Irish Rock
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Irish Rock
Rock music in Ireland, also known as Irish rock, has been a part of the music of Ireland since the 1960s, when the British Invasion brought British blues, psychedelic rock and other styles to the island. The Irish music scene in the 1960s and much of the 1970s was dominated by the unique Irish phenomenon of the 'Showbands' which were groups of professional performers who played at dancehalls and clubs across the country putting on a professional 'show' and playing all the American and British hits of the era. From the mid-1970s onwards rock music in Ireland has followed a similar path to rock music in Britain. 1960s In the 1960s being part of a 'Showband' was essentially the only way a professional musician in Ireland could make a living. Van Morrison, Henry McCullough and Rory Gallagher started working in Irish showbands, but went on to put Ireland on the rock music map. Van Morrison achieved international success in the 1960s with the beat group Them before launching a very su ...
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Rock Music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom.W. E. Studwell and D. F. Lonergan, ''The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from its Beginnings to the mid-1970s'' (Abingdon: Routledge, 1999), p.xi It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style that drew directly from the blues and rhythm and blues genres of African-American music and from country music. Rock also drew strongly from a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical, and other musical styles. For instrumentation, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar, drums, and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music with a time signature using a verse–chorus form, ...
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Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes heavy metal. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, met while still in school. Lynott led the group throughout their recording career of twelve studio albums, writing most of the material. The singles "Whiskey in the Jar" (a traditional Irish ballad), "The Boys Are Back in Town" and "Waiting for an Alibi" were international hits. After Lynott's death in 1986, various incarnations of the band emerged over the years based initially around guitarists Scott Gorham and John Sykes, though Sykes left the band in 2009. Gorham later continued with a new line-up including Downey. In 2012, Gorham and Downey decided against recording new material as Thin Lizzy s ...
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Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing Irish traditional music in a duo with Andy Irvine and later with Tommy Peoples and Matt Molloy, he later turned to a more rock-inspired electric style with poignant political lyrics. Some of his most popular songs are: "Crazy Dreams", "Nothing but the Same Old Story", " The Island", "Night Hunting Time", "Steel Claw" and "Paradise Is Here". Early life Paul Joseph Brady was born in Belfast and raised in the small town of Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on the border with County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. His father Seán Brady and mother Mollie Brady née McElholm were school teachers. Brady was educated at Sion Mills Primary School, St. Columb's College, Derry and University College Dublin. He is prominently featured in ...
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Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ''Paddy'' ''on the Road'' was recorded with Dominic Behan in 1969. In 2007, he was named as Ireland's greatest living musician in RTÉ's People of the Year Awards. Early life Moore was born in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland and attended Newbridge College. His mother Nancy Moore was a Fine Gael election candidate. He was originally a bank employee who wanted to express himself using traditional music. During a bank strike in 1966, which lasted twelve weeks, he went to England, as many striking officials did, but didn't return when the strike was settled. "I had a wild and wonderful time in England, with no bank manager looking over my shoulder," he said. Doing general labouring work, he frequented the folk clubs and the Irish music p ...
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Moving Hearts
Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.Harris, Craig''Moving Hearts'' AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2016. Career The group was formed in 1981 when Dónal Lunny (bouzouki) and Christy Moore (vocals, guitar and bodhrán), of Planxty, wanted to explore the possibilities of linking contemporary music to Irish traditional music. They initially intended to form a trio with guitarist Declan Sinnott,Speek, Han (2011)''Dónal Lunny – a short biography''.''xs4all.nl''. Retrieved 13 May 2007. but then expanded the group to include established Irish musicians Keith Donald (alto sax), Eoghan O'Neill (bass), Brian Calnan (drums), and Davy Spillane (uilleann pipes). In their first year together, Moving Hearts performed to packed audiences during their three-night-a-week residency at the Baggot Inn on Baggot Street in Dublin.Mc ...
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Planxty
Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars, bodhrán, keyboards), and Liam O'Flynn (uilleann pipes, tin whistle). They transformed and popularized Irish folk music, touring and recording to great acclaim. Subsequently, Johnny Moynihan, Paul Brady, Matt Molloy (flute), Bill Whelan (keyboards), Nollaig Casey (fiddle) and, briefly, Noel Hill (concertina) and Tony Linnane (fiddle) were also temporary members. Planxty broke up twice, first in December 1975 and again in April 1983. The original quartet reunited in October 2003 and their final performance was on 31 January 2005. History Formation and first run (1972–1975) Christy Moore and Dónal Lunny had been friends since school days in Newbridge, County Kildare, Lunny having taught Moore how to play both guitar and bodhrán. ...
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Roots Revival
A roots revival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound. The term ''roots revival'' is vague, and may not always refer to identical events. Characteristics associated with a roots revival include: * Popularization of previously non-mainstream and independent music, independent of folk music * Adaptation of folk styles to pop (or rock) structures * Invention of new formats like bands where only solo acts had existed before * Introduction of new instruments * Composition of works by those who perform them, as opposed to folk tunes mostly passed down orally (see singer-songwriter) * Incorporation of politically aware lyrics, often critical of a government, religion, or other authority, or society in general * Lyrics are the first from the ...
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Alone Again (Naturally)
"Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. It was recorded in 1972 at the same time as his album '' Back to Front'' and was a worldwide hit. The single spent six non-consecutive weeks at number one on ''Billboard's'' Hot 100 between late July and early September 1972 in America. It ranked number two in the year-end chart (behind Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") and sold more than two million copies. The song was involved in a 1991 court case which held that sampling of music can constitute copyright infringement. Lyrics "Alone Again (Naturally)" is a melancholy, introspective ballad. In the first verse, the singer contemplates suicide after having been left "in the lurch at a church"; in the second, he wonders if there is a God; finally, he laments the death of his parents. O'Sullivan has said the song is not autobiographical: for example, his mother was alive during its composition, and he was not close to his father ...
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Get Down (Gilbert O'Sullivan Song)
"Get Down" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, from his 1973 album '' I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter''. Released as a single, it spent two weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in April 1973, was also a number-one hit in Ireland and was a top-ten hit in the United States and Canada. The song was originally used by O'Sullivan as a piano warm-up tune, but was eventually extended into a full song and released as a single; O'Sullivan recorded and released the song as a change from his more melancholy pieces. Believed to be an order from O'Sullivan to his dog ("Get Down!"), the singer is actually referring to a girl in the song behaving as a dog jumping on him, hence the request to "get down". In 2006 British dance group Malibu Sneakers recorded a dance version of the song entitled "Get Down Again". In 2008 it was released as a vinyl 12", including a vocal remix by Raul Rincon. The song was used in the 2013 film ''The Harry Hill Movie''. According to Rick Finch ...
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Clair (song)
"Clair" is a song by Gilbert O'Sullivan, released in 1972 as the first single from his second album '' Back to Front''. It was written by O'Sullivan and produced by Gordon Mills, and is one of O'Sullivan's biggest-selling singles. Song details The song is a love song from the point of view of a close family friend who babysits a young girl (actually the artist's manager's daughter), though for the first part of the song, the ambiguous words lead one to think that it is a romantic song from one adult to another. The brief instrumental introduction is the sound of O'Sullivan whistling before he begins his vocal. The real Clair was the three-year-old daughter of O'Sullivan's producer-manager, Gordon Mills, and his wife, the model Jo Waring. The little girl's giggling is heard at the end of this song. The "Uncle Ray" mentioned in the song is O'Sullivan himself, a reference to his real name of Raymond O'Sullivan. The harmonica instrumental break in the song, played by Mills, modulates ...
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Gilbert O'Sullivan
Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair", and " Get Down". O'Sullivan's songs are often marked by his distinctive, percussive piano playing style and observational lyrics using word play. Born in Waterford, Ireland, O'Sullivan settled in Swindon, England, as a child. In 1967, O'Sullivan began pursuing a career in music. Worldwide, he has charted 16 top 40 records including six No. 1 songs, the first of which was 1970's "Nothing Rhymed". Across his career, he has recorded 20 studio albums. The music magazine ''Record Mirror'' voted him the top UK male singer of 1972. He has received three Ivor Novello Awards, including “Songwriter of the Year” in 1973. Early life Raymond Edward O'Sullivan was born on 1 December 1946 in Cork Road, Waterford, Ireland. He was one of six children; his mother May ran a sweet s ...
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