![]() He returned to The Dubliners five years later, but left the group again in 1995. Drew left the band in 1974 to spend more time with his family, and was replaced by Jim McCann. They also recorded their first single featuring Rocky Road to Dublin and The Wild Rover.ĭrew spent some time in Spain in his younger years where he learned to play Flamenco guitar, and he accompanied his songs on a Spanish guitar. The extra exposure helped them to win a contract with Transatlantic Records, with whom they recorded their first album, called simply The Dubliners. The group played at the Edinburgh Festival in 1963 and that led to them being featured on a BBC programme called Hootenanny. They used to sing songs between acts.īefore joining the Dubliners full-time, Kelly had spent some time playing at English folk clubs such as the Jug o'Punch in Birmingham, run by the folk singer Ian Campbell. ĭrew, McKenna and Thomas Whelan had originally teamed up for a fundraising concert and then went on to work in a revue with the Irish comedian John Molloy at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Founding members were Drew, Kelly, Ciarán Bourke and Barney McKenna. The change of name came about because of Ronnie Drew's unhappiness with it, together with the fact that Luke Kelly was reading Dubliners by James Joyce at the time. The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin. O'Donoghue's Pub on Merrion Row, Dublin, where the group played regularly in the early 1960s. However, the surviving members of the group, continued touring under the name of "The Dublin Legends", and as of 2021, Sean Cannon is the only remaining member of the Dubliners in that group, following the retirement of Patsy Watchorn in 2014 and the death of Eamonn Campbell in 2017. The Dubliners announced their retirement in the autumn of 2012, after 50 years of performing, following the death of original member Barney McKenna. ![]() Also in 2012, the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards bestowed them with a Lifetime Achievement Award. One of the most influential Irish acts of the 20th century, they celebrated 50 years together in 2012, making them Ireland's longest surviving musical act. Much adored in their native country, covers of Irish ballads by Ronnie Drew and Luke Kelly tend to be regarded as definitive versions. They influenced many generations of Irish bands, and their legacy can to this day be heard in the music of artists such as The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. ![]() The Dubliners were instrumental in popularising Irish folk music in Europe, though they did not quite attain the popularity of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem 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. 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. 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. 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" (which sold over 250,000 copies in the UK) and " The Black Velvet Band". The Dubliners worked with Behan regularly between 19 Behan wrote numerous songs for this act including the song McAlpine's Fusiliers created specifically to showcase Ronnie Drew's gravel voice. ![]() 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 band garnered international success with their lively Irish folk songs, traditional street ballads and instrumentals. 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 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 Dublin Legends, The Pogues, The New Triangle, The Cannons Columbia, Epic, Legacy, Major Minor, EMI, Transatlantic, Polydor, Stiff, CHYME, Lunar, Harmac, Baycourt
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