Moving Hearts is an Irish
Celtic rock
Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been extremely prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundatio ...
band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of
Horslips
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish ...
in combining
Irish traditional music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...
with
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
, and also added elements of
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
to their sound.
[Harris, Craig]
''Moving Hearts''
AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
Career
The group was formed in 1981 when
Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...
(
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
Christy Moore (vocals, guitar and
bodhrán
The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...
), of
Planxty, wanted to explore the possibilities of linking contemporary music to Irish traditional music.
They initially intended to form a trio with guitarist
Declan Sinnott
Declan Sinnott (born 29 July 1950) is an Irish musician and record producer.
Originally from Wexford town, where his father was an optician and jeweller on Main Street, he came to Dublin in the late 1960s. Around 1970 he was a member of the poe ...
,
[Speek, Han (2011)]
''Dónal Lunny – a short biography''.
''xs4all.nl''. Retrieved 13 May 2007. but then expanded the group to include established Irish musicians Keith Donald (alto sax), Eoghan O'Neill (bass), Brian Calnan (drums), and
Davy Spillane (
uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from thei ...
).
In their first year together, Moving Hearts performed to packed audiences during their three-night-a-week residency at the Baggot Inn on
Baggot Street
Baggot Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland.
Location
The street runs from Merrion Row (near St. Stephen's Green) to the northwestern end of Pembroke Road. It crosses the Grand Canal near Haddington Road. It is divided into two sections:
...
in Dublin.
[McCann, Eamon (11 June 1987)]
''Ace of Hearts''
''Hot Press''. ''hotpress.com''. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
This laid the basis for a powerful, new Irish sound, which was coupled on the band's first two albums, ''Moving Hearts'' and ''The Dark End of the Street'', with songs of explicit political engagement, often concerning the
situation in Northern Ireland.
The band was organised as a cooperative effort, with all profits and costs borne by the seven band members and three members of the road crew.
Calnan was replaced for the group's second album by Matt Kelleghan, and, in 1982, Moore left to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Mick Hanly.
Moving Hearts played many prestigious gigs including the
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...
,
The Bottom Line in New York and the
Lorient Festival in Brittany, and the line-up with Hanly was recorded on the 1983 album ''Live Hearts''. They also played on two tracks on
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 ...
's 1983 album ''
A Sense of Wonder''.
For a period after Hanly's departure, Flo McSweeney and
Anthony Drennan came in on vocals and lead guitar.
The following year the group performed as an instrumental group, recording the album, ''
The Storm''. At this point the line-up consisted of Spillane and
Declan Masterson
Declan Masterson is an Irish uilleann piper, traditional musician, composer and arranger. In addition to pursuing a solo career and playing with Moving Hearts and Patrick Street, Masterson was one of the ''Riverdance'' musicians.
He has perfo ...
on uilleann pipes, Lunny on bouzouki, synthesiser & bodhrán, Donald on sax, Noel Eccles on percussion, Matt Kelleghan on drums, O'Neill on bass and Greg Boland on guitar.
The group ceased touring in 1984, appearing only at occasional festivals such as the
Preseli Folk Festival[Thompson, Richard (April 1986)]
''Hokey Pokey – The Richard Thompson newsletter No.3
''. ''archive.richardthompson-music.com''. Note: Preseli Folk Festival (24 May 1986) is mentioned in section on 'DAVE SWARBRICK', page 3. Retrieved 5 March 2015.–now the
Fishguard Folk Festival–in 1986. In 1990, the band performed at Dublin's
Point Theatre
The Point Theatre (sometimes referred to as the Point Depot or simply as the Point) was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, visited by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Q ...
for a sold out farewell concert, with McSweeney on vocals.
Moving Hearts re-formed in 2007, announcing concerts in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
[''Moving Hearts Reunion''](_blank)
(December 2006). ''taramusic.com''. Retrieved 28 April 2007. and at the
Hebridean Celtic Festival
The Hebridean Celtic Festival (Scottish Gaelic: Fèis Cheilteach Innse Gall) or HebCelt is an international Scottish music festival, which takes place annually in Stornoway on Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Headliners to date inclu ...
in
Stornoway.
[''Great line up for Hebridean Celtic Festival 2007''](_blank)
(1 March 2007). ''www.stornowaygazette.co.uk''. Retrieved 20 January 2017. The new line-up was: Lunny, Spillane, O'Neill, Donald, Kellaghan, Eccles, Drennan, Kevin Glackin and Graham Henderson.
They continue to reunite for occasional concerts every few years. The 2022 line up is Lunny, Spillane, Donald, O'Neill, Eccles, Drennan, Bradley and Henderson.
Moving Hearts will play their rescheduled show at 3Olympia Theatre on Tuesday 10th May 2022.
/ref>
Discography
Studio albums
*'' Moving Hearts'' (1981)Dark End of the Street
"The Dark End of the Street" is a 1967 soul song, written by songwriters Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first recorded by James Carr.
History and original recording
The song was co-written by Penn, a professional songwriter and producer, and Mo ...
'' (1982)
Live albums
*'' Live Hearts'' (1983)
Compilation albums
*''Anthology'' (1981) – Vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
LP with 9 tracks from two studio albums (''Moving Hearts'' & ''Dark End of the Street'')
Filmography
*'' Live in Dublin'' (Recorded 2007, released 2008) – DVD
References
External links
''Moving Hearts Biography''.
Page at Tara Records website.
{{Authority control
Celtic rock groups
Irish folk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1981
Musical groups from Dublin (city)
Political music groups