The Ludlows | |
---|---|
Origin | Ireland |
Genres | Irish folk |
Years active | 1964–1967 |
Labels | Pye |
Members | Jim McCann Paddy Roche Margaret O'Brien Gerry Cairns Sean Loughran |
The Ludlows were a popular Irish folk band in the 1960s. Their name was derived from Woody Guthrie's song "Ludlow Massacre", concerning a fatal miners' labour dispute in Ludlow, Colorado, in 1914. [1]
Formed in 1964, and originally called the Ludlows Ballad Group, then the Ludlow Trio, they consisted of Sean Loughran, from Carrick-on-Suir, Paddy Roche and Margaret O'Brien. Margaret O'Brien had been a member of the Radio Éireann Choral Society, where she preferred to sing in Irish. Loughran had spent some years in Scotland where he had absorbed Scottish folk music. The following year Dubliner Jim McCann took the place of Paddy Roche. [2]
In July 1965 they had a hit with "The Butcher Boy" (a variation of "Died for Love") and also recorded "Yesterday's Dream". By this time they were touring Ireland and Britain and appearing on TV and radio. [3] In 1966 they were the first Irish folk group to have a no. 1 hit, which was Dominic Behan's "The Sea Around Us", which remained at the top spot for four weeks. They followed this up with a satirical composition of their own, "Johnny Lad". [2] In that year they also performed two songs for the Irish National Song Contest, one of which, "The Wind Through the Rafters" came second and entered the Irish hit parade. They recorded an album, The Wind and the Sea, with Pye Records. [4]
By 1967 Gerry Cairns had replaced Sean Loughran. The group broke up at the end of 1967. Margaret O'Brien and Jim McCann embarked on solo careers. McCann later joined The Dubliners. Gerry Cairns went to Scotland. [5]
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.
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularising Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalising it in Ireland, contributing to an Irish folk boom with groups like the Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones.
Carrick-on-Suir is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the south bank lies in the civil parish of Kilmolerin in the barony of Upperthird, County Waterford.
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.
Patrick Michael Clancy, usually called Paddy Clancy or Pat Clancy, was an Irish folk singer best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. In addition to singing and storytelling, Clancy played the harmonica with the group, which is widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalizing it in Ireland. He also started and ran the folk music label Tradition Records, which recorded many of the key figures of the American folk music revival.
Liam Clancy was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's first pop stars. They achieved global sales of millions and appeared in sold-out concerts at such prominent venues as Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.
Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway Joe" Dolan.
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.
Robert Joseph 'Bobby' Clancy Jr was an Irish singer and musician best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers, one of the most successful and influential Irish folk groups. He accompanied his songs on five-string banjo, guitar, bodhrán, and harmonica.
Seán Cannon is an Irish musician. Since 1982 he has been a guitarist for The Dubliners and their follow-up-band The Dublin Legends.
Alive Alive-O is a double album by the Irish Folk Group The Dubliners which was recorded live throughout several Evenings in December 1996 in Germany at the end of their European tour. After the departure of Ronnie Drew, The Dubliners were joined by the famous Irish singer Paddy Reilly who lends his voice to several ballads on the album. John Sheahan's daughter Ceoladh guests with her father, duetting on fiddle with him on his composition, "Among Friends". The album is notable for some mixed German-English song introductions by Sean Cannon, causing widespread laughter among the audience.
James McCann was an Irish entertainer and folk musician. Although a solo artist for most of his career, McCann was a member of the folk group The Dubliners from 1974 until 1979, then later appearing with them in their 2002 reunion and their 50th anniversary tour in 2012.
Patsy Watchorn is an Irish folk singer. He is notable for being a member of the Dublin City Ramblers and later The Dubliners.
"The Galway Races" is a traditional Irish song. The song's narrator is attending the eponymous annual event in Galway, a city in the west of Ireland. The song was made famous in the UK in 1967 by The Dubliners.
Carrick Davins GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the town of Carrick-on-Suir in south County Tipperary in Ireland. It is one of three GAA clubs in the town, one of which, St Molleran's, is in County Waterford in the southern suburb of Carrickbeg across the River Suir. The club plays both hurling and Gaelic football but is predominantly a hurling club. The club enjoys a keen rivalry with Carrick Swans GAA. The club is named in honour of Maurice Davin, the first President of the GAA, who lived near the town.
TheDublin City Ramblers is an Irish folk band, originally formed by the name of The Quare Fellas in 1970. The band has had a long line of members and Sean McGuinness is the only current member of the original line-up, that also included Patsy Watchorn later member of The Dubliners.
The Dubliners 50th Anniversary Tour was a tour in 2012 by The Dubliners celebrating 50 years. The group was awarded a lifetime achievement award by BBC Radio 2 in February. However, in April, founding member and tenor banjo player Barney McKenna died. Banjo player Gerry O'Connor filled his place until the end of the tour. In November the group released the album 50 Years charting in the Irish Top 10. John Sheahan after 48 years decided he could no longer continue with the band due to the death of Barney McKenna. In December the group played its final concerts at Vicar Street and were joined on stage by Jim McCann. The band met with President Michael Higgins in the presidential palace in Dublin. The group appeared on BBC's Jools Holland Annual Hootenanny on New Year's Eve. With the exception of John Sheahan, the rest of the group continues touring as The Dublin Legends - Spirit of the Dubliners.
"The Sea Around Us" is an Irish folk song written by Dominic Behan. A version recorded by The Ludlows reached number one in the Irish Singles Chart in 1966. Other versions have been recorded by Dermot O'Brien, The Dubliners, Patsy Watchorn and Ron Kavana.