Hothouse Flowers
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Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional
Irish music Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland. The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st century, despite globalis ...
with influences from soul,
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
, and rock. Formed in 1985 in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' (1988), was the most successful debut album in Irish history, reaching No. 1 in Ireland and No. 2 in the UK. After two more albums and extensive touring, the group separated in 1994. Since getting back together in 1998, the band members have been sporadically issuing new songs and touring, but also pursuing solo careers.


Career

The group first formed in 1985 when
Liam Ó Maonlaí Liam Ó Maonlaí (born 7 November 1964 in Monkstown, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician best known as a member of Hothouse Flowers. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin. Biography He attend ...
and
Fiachna Ó Braonáin Fiachna Ó Braonáin (born 27 November 1965) plays the guitar and sings vocals with the Irish band Hothouse Flowers. Born in Dublin, he received his school education at Scoil Lorcáin and Coláiste Eoin. The Hothouse Flowers were founded as a ...
, who had known each other as children in an Irish-speaking school,
Coláiste Eoin Coláiste Eoin is a Catholic voluntary secondary (Irish language school) for boys, under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, in Booterstown, County Dublin, Ireland. It has hurling and Gaelic football teams, traditional Irish m ...
in
Booterstown Booterstown () is a coastal suburb of the city of Dublin in Ireland. It is also a townland and civil parish in the modern county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre. History There is some debate on ...
,
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, began performing as street musicians, also known as
buskers Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pra ...
, on the streets of Dublin as "The Incomparable Benzini Brothers". They were soon joined by Peter O'Toole and had won a street-entertainer award within a year. They renamed the group "Hothouse Flowers" (the name was suggested by singer
Maria Doyle Kennedy Maria Josephine Doyle Kennedy (born 25 September 1964) is an Irish singer and actress. With a singing and acting career that has spanned more than 30 years, she has established herself as one of Ireland's most prolific artists and entertainers. ...
during a brain-storming by band-members and friends in the Trinity College Arts Block café) and began writing songs and performing throughout Ireland. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine called them "the best-unsigned band in Europe". In 1986,
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
from the band U2 saw the Flowers performing on television and offered his support. They released their first single, "Love Don't Work This Way", on U2's
Mother Records Mother Records was a record label founded by the band U2 in 1983 and distributed by parent Island Records. As a supportive promotional platform, the label released several one-off single releases for The Hothouse Flowers, In Tua Nua and Cactus ...
label, which quickly led to a deal with the
PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
subsidiary
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
. Their first album, ''People'', was released in May 1988 and was the most successful debut album in Irish history. It reached the #1 slot in Ireland within a week and eventually reached No. 2 in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. The first single off the album "Feet on the Ground" shot to the No. 1 slot in Ireland on 19 March 1988. The international success of the album received a boost when a music video for the first single, "Don't Go", was played in the interval between contestants and the scoring in the 1988
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
. This propelled the song to No. 11 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 ...
, the highest position the band would ever achieve in this chart. In September 1988, the band appeared on the bill at the
Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
. In June 1989 they played at the
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
, and appeared there again the following year. The group's second album, ''Home'' was released in June 1990. It was recorded sporadically during extensive touring; with sessions in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, London, a rented house with a mobile
recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
set-up in
Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
, Ireland, and one day of work with
Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...
in
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Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
, while
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
was taking a break from his sessions with Lanois. The album did not have the overwhelming success of the first record, but it did reach No. 1 in Australia in 1991. "Give It Up" and " I Can See Clearly Now" (a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the
Johnny Nash John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940October 6, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit " I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican artists ...
song) from the album reached No. 30 and 23 respectively 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 ...
. In 1989, the Flowers collaborated with the
Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...
on their song "Closer To Fine", which became a US hit, and led to some exposure in the United States for the group (albeit limited, as their contribution to the song was uncredited). In January 1992, the group appeared (as themselves) in an episode of the popular BBC drama series ''
Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...
'', entitled No Strings. In 1992, Hothouse Flowers joined
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...
– the combined group going by the name The Acoustic Hippies From Hell – to record three songs ("From the Inside", a cover of the
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
' "
You Can't Always Get What You Want "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones on their 1969 album ''Let It Bleed''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' ...
", and a cover of
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
's "
Little Wing "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967. It is a slower tempo, rhythm and blues-inspired ballad featuring Hendrix's vocal and guitar with recording studio effects accompanied by bass, d ...
") that were included as
B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
on Def Leppard's single " Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", from their album ''
Adrenalize ''Adrenalize'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark who died in 1991 and the only one recorded ...
''. '' Songs from the Rain'' was released in March 1993. Though it received good reviews and achieved some
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
success in Australia and Ireland, worldwide sales were disappointing. In an attempt to boost record sales (and especially to break into the United States charts), the
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
and the band's management kept the group on the road almost continuously for the entire year. The band also participated in the
Another Roadside Attraction ''Another Roadside Attraction'' is the first novel by Tom Robbins, published in 1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The worl ...
tour in Canada that year, and collaborated with
The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassi ...
,
Crash Vegas Crash Vegas was a Canadian folk rock band which formed in 1988, and achieved moderate success in the early 1990s. Biography The band was formed by Michelle McAdorey and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo in 1988, who were also in a romantic relationship. ...
,
Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...
and
Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...
on the one-off single "
Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...
" to protest forest
clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/ logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fore ...
in British Columbia. By early 1994, Ó Maonlaí had decided that the group was suffering from physical, mental and creative exhaustion, and he called for a year-long sabbatical. The year-long break turned into several years, as the band members recouped their energy and experienced changes in their personal lives, including divorces, marriages, the birth of children and the death of Ó Maonlaí's father. The group also split from their long-time manager, and Leo Barnes (saxophone) and Jerry Fehily (drum kit) left the group. O'Toole and Ó Braonáin spent some of their time off from the Hothouse Flowers recording and touring with
Michelle Shocked Michelle Shocked (born Karen Michelle Johnston; February 24, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and received an award f ...
. Ó Maonlaí worked with
Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...
and Andy White, while also studying traditional Irish music. In May 1998 they released ''Born''. Joined by Wayne Sheehy on drums and Rob Malone on bass guitar, this album contained extensive songwriting contributions from O'Toole, who (freed from his bass responsibilities) played mostly guitar,
bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...
and keyboards on the recording. The music also incorporated more elements of electronic loops, synthesizers and studio effects. The following month, they appeared at the 1998
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
. By 1999 they had reached the end of their contract with London Records, and both the label and the band decided not to renew. The label head allowed the group the rights to record songs from their past London releases and produce a live record. ''Live'' was self-released by the group later that year, taken mostly from an October 1998 show in the National Stadium, Dublin, with one track from a November show in Tokyo. Sheehy and Malone left the group shortly after the release of the record. Dave Clarke, formerly of
Blue in Heaven Blue in Heaven were an Irish rock quartet from Churchtown, Dublin, Ireland, active from 1982 to 1989 and led by singer Shane O'Neill. They reformed in 1990 as The Blue Angels. O'Neill later went on to form Supernaut with Dave Long from Into Parad ...
, joined on drums and O'Toole returned to the bass. In 2000
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
released a
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
of songs from their four previous albums titled ''Hothouse Flowers: The Best Of – 2000''. During the band's official hiatus between ''Songs From the Rain'' and ''Born'', band members had both written songs individually, and sporadically got together to write collaboratively. Some of these songs were never released, while others altered significantly to become some of the tracks on ''Born''. In 2003 the Flowers collected these unreleased recordings and issued them as ''Vaults: Volume 1''. In February 2004 the band released their latest album, ''Into Your Heart'', produced by the band and John Reynolds. The first single, "Your Love Goes On", reached #3 on the Irish charts. The album also reached #3 on the Irish Album Chart. The record was released on the RubyMusic label in Europe and distributed by Redeye in the United States. They have toured extensively in support of the record, including a performance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2004. Peter O'Toole left the band after this. Ó Maonlaí has done several tours as a solo acoustic performer and released an album in 2005 called ''Rian''. In 2007, Ó Braonáin appeared on
Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...
's album, ''
Voila Voila or Voilà may refer to: Music * VOILÀ, LA-based pop-rock duo featuring Gus Ross and Luke Eisner * ''Voila'' (album), by singer Belinda Carlisle * "Voila", a single by Radio Killer which charted in Romania * '' Voila!'', an album by Itali ...
'', singing a
duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
with her on a cover of "Bonnie and Clyde". Hothouse Flowers appeared at the Glastonbury Festival Acoustic tent in 2007. Ó Braonáin and Clarke have also collaborated with a former member of
The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...
in the group Pre-Nup, who have opened some shows in America for Hothouse Flowers. An album by Pre-Nup, ''Hell to Pay'', was released on 4 September 2007. In late 2008, Ó Maonlaí released his follow up album to ''Rian'', entitled ''To Be Touched''. In 2015, O'Toole rejoined the band, and they toured the UK in October and November of that year, with the tour named "Away with the Traveling Circus". During an interview on "The Imelda May Show" in Ireland, the band confirmed they were working on a new album, tentatively scheduled for release in early 2016. Some material from the album was played during the tour, and the album was finally released on 17 November 2016, called ''Lets Do This Thing'' and recorded at
Windmill Lane Studios Windmill Lane Recording Studios (earlier Windmill Lane Studios) is a recording studio in Dublin, Ireland. It was originally opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson and James Morris in premises at 22 Windmill Lane, and it subsequently relocated to its cu ...
in Dublin. The band played a live version of their cover " I Can See Clearly Now" on the premiere episode of Amazon Prime's ''
The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November ...
'' first made available to stream in November 2016. As a result, they saw an upswing in popularity, with "I Can See Clearly Now" going to no. 1 on the iTunes Rock Chart Singles in the UK. Former band member, saxophone player Leo Barnes, died of an apparent brain hemorrhage in April, 2022.


Members

; Current *
Liam Ó Maonlaí Liam Ó Maonlaí (born 7 November 1964 in Monkstown, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician best known as a member of Hothouse Flowers. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin. Biography He attend ...
– vocals, keyboards, guitar *
Fiachna Ó Braonáin Fiachna Ó Braonáin (born 27 November 1965) plays the guitar and sings vocals with the Irish band Hothouse Flowers. Born in Dublin, he received his school education at Scoil Lorcáin and Coláiste Eoin. The Hothouse Flowers were founded as a ...
– guitar, vocals * Peter O'Toole – bass , guitar ,
backing vocals * Dave Clarke – drums * Martin Brunsden – double bass ; Former * Michan Walker – bass * John Paul Tansey – drums * Jerry Fehily – drums * Leo Barnes – saxophone, backing vocals * Wayne Sheehy – drums * Rob Malone – bass * Kieran Kennedy – guitar ; Timeline


Discography


Studio albums


Compilation albums


Live albums


Singles


Various artists compilations

*''
Larry Kirwan's Celtic Invasion ''Larry Kirwan's Celtic Invasion'' is a 2013 compilation album of Celtic rock music. The album's tracks were selected by Larry Kirwan: taig, expatriate Irish writer, radio host and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the New York-base ...
'' – 2013 – ''Sí Do Mhaimeo Í'' *'' No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison'' – 1994 – ''
Bright Side of the Road "Bright Side of the Road" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1979 album ''Into the Music''. It was also one of the outtakes that made up the 1998 compilation album, ''The Philosopher's Stone (a ...
''


References


External links


Hothouse Flowers' official websiteRubyMusic (Irish label)RedEye (U.S. label)Liam O Maonlai's record label
{{Authority control Irish rock music groups Irish folk rock groups Irish alternative rock groups Irish buskers Musical groups from County Dublin Musical groups established in 1985 1985 establishments in Ireland