Energy Orchard were a guitar-based

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band of the late 1980s and early 1990s, from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, Northern Ireland. Fronted by

Bap Kennedy Martin Christopher Kennedy (17 June 1962 – 1 November 2016), known as Bap Kennedy, was a singer-songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was noted for his collaborations with Steve Earle, Van Morrison, Shane MacGowan and Mark Knopfler, a ...

(brother of singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy), their style drew heavily on the influence of

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

and other

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

acts, but incorporated traditional elements of Irish

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. The band emerged from the remnants of one other Belfast-based

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 ...

/ new wave band, 10 Past 7.

Career

Following the band's early concerts at the New Pegasus they were signed to MCA on the recommendation of Steve Earle. The band consisted of: *

(lead vocals) * Paul Toner (lead guitar) * David Toner (percussion) * Spade McQuade (rhythm guitar/mandolin/vocals) * Joby Fox (bass guitar) * Kevin Breslin (keyboards) Whilst the majority of the songs were written by Kennedy, it was Fox that wrote their biggest hit, "Belfast". But following personal problems Fox left to be replaced for a short time initially by Michael Kelpie and then Steve Lawrence. Following another re-jig McQuade switched to bass, in what would become the final line up until the band parted in 1997. Their debut single, "Belfast" was their most successful song, and reached 52 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and featured on '' EastEnders''. The 1990 follow-up was "Sailortown". The first album, '' Energy Orchard'', was released to some critical appreciation. Subsequent albums included the 1992 release '' Stop the Machine'', 1993's '' Shinola'' (released on Essential Records), ''

Pain Killer An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

'' (1995) and the 1996 live album, ''Orchardville''. Despite extensive touring, the breakthrough to mainstream success eluded them. The band having completed their recording contract with Castle Communications in 1996 disbanded. The split up saw Kennedy go on to launch a successful solo career (his first album saw a renewed partnership with Steve Earle), whilst McQuade and Breslin relocated to

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Florida. Whilst there they played together in local band Celtic Soul, prior to McQuade launching his own group Spade McQuade and the Allstars. Both Paul and David Toner left the music industry with Paul reading Law at Queens University, Belfast, and David for a time moving to Sweden to teach English. With

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in ...

from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Jim DeVito, Breslin formed Buffalo Diamond and recorded ''The Things You Do'', released in November 2005. He has since worked with other musicians on a multitude of session recordings.

Discography

Singles

* "Belfast" (1990) – UK No. 52 * "Sailortown" (1990) – UK No. 73

Albums

* '' Energy Orchard'' (1990) – UK No. 53 * '' Stop the Machine'' (1992) * '' Shinola'' (1993) * ''

'' (1995) * ''Orchardville'' (1996)

References

{{Authority control Rock music groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups from Belfast Celtic rock groups