(Taken from Wikipedia)
Goats Don't Shave were an Irish folk rock band from Dungloe, County Donegal, Ireland. Formed in 1990, the group was fronted by singer-songwriter Pat Gallagher and backed by musicians Jason Philbin (fiddle), Charlie Logue (keyboards), Declan Quinn (whistle), Gerry Coyle (bass), Sean Doherty (acoustic guitar) and Michael Gallagher (drums).
The group released two albums together, The Rusty Razor (1992) and Out in the Open (1994). After a sabbatical which has lasted from 1995 onwards, a third album Tór was released in 1998 containing material from both Pat Gallagher and Goats Don't Shave. They are most well known for the song "Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal)" taken from their debut album.
Their name comes from a pub incident in which a drunken old man was told to go and have a shave and clean himself up - his response was to walk away muttering the words Goats Don't Shave!! Since their formation back in the summer of 1990, Goats Don't Shave have risen to become one of the most popular bands Ireland has ever produced.
They began performing their Celtic folk-rock in between their day jobs; which included plumbing and fishing, at which point the lads started to pick up regular bookings. Next they went around the country, cadging money to record a small tape. "There were five songs on it, we got 500 copies run off and started to sell it locally. These sold, so we got another 500, these sold, so we got 1000 etc. The word must have got about, as record companies started investigating us," says Declan.
"We didn't start out intentionally to be a band...it just took over our lives!"
Since then, the band have gone from strength to strength, never looking back. Five top singles and a series of sell out gigs at British Universities and Irish concert halls followed and 1993 saw the Goats stealing shows at the prestigious Glastonbury and Cambridge festivals. In the same year they were voted Best Band by Time Out Magazine.
In 1994, the Goats released their first album through Cooking Vinyl, The Rusty Razor. This fiery mix of folk, traditional music and rock was hailed by critics as an absolute classic, and the album went gold in Ireland. Following such success they released a second album later that year, Out in the Open, a rockier, much rounder piece which maintained their well earned reputation as a band capable of great things.
Goats Don't Shave disbanded in the late 1990s when tension grew between band members.
The band reformed in 2003 to play at the popular Mary From Dungloe International Festival, the concert each year is usually held in the towns Main Street, however due to over 1,000 people showing up to see the bands rare performance it was moved to The Cope car park. This was the last time the band performed together. There were discussions between members of the band about a possible reformation in 2006, however the plans came to nothing. Gallagher, is also no longer in contact with any of the previous members.
For additional info, please visit:
www.irishmusicreview.com/goats.htm
www.cookingvinyl.com/artist_info.php?id=128#albdesc
These are the videos on YouTube:
Las Vegas in the Hills of Donegal-Late Late Show
Mary Mary-Bad Bobs The Gaiety Sessions
Closing Time-Bad Bobs The Gaiety Sessions
Evictions-Bad Bobs The Gaiety Sessions
Johnny Come Lately+Las Vegas in the Hills of Donegal-Bad Bobs The Gaiety Sessions
Song for Fionnuala-RTE
Goats Don't Shave were an Irish folk rock band from Dungloe, County Donegal, Ireland. Formed in 1990, the group was fronted by singer-songwriter Pat Gallagher and backed by musicians Jason Philbin (fiddle), Charlie Logue (keyboards), Declan Quinn (whistle), Gerry Coyle (bass), Sean Doherty (acoustic guitar) and Michael Gallagher (drums).
The group released two albums together, The Rusty Razor (1992) and Out in the Open (1994). After a sabbatical which has lasted from 1995 onwards, a third album Tór was released in 1998 containing material from both Pat Gallagher and Goats Don't Shave. They are most well known for the song "Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal)" taken from their debut album.
Their name comes from a pub incident in which a drunken old man was told to go and have a shave and clean himself up - his response was to walk away muttering the words Goats Don't Shave!! Since their formation back in the summer of 1990, Goats Don't Shave have risen to become one of the most popular bands Ireland has ever produced.
They began performing their Celtic folk-rock in between their day jobs; which included plumbing and fishing, at which point the lads started to pick up regular bookings. Next they went around the country, cadging money to record a small tape. "There were five songs on it, we got 500 copies run off and started to sell it locally. These sold, so we got another 500, these sold, so we got 1000 etc. The word must have got about, as record companies started investigating us," says Declan.
"We didn't start out intentionally to be a band...it just took over our lives!"
Since then, the band have gone from strength to strength, never looking back. Five top singles and a series of sell out gigs at British Universities and Irish concert halls followed and 1993 saw the Goats stealing shows at the prestigious Glastonbury and Cambridge festivals. In the same year they were voted Best Band by Time Out Magazine.
In 1994, the Goats released their first album through Cooking Vinyl, The Rusty Razor. This fiery mix of folk, traditional music and rock was hailed by critics as an absolute classic, and the album went gold in Ireland. Following such success they released a second album later that year, Out in the Open, a rockier, much rounder piece which maintained their well earned reputation as a band capable of great things.
Goats Don't Shave disbanded in the late 1990s when tension grew between band members.
The band reformed in 2003 to play at the popular Mary From Dungloe International Festival, the concert each year is usually held in the towns Main Street, however due to over 1,000 people showing up to see the bands rare performance it was moved to The Cope car park. This was the last time the band performed together. There were discussions between members of the band about a possible reformation in 2006, however the plans came to nothing. Gallagher, is also no longer in contact with any of the previous members.
For additional info, please visit:
www.irishmusicreview.com/goats.htm
www.cookingvinyl.com/artist_info.php?id=128#albdesc
These are the videos on YouTube:
Las Vegas in the Hills of Donegal-Late Late Show
Mary Mary-Bad Bobs The Gaiety Sessions
Closing Time-Bad Bobs The Gaiety Sessions
Evictions-Bad Bobs The Gaiety Sessions
Johnny Come Lately+Las Vegas in the Hills of Donegal-Bad Bobs The Gaiety Sessions
Song for Fionnuala-RTE
Hey W.L.,
ReplyDeleteY'know, I think I own this on CD!
I believe that I bought it, gave it a spin, found it not quite as abrupt and punkish as to what I was into at the time and filed it in among my "Tempest", "Prodigals," "Quinn's Diaries," and "Boiled in Lead" CDs and simply forgot about it.
Maybe it is time to give it another spin, eh?
Thanks, Chris
P.S. I don't alway comment, but I always read, (and totally dig,) the blog. Nice job keeping the faith, dude!