''Ronnie Drew'' is the debut album of

Ronnie Drew Joseph Ronald Drew (16 September 1934 – 16 August 2008) was an Irish people, Irish singer, folk musician and actor who achieved international fame during a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners. He is most recognised for his lead voc ...

, released in 1975. Produced by John Curran, this was Ronnie's first

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

, made in 1975 after he first left

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, 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 line-up saw many changes in personn ...

. Many of the tracks he had previously recorded, or would subsequently re-record, with The Dubliners. The album contains his original recording of "The Irish Rover", which would later become a huge hit for The Dubliners when they recorded the song with

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". T ...

Track listing

Side one

# "Building Up and Tearing England Down" - 2:56 # "

Irish Rover "The Irish Rover" is an Irish folk song about a magnificent though improbable sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics over time. The song describes a ...

" - 2:54 # "James Larkin" - 1:55 # "Whack Fal Da Diddle" - 2:00 # "

Finnegan's Wake "Finnegan's Wake" is an Irish-American comic ballad, first published in New York in 1864. Various 19th-century variety theatre performers, including Dan Bryant of Bryant's Minstrels, claimed authorship but a definitive account of the song's origi ...

" - 2:05 # "Master McGrath" - 3:14 # "

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

" - 2:12

Side two

# "A Bunch of Red Roses" - 2:11 # "The Old Man" - 5:37 # "D'Ya Remember Jem" - 1:52 # " Weila Weila Waile" - 2:36 # " The Old Triangle" - 1:56 # "The Beggarman" - 2:20

Personnel

*Ronnie Drew - guitar, vocals *

Eamonn Campbell Eamonn Campbell (29 November 1946 – 18 October 2017) was an Irish musician who was a member of The Dubliners from 1987 until his death. He was also in the Dubliners when they recorded their 25th anniversary show on '' The Late Late Show'' hos ...

- guitar, mandolin, banjo *Reg Lloyd - bass *John Curran - flute

References

1975 debut albums Ronnie Drew albums {{1970s-folk-album-stub