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THE NIGHT (THAT) THE SHAMROCK WAS DROWNED
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Psycho-Ceilídh
sod em begorrah heres
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London-Irish Psycho-Ceilidh: "...Neck sound as if The Clash were born on The Emerald Isle."
Known as 'The Heavy Artillery of Irish Music', London-Irish band NECK have, deservedly, established themselves as a leading force in the Folk-Punk scene; with their rip-roaring, irrepressible ‘Psycho-Ceilídh’ sound having been matured over eight years of furious global gigging, previous album releases in Europe, and Anti-racist single 'Everybody's welcome to The Hooley!' charting in the UK in 2006. The6 piece band's sound juxtaposes, perfectly, the swirling spiritual abandon of authentic Traditional Irish music : (fiddle, tin-whistle, Uilleann pipes and banjo) with the electric energy blast of a full-on, pumped-up to fe*k Punk band! - Distilling the sound of two other mighty London rebel bands - The Clash & The Pogues & 'carrying the torch on' with their own, unique London-Irish brew: Psycho-Ceilídh! - And, whether it’s swirling instrumentals; rowdy, raucous drinking songs; original, imaginative re-workings of Traditional Irish standards; angry political polemic; chest-beating anthems or tear-jerking ballads - NECK cover ALL bases of Irish music with passion & pride. And all this is driven by the authentic, passionate voice of their lead vocalist, guitarist & song-smith - a man with both a vision & undeniable pedigree: an ex-member of Shane MacGowan's Popes; from the same Irish enclave of North London that spawned Johnny Rotten; & with close family roots in the same Dublin neighbourhood as Dave King of Flogging Molly... O'Keeffe's also guested with The Alabama 3 & co-written a track on Hayseed Dixie's latest album. The band's rowdy, exhilarating live INVALID s now firmly established them as International Festival favourites from Moscow (in front of 7,000) to Texas - & all points in between! Along with their own headline tours, shows & festival appearances (i.e. Paas Pop, NL's 2nd stage), they've performed with acts such as their U.S. contemporaries (& buddies) The Dropkick Murphys & Flogging Molly; as well as Shane MacGowan, The Levellers, Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, Hayseed Dixie & The Misfits. And, amongst others, 2008 was their sixth year at Rebellion/Wasted & the UK's biggest festival, Glastonbury - the only band to play Left Field as many times as Tony Benn & Billy Bragg! 2007 was in front of 5,000! Added to that, Boston’s 'Irish Punk' radio station/ web-zine/ compilation album that revels in all things Emerald and Loud is named for the Neck tune, ‘Shite & Onions’ and their "Psycho-Ceilídh" e.p. featured strongly in a New York's Irish Voice Top Ten releases chart, which included U2 and Sinéad O'Connor! NECK have, subsequently, made two U.S. trips in 2008. With the imminent release of ‘Come out Fighting!’, their début album for Golf Records, they set a whole-new bench-mark... and remain, unquestionably, at the cutting-edge of this music - not just for their songs & the fact that they're taking it in new directions, while still staying true to their Irish-folk roots; but also in the sheer audacity, courage, speed and soul of their Irish musicians! Recorded with the legendary producer Pat Collier, his powers & skill give NECK a new focussed, lean & muscular voice, which should see them take their rightful place amongst their contemporaries. Make no mistake - amongst the leaders and followers of Irish-folk influenced punk bands all over the world - with their roots, understanding and command of the music, NECK are most certainly the real deal! - Eye-brows will be raised. Toes will tap. Tears will be shed. Bodies will be thrown all over the shaggin’ dance-floor! NECK will bring The Hooley! ...Fact. Just some of the Festivals NECK have rocked the bejaysus out of: Glastonbury, UK [x6 / 5 stages]; Rebellion/Wasted, UK [x6]; Punk 'n' Disorderly, D [x3]; Ardoyne Fleadh, N.Irl [x3]; Beautiful Days, UK [x2]; Solfest, UK [x2]; Strummercamp, UK [x2]; Gas Yard Feile, N.Irl [x2]; Waterford Spraoi, Irl [x2]; Crawley Folk Festival, UK [x2]; Paas Pop, NL; SXSW, TX, USA; Dublin Irish Festival, OH, USA; Wickerman, UK; Huntenpop, NL; Wickham,UK; Tantsy, RUSSIA; Irish2000Fest, NY, USA; Wildwood Irish Fest, NJ, USA; With Full Force, D; Skagen, DK; Endorse-it-in-Dorset, UK; Nirwanas TuinFeest, NL; Great Escape, UK; Stadfest, D; Postplatz, CH; Nextpunk, CH; Travobaccano, ITA; Goorock, BE. PO Box 42809, ‘County Holloway’, London, N19 4XF, England Tel: +44 (0) 7973 267547 E-mail: neck6@btinternet.com / neck6irl@googlemail.com Webs + MP3's: http://www.myspace.com/neckireland * http://www.neck.ie/tracks.htm "Bringing Irish Punk past The Poguesat last, a worthy contender for the Celtic punk crown is born!" -Irish Voice, USA "If The Clash had been born in the Emerald Isle, they might have ended up sounding like this!" - Back on the tracks "Another dose of manic psycho-ceilídh from the London-Irish heirs to the Pogues' legacy. not for the fainthearted, this is incendiary, belligerent stuff!" - Hot Press, Ireland "Fans of Folk Punk a la Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys will be loving this, and it kicks the shite out of some of the other pale American acts attempting a similar thing." - Punk News "I like a few of the bands that are combining Irish music and punk the Tossers, Neck from London and Fogging Molly from L.A. but there are a lot of crappy bands out there, too." - Ken Casey, Dropkick Murphys
Song Info
Genre
Alternative • Other Alternative
Charts
Peak #22
Peak in subgenre #3
Author
Leeson O'Keeffe
Rights
Copyright Control
Uploaded
October 20, 2008
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.1 MB • 128 kbps • 3:21
Story behind the song
About St. Patrick's Night in Clancy's - an Irish pub in Benwell Road, 'County Holloway', North London (literally, over the road from where John 'Rotten' Lydon, from The Sex Pistols, grew-up) , that's since been pulled-down to make way for the new Arsenal 'Emirates' football stadium. Also pulled-down was another, renowned, Irish boozer that played a pivotal role in the London-Irish music scene: The Favourite. The Favourite was one of the first (if not the first) places where the ubiquitous Traditional Irish music pub session actually started - in London, as opposed to back home in Ireland, amongst the immigrant Irish population in the late '40's & early '50's. Most of them lived in 'digs', so they couldn't play music at home, so they started playing it in pubs on a Sunday afternoon. There's even an audio record of The Favourite sessions, 'Paddy in The Smoke', featuring a very young Tom McMennamon - later the banjo-player in Shane MacGowan's Popes (he actually replaced your humble scribe...). Tom's parents ran The Favourite & he grew up in it, becoming one of the best banjo-players around. He was outstanding & had a great spirit - he believed it was his duty to pass the music on & was extremely generous & an inspiration to me. He had the aspect of a Celtic warrior, with his beard & wild mane of black curly hair, & was a demon for the drink - I once made a Holy show of meself on one of the occasions when I had the good fortune to play with him: I was trying to keep-up with him & I was just drinking pints of Guinness, while he was drinking pints of Jack Daniels & Coke (& easy on the sh*ggin' coke!). A mighty fella! And I'm very proud to be part of that legacy of London playing an important part in Irish music.
Lyrics
THE NIGHT (THAT) THE SHAMROCK WAS DROWNED V.1 Well, there we all were- legless in Holloway, At a session that couldn't be beat, The 'Pure Drop' took our fancy, so we were in Clancy's, For the music, & people ya meet V.2 I was spinnin' a yarn to a girl from Rathfarnham, About some grand soundin' thing, When me bud pulled me arm – not meanin' no harm, 'Cos some oul' bollix had got up to sing… Ch. - 'Danny Boy' was the song, & we all sang along, 'Til the tears on our faces ran down, For where ever we roam, we carry our home In our hearts, where our music is found, 'Danny Boy' was the song, & we all sang along, 'Til the tears on our faces ran down, So you raise yer glass up & don't drop a sup, On the night that the Shamrock was drowned! V.3 Well, it's quare & it's rare: but right there & then, I was cryin' & laughin' the same, That, not withstanding the beers, I was reduced to tears, By this silly ould fool holding sway! V.4 Still it struck me as grand, - That there's no other land, who's music has this effect, So I thought myself well, & the girl, I could tell Was mine if we stopped getting wrecked (if we ever…) Ch. - 'Danny Boy' was the song, & we all sang along, 'Til the tears on our faces ran down, For where ever we roam, we carry our home In our hearts, where our music is found, 'Danny Boy' was the song, & we all sang along, 'Til the tears on our faces ran down, So you raise yer glass up & don't drop a sup, On the night that the Shamrock was drowned! Ch. - 'Danny Boy' was the song, & we all sang along, 'Til the tears on our faces ran down, For where ever we roam, we carry our home In our hearts, where our music is found, 'Danny Boy' was the song, & we all sang along, 'Til the tears on our faces ran down, So you raise yer glass up & don't drop a sup, On the night that the Shamrock was drowned! Outro On the night that the Shamrock was drow-ow-owned On the night that the Shamrock was drowned!
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