Energy Orchard were a guitar-based

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band of the late 1980s and early 1990s, from

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. Fronted by

Bap Kennedy Martin Christopher Kennedy (17 June 1962 – 1 November 2016), known as Bap Kennedy, was a singer-songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was noted for his collaborations with Steve Earle, Van Morrison, Shane MacGowan and Mark Knopfler, as ...

(brother of singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy), their style drew heavily on the influence of

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

and other

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

acts, but incorporated traditional elements of Irish

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. The band emerged from the remnants of one other Belfast-based

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

/ new wave band, 10 Past 7.

Career

Following the band's early concerts at the New Pegasus they were signed to MCA on the recommendation of

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

. The band consisted of: *

(lead vocals) * Paul Toner (lead guitar) * David Toner (percussion) * Spade McQuade (rhythm guitar/mandolin/vocals) * Joby Fox (bass guitar) * Kevin Breslin (keyboards) Whilst the majority of the songs were written by Kennedy, it was Fox that wrote their biggest hit, "Belfast". But following personal problems Fox left to be replaced for a short time initially by Michael Kelpie and then Steve Lawrence. Following another re-jig McQuade switched to bass, in what would become the final line up until the band parted in 1997. Their debut single, "Belfast" was their most successful song, and reached 52 in the UK Singles Chart, and featured on ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

''. The 1990 follow-up was "Sailortown". The first album, '' Energy Orchard'', was released to some critical appreciation. Subsequent albums included the 1992 release '' Stop the Machine'', 1993's ''Shinola'' (released on Essential Records), '' Pain Killer'' (1995) and the 1996 live album, ''Orchardville''. Despite extensive touring, the breakthrough to mainstream success eluded them. The band having completed their recording contract with Castle Communications in 1996 disbanded. The split up saw Kennedy go on to launch a successful solo career (his first album saw a renewed partnership with Steve Earle), whilst McQuade and Breslin relocated to

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, Florida. Whilst there they played together in local band Celtic Soul, prior to McQuade launching his own group Spade McQuade and the Allstars. Both Paul and David Toner left the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

with Paul reading Law at Queens University, Belfast, and David for a time moving to Sweden to teach English. With

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in Cincinn ...

from

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

and Jim DeVito, Kevin Breslin formed Buffalo Diamond and recorded The Things You Do released in November 2005.

Discography

Singles

* "Belfast" (1990) – UK No. 52 * "Sailortown" (1990) – UK No. 73 * "King of Love" (1990) – UK No. 93 * "Somebody's Brother (live)" (1990) – UK No. 80

Albums

* '' Energy Orchard'' (1990) – UK No. 53 * '' Stop the Machine'' (1992) * ''Shinola'' (1993) * '' Pain Killer'' (1995) * ''Orchardville'' (1996)

References

{{Authority control Rock music groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups from Belfast British celtic rock groups Irish celtic rock groups