The Celtic Soul Brothers

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"The Celtic Soul Brothers"
The Celtic Soul Brothers cover.jpg
Single by Dexys Midnight Runners
from the album Too-Rye-Ay
B-side "Love (Part 2)"
ReleasedMarch 1982
Recorded1981–1982
Genre Folk rock [1]
Length3:08
Label Mercury
Songwriter(s) Kevin Rowland, Jim "Big Jim" Paterson, Mickey Billingham
Producer(s) Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
Dexys Midnight Runners singles chronology
"Liars A to E"
(1981)		"The Celtic Soul Brothers"
(1982)		"Come on Eileen"
(1982)
"The Celtic Soul Brothers"
Single by Dexys Midnight Runners
B-side
  • "Reminisce Part One" (7" and 12")
  • "Show Me" (Live) (12")
ReleasedMarch 1983
Label Mercury
Songwriter(s) Kevin Rowland, Jim "Big Jim" Paterson, Mickey Billingham
Dexys Midnight Runners singles chronology
"Let's Get This Straight (From the Start)"
(1982)		"The Celtic Soul Brothers"
(1983)		"This Is What She's Like"
(1985)

"The Celtic Soul Brothers" (known as "The Celtic Soul Brothers (More, Please, Thank You)" on the album version) is a song written by Mickey Billingham, Jimmy Paterson and Kevin Rowland of Dexys Midnight Runners.

Contents

Background

"The Celtic Soul Brothers" was first released by the band in March 1982 as a single and was also the first song on the band's 1982 album Too-Rye-Ay . [2] The song was the first song recorded and released by the revamped Dexys Midnight Runners' lineup, which added fiddle players Helen O'Hara, Steve Brennan and Roger MacDuff and bassist Giorgio Kilkenny. [2] [3] [4] Reflecting the revised lineup, the song's instruments feature mandolins and violins rather than the horn fanfares featured in the group's earlier work. [4] The song was inspired by 1960s soul music, and co-writer Billingham has stated that The Whispers' song "Needle in a Haystack" was a particular influence, accounting for "The Celtic Soul Brothers'" unusual melody. [3] Co-writer and Dexys Midnight Runners' lead singer Rowland has stated that the song was about him and Dexys' trombone player Paterson; Rowland being Irish and Paterson being Scottish. [3] Rowland also stated the song expresses his devotion to the band. [3] Author Richard White calls the song "a stand aside, effervescent statement." [3] Critic Ned Raggett of Allmusic referred to the song as a highlight of Too-Rye-Ay. [5] Ira Robbins of Trouser Press refers to the song as "jolly, rollicking jug band fare." [6] Author Simon Reynolds called the song "a manifesto of a single." [4] Julie Burchill of New Musical Express remarked that although the song is intended to sound ethnically Celtic, it sounds more like a "Redcoat romp." [7] Author Maury Dean claims that this song was an inspiration for Roddy Doyle's 1987 novel The Commitments , which was later made into a 1991 film by the same title. [8]

Personnel

"The Emerald Express"

Chart performance

It reached #45 in the UK on its initial release, [2] [9] and #20 in the UK and #86 in the US when re-released in March 1983. [2] [9] [3] The song also reached #13 on the Irish charts. [10]

Performances in other media

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References

  1. ↑ Scapaletti, Christopher (1998). "Dexy's Midnight Runners/Kevin Rowalnd & Dexy's Midnight Runners". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 334.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Strong, M.C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Canongate. p. 302. ISBN   978-1-84195-860-6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 White, R. (2006). Dexys Midnight Runners: Young Soul Rebels. Omnibus Press. pp. 117–120, 129, 132, 143. ISBN   978-1-84609-342-5.
  4. 1 2 3 Reynolds, S. (2006). Rip it up and start again: postpunk 1978-1984 . Penguin. ISBN   978-0-14-303672-2.
  5. ↑ Raggett, N. "Too-Rye-Ay". Allmusic . Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Robbins, I. (1987). The New Music Record Guide. Omnibus Press. p. 43. ISBN   978-0-7119-1115-4.
  7. ↑ Gimarc, G. (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970–1982. Hal Leonard. p. 583. ISBN   978-0-87930-848-3.
  8. ↑ Dean, M. (2003). Rock 'n' roll: Gold Rush: a Singles Un-encyclopedia. Algora Publishing. p. 330. ISBN   978-0-87586-207-1.
  9. 1 2 "Dexys Midnight Runners singles". theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "The Irish Charts: Dexy's Midnight Runners". irishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  11. ↑ "Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  12. ↑ Woodstra, C. "The Very Best of Dexys Midnight Runners". Allmusic . Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  13. ↑ Schnee, S. "Because of You". Allmusic . Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "The Best of Dexy's Midnight Runners". Allmusic . Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "20th Century Masters: The Best of Dexy's Midnight Runners". Allmusic . Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  16. ↑ Badgley, A. "BBC Radio 1 in Concert". Allmusic . Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  17. ↑ Stone, D. "Breathless". Allmusic . Retrieved 18 September 2011.
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