI (Russia)- ‘La Isla Del Muerto’  Review

23. Всё CRAZY (Belarus)- ‘По Морям’  Review

24. RUSTY NAIL (USA)- ‘Bitter Ale, Bitter Heart’  Review

25. THE LANGER’S BALL (USA)- ‘Whiskey Outlaws’  Review

A special mention here to the ever prolific and always a pleasurable experience The Mahones who released a greatest hits entitled The Very Best: 25 Years Of Irish Punk which couldn’t be included in the Top 25 but if it did would have given The Rumjacks a run for their money!

TOP TEN CELTIC PUNK EP’S

1. MICK O’TOOLE (England)- ‘A Working Class Battalion’  Review

2. THE RAMSHACKLE ARMY (Australia)- ‘Whitewashed Graves’  Review

3. DRUNKEN FAIRY TALES (Russia) – ‘Пьяные Сказки’  Review

With The Rumjacks returning a year later to sweep the Album Of The Year it’s no surprise then that Wiltshire lads Mick O’Toole follow up last year’s win in the EP Of The Year awards to do the same thing. A great year for them that has seen them play less and less within the celtic-punk scene and really start to make waves outside of it. A foreign tour and more support slots to various punk rock legends than most bands play in a lifetime and all in the space of twelve months. The Ramshackle Army EP got lost in the post leaving us to do a rush-job review and given time I’m sure they may have given the O’Toole’s a run for their money. Drunken Fairy Tales impressed everyone and Matilda’s vinyl only release deserve a mention as well Mick O’Toole grabbing the 5th spot too.

4. MATILDA’S SCOUNDRELS (England)- ‘Crowleys Curse’  Review

5. MICK O’TOOLE (England)- ‘False Flag Collapse’  Review

6. BAY STREET BASTARDS (Canada)- ‘Small Batch’  Review

7. LEXINGTON FIELD (USA)- ‘Redwood’  Review

8. HANDSOME YOUNG STRANGERS (Australia)- ‘Battle Of Broken Hill’  Review

9. MATILDA’S SCOUNDRELS (England)- ‘The Organworks Recordings Session’  Review

10.  BALSALL HEATHENS (England)- ‘Life’s Too Short’  Review

TOP TEN FOLK/TRADITIONAL RELEASES

1. ANTO MORRA (London)-’16’  Review

2. THE LOGUES (Ireland)- ‘Comin’ Of Age’  Review

3. MICKEY RICKSHAW (Boston)- ‘Wild Atlantic’  Review

Possibly the hardest Best Of List of them all to do is this one as so many releases cross over the genres between rock and punk and folk and trad but our good friend Anto Morra, the ‘London Irish folk-punker’, just edging it from The Logues with his superb tribute to the 1916 Easter Rising. Mickey Rickshaw swept to third with their specially recorded acoustic EP that came out for their European tour and ShamRocks put out an album of high quality and original Irish folk with imagination galore. A special mention for Blackwater Banshee whose EP came out later in the year and shows enormous promise and one or two original songs would have seen a much higher position I am sure.

4. ShamRocks (Ukraine)- ‘Captain’s Log’  Review

5. LARKIN (USA)- ‘A Toast To St. Jude’  Review

6. FOLK THE SYSTEM (England)- Unrest In The Wolds’  Review

7. SHAMBOLICS (Australia)- ‘Riot On Race Day’  Review

8. CLEAR THE BATTLE FIELD (USA)- ‘Set Me Free’  Review

9. SOLAS (USA)- ‘All These Years’  Review

10. BLACKWATER BANSHEE (Bristol)- ‘Blackwater Banshee’  Review

TOP CELTIC PUNK WEB-SITE

Now this has over the years become the Celtic Folk Punk And More Top Celtic Punk Web-Site award so often has that esteemed site walked away with the top spot but there’s a new kid on the block and this year we are happy to award top spot to our good mates over at Mersey Celt Punks. They only kicked off the site a few months ago but super regular postings on all manner of celtic-punkness has seen them triumphant. You can join their fun over at Twitter and Facebook and we heartily recommend you do. A special mention here also for Viva La XV another new kid on the block which looks amazing but sadly as none of us can read Spanish we can’t tell if it’s as good as it looks! We’re sure it is and you can check it out for yourselves at the Blog or over on Facebook.

mersey-celt-punks

Right now the details. The Best Of lists were cajoled and bullied out of the four admins on the London Celtic Punks Facebook page. The various scraps of crumpled paper were received and then tallied up over several pints of Guinness in Mannions in north London while watching the football on the telly.

We are now in our fourth year of doing these Best Of lists so if you would like to have a look at the previous years best in celtic-punk then click the link below the relevant year.

all the major players in celtic-punk do Best Of lists so click below to check out what they thought

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

PADDYROCK

MacSLONS IRISH RADIO

CELTIC-ROCK.DE

remember any views or comments we would love to hear them…

Only one more thing to mention about 2016 and that is to remember here Erik Petersen the lead singer of the influential folk-punk band Mischief Brew who sadly passed away earlier this year. I still find it hard to believe that he has gone but he will always be commemorated.

“So tattoo our arms and raise our glasses, call out your name at New Year’s Eve, maybe next time we kneel at a casket, we can say at least the story’s complete”

Read our obituary for Erik here and raise a glass the next time you get the chance to.

 Rest In Peace comrade.

 Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- January, 2017

ALBUM REVIEW: THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS- ‘Seven Hearts One Soul’ (2016)

Album Review, Germany November 14, 2016 Leave a comment

Imagine the foggy streets of long ago Dublin, crowded pubs ringing with laughter and singing, a time of sailing fishermen and people with stalwart beliefs. The past wrapped up in songs that make you want to dance and sing along till your throat demands another pint. This is what it’s like to listen to The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats!

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The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats played their debut gig at a wedding near Dortmund back in only June 2011 and since then have quickly shot to the top branches of the European celtic-punk tree. Germany has has always had a big love affair with Ireland. As a child it never ceased to amaze me that when i was over in the ‘auld country’ on my school holidays every other person seemed to be a German and their love of Ireland was clear. I remember well a conversation with some German tourist at a train station about The Wolfe Tones as a young teen while getting disapproving looks from my Grandad who though special branch were listening to every word anyone said! These Bhoys and Ghirl from the small town of Gevelsberg, just down the road from the city of Dortmund, are no different. Their love of Ireland is palpable and you can can feel it throughout this wonderful album that is sure to only improve their standing. The German celtic-punk scene is among the best in the world with bands such as Mr. Irish Bastard, Fiddler’s Green, The Porters, In Search of A Rose, The Ceili Family and the sadly deceased Auld Corn Brigade entertaining the world!

the oreillysThis is the bands follow up to their debut album Sound of Narrow Streets from September 2012 and they raised the funds for the release of Seven Hearts One Soul themselves and with the help of their loyal fans raised an incredible E8000 on crowdfunding to pay for its production in full. Recording the album in the famed Principal Studios home of legendary German punk band Die Toten Hosen just up the road from them the album is not simply your typical Irish folk punk record. All the elements are there sure and they straddle nicely the middle ground between scene giants The Murphys and the Mollys between the more folky and the more punky sides of celtic-punk but The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats have found their own niche within the scene and boy does it work well.

Seven Hearts One Soul begins with a short intro set aboard a sailing ship before ‘Black Sails’ bursts into your eardrums and we are off. Chugging guitar and great fiddle work with touches of country but firmly within the pirate tradition with a outstandingly catchy chorus. One of the things that the German celtic-punk bands don’t shy away from is Irish republicanism and I would even go so far as to say it’s one of the reasons why the Germans love us so much. ‘We All Know’ is not your standard rebel but the band give it plenty of oompf and its drives along at a great auld pace. Next is ‘Black and White’ and the banjo stands out here with a slightly slower song without losing any of the bands power. They return to pirate territory with ‘Chief of the Sea’ which starts slow before turning into a real thigh slapper. A solid backline accompanying the celtic instruments in this song about wanting rum!

The video is not the version from the album but if anything I much prefer it. Next up is the fantastic song ‘Barrels of Whiskey’ for which The Paddyhats put out a fecking brilliant video, below. Amazing fiddle here in this song, about illegally making whiskey, as throughout the album.

Follows is ‘Hey You’ and catchy as hell until the chorus kicks in and it manages to get a whole lot better and even has the tiniest bit of a ska beat chucked in there too. ‘Fair Old Lady’ is an ode to their home town of Gevelsberg and begins with acoustic guitar and has some great lyrics. ‘What I Am’ shows The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats in reflective mood with a slow ballad start that soon speeds up but could still be classed as a ballad. They have managed to record an album that captures their live sound well and if I ever get to see this band I expect to be on the receiving end of a sore throat screaming for an encore. ‘Hang By the Neck’ continues the catchyness of this album with more than a wee trace of country. The album ends with the only cover version here and ‘Black and Tans’ is a faithful version of the Dominic Behan penned Irish rebel song that is sure to get anyone’s blood pumping every time you hear it coming on!

“I was born on a Dublin street where the Royal drums do beat
And the loving English feet they tramped all over us,
And each and every night when me father’d come home tight
He’d invite the neighbors outside with this chorus

Oh, come out you black and tans,
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wives how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away,
From the green and lovely lanes in Killashandra”

Tin whistle leads us into this song tells of the brutal paramilitary force the British government sent to Ireland in 1919 to smash resistance and the quell the rebellion that sought to end British rule and links that fight for freedom to others around the world. The nickname ‘Black and Tans’ came from the colours of their hastily put together uniform of mixed khaki of the British Army and rifle green from the Police. With the Irish leading the way and providing inspiration others took up the mantle and fought the British Empire across the world for their own independence. Due to their murderous activities and the atrocities they committed, feelings continue to run high and a ‘Black and Tan’ or just simply a ‘Tan’ remains a term of abuse and their very mention shows they are still despised by many in Ireland. It rocks out and has the best shouty chorus of any rebel song ever written.

paddyhats

left to right: Fitzgerald O’Brien (Bass) ; Sean O’Reilly (Acoustic Guitar, Flutes, Lead Vocals) ; Emily O’Farrel (Fiddle) ; Dr. Bones (Drums) ; Ian Mac Fannigan (Backing Vocals, Washboard, Chain) ; Dwight O’Reilly (Banjo, Mandolin, Accordion, Backing Vocals) ; Ryan O Leary (Step Dancer) ; Connor O’Sullivan (Electric Guitar)

Released on the 9th of April earlier this year it has been slow in reaching us and then we were a bit late in getting this review done but it has been well worth the wait. Of the eleven songs all have been written by the band with the only exception that one excellently played cover. The CD comes with an excellent 16 page booklet with all song lyrics and any other information you could possibly need. The CD also comes in a special limited edition box-set with a whole host of goodies so check out the band web-site for that. Clocking in at 35 minutes the album is a quick and highly enjoyable blast that simply bursts with energy and atmosphere. Transporting you out of your living room and into the one place this kind of music was supposed to be heard. Yes, the pub! The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats play with an passion and pride in Irish music and culture that is a joy to behold. They take us on a journey (by sea of course!) full of tales of love and loss, of rebellion and comrades and friendship and, of course, drinking. The Paddyhats show what is possible in the celtic-punk scene. That it is still possible to come up with something fresh and unique and entertaining from beginning to end.

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ALBUM REVIEW: FIDDLER’S GREEN- ‘Devil’s Dozen’ (2016)

Album Review, Germany November 9, 2016 Leave a comment

Fiddlers Green. The band that invented their own genre- ‘Irish Speed Folk’ !!

fiddlers-green-devils-dozen

Fiddler’s Green celebrated their 25th anniversary last year with the release of the fantastic compilation album 25 Blarney Roses and was as about as good as anything released in 2015. They hail from the small Bavarian town of Erlangen, that is twinned with our very own Stoke. Famed for their live shows and the ability to transfer that live sound to disc their popularity has grown and grown to see them hailed as one of the major bands in the European celtic-punk scene. It’s always hard to capture the passion and excitement of a celtic-punk gig onto a studio album but when a band achieves it then that album surely becomes a must have and Fiddler’s Green have been doing exactly that for 25 years now. Beloved by their loyal following it was only the other day when talking about fellow German band The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats new album, that we remarked on how Germany has has always had a big love affair with Ireland. Despite competition from such great bands as the aforementioned Paddyhats as well as  Mr. Irish Bastard, The Porters, In Search of A Rose and The Ceili Family it has been Fiddlers Green’s consistency that has seen them become arguably Germany’s most popular celtic-punk band.

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‘Devil’s Dozen’, also known as a Bakers Dozen, is a term often used in them olden days to mean 13, one more than a standard dozen. The practice of baking 13 items for an intended dozen was insurance against the items being lower than the statutory weight, or of lower than usual quality, which could cause the baker to be fined. And so on ‘Devils Dozen’ we find thirteen songs of, as it says on the cover, “Finest Irish Speed Folk”. The album begins with the title song and its accordion led classic Irish themed folk-punk from the very off. This is pure good time party music and there’s no one better at supplying that then Fiddlers Green. You won’t find much social commentary here and so what if you don’t!

fiddlers-green

Fiddlers Green (left to right): Tobi Heindl- violin, vocals * Steve Klug- accordion, bodhran * Ralf ‘Albi’ Albers- vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, banjo * Pat Prziwara- vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bouzouki, mandolin, banjo * Rainer Schulz- bass * Frank Jooss- drums, percussion *

Music has the ability to unite us and celtic-punk should not just unite but have us all linking arms throwing our beers in the air and professing our love for each other at the top of our lungs. There’s plenty of time to worry about the result of the American Presidential election another day. A great song that is followed by ‘Bottoms Up’ and you guessed it. It’s an ale themed song but the most interesting thing is they have sound rather like The Kaiser Chiefs here. That is if The Kaiser Chiefs had a fiddle payer and a accordionist! Very catchy and pure folk-punk though not of the celtic-variety in fact it has a more Eastern European feel to it.

Nevertheless a class song and just shows that Fiddlers Green refuse to rest on their laurels and churn out what is expected of them. One of the album standouts for me.

“Loose girls standing by the backdoor
Hot legs stepping on the dance floor
Join in, get the mojo working
Movin’, groovin, you know what it’s good for…”

Couldn’t get this bloody song out of my head for days after listening to this album so I was glad when we moved on to ‘Down’. The first minute is a ramped up celtic -punk version of the Simon and Garfunkel hit ‘El Condor Pasa’ and just as your settling down to a rather nice cover version the Fiddlers turn it round and add their own song about going down to you know where…

“We’ll pay the ferryman a dime
So come along, you’ re dead and gone
The demon tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound…”

One of the most interesting things about Fiddlers Green is their outstanding videos so you would be well advised that after you finish this review to go make yourself a cup of tea (or something stronger) and hightail over to their You Tube channel (link below) for a hour or two. and enjoy your viewing!

They can’t keep the energy going for ever so they slow it down a little for next song, ‘Boat On The River’. Now this is a cover I have never heard before and surprisingly its not an auld Irish song its a metal ballad from old and nearly forgotten 70’s rockers Styx. I actually really like the original too which you can find here but its a great and highly unusual cover that pays tribute to Styx while taking it into celtic-punk territory. They add in a bucket full of country to ‘Perfect Gang’ with absolutely superb fiddle here and a real crowd pleaser I’m sure with the great chorus. The only traditional Irish folk cover here is up next with the famous ‘Leaving Of Liverpool’.

“I have sailed with Burgess once before, I think I know him well
If a man’s a sailor he will get along, if not then he’s sure in hell
So fare thee well my own true love
When I return united we will be
It’s not the leaving of Liverpool that grieves me
But my darling when I think of thee”

A brilliant rousing version of this great tune. Liverpool was once one of the world’s major sea ports and this song was collected from Richard Maitland, a resident of Sailor’s Snug Harbor a home for retired seamen on Staten Island. He told that he learned it while on board the sailing ship General Knox around 1885 and The Davy Crockett mentioned in the song was launched in 1853. Previously recorded by The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers and The Pogues its one of the standard Irish folk songs that pop up from time to time but great to hear a version that can stand alongside them here. ‘Johnny’ sees us back in ‘celtic-indie’ territory while ‘Bad Boys’ is there punkiest song here all the while the fiddle is still fiddling and the accordion pumping meaning we never stray too far from the Fiddlers Green sound. They slow it down again for ‘Blame It On Me’ and Ralf’s vocals are never better than here. A tale of bad luck and bad choices his voice fills with emotion while the band sweep and swirl around him and the gang chorus work brilliantly well. ‘All The Way’ switches it up again and we get a lovely slice of celtic-ska with the fiddle leading the track and pushing it along till the song speeds up into a great punk song before slipping back easily into ska. We are nearing the end so time for a silly one with ‘Mr. Tickle’ about everyone’s favourite Mr Men character (apart from Mr Messy that is). ‘Here We Go Again’ and ‘We Won’t Die Tonight’ bring the curtain down on this great album that proves Fiddlers Green are truly one of the best bands in celtic-punk. Solid reliable and innovative and always moving.

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Devils Dozen is thirteen songs of mostly self penned numbers with a smattering of unusual and well picked covers that comes in at just over 13 45 minutes long. The album is available on CD, with vinyl due in December, but also comes as various deluxe versions including things such as DVD’s and t-shirts. Fiddlers Green are a lot different from the band that released that debut album way back in 1992 but the core of the band has remained the same and they have as a unit never lost sight of the groups main principal that their fans are everything. They would never have become so popular if they had stood still and it is their ability to try new things and styles, but always in keeping with the Fiddlers Green ethos and sound, that has helped them achieve that popularity.

Discography

Fiddler’s Green (1992), Black Sheep (1993), Kings Shepherd (1995), Make Up Your Mind (EP 1996), On And On (1997), Spin Around (1998), Stage Box (Live 1999), Another Sky (2000), Folk Raider (2002), Nu Folk (2003), Celebrate (Live 2005), Drive Me Mad! (2007), Sports Day At Killaloe (2009), Folk’s Not Dead (Live 2009), Wall of Folk (2011), Acoustic Pub Crawl (2013), Winners and Boozers (2013), 25 Blarney Roses (Compilation 2015), 25 Blarney Roses Live In Cologne (Live 2016), Devil’s Dozen (2016).

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