Loudest Whisper are an Irish

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

progressive folk Progressive folk is a style of contemporary folk that adds new layers of musical and lyrical complexity, often incorporating various ethnic influences. History Origins of the term The original meaning of progressive folk came from its links t ...

group formed in the early 1970s and led by songwriter and guitarist Brian O'Reilly. They are best known for their 1974 debut album, '' The Children of Lir'', a folk opera based on the Irish legend of the same name. The original LP release of the album became one of the most sought after records in Ireland, and ranks among the top 100 rarest records in the world. Loudest Whisper made several albums and over a dozen

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. The group became dormant in the mid-1980s, but reformed in the mid-1990s with a revival of ''The Children of Lir''. They released a new album in 2004.

History

Loudest Whisper began in

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

, Ireland in the early 1960s as The Wizards, a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. N ...

consisting of Brian O'Reilly (guitar, vocals), Michael Clancy (guitar, vocals), John Aherne (bass guitar, vocals) and Jimmy Cotter (drums, vocals). The Wizards played

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and rh ...

and

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh musician. He founded the Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", " Somebody Help Me", "Gimme Some Lov ...

songs, before progressing into "heavier blues territory" when

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

and

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

appeared. In the early 1970s, the band changed their name to "Loudest Whisper", chosen to reflect both sides of their music, "the folky and the heavy". Soon after, several personnel changes took place: Cotter left, and Brendan Neligan (vocals), Ron Kavanagh (guitar, vocals) and Brian O'Reilly's brother Paud O'Reilly (drums) joined. Brian O'Reilly was also a songwriter, influenced by American folk-rock groups like

The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is a Canadian-American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band were among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influ ...

and

The Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York C ...

, but in the early 1970s he began exploring

Irish folklore Irish folklore () refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance and mythology of Ireland. It is the study and appreciation of how people lived. The folklore of Ireland includes banshees, fairies, leprechauns and other mythological creatures, ...

. O'Reilly was particularly interested in the

Children of Lir The ''Children of Lir'' () is a legend from Irish mythology. It is a tale from the post-Christianisation period that mixes magical elements such as druidic wands and spells with a Christian message of Christian faith bringing freedom from su ...

, and in 1972 he composed a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

musical based on the Irish legend. ''The Children of Lir'' developed into a

stage production Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...

, and it premiered in Fermoy on 7 January 1973, with Kavanagh performing in the lead role. The musical generated "a lot of regional attention" and Ireland's national broadcaster,

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

recorded a ten-minute feature, which it aired on prime time. This exposure resulted in the production moving to other cities, and the Irish division of

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

signing a record deal with Loudest Whisper. Early in 1974 the group recorded their debut album, '' The Children of Lir'', a studio adaption of the musical with producer

Leo O'Kelly Leo O'Kelly (born 27 November 1949, Carlow, County Carlow, Ireland) is an Irish singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He is the co-founder of the Irish folk duo Tír na nÓg. After the band decided to split in 1974, he produced ...

from

Tír na nÓg In Irish mythology, Tír na nÓg ( , ; ) or Tír na hÓige ('Land of Youth') is one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, or perhaps for a part of it. Tír na nÓg is best known from the tale of Oisín ("''uh''-''sheen''") and Niamh ("''neev ...

. The album was, however, rejected by Polydor in the UK and ended up being released in Ireland only in a limited edition of about 500 copies. Kavanagh left Loudest Whisper during the recording of ''The Children of Lir'', and Neligan left after the album was released. O'Reilly then wrote a second musical, ''Perseus'', based on the

Greek legend Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient ...

. For the stage production singer Geraldine Dorgan performed in the main role, and later joined Loudest Whisper as singer/guitarist. She also sang in O'Reilly's third musical, ''The Maiden of Sorrow'' in 1975. A live performance of ''The Maiden of Sorrow'' was recorded in 1975, but not released until 1995 on CD. Loudest Whisper recorded a number of

for Polydor Ireland during the mid- and late-1970s, but it was not until 1980 that the label released their second album, ''Loudest Whisper'' (later reissued on CD as ''Loudest Whisper 2''), which consisted of some of their singles and new material. Unhappy with Polydor's lack of support, O'Reilly built his own recording studio in Fermoy in 1979 called Fiona. In 1982 the band recorded their third album, ''Hard Times'' at Fiona Studio with the addition of a new vocalist, Bernadette Bowes. In 1985 Dorgan and Bowes left the band, and towards the end of the 1980s, Loudest Whisper began to dissolve. O'Reilly continued to write musicals, and staged ''Buskin in Fermoy and

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, which received "rave reviews". When

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions J ...

made its appearance in 1994, and proved very successful, Brian O'Reilly decided to restage ''The Children of Lir'', this time with a more "folky and Celtic veneer". It was also recorded and released in 1994 as ''The Children of Lir'', credited to Brian O'Reilly and

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

. The original 1974 ''The Children of Lir'' recording was released in the UK for the first time by Kissing Spell on CD in 1994. In 2008 Sunbeam Records released ''Magic Carpet'', a six-CD box set that included all the group's albums, singles and some of their early demos. The original 1974 LP release of ''The Children of Lir'' has become one of the most sought after records in Ireland, and ranks among the top 100 rarest records in the world. Since the mid-1990s, Loudest Whisper have been performing on and off with different musicians, including as a trio of Brian O'Reilly (guitar, keyboards, vocals), his brother Paud (drums, backing vocals) and Brian's son, Oran (double bass). In 2004 the group released the album, ''Our World'' on Fiona Records. and in 2014 they released ''Blue... Is the Colour'' on Sunbeam Records

Discography

Singles

*"William B" / "False Prophets" (1974, 7" vinyl,

, Ireland) *"Come Back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff" / "Wrong or Right" (1976, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) *"You and I" / "Lord Have Mercy" (1976, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) IRE No. 4 *"Rock 'n' Roll Child" / "Pied Piper" (1977, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) *"You and I" / "Satisfaction" (1979, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) IRE No. 15 *"Magic Carpet" / "Tangerine" (1979, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) IRE No. 28 *"Name of the Game (Parts 1 & 2)" (1980, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) *"Home" / "Wheel of Fortune" (1980, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) *"William B"/"Fiona" (1981, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) *"Loudmouth" / "Hemlop's Hammer" (1981, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) *"Guitar Man" / "In the Dark" (1983, 7" vinyl, Polydor Records, Ireland) *"Oh Lord Above" / "Poete de la Nature" (1983, 7" vinyl, Fiona Records, Ireland) *"Marianne" / "505" (1983, 7" vinyl, Fiona Records, Ireland) *"Hey Marian" / "Daffodil" (1984, 7" vinyl, Fiona Records, Ireland) *"Old Devil Blues" / "Man Hunter" (1985, 7" vinyl, Ritz Records, UK) – from the musical ''Buskin by Brian O'Reilly *"Johnny (Where Are You Now)" / "Old Devil Blues" (1986, 7" vinyl, Fiona Records, Ireland) *"Who's Gonna Rock You" / "Petuina" (1986, 7" vinyl, Fiona Records, Ireland) *"Mean Man" / "Beat of the Drum" (1989, 7" vinyl, Fiona Records, Ireland)

Albums

*'' The Children of Lir'' (1974, LP,

, Ireland) *''Loudest Whisper'' (1980, LP, Polydor Records, Ireland) – reissued on CD in 1995 as ''Loudest Whisper 2'' *''Hard Times'' (1983, LP, Fiona Records, Ireland) *''The Best of Brian O'Reilly & Loudest Whisper'' (1991, CD,

K-Tel K-tel International Ltd is a Canadian company which formerly specialized in selling consumer products through infomercials and live demonstration. Its products include compilation music albums, including ''The Super Hits'' series, ''The Dynamic ...

Ireland) - A collection of new recordings of songs from across the band's career *''Maiden of Sorrow'' (1995, CD, Kissing Spell, UK) – live album recorded in 1975 *''The Collection'' (1995, CD & Cassette, Fiona Records, Ireland) – Reissue of 1991 K-Tel album, sponsored by Clonakilty Blackpudding Co. *''Our World'' (2004, CD, Fiona Records, Ireland) *''Blue... Is the Colour of Time'' (2014, CD, Sunbeam Records, UK)

Compilations

*''Magic Carpet'' (2008, 6-CD set, Sunbeam Records, UK) – discs 1–3: first three albums; disc 4: non-album singles 1974–1983; disc 5: non-album singles 1983–1990; disc 6: demos and unreleased recordings 1973–1996 Source: Irishrock.org.

References

External links

Loudest Whisper illustrated discography
{{Authority control Irish folk musical groups Musical groups established in 1970 Castlebar Song Contest winners Polydor Records artists Musical groups from County Cork 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music