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Patsy Watchorn | |
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 Watchorn with The Dubliners, c. 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 16 October 1944 Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland |
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Irish folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, banjo, bodhrán, spoons |
| Years active | 1969–2014 |
Patsy Watchorn (born 16 October 1944) is an Irish folk singer. He is notable for being a member of the Dublin City Ramblers and later The Dubliners.
Watchorn first came to prominence around 1969 as the lead singer of The Quare Fellas, a Dublin-based ballad group, in 1969. They evolved into the Dublin City Ramblers in the early 1970s and with Patsy as their lead singer they had hits with songs such as "The Rare Ould Times" and "The Ferryman", both of which were written by Pete St. John. [1]
Patsy also wrote and sang the Irish Football Team anthem for their European Championship campaign in Germany and again for the World Cup in 1990 in Italy "We are the Boys in Green" (Home & Away Album) with The Dublin City Ramblers. The lyrics changed slightly in both releases in 1988 and 1990.
In 1995, Watchorn left the Dublin City Ramblers and made a number of solo albums. He joined The Dubliners in 2005, taking Paddy Reilly's place. He has appeared on their Tour Sampler EP in 2005, as well as the double album Live at Vicar Street (2006).
Patsy plays the banjo, bodhrán and spoons. He cites Luke Kelly, former lead singer with The Dubliners as his favourite singer. Patsy sang with the Dubliners and was well received throughout Ireland, the UK, Europe, Australia and the USA. [2]
When The Dubliners announced their retirement in 2012 after finishing their 50 Years Anniversary Tour, Patsy Watchorn decided to keep on touring with former band members Seán Cannon and Eamonn Campbell and Banjo player Gerry O'Connor under the name of "The Dublin Legends".
On 28 April 2014 Patsy Watchorn posted a message on his website, stating that he "decided to take a break from the music business for a while" and will not be touring the rest of 2014 with "The Dublin Legends". He later admitted this was due to ill health and that doctors advised touring would do further damage to his health. [3]
Watchorn's distinctive and passionate vocals have made him a huge rock on the Irish folk scene. In his solo projects in the mid and late 1990s after departing from his band The Dublin City Ramblers, he had session men who used to play alongside him and he used the stage name "Patsy Watchorn, agus a Cháirde" (which means "and his Friends" in Irish).
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 jumper sweaters 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.
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 had a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners.
Ciarán Bourke was an Irish musician and one of the original founding members of the Irish folk band The Dubliners.
Patrick Reilly is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. Born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, he is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of "The Fields of Athenry", "Rose of Allendale" and "The Town I Loved So Well". Reilly released his version of "The Fields of Athenry" as a single in 1983; it was the most successful version of this song, remaining in the Irish charts for 72 weeks. He achieved number 1 in Ireland with the Liam Reilly written song "Flight of Earls" in 1988.
Bernard Noël "Banjo Barney" McKenna was an Irish musician and a founding member of The Dubliners. He played the tenor banjo, violin, mandolin, and melodeon. He was most renowned as a banjo player.
Modena City Ramblers is an Italian folk rock band founded in 1991. Their music is heavily influenced by Celtic themes, and can be compared to folk rock music. The band has sold over 500,000 albums. Known for their left-wing politics, their lyrics often speak out against the Mafia and fascism.
John Sheahan is an Irish musician and composer. He joined The Dubliners in 1964 and played with them until 2012 when The Dubliners' name was retired following the death of founding member Barney McKenna.
"The Rare Ould Times" is a song composed by Pete St. John in the 1970s for the Dublin City Ramblers. It is sometimes called "Dublin in the Rare Ould Times", "The Rare Old Times", or "The Rare Auld Times".
Seán Cannon is an Irish musician. Since 1982 he has been a guitarist for The Dubliners and their follow-up-band The Dublin Legends.
Live At Vicar Street is a live album recorded by The Dubliners at a concert at Vicar Street in Dublin on Sunday, 23 July 2006 as part of their Irish tour. A DVD and double CD of the concert were released. Ceoladh Sheahan joined her father and the band on stage for a rendition of "The Marino Waltz". This was the first of the band's albums to feature Patsy Watchorn, who replaced Paddy Reilly after nine years with the group. They were introduced by Jim McCann.
Brendan Phelan is an Irish songwriter from Dublin. His best-known song is probably "Dublin in My Tears", recorded by the Barleycorn, The Fureys, Patsy Watchorn, the Dublin City Ramblers, Mick Galvin, the Jolly Beggarmen and others.
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 of the original line-up, that also included Patsy Watchorn later member of The Dubliners.
"The Ferryman", also sometimes known as "The Strawberry Beds", is an Irish folk ballad, written by Pete St. John.
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.
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.
Paul Watchorn is an Irish folk musician and former professional snooker player. He previously played with Derek Warfield. He currently plays with the band The Dublin Legends who were members of The Dubliners, a band in which his older brother Patsy Watchorn was a member. Watchorn was a professional snooker player from 1982 to 1995, retiring after 13 seasons as a professional.
The Grehan Sisters were an Irish folk music act of the mid to late 1960s who achieved popularity in Britain after moving to Manchester, England in 1967 from their native Boyle in County Roscommon, via a spell performing in Dublin. They disbanded around 1970 but have occasionally reunited for one-off appearances in subsequent years, most recently in 2015, while Helen continues to perform intermittently as a solo artist.
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