Davy Carton (born 10 April 1959) is a singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist from

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. He is best known as a core member of the

Saw Doctors The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts ...

, the folk-rock band he co-founded with

Leo Moran Leo Moran (born 9 November 1964 in Tuam, Galway) is best known as lead guitarist and sometimes vocalist in the Irish folk rock band The Saw Doctors. Moran studied French and Sociology at University College Galway. He later trained as a secondary ...

and others in 1987.He likes Tuam stars he is the man in the moment xx

Biography and musical career

Born in Islington, London, Carton moved permanently to

with his family in 1966. As a teenager he attended Tuam CBS, where he formed the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

Blaze X Blaze X (1979–1981) were an Irish new wave band. The band was formed in Tuam, County Galway by friends Paul Cunniffe and Paul Ralph. They released a single in 1980, "Some Hope" which became Larry Gogan's 'hit song of the week' on 2FM. Its B ...

with fellow students Paul Cunniffe, Paul Ralph, and Ja Keating. He began work in a local textile factory after leaving school, but continued to play with Blaze X until the band dissolved in 1981, the year Carton married his girlfriend Trisha. Working full-time in the textile factory throughout Ireland's economically bleak 1980s, Carton largely put his musical career on hold to support his wife and three young sons. In the late 1980s, Carton got together for a pint with

, formerly of Irish reggae band Too Much for the White Man. Carton and Moran began gigging around Galway with a handful of their own rootsy-rock compositions.'Saw Doctors set for craic at Assembly'
, ''Leamington Observer'' (Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England), 26 February 2010. The duo adopted the name Saw Doctors—travellers who earned money by sharpening saws in old Ireland—until they could think of something better. As the band grew, the opportunity to find a better name never arose. Carton finally gave up his day job in 1989, when the Saw Doctors rose to prominence and began touring with bands including

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

The Hothouse Flowers Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional music of Ireland, Irish music with influences from soul, Gospel music, gospel, and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''People ...

, and

The Stunning The Stunning are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1987 in Galway, they are perhaps best known for their singles " Brewing Up a Storm", "Romeo's on Fire", "Half Past Two", "Heads Are Gonna Roll". Known for their strong live performances, they main ...

. Carton's achievements with the Saw Doctors have included six studio albums, two live albums, a concert DVD, several compilation albums, and extensive tours throughout Europe and the United States. Noted for his witty, rapacious lyrics, Carton has co-written almost all of the band's songs, including "

I Useta Lover "I Useta Lover" (, eye dialect of "I used to love her") is a 1990 song by Irish rock group The Saw Doctors. It is the second single off the '' If This Is Rock and Roll, I Want My Old Job Back'' album. It stayed at the #1 position in the Irish chart ...

", Ireland's all-time best-selling single. The Saw Doctors' lyrics tend to stay out of political issues. "I'm not a politician, and I never will be a politician," Carton told the website PopMatters in 2003. "What I like to do is go into a room of people and make them sing along and whatever. I'm not going to tell them how to vote - there's enough people doing that already. I'd rather talk about girlfriends and football. We don't like to write about things we don't really know about. We know about rejection from girls and all that, so we can write about that."Christoper, Michael (15 April 2003)
''Play It Again, Sham!'' Interview with Davy Carton of The Saw Doctors
PopMatters.com,.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carton, Davy 1959 births 20th-century Irish male singers 21st-century Irish male singers Living people Irish male singer-songwriters Irish rock singers People from Tuam Musicians from County Galway Irish rock guitarists The Saw Doctors members

Biography and musical career

See also

References