The Hennessys

Last updated

The Hennessys
Hennessys.jpg
Iolo Jones, Frank Hennessy and Dave Burns on stage at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany
Background information
Origin Cardiff, Wales
Genres Folk
Years active1967–present
Members Frank Hennessy, Dave Burns, Iolo Jones, Pino Palladino
Past membersPaul Powell, Aloma Jones, Tom Edwards
Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
The Hennessys performing Farewell to the Rhondda
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The Hennessys are one of Wales' foremost traditional folk music groups.

Contents

History

In 1966, Frank Hennessy and Dave Burns (born David Burns, 4 November 1946, in Cardiff), both from Cardiff's Irish community, won a talent competition organised by Cardiff City Council which persuaded them to take up music professionally shortly afterwards, adding Paul Powell (born in 1946, in Cardiff – died 2007) on banjo and vocals. [1] Having achieved success in the Cardiff area, they decided to spend some time travelling around Ireland, to acquire a wider musical experience. [1] It was at this time that they were persuaded to develop a greater Welsh identity, and they started to introduce traditional Welsh language songs into their repertoire, with great success, and their career took off.

They appeared regularly on television in Wales, appeared on stage throughout the country and recorded several albums. [1] Many of their songs like "Farewell to the Rhondda" (about the decline of the mining industry in Wales and its social consequences), "Tiger Bay" (about emigration from Tiger Bay, the dockland district of Cardiff) and the capital's anthem "Cardiff Born" have become folk standards. Other hits include "The Grangetown Whale" and "Billy the Seal".

The current line-up still includes Hennessy (on guitar) and Burns (on guitar and mandolin), who have now been joined by fiddle player Iolo Jones (born 12 February 1955, in Plymouth, England). [1]

Frank Hennessy has been hosting his own radio programmes on BBC Radio Wales since 1984.

The current member of bass guitarist player Pino Palladino (born 12 October 1957, in Cardiff) since 2024.

Discography

Frank Hennessy

Dave Burns

The Hennessys

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 1134/5. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.