VIDEO - BIZARDUNAK "Besteak hitzearen poza"

This track can be found on their second CD "En Zugzwang" that was released in December 2010.

Bizardunak - Besteak hiltzearen poza





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FREE DOWNLOAD - THE FREAK FANDANGO ORCHESTRA "Love, Death and a Drunken Monkey"

The Freak Fandango Orchestra is located in Barcelona (Spain). They blend folk music, polka, gypsy music from the Balkans and punk rock. They say to be influenced by Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, Goran Bregovic or Gogol Bordello.

Line-up

David - Drums and artwork.
Jürgen - Guitar and vocals
Xavi - Bass
Alfonso - Fiddle
Noe - Accordion, vocals
Vitto - Sax

Discography:

"The Hug" (single, 2 tracks 2009)
"Love, Death and a Drunken Monkey" (7 trackss, 2009)


http://www.freakfandango.es
http://www.myspace.com/freakfandango
http://www.lastfm.es/music/Freak+Fandango+Orchestra
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Freak-Fandango-Orchestra/145968068760291?sk=info


DOWNLOAD:

http://www.jamendo.com/es/album/48911(full album. Sometimes it doesn't work)
http://www.lastfm.es/music/Freak+Fandango+Orchestra/+tracks (track by track, it's better to download the tracks from LastFM)


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BOOTLEG - GOGOL BORDELLO Live in Germany 2008

Another band that many Celtic punk fans love.
(From Wikipedia)

Gogol Bordello is a Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring.

Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music. The band incorporates minor-key accordion and violin (and on some albums, saxophone) mixed with punk and dub.

The band has appeared in a number of independent films, most notably in 2005's Everything Is Illuminated in which the lead singer, Eugene Hütz, co-starred with Elijah Wood in a dramady and adventure story about the Nazi purges in Ukraine. The entire group was present for one shot in which they played a brass band. Gogol Bordello contributed the song "Start Wearing Purple" to the film's score.


"Gogol" comes from the name Nikolai Gogol. As one of the most influential writers in Ukrainian and Russian literature, Gogol paved the way for the likes of Kafka and Dostoevsky. He also serves as an ideological influence for the band because he "smuggled" Ukrainian culture into Russian society, which Gogol Bordello intends to do with Gypsy/ East-European music in the English-speaking world. "Bordello", in Italian, refers to a brothel or a "gentleman's club". The band was originally titled Hütz and the Béla Bartóks, but Eugene Hütz says that they decided to change the name because "nobody knows who the hell Béla Bartók is in the United States". The band played their first show as the unofficial band at an after-hours club called Pizdetz where they became the house band and DJ Hütz became the house DJ.

Gogol Bordello's first single was released in 1999, and since then they have released five full-length albums, and one EP. In 2005 the band signed to punk label SideOneDummy Records. On 27 April 2010 Gogol Bordello made its major record label debut with Transcontinental Hustle on Rick Rubin's American Recordings, a subsidiary of Columbia Records/Sony Music Entertainment. Many of the songs on Transcontinental Hustle were inspired by Hütz's move to Brazil.

The band has toured tirelessly throughout Europe and America. They have made appearances at numerous international festivals and toured with such diverse bands as Primus, Flogging Molly, and Cake. In an interview with NPR, frontman Eugene Hütz cites Jimi Hendrix and Parliament-Funkadelic as among the band's main musical influences. They have mentioned Manu Chao, Fugazi, Zvuki Mu, Karamelo Santo, Sasha Kolpakov and The Clash as influences as well.

In August 2010 the band was rumored to participate in the Ukrainian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, but the band soon denied this.[5] Gogol Bordello performed seven shows with System of a Down throughout May of 2011.

Most recently, they performed live at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival 2011, located in Manchester, TN for Bonnaroo's 10 year anniversary. At Bonnaroo they played a 1.5 hour set in the middle of the night and performed with Devotchka.

Gogol Bordello has appeared in a multitude of American and international music festivals. A significant step towards greater publicity was made when Eugene Hütz and violinist Sergey Ryabtsev joined Madonna on stage. Hütz and Ryabtsev performed "La Isla Bonita / Lela Pala Tute" with Madonna at the London Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007.

Line-up
Current members

Eugene Hütz (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion) - Ukraine (founding member)
Sergey Ryabtsev (violin, backing vocals) - Russia (since 2000)
Yuri Lemeshev (accordion, backing vocals) - Russia (since 2001)
Oren Kaplan (guitar, backing vocals) - Israel (since 2000)
Thomas "Tommy T" Gobena (bass backing vocals) - Ethiopia (since 2006)
Elizabeth Sun (percussion, backing vocals, dance, general performance) - China/Scotland (since 2004)
Pedro Erazo (percussion, MC) - Ecuador (since 2007)
Oliver Charles (drums) – USA (since 2009)

Former members

Pamela Racine (percussion, backing vocals, dance, general performance) - USA
Eliot Ferguson (drums, backing vocals)
Karl Alvarez (bass)
Rea Mochiach (bass, percussion, electronics and beat programming in the studio, backing vocals) - Israel
Sasha Kazatchkoff (accordion)
Vlad Solovar (guitar) Romania
Ori Kaplan - saxophone, (co leads Balkan Beat Box with Tamir Muskat), backing vocals, (no relation to Oren Kaplan) - Israel
Susan Donaldson (percussion, backing vocals, Dance, general performance)
James Ward (accordion) - Scotland
Andra Ursuta (percussion, backing vocals, Dance, general performance) - Romania
Katheryn McGaffigan (fill-in percussion, backing vocals, Dance, general performance)

Discography
Albums

Voi-La Intruder – 1999 (Rubric Records)
Multi Kontra Culti vs. Irony - September 2002 (Rubric Records), 2XLP - December 2006
Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike - August 2005 (SideOneDummy Records), 2XLP - March 2006
"East Infection"
Super Taranta! - 10 July 2007 (SideOneDummy Records) US #115,[12] UK #67, 2XLP - July 2007
Live from Axis Mundi - 2009 (SideOneDummy Records), Live album with DVD
Trans-Continental Hustle - 27 April 2010 (American Recordings) UK # 66, US #62, CAN #79

EPs

East Infection - January 2005 (Rubric Records)"


http://www.gogolbordello.com

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?6v23uzg6n24jtxf

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DROPKICK MURPHYS - SUMMER DATES UPDATE

"Dropkick Murphys have announced their first annual Shamrock 'N Roll Festival. The shows will feature Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs, Chuck Ragan, The Mahones, Parkington Sisters and more. A boxing demonstration and signing with special guest, renowned boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (The Fighter), will also be featured at these family friendly, all-ages events.

Shamrock 'N Roll Festival kicks off with the September 8th and 9th sold-out hometown shows at Boston's Fenway Park and will visit Bangor ME, Altamont NY, Pittsburgh PA, Columbus OH, Portsmouth VA, Rochester NY and Philadelphia PA. $1 from every ticket sold will benefit the band's charity, The Claddagh Fund http://www.claddaghfund.org/ and $1 from every ticket sold for the September 11 show in Altamont will be donated to 9/11 charities.

More details about these shows will be announced soon!

We are also pleased to announce that DKM are heading back to Australia and will be bringing Lucero with us. We will be doing headline shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide, Perth & Melbourne. On our way down under we will be making a short stop on the west coast to play shows San Diego, Las Vegas & Los Angeles with our pals the Swingin' Utters and last but not least we have started working on more European dates for January/February 2012. UK/Scotland dates already on sale.

Details for all of the shows below. It's a long list but please read through it because you never know we may have added your city & you didn't notice until now. We're going all over the map! Check it out:


Friday July 29th - Midway Lawn at Champlain Valley Expo Center, Essex Junction VT USA
Opening bands: The Tossers and The Turbo A.C.'s
Tickets: http://highergroundpresents.frontgatetickets.com/choose.php?c=1&lid=55389&eid=63299&tid=262156_121564&qty=1&b=1&noprepass=

Saturday July 30th – K Rockathon at New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse NY USA
Tickets: http://www.krockathon.com/ticket-locations/

Monday August 1st – George Street Festival, St John's NL CANADA
Tickets: http://www.georgestreetlive.ca/tickets/

Wednesday August 3rd – Halifax Forum Multi-Purpose Centre, Halifax NS CANADA
Opening bands: The Turbo A.C.'s
Tickets: http://ww3.ticketpro.ca/event.php?event_id=1924

Thursday August 4th – Oxygen Nightclub, Moncton NB CANADA
Opening bands: The Turbo A.C.'s
Tickets: https://etixnow.com/events/dropkick-aug-4 online or by phone 1-877-384-9669
****please note this show is 19+****

Friday August 5th - Métropolis Montreal, QC CANADA
Opening bands: The Turbo A.C.'s and Omegas
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/1000469D9E7F7AC2

Saturday August 6th - Wakestock, Collingwood ON CANADA
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/100046B30B11BB4B

Friday August 12th - Rocco Del Schlacko, Püttlingen GERMANY
Tickets: http://www.rocco-del-schlacko.de/pages/rocco/tickets.php

Saturday August 13th - Open Flair, Eschwege GERMANY
Tickets: https://shop.open-flair.de/store/products

Sunday August 14th - Taubertal, Rothenburg GERMANY
Tickets: https://www.shopssl.de/epages/es10567393.sf

Tuesday August 16th - Hamburg Kultursommer, Hamburg GERMANY
Opening band: Face To Face
Tickets: http://www.fkpscorpio-tickets.de/index.php?sprache=0&standort=TIX&veranst_nr=448

Thursday August 18th – Open Air, Gampel –Turtmann SWITZERLAND
Tickets: http://www.openairgampel.ch/tickets.html

Friday August 19th Frequency Festival, St Polten AUSTRIA
Tickets: http://www.frequency.at:80/tickets

Saturday August 20th - Area 4, Lüdinghausen GERMANY
Tickets: http://www.area4.de/de/tickets/

Sunday August 21st - Highfield, Großpösna GERMANY
Tickets: http://www.highfield.de/de/tickets/

Thursday September 8th - Fenway Park, Boston MA USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Mighty Mighty Bosstones and more to be announced soon!
****please note this show is SOLD OUT****

Friday September 9th - Fenway Park, Boston MA USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Mighty Mighty Bosstones and more to be announced soon!
****please note this show is SOLD OUT****

Saturday September 10th - Bangor Waterfront Pavilion, Bangor ME USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Street Dogs, Chuck Ragan, The Mahones, Parkington Sisters & more to be announced soon!
Tickets: http://thecolisee.com/a_ev​ents_dropkicks.htm

Sunday September 11th - Altamont Fairgrounds, Altamont NY USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Street Dogs, Chuck Ragan, The Mahones, Parkington Sisters & more to be announced soon!
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/000046EDE59BC633

Monday September 12th - Trib Total Media Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh PA USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Street Dogs, Chuck Ragan, The Mahones, Parkington Sisters & more to be announced soon!
Tickets: http://www.elkoconcerts.com/event/53349/

Tuesday September 13th - LC Pavilion, Columbus OH USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Street Dogs, Chuck Ragan, The Mahones, Parkington Sisters & more to be announced soon!
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/050046ECF8B6B568

Thursday September 15th - nTelos Pavilion, Portsmouth VA USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Street Dogs, Chuck Ragan, The Mahones, Parkington Sisters & more to be announced soon!
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/010046EDA03CA649

Saturday September 17th - Main Street Armory, Rochester NY USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Street Dogs, Chuck Ragan, The Mahones, Parkington Sisters & more to be announced soon!
Tickets: http://www.rochestermainstreetarmory.com/event/53049/

Sunday September 18th - Electric Factory Loft, Philadelphia PA USA
Dropkick Murphys Shamrock 'N Roll Festival
Opening bands: Street Dogs, Chuck Ragan, The Mahones, Parkington Sisters & more to be announced soon!
Tickets: on sale 7/23 http://www.electricfactory.info/tickets.html

Tuesday October 11th - House Of Blues, San Diego CA USA
Opening bands: Swingin' Utters & The Silent Comedy
Tickets: http://www.livenation.com/event/0A0046E5FACE3C5F?dma_id=324
****please note this show is ALL AGES****

Wednesday October 12th - House Of Blues, San Diego CA USA
Opening bands: Swingin' Utters & The Silent Comedy
Tickets: http://www.livenation.com/event/0A0046E505CB3CA5
***please note this show is 21+****

Friday October 14th - Hard Rock Casino, Las Vegas NV USA
Opening band: Swingin' Utters
Tickets: Book a room at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to receive special discounted DKM rates, all registered guests get free entry to the DKM poolside show included with your room!
Online reservations:
https://reservations.hrhve ​ gas.com/cgi-bin/lansaweb?p​rocfun+rn+resnet+hrv+funcp​ arms+UP%28A2560%29%3A%3BED​KMFAN%3B%3F&sc_cid=EDKMFAN
By phone: 1800-343-4346
Code: EDKMFAN
Offer Details:
Rates start at $169 per night, includes entry into DKM concert for each registered guest (current rack rate is $229 per night)
All other GA tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.co​m/event/170046E6FBDD508C

Saturday October 15th - The Palladium, Los Angeles CA USA
Opening bands: Swingin' Utters & The Insurgence
Tickets: http://www.livenation.com/event/090046DD2F218E24

Wednesday October 19th October - Tivoli Theatre, Brisbane QLD AUSTRALIA
Opening bands: Lucero & TBA
Tickets: on sale Friday July 22nd http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=DROPKICK11&v=TIV#.Th_hbc35OjQ or phone 132 849

Thursday October 20th - Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW AUSTRALIA
Opening bands: Lucero & TBA
Tickets: on sale Friday July 22nd http://www.ticketek.com.au or phone: 132 849

Friday October 21st - Panthers, Newcastle NSW AUSTRALIA
Opening bands: Lucero & TBA
Tickets: on sale Friday July 22nd http://www.moshtix.com.au or phone: 1300 GET TIX

Saturday October 22nd - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide SA AUSTRALIA
Opening bands: Lucero & TBA
Tickets: on sale Friday July 22nd www.venuetix.com.au or phone: 08 8225 8888

Sunday October 23rd - Metro City, Perth WA AUSTRALIA
Opening bands: Lucero & TBA
Tickets: on sale Friday July 22nd http://www.moshtix.com.au or phone: 1300 438 849(GET TIX), http://www.heatseeker.com.au or phone: 08 6210 7270, www.oztix.com.au 1300 762 545

Tuesday October 25th - Forum Theatre, Melbourne VIC AUSTRALIA
Opening bands: Lucero & TBA
Tickets: on sale Friday July 22nd http://www.ticketmaster.com.au or phone: 1300 111 011

Wednesday February 8th - O2 Academy, Liverpool UK
Opening bands: TBA
Tickets: http://www.artistticket.com/link/?s=dropkick+murphys
****please note this show is 14+****

Friday February 10th - The Roundhouse, London UK
Opening bands: TBA
Tickets: http://www.artistticket.com/link/?s=dropkick+murphys
****please note this show is 14+****

Saturday February 11th - Barrowlands, Glasgow SCOTLAND
Opening bands: TBA
Tickets: http://www.artistticket.com/link/?s=dropkick+murphys
****please note this show is 14+****

Thanks again & again for all your support!
DROPKICK MURPHYS"


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THE STANFIELDS - NEW VIDEO "Ship to Shore"

"Well folks, here it is: our brand new video for Ship to Shore has been released on AUXTV! A giant THANK YOU to Director Aram Kouyoumdjian for being awesome to work with, to everyone in the cast and crew who donated their time, and to all of you for being patient.

Watch the new video for "Ship To Shore" now:




The Stanfields"


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DUBLIN (OH) IRISH FESTIVAL

9 Castle Close

Hey There!
Hope you are doing well!
Things have been a little busier than normal for us lately, which is good thing.

The following Sat., Aug. 6th, we're opening the Killian's Rock Stage at noon at the Dublin Irish Festival.

What better way to shake the cobwebs and wake up than by kicking off a day that will include Homeland, The Elders, The Tossers and the Young Dubliners all on the same stage!


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DAYTON IRISH FESTIVAL

9 Castle Close

Hey There!
Hope you are doing well!
Things have been a little busier than normal for us lately, which is good thing. First off, as you well know, the highlight of summertime, festival season, is upon us. This year we're very happy to again be at the Dayton Celtic Festival this weekend, closing out a crazy Sat. night, July 30th, on the WDTN stage at 10:00pm!


Homeland

It's festival time again, and we're ready for what is easily our favorite time of the year.

You don't want to miss the Dayton Celtic Festival this weekend at Riverscape Metro Park.

We are rockin' all three days on the WDTN Stage.
Fri @ 9:30pm, Sat @ 2:40pm, and Sun @ 4:50pm.


Check http://www.unitedirishofdayton.org/Festival/Entertainment.html for all the details!!

See you all at the Festival!!

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ENTER THE HAGGIS - NEWS JULY 2011

Hi everyone!

Summer's officially underway, and we're hitting the road for a long string of shows across the Northeast and Midwest. We'll be adding in a few more new songs on this tour from our upcoming (as yet untitled) album, and we're very excited about all the new material!

On this tour we'll be sharing the stage a few times with our friends Carbon Leaf. The first show is tomorrow night at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, CT - we'll also be joined by The Alternate Routes, a great roots-rock band from Bridgeport - killer triple bill! Hope to see you there.

Read on for more info about the upcoming tour, which includes a return to the Great American Irish Fest, our first ever appearance at the Dayton Irish Festival and a one-show only appearance in Sellersville, PA. See you soon!

TOUR DATES

Friday, July 29 - Great American Irish Festival, Frankfort, NY
Saturday, July 30 - Sunday, July 31 - Dayton Celtic Festival, Dayton, OH
Tuesday, August 2 - Purple Fiddle, Thomas, WV
Wednesday, August 3 - Mickey Finns Pub, Toledo, OH
Saturday, August 5 - Sunday, August 6 - Iowa Irish Festival, Waterloo, IA
Wednesday, August 10 - Bells Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI
Thursday, August 11 - The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI
Friday, August 12 - S.P.A.C.E., Evanston, IL
Saturday, August 13 - Irishfest, LaCrosse, WI
Friday, September 16 - Irish 2000 Music & Arts Festival, Ballston Spa, NY

For the full tour schedule, click here.

If you'd like to stay updated on shows in your area, please update your information on our mailing list. Enter the email address at which you currently receive our newsletters and add as much or as little information as you'd like. Adding your postal code, city, state/province, and country will help us let you know about the shows nearest you.

3 DAFT MONKEYS - NEWS JULY 2011

Hi everyone out there on Planet Primate,

We’ve got lots of news this month.

First, and most importantly is the news that Jamie has decided that his time with the band has reached a natural conclusion, and that he no longer wants to go on tour. We totally respect his decision and wish him love and every happiness in whatever he decides to do.

The good news is that he is replaced by the fantastic musician Lukas Drinkwater. Many of you will have met him already as he has been touring as our bass player since the beginning of May, and was actually our driver for a season a few years ago. As any of you who have seen us this summer will agree, the new line-up is working extremely well, and our live shows are highly dynamic. Lukas is also from Cornwall and has played in many bands including Peoples String Foundation and Frootful. He’ll also be singing backing vocals, and may occasionally bring out his double bass if we ask him nicely. Lukas is really excited to have joined the band, and if you want to know all the on-tour gossip, he’s going to be Tweeting and Facebooking regularly.

Also, we hope you’re enjoying our special 4-piece shows? We’ve been touring with Richie Mulryne on percussion this summer, and the audiences seem to be loving it. We’ll remain as this line-up for at least the rest of the summer, and maybe beyond, so we hope you get a chance to come and see us at one of our forthcoming festival gigs. Tim is really enjoying being able to run around the stage a bit more as he’s free of the bass drum.... as some of you may have noticed by Tim and Lukas’s new ‘dance routines’!

We’re getting fabulous feedback about our new video for Under One Sun. We’d really like to increase the viewing numbers on Youtube, so we’d like you, lovely monkey friends, to spread the word, put a link to it on Facebook, tell your friends, link to it on the pages of your favourite bands, tweet it. Here’s the link: WATCH ONLINE. Mark Falmouth took some fantastic photos while we were filming the video, which you can see HERE

There’s more gigs being added to our list all the time, so keep checking.

And thanks to all you wonderful people for filling the tents and dancing your socks off at all the festival gigs we’ve done so far this summer. The atmospheres have been electric, and we’re having a BRILLIANT time. See you at Chagstock this weekend, or Sidmouth Folk Festival next weekend, or Scotland after that.... Check out all of our forthcoming gigs HERE

Bye for now,

Athene, Tim, Lukas and Richie xxx

www.3daftmonkeys.co.uk

REVIEW - THE MOORINGS "PINTS & GLORY" Artscèneprod LSP005

The Moorings "Pints & Glory" Artscèneprod LSP005
Release date: July 2011
Running time: 12 tracks

It’s official, France has a Celtic punk scene. After The Booze and Celkilt, the next band to come is The Moorings. These 7 guys from Sélestat (Alsace, France) have just released their 12 track debut album: 3 self-penned songs, one Flogging Molly cover and a bunch of standards. In fact, The Moorings say that they are influenced by Ronnie Drew & The Dubliners, Dave King and The Pogues.

The original songs are awesome. If you have already watched their video clip, then you know that “Friendship” is a Celtic top-ten song. Lyrics are about touring together with the Hungarian band Paddy and The Rats. Denis Jelly (The Moorings frontman) was recently a guest on their second album (track no. 12, “Immigrant’s Sons”) and Paddy is a guest on "Pints & Glory" (track no. 4, “Spancil Hill”)

“Away from Home” is also an excellent song. Moreover, they have taken a good approach. In a song like that, the obvious way was to take a Dropckick Murphys approach, but instead of that they sound like The Moorings. Even if there is a guest piper, the pipes don’t take the lead.

I can say the same thing for “Working Class Hero”. If you are expecting an oi! inspired song with gang vocals, then you’re wrong. The Moorings do something different and it really works.

“What’s Left of the Flag“ is close to the original, but it’s a good addition to the album. Regarding the standards, I have enjoyed the first rendition of “Champion at Keeping Them Rolling” (track no. 6). I knew this song with the same music and different lyrics and titles, “The Leaving of Liverpool” and “Darby O’Leary”. However, I didn’t know that there was a song with that music and Ewan MacColl lyrics called “Champion at Keeping Them Rolling”. Track no. 4 is a fantastic Celtic punk version. The same song is at the end of the album and it’s played at a slower pace.

“Molly Maguires” seems to be the next “Fields of Athenry”. Circle J included the song in their second album and recently the Swedish band Finnegan’s Hell released a video of this song. For the moment, the song is not worn-out and The Moorings version is good. The other trad. songs that I have enjoyed are “Finnegan’s Wake” and “The Nightingale”. “The Nightingale” is an almost acoustic song and it’s one of my faves.

“Pints & Glory” is a good album and it’s the evidence that competition would be hard in the French Celtic Punk scene. A godd news for the Celtic punk fans. The Moorings sound, with tin whistle, fiddle and viola, is really fresh. And their original songs are so good that I feel that maybe it would have been better to release an 8 track mini-album instead of a 12 track album. Then we would be talking about a must have album. Definitely a band to follow.


Tracklist:

1 - Friendship
2 - Away from Home
3 - Molly Maguires
4 - Spancil Hill
5 - Finnegan's Wake
6 - Champion at Keeping them Rolling
7 - Working Class Heroes
8 - All for Me Grog
9 - The Wild Rover
10 - What's Left of the Flag
11 - The Nightingale
13 - Champion at Keeping them Rolling

http://www.myspace.com/moorings
http://www.facebook.com/mooringsband

Click to purchase

http://www.lartsceneprod.fr/boutique/product.php?id_product=22

Review by Kinksmarkham


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FREE DOWNLOAD - BÉZÈD'H

Bézèd'h is a French Celtic rock band from Mulhouse (Alsace/Elsass). I have read that they are a Levellers meet Louise Attaque band. I 'm not sure if this is right, but their music is led by a fiddler and maybe this is the reason for that comparison.

Marcel - Vocals, guitar
Eric - Bass
Philippe - Guitar
Véronique - Fiddle
Christoo - Drums

Discography

"Les cents ciels" (4 track EP, 1998)
"Ton jour viendra" (11 tracks, 2000)
"Devenir papillon" (1 track, 2003)
"Les Illuminés" (13 tracks, 2007)

http://bezedh.rock.free.fr
http://www.myspace.com/bezedh

DOWNLOAD:


Les cents ciels http://www.jamendo.com/es/album/133
Ton Jour viendra http://www.jamendo.com/es/album/135
Devenir Paillon http://www.jamendo.com/es/album/137
Les illuminés http://www.jamendo.com/es/album/8814


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FREE DOWNLOAD - TALCO

Not a Celtic punk band, but many Celtic punk fans love this Italian band.

"Talco are a strongly anti-fascist and anti-racist combat ska-punk group that believes in the independence of music and in the message that it must send against all discrimination. Thinking about Venice, everybody right away has a picture of the famous historical centre in mind, with its canals and beautiful old buildings. Probably nobody thinks of the districts on the mainland, mainly working class industrial neighbourhoods, that don't have much of the beauty of the city centre. One of those is Marghera, well known in Italy for one of the biggest Italian workers rebellion in newer history. That's the home of Talco.

Born as a ska band, over time they found a sound all their own, mixing Patchanka rhythms typical of the Mano Negra with punk and ska, sometimes dabbling in Balkan and Kletzmer, but always true to their heritage of Italian singer-songwriters, especially when it comes to the lyrics. The first years are typical for most bands, some friends play music together on a basement, till they felt its finally time for a record.

Their debut “Tutti Assolti” was released in October 2004 on Kob Records/ Mad Butcher, followed by “Combat Circus” in 2006, which got really positive feedback and reviews nearly everywhere, from Italy, Germany to Spain and even in Latin America. Step by step, they get more and bigger shows, made more contacts, friends and fans and also developed as musicians, a band and individuals, which results in “Mazel Tov”, released in spring 2008. It not only outsold their other releases in short period of time, also the shows keep growing weather its in Spain, Germany, Croatia or Italy and they are guest on numerous Festivals in Summer 2008 and 2009. Some highlights were definitely selling out legendary clubs like the SO36 in Berlin or the Indra Club in Hamburg, headlining the Stemwede Open Air in front of 7000 people and sharing the stage with bands like Mad Caddies, Agnostic Front, Lag Wagon, Banda Bassotti, Persiana Jones, Punkreas, Linea 77, Derozer, Reak McKenzies, Betagarri, Boikot, Obrint Pas, etc.

After a fruitful collaboration with Kob Records and Mad Butcher Records for five years, the band signed in Fall 2009 with Destiny Records and re-released their last two records there. Around the same time they also released a Benefit MCD for the “St. Pauli Fanrume e.V.” including “St. Pauli”, that was written after attending a game of the famous German work class soccer club. This song also got them an invitation for the 100 year birthday festival of the club and so they play at the sold out Millerntor Stadium in May '10.

In spring '10 they also took the time to go into the studio again to record their 4th record “La Cretina Commedia”. Musically the band the band keep the powerful sound from “Mazel Tov” and that makes them special live as well, but added a lot more variety and different influences. Lyrically its a concept album about the live and work of Peppino Impastato. Born into a mafia family, he turned against his father and became an anti-mafia activist. He was killed in '78 by the mafia, during his election campaign for the Cinisi council. It took over 20 years till all offenders were sentenced and his story got known to a wider audience through the movie “I cento passi” (100 steps)."

Tomaso De Mattia- Vocals, guitar
Emanuele Randon - Guitar, backing vocals
Marco Salvatici- Bass
Nicola Marangon - Drums
Enrico Marchioro - Tenor sax
Andrea Barin - Trombone

Discography:

"Tutti assolti" (10 tracks, 2004)
"Combat circus" (12 tracks, 2006)
"Mazel tov" (14 tracks, 2008)
"St. Pauli" (4 track EP, 2009)
"La crettina comedia" (13 tracks, 2010)

http://www.talcoska.com
http://www.myspace.com/talcopatchanka
http://www.facebook.com/talcopatchanka


DOWNLOAD:

Tuti assolti http://www.jamendo.com/es/album/6532
Combat Circus http://www.jamendo.com/es/album/4818

If you have problems to download the full albums (they didn't work when I tried), remember that you can download the tracks one by one (That's how I finally downloaded them)


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VIDEO - THE MOORINGS "FRIENDSHIP"

The Moorings are a Celtic punk band from Sélestat (Alsace/Elsass) France. They have just released their debut album "Pints & Glory", which will be reviewed here soon. This is the official video clip.

Denis Jelly - Guitar + Vocals
Anne-Sophie Golé - Violin
Vincent Philipp - Viola
Delphine Biehler - Whistle
Samuel Klein - Drums
Matthieu Renaudet - Bass
Nicolas Biegel - Guitar

http://www.myspace.com/moorings
http://www.facebook.com/mooringsband

The Moorings - Friendship

REVIEW - VA "May the Folk Be With You Vol. I", Uncleowen Music UNCL045

VA -May the Folk Be With You Vol. I, Uncleowen Music UNCL045
Release date: 2011
Running time: 33:32, 10 tracks



Samplers are the easiest way to show what is going on in the Celtic rock scene. “Maybe the Folk Be With You Vol. 1”, the last sampler release by the Japanese label Uncleowen presents 5 bands, four Celtic punk and Celtic rock bands (MoDERN B Beard, Ally Band, Pinch of Snuff and Royal Shamrock) and one ska band (The Autocratics).

MoDERN B Beard were recently reviewed here, so I guess that you will be familiar with them. The two tracks that are featured are tracks no 2 and track no. 11 taken from their debut album “1st Log Book”. I would have chosen other tracks but these two songs are enough to know that these guys are leading the Japanese Celtic punk scene.

The next band is called Ally Band. Band members are Ally (Great Highland pipes), NKB (guitar) and Osamu. I like their approach and I have enjoyed both tracks, but I prefer the second one, "Hellbound Train". I have the impression that Ally doesn’t feel so comfortable on the first one, “Mason’s Apron”. Anyway, a very interesting band.

The third band is Pinch of Snuff and they have already released a 5 track EP (three set of tunes and two Irish songs). The band consists of Tiger (vocals and guitar, he’s MoDERN B Beard’s accordionist), Yuka (fiddle), Mattsn (tin whistle), Marinanne (bodhrán), Shark (double bass) and Ichi (5 string banjo). A different sound, but quite enjoyable. "Pinsuna Set" is an excellent selection of tunes: Tam Lin / The Cooley’s / The Mouth of Tobique.

The Autocratics are a ska band. Not a Celtic ska band, but a 2 Tone ska band. If you like The Specials, The Selecter or Bad Manners, check The Autocratics.

The last band is Royal Shamrock. They are the best known band in the sampler, as they have released a couple of albums and an EP. Besides, their music have been featured in several samplers. The two tracks come from their second album and I feel that they are moving away from the Celtic influence. By the way, the guy that plays the electric guitar is Tiger. Yes, the same guy that is a member of MoDERN B Beard and Pinch of Snuff and who was a member of The Croagh Patrick. And the drummer is a guy known as Sexy, who was also a member of The Croagh Patrick.

UncleOwen is doing a fine job releasing and distributing European, North American and Australian Celtic punk bands in the Japanese market. But, at the same time, the label is giving a boost to their local scene. Thanks, Sota.



Tracklist:

1. MoDERN B Beard - Viking Aubade 3:17
2. MoDERN B Beard - The Leaving Of Liverpool 3:11
3. ALLY BAND - Mason's Apron 2:47
4. ALLY BAND - The Hellbound Train 3:46
5. PINCH OF SNUFF - Star Of The County Down 2:00
6. PINCH OF SNUFF - Pinsuna Set 4:22
7. THE AUTOCRATICS - Suited & Booted'79 4:02
8. THE AUTOCRATICS - (The Brown Eyes)RICH GIRL 4.25
9. Royal SHAMROCK - Komoriuta 2:53
10. Royal SHAMROCK - Amewokakeru Ryusei 2:50

http://modernbbeard.web.fc2.com
http://www.myspace.com/modernbbeard

http://www.myspace.com/allyband

http://pinchofsnuff.web.fc2.com
http://www.myspace.com/pinchofsnuff

http://www.autocratics.com
http://jp.myspace.com/theautocratics2009

http://www.gunyukakkyo.com
http://www.myspace.com/royalshamrock

Click to buy

http://surf-project.com/uncleowen-music/va-and-split/list/vamay-the-folk-be-with-you-vol1.html


Review by Kinksmarkham


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FREE DOWNLOAD - LA TARRANCHA "ÖTRESTRES"

I had already posted this album on the Spanish blog and I feel that it's the right moment to post it on the international version.

La Tarrancha come from Asturies and play party music (ska, reggae ...) with traditional instruments (flutes, melodeon). A sort of Asturian Edward The Second And The Red Hot Polkas.

Simón - Drums
Chabi - Bass
Juan - Guitar
Rafa - Guitar
Mónica - Percussion
Nel - Melodeon
Fabian - Trombone
Delfo - Vocals and flutes

www.myspace.com/latarrancha
www.facebook.com/pages/La-Tarrancha/475731885384

DOWNLOAD:

www.jamendo.com/es/album/60495


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SAMPLER JULY 2011

01 - BLEEDING HEARTS - Bombs of Deception (from "Folk'n'Glory") 3:58
02 - BLEEDING HEARTS - Folk'n'Glory (from "Folk'n'Glory") 4:35
03 - RAIN IN SUMMER - Berdiri dengaan kebanggaan mu (demo) 3:55
04 - NESS - Astures (from "Nesspegando") 5:33
05 - NESS - Balboa (from "Nesspegando") 3:55
06 - NESS - Balcón (from "Nesspegando") 3:17
07 - NESS - Fiesta (from "Nesspegando") 4:56
08 - RUSTY NAIL - Trainyard Pubs (demo 2009) 5:29
09 - RUSTY NAIL - Deadbeat Daddy Docket Day 3:29
10 - RUSTY NAIL - Open Ground (from "Boozers, Bastards and Bard") 3:55
11 - THE ROYAL PIPER - Dancing with Myself (from "Dancing with Myself") 4:53
12 - NOT ENOUGH ROPE - Twice Halfway Around the World (from "Fingerpistol") 3:23
13 - NOT ENOUGH ROPE - My Way (from "Fingerpistol") 4:34
14 - NOT ENOUGH ROPE - Paying Off My Radials (from "Paying Off My Radials") 5:25
15 - A.K.A. RUM CURRENCY NEW PROJECT - Cane Cutter's Lane (demo) 3:29
16 - PA DE RAL - Pa de Ral (from "Pa de Ral") 4:12
17 - PA DE RAL - El caçador de cançons (from "Pa de Ral") 6:53



1) BLEEDING HEARTS (England)


Our favourite British Folk Punk band. They have just released their new album. Stay tuned for the review.

http://www.bleedinghearts.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/bleedingheartsonline
http://www.facebook.com/BleedingHeartsOnline

Members:

Steve Brown a.k.a. Foxie - Vocals, electric guitar
Gaz Hunt - Drums, backing vocals
Gel Newey - Bass, backing vocals
Lizzie Prendergast - Fiddle, vocals
Ewan Porter-Hyphen-Stevens - Mandolin

Discography:

"Fly in the Face of Fashion" (13 tracks, 2001)
"Anarcoustica" (10 tracks, 2002)
"The Merchants of Propaganda" (11 tracks, 2003)
"Bose Liebe" (EP, 2005)
"Politics & Love, Sex & Understanding" (2006)
"Red, White, Blue and Green" (13 track Mp3 live album, 2008)
"Folk'n'Glory" (11 tracks, 2011)

Click on the title to buy the CDs


2) RAIN IN SUMMER (Bandung, West Java, Indonesia)

The second track from this Indonesian Celtic punk band.

http://www.reverbnation.com/sihujanpoyan
http://www.myspace.com/raininsummerpunkjava
http://id-id.facebook.com/pages/Raininsummerpunk/148291631867240

Members:

Az-war Sidick - vocals
Si Rambon Summer - Guitar & back. vocals
Sule - Guitar & back.vocals
Adjie Hadhian - Guitar & back.vocals
Vai Andika - Drums


Discography:

Demo tracks


3) NESS (Astorga, León, Spain)

A Spanish band blending Celtic music with hard rock, ska, etc.

http://nessastorga.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/interness
http://www.musikaze.com/interness
http://www.lastfm.es/music/Ness+Astorga
http://es-la.facebook.com/people/Ness-Astorga/100001048113422

Members:

Luis «La Rubia» - Drums
Carlos «Voces» - Keyboards, vocals
Carlos «Fuelles» - Accordion, vocals
Carlos «Kurowski» - Electric guitar
Carlos «Charlie» - Bass
Carlos «Primo» - Pipes and flutes

Discography:

"Ness-pegando" (4 track demo, 2009)



4) RUSTY NAIL (St.Louis, Missouri, USA)

This band has evolved from an acoustic band to a fully Celtic punk rock band. Their second available will be available soon.

http://www.rustynailstl.com
http://www.myspace.com/rustynailmusic
http://www.reverbnation.com/rustynailmusic
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rusty-Nail/337423642224

Members:

Alvy Caby - Vocals, mandolin, guitar
Chad Ross - Dulcimer/Banjo/Accordion/Guitar
Chris Otto - Native American Flute/Irish Whistle
Kelly LaRussa - Violin
Trey Garson - Drums
Tony Hall - Bass
Nate Neff - Electric guitar

Discography:

"Ounce and Half of Whiskey" (13 tracks, 2007)
"Boozers, Bastards and Bards" (forthcoming CD, 14 tracks, 2011)



5) AL GONZALES a.k.a. THE ROYAL PIPER (Highland Mills, New York, USA)

Al Gonzales is an ex-New York policeman. He is the only American piper that has played for the English Queen.

http://www.theroyalpiper.com
http://www.reverbnation.com/algonzales
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-RoyalPiper-Al-Gonzales/201775303187156

Al Gonzales - Pipes

Discography:

"Dancing with Myself" (11 tracks)

"From my recent CD. A remake of the Billy Idol classic featuring me on the Highland Pipes. Special thanks to The Shots for backing me on this track."



6) NOT ENOUGH ROPE (Perth, Australia)

This Australian band is no longer active. Anyway, a worth hearing band.

http://www.allthingsweb.com.au/ner/welcome.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_Enough_Rope

Members:

Matt Galligan - Vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin
Matt Kealley - Drums, percussion, harmonica, vocals
Todd Lynch - Accordion, piano organ, didgeridoo
Byron Mavrick - Lead guitar (original member)
Adrian Conti - Bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin (original member)
Mike Lane - Bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin
Steve Bow - Sound guy

Discography:

"I'll Tell You When I See You" (4 track EP, 1996)
"My Way" (3 track EP, 1998)
"Fingerpistol" (12 tracks, 1998)
"Paying Off My Radials" (17 tracks, 2001)


7) A.K.A. RUM CURRENCY'S NEW PROJECT (Cairns, Australia)

Ex-Blaggard and Rum Currency artist will be joined by Will Swan ad Owen Thomas in his new project. Check his website for more details.

http://blaggard.wordpress.com

Members:

a.k.a. Rum Currency
Will Swan (ex-Rumjacks)
Owen Thomas (Catgut Mary)

Discography:

Blaggard "Can't Write Can't Play Can't Sing" (8 tracks, 2006)
Blaggard "Warm Stout" (9 tracks, 2007)
Rum Currency "Can't Take You Anywhere" (14 tracks + 5 extra tracks, 2010)


8) PA DE RAL (Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain)

A folk-rock band from the Barcelona area with a Celtic twist.

http://www.myspace.com/paderal
http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/paderal
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pa-de-Ral/55870453785
http://www.paderal.blogspot.com/

Members:

Jordi (Sansa) - Drums
Montse Brugueras (Moon) - Vocals
Xavi Carreras (Tankerman)- Bass
Cris Biete - Acoustic guitar
Oriol Avila (Lin) - Electric guitar
Raquel Vila (Key) - Fiddle
Pol - Electric guitar and banjo

Discography:

"Pa de Ral" (5 track EP, 2010)


DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?xpcpc84d6z1w34w


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GRINNING BEGGAR PODCAST

Check this Celtic music podcast, Grinning Beggar Podcast:


http://www.grinningbeggar.webs.com
http://podomatic.com/grinningbeggar
http://itunes.apple.com/ug/podcast/grinning-beggars-celtic-podcast/id421078452



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FREE DOWNLOAD - TRASHMIND

Not a Celtic punk band, but some of you could enjoy Trashmind. This band from Osaka (Japan) are influenced by Rancid, Street Dogs and Dropkick Murphys.

Trashmind were active between 2000 and 2008, when they broke-up. But a reunion took place recently.


Pocaris - Vocals, guitar
Junpei Tanigawa - Bass, back. vocals
Ryousuke Kakei - Drums, bac. vocals



http://trashmind.com
http://www.myspace.com/trashmindponk
http://www.reverbnation.com/trashmind
http://www.facebook.com/trashmindponk


DOWNLOAD:

http://trashmind.com/songs/trashmind_songs.zip


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PADDY O'PUNK NEW SITE

Paddy O'Punk has now a separate website.

Update your bookmarks!



http://paddyopunk.blogspot.com


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FREE DOWNLOAD - THE MAGGIE WHACKERS

New Celtic punk band from Nantes (France)

Lawryn - Scottish pipes, pipes from the South of Brittany, flutes, harmonicas, backing vocals
Pinx - Vocals
Pim - Acoustic guitar, backing vocals
David - Electric guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin, backing vocals
Valentin - Drums, mandolin
Sébastien - Bass, backing vocals
Per-Ewan - Biniou-Kozh, bombardes, Bretton calrinet, Irish flutes, electric guitar, backing vocals

http://www.myspace.com/themaggiewhackers
http://www.kadezair.net/groupes/espace/visualisation.php?ltr=THE%20MAGGIE%20WHACKERS


DOWNLOAD:

http://www.jamendo.com/es/album/91211



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BOOTLEG - BIG COUNTRY Live in Glasgow 21 December 1984

(From Wikipedia)

Big Country are a Scottish rock band born out of Dunfermline, Fife. They were most popular in the early to mid-1980s, but they still release material for a cult following. The band were notable for music infused with Scottish folk and martial music styles, as well as for playing and engineering their guitar driven sound to evoke the inspirational spirit of bagpipes, fiddles and other traditional folk instruments.
Contents


Composed of Stuart Adamson (formerly of The Skids, vocals/guitar/keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar/mandolin/sitar/vocals), Tony Butler (bass guitar/vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums/percussion/vocals) though a variety of other drummers have been in the band throughout their long career, including Simon Phillips and Aaron B. Prior to the recruitment of Butler and Brzezicki, an early incarnation of Big Country was a five-piece band and it featured Peter Wishart, later of Runrig and now an SNP MP, on keyboards, his brother Alan on bass, and Clive Parker, drummer from Spizz Energi / Athletico Spizz '80 (Rough Trade & A&M Records). Parker had approached Adamson to join his new band after the demise of The Skids. Adamson auditioned Parker (1980) at The Members rehearsal room in Ladbroke Grove London, and the next day was called on to play drums on demos for CBS Records at their Whitfield Street studios. The demos just featured Adamson, Parker, with barely a contribution from Watson. Adamson had asked bassist Dave Allen from the Gang of Four to join the band but he declined. Adamson asked Parker to join the band, which led to 8 months of rehearsal in Dunfermline, at a disused furniture warehouse. The culmination was a successful concert at the Glen Pavilion in Dunfermline, (playing to a home crowd, mainly Skids fans), and an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, where the CBS Studio demos were utilised. What followed were live dates with Alice Cooper's Armed Forces tour in 1981. The band were 'out of their depth' with their rambling Echo & The Bunnymen and keyboard orientated sound which went down badly with the metal crowds and the band were dumped from the tour after 2 dates of Bournemouth Centre, and Birmingham Odeon. Adamson's management issued an ultimatum and the Wisharts and Parker were sacked. Adamson later asked Peter Wishart to rejoin on Keyboards, but Peter declined without his brother in the band. Parker formed the synth pop band Scary Thieves, and signed to EMI Records, and later went on to play session drums for ex-Jesus and Mary Chain member John Moore in The Expressway, (Polydor Records) touring the UK and USA. Parker and The Wisharts joined forces to sue Big Country for plagiarism and their song contribution, but, Peter Wishart changed his mind at the last moment because of associations through Runrig and still resident in Dunfermline. Alan Wishart later joined Parker in contemporary folk band Barra (Sony/ATV Music/Hi-Note Records). The manager Ian Grant brought in Brzezicki, and Butler, and along with Watson, the main band Big Country line up was formed. Although the band's music drew from Scottish traditional music, none of its members was born in Scotland. Adamson grew up in Dunfermline though, and as such, his Scottish accent was genuine.

Formed initially as a five piece band in 1981, their first single was "Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, reaching #91 on the UK Singles Chart. Their next single was 1983's "Fields of Fire", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a hit in the United States (reaching the US Billboard Top 20), powered by "In a Big Country", their only U.S. Top 40 hit single. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; Adamson and fellow guitarist, Watson, achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. The Crossing sold over a million copies in the UK and obtained gold record status (sales of over 500,000) in the U.S. The band also performed on both the Grammys and Saturday Night Live.

The band released the non-LP extended play single "Wonderland" in 1984 while undergoing a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest, was a Top Ten hit (#8) in the UK singles chart but despite heavy airplay and a positive critical response, was a comparative flop in the U.S., reaching only #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last single by the band to make a U.S. chart appearance.

Their second album Steeltown (1984) was a hit as soon as it was released, entering the UK Albums Chart at number one. The album featured three UK top 30 hit singles, and received considerable critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, but like Wonderland (and, in fact, all subsequent releases) it was a commercial disappointment in the U.S, peaking at #70 on the Billboard album charts.

Throughout 1984 and 1985, the band toured the UK, Europe, and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., both as headliners themselves and in support of such artists as Queen and Roger Daltrey. They also recorded prolifically, and provided the musical score to a Scottish independent film, Restless Natives (1985), which was not released on CD until years later on the band's Restless Natives and Rarities (1998) collection.

1986's The Seer, the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2. It produced three further top 30 singles, including the Irish number one hit "Look Away", which would also prove to be the band's biggest hit in the U.K., peaking at #7. Kate Bush provided backing vocals on the album's title track, and as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. In the U.S., The Seer sold a little bit better than Steeltown, reaching #59 on the Billboard charts.

In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling U.S. following, Big Country used producer Peter Wolf for their next album, Peace in Our Time (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles, California. The result was very different from the previous singles and albums, and, in "Broken Heart (13 Valleys)" contained the song which Stuart Adamson claimed to be his favourite of all time. Despite this it was not well received by most critics and fans. One reviewer noted that it was the group's "least representative and least interesting album." It sold poorly. During the "Peace In Our Time" Tour, the band were supported by Diesel Park West and Cry Before Dawn.


No Place Like Home (1991) not only effectively killed off the band's commercial hopes in the US, it nearly broke up the band. Drummer Mark Brzezicki returned to the studio as a session drummer after leaving the band. The album found the band trying to reinvent themselves and shift away from their '80s image. It was not a commercial success and was not released in America, although two re-recorded tracks showed up on 1993's The Buffalo Skinners.

In 1991, the band was dropped by Phonogram, the label that had released all of their material for ten years. After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe with the release of every subsequent album. Only one of these, 1993's The Buffalo Skinners, received a major label release (via Chrysalis Records), and it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, reaching the UK Top 25. The album obtained a surprisingly enthusiastic critical response, and although it produced two UK Top 30 singles in Alone and Ships, its sales were meagre and, in retrospect, it can be seen as Big Country's last, lost chance to regain a mass audience. Regardless, the band retained an intensely devoted cult following, as evidenced by their deceptively large post-1990 discography, which consists mostly of live concert recordings and singles/rarities collections.

Throughout the 1990s, Big Country became a popular 'opening act', supporting such bands as Rolling Stones and The Who. Big Country had backed Daltrey on his 1985 solo album Under the Raging Moon, and Tony Butler played bass and backing vocals on Pete Townshend's 1980 hit single "Let My Love Open the Door". Both Butler and Brzezicki performed on Townshend's 1985 solo album White City: A Novel. Brzezicki played drums for The Cult on their 1985 Love album and featured in the video for the single, She Sells Sanctuary.

Of growing concern, however, was the mental and emotional health of lead singer Adamson, who reportedly had struggled with alcoholism for several years. Adamson split with his first wife, who later spoke to Scottish and English tabloids about his heavy drinking. He moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s where he took up residence and married a hairdresser. While in Nashville, he met noted artist Marcus Hummon and released an acclaimed studio album with him under the moniker The Raphaels.

In 1995 Big Country released another album, Why the Long Face?.

1999 saw the release of Big Country's eighth and final studio album, Driving to Damascus (titled in its slightly different, augmented U.S. release John Wayne's Dream). Adamson said publicly that he was disappointed that the album did not fare better on the charts, which led to depression. Later that year, he disappeared for a while before resurfacing, stating that he had needed some time off.

Adamson returned for the band's 'Final Fling' farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom on 31 May 2000. Although that marked the end of Big Country as a touring band, they were always adamant that they would appear together again. They played what turned out to be their last gig in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October that year.

In November 2001, Adamson disappeared again. Numerous appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife. The website also requested that any fans who might have been 'harbouring' the singer to contact the management company and alert them to his whereabouts. Mark Brzezicki and Tony Butler had indicated they were concerned but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and both later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamson's problems. He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on 16 December 2001. The official autopsy revealed that he had hanged himself.

At the time of death he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.279%.

A memorial to Adamson was held at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall in January 2002, followed by a tribute concert at the Barrowlands in May. It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and The Skids; Adamson's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as Steve Harley, Runrig, Simon Townshend, Midge Ure and Bill Nelson.

In 2007, to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, founding members Bruce Watson, Tony Butler (now lead vocalist for the first time), and Mark Brzezicki reunited to embark on a tour of the UK with dates in Scotland and England and a gig in Cologne (Germany). They also released a new album, twenty five live, on the trackrecords label.

As of September 2008 the band returned to an indefinite hiatus.

The surviving original members toured again in late December 2010 and January 2011 with Mike Peters of the Alarm and Jamie Watson added to the lineup.They played another set of concerts in April 2011.

Big Country have been announced at six major UK/Irish festivals - Isle of Wight, T in the Park, Oxygen in Dublin, V festival (Chelmsford & Stafford) & Inverness with Simple Minds.

Legendary producer Steve Lillywhite who produced Big Country's finest work from the 80s including their first and second albums (The Crossing & Steeltown) will be back producing the bands first single in over 12 years. Steve remarked "when I heard the demo of their new song I was impressed on first listen. I am looking forward to working with the band again whom I last worked with in the 80s on one of my favourite albums I have ever produced - 'The Crossing'".

“ It will be a real buzz working with Steve again, he is a producer we all have a great regard for and are looking forward to working with again”. "We'd also like to thank all the festival promoters for having faith in us". says Tony Butler.

The band will also soon announce a series of smaller dates where they will be "breaking in" new songs for a future release. "These will be places we have never played before, giving us the chance to work in new songs in the more intimate type of venues” adds Mark Brzezicki.

"Due to the success of the January and April tours, the band have decided to continue and have already started planning for a new album and a 30th anniversary tour in the new year" says Mike Peters.

Bruce Watson comments, "we are 100% dedicated and intent on making this new line up a permanent one. We can finally look forward to completing unfinished business from the past, particularly internationally, and look to a creative and active future".


DOWNLOAD:


http://www.mediafire.com/?cqlg17mxaywlvq4


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