Butterfly Child was a Northern Irish group led by the singer/songwriter Joe Cassidy, based in

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Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Described as "purveyors of shimmering, oceanic rock", the band has released three full-length albums and numerous singles/EPs.

History

Butterfly Child was formed in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in 1984. After playing shows throughout Ireland, Butterfly Child released an EP, ''Toothfairy'', on A.R. Kane's H.ark! label in 1991. Remarkable in its "frazzled, cracked fragility", the EP caught the ear of the legendary

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, who invited the band to record its first ''

Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

'' on 12 January 1992 at

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, ...

. A second EP, ''Eucalyptus'', was released the same year. The band signed to

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

in 1993 where it released the ''Ghetto Speak'' EP and the first full-length album, ''Onomatopoeia''. In November 1993, Butterfly Child returned to Maida Vale for a second Peel Session. Broadcast in January 1994, the session included two songs that later appeared on the second album. Work began on ''The Honeymoon Suite'' in summer 1994 with the intention to release it that autumn, but its release was delayed because of disagreements with the record company over the running order and content. After protracted discussions, it was finally released as originally intended by

Dedicated Records Dedicated was a British independent record label that released music between 1990 and 1998 by Spiritualized, Spacemen 3, Global Communication, Beth Orton (in the U.S.), Chapterhouse (band), Chapterhouse, Cranes (band), Cranes and others. It was ...

in 1995. Frustrated by the experience, Cassidy moved to

in 1997 to begin work on a third album. ''Soft Explosives'' was released in late 1998 by HitIt! Recordings, a Chicago label that had handled the US releases of the first two albums. Following a lengthy break, Butterfly Child released "No Longer Living In Your Shadow" as a 7" single on Dell'Orso Records in 2012. On 15 July 2021, Cassidy died of heart problems and

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

after falling ill earlier in the month. He was 51.

Discography

References

External links

Butterfly Child at SoundCloud
{{Authority control Rock music groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups from Belfast Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 2021 1984 establishments in Northern Ireland 2021 disestablishments in Northern Ireland Dedicated Records artists Rough Trade Records artists