Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, and Liam O'Flynn. They transformed and popularized Irish folk music, touring and recording to great acclaim.
Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. The company was established in 1961, primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom. Within a few years, the company had started recording British and Irish artists. The company's philosophy was intentionally eclectic.
The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-year career, but the group's success was centred on lead singers Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew. The band garnered international success with their lively Irish folk songs, traditional street ballads and instrumentals. The band were regulars on the folk scenes in both Dublin and London in the early 1960s, and were signed to the Major Minor label in 1965 after backing from Dominic Behan who was paid by Major-Minor to work with the Dubliners and help them to build a better act fit for larger concert hall venues. The Dubliners worked with Behan regularly between 1965 and 1966; Behan wrote numerous songs for this act including the song McAlpine's Fusiliers created specifically to showcase Ronnie Drew's gravel voice. They went on to receive extensive airplay on Radio Caroline which was part owned by Phil Solomon CEO of Major Minor, and eventually appeared on Top of the Pops in 1967 with hits "Seven Drunken Nights" and "The Black Velvet Band". Often performing political songs considered controversial at the time, they drew criticism from some folk purists and Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ had placed an unofficial ban on their music from 1967 to 1971. During this time the band's popularity began to spread across mainland Europe and they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States. The group's success remained steady right through the 1970s and a number of collaborations with The Pogues in 1987 saw them enter the UK Singles Chart on another two occasions.
Luke Kelly was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor from Dublin, Ireland. Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become involved in a folk music revival. Returning to Dublin in the 1960s, he is noted as a founding member of the band The Dubliners in 1962. Known for his distinctive singing style, and sometimes political messages, the Irish Post and other commentators have regarded Kelly as one of Ireland's greatest folk singers.
Joseph Ronald Drew was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor who achieved international fame during a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners.
Boyle is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key in the north of the county. Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, the Drumanone Dolmen and the lakes of Lough Arrow and Lough Gara are also close by. As of 2016, the population of the town was 2,568.
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. 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.
Events in the year 1962 in Ireland.
Bill Leader is an English recording engineer and record producer. He is particularly associated with the British folk music revival of the 1960s and 1970s, producing records by Paddy Tunney, Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Frank Harte and many others.
Dominic Behan was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an Irish republican. Born into the literary Behan family, he was one of the most influential Irish songwriters of the 20th century.
O’Donoghue’s Pub is a historically significant drinking establishment located at 15 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland—near St. Stephen's Green on Dublin’s south side. Built in 1789 as a grocery store, it began operating full-time as a pub when purchased by the O’Donoghue family in 1934.
"I'll Tell Me Ma" is a well-known children's song. It was collected in various parts of England in the 19th century and again appears in collections from shortly after the turn of the 20th century. In Ireland the chorus usually refers to Belfast city and is known colloquially as "The Belle of Belfast City", although it is also adapted to other Irish cities, such as Dublin. English versions refer to the "Golden City" or "London City". This song is Roud Folk Song Index number 2649.
Seán Cannon is an Irish musician. Since 1982 he has been a guitarist for The Dubliners and their follow-up-band The Dublin Legends.
John "Jacko" Reilly, (1926–1969) was a traditional Irish singer. He was a settled Irish Traveller who lived in Boyle, County Roscommon, but hailed originally from Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim. He was a profound influence on many popular folk and traditional singers, based largely on recordings of his singing by the Irish song collector Tom Munnelly which were however not released until after his early death in 1969 at the age of 44.
"Spanish Lady" is a traditional Irish folk song, also found in England. The Bodleian Library has several broadsides of an English ballad with this name, one dating from the 17th century. Fragmentary or related versions from the US date from 1883. It is #542 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It should not be confused with "Spanish Ladies" or "Lady of Spain," both of which are entirely different songs.
Joseph "Galway Joe" Dolan was an Irish musician, songwriter and artist. Known as "Galway Joe" to distinguish him from Joe Dolan of Mullingar, he was born in Galway, County Galway, Ireland.
Johnny Duhan started his career as a fifteen-year-old front man in the Limerick beat group Granny’s Intentions. After achieving some success in Dublin, they moved to London and were signed to the Deram record label, releasing several singles and one album, Honest Injun. However, the band disbanded before Duhan was twenty one. Despite offers to front other bands, Duhan turned his back on the popular music industry and started writing folk songs, poetry and prose. His various works over 40 years have been condensed into albums: Just Another Town, To The Light, The Voyage and Flame. These correspond with the four chapters of his lyrical autobiography, To The Light. His songs have achieved notability, largely thanks to the focus put on them by Christy Moore, The Dubliners, Mary Black and many other Irish and international singers. The Duhan song "The Voyage" has become a modern classic. Christy Moore stated that "The Voyage" has been performed at over a million weddings worldwide.
Gerry O'Connor is a traditional tenor banjo player. As Earl Hitchener said, Gerry O'Connor can be considered at the moment "the single best four string banjoist in the history of Irish Music". He also plays mandolin, fiddle, guitar and tenor guitar.
H Block is an album recorded by various Irish folk artists, and produced by Christy Moore in 1978.
