Stockton's Wing is an Irish band formed in 1977 by four All-Ireland champion musicians; Paul Roche on

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

/whistle, Maurice Lennon on

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

, Tommy Hayes on bodhran, and

Kieran Hanrahan Kieran Hanrahan (born 1957) is an Irish radio host and musician. Born in Ennis, County Clare, he began playing traditional Irish music on the tenor banjo at the age of fourteen. Over the years, Hanrahan has helped to found a number of tradition ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, along with Tony Callinan on

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and vocals. They have collaborated with well known artists including

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

, "as well as more than a dozen musicians who have worked to create an impressive collection of work". Their style has been described as including "Irish folk, melancholic ballads, upbeat jigs, and modern pop". Stockton's Wing have supported artists including

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and Prince. Their song "Over The Moor" is used as the theme music for

Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which is currently presented by Joe Duffy and known for its slogan "Talk to Joe", seeks the ...

, one of the most popular radio shows in Ireland.

Name

The band took its name from a line in the

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

song, "Backstreets"; "Slow dancin' in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing, where desperate lovers park to meet the last of the Duke Street Kings.”

Early years

The five founding members had won in the traditional music category of a talent competition, sponsored by

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

, in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. An up-an-coming rock band from Dublin, U2, formed only two years before, won the rock category. The victory landed Stockton's Wing a contract with Tara Records, who released their self-titled debut in 1978, which consisted of traditional songs. These quickly gave way to a mix of more contemporary influences, as "they departed from their Trad roots". During the recording of their second album, ''Take A Chance'' (1980), singer-songwriter and guitarist Mike Hanrahan replaced Tony Callinan. Unlike its predecessor, the sophomore effort "featured some original music and marked the arrival of a progressive force into the world of Irish music." At the

Ballisodare Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. History Toponymy The Ox Mountains () are ...

Folk Festival they met

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n Stephen Cooney who then joined the band playing

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, and

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

, further adding to the evolving sonic tapesty. 1982 saw the release of ''Light In The Western Sky'', with the band moving further into original compositions, and delivered the hit singles "Beautiful Affair" and "Walk Away". The following year, Tommy Hayes was replaced by Fran Breen on drums, and Peter Keenan joined on keyboards.

Extensive international tours

1984 saw Stockton's Wing embark on their first

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

tour. This coincided with the release of ''American Special'', a compilation by Shanachie Records, containing "a selection from each of Stockton's Irish releases". The band toured extensively, staying away from the studio, and in 1985 released the live album ''Stockton's Wing Live - Take One'', which had been recorded 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 ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. Re-mastered in 2006, it was aimed at "the tens of thousands who attended the almost 1,500 performances across Ireland, the UK and America".

Line-up changes, return to Tara

1986 saw the release of ''Full Flight''. This was followed in 1988 by ''Celtic Roots Revival''. In 1991, Davey McNevin replaced Kieran Hanrahan, with Fran Breen and Stephen Cooney also departing. Fran Breen joined Nanci Griffith's Blue Moon Orchestra, and Stephen Cooney began a fruitful collaboration with accordion player

Séamus Begley Séamus Begley ( ga, Séamus Ó Beaglaoich, 26 August 1949 – 9 January 2023) was an Irish accordion player, and Irish traditional musician. He was regarded as one of Ireland's greatest accordion players. Early life Begley was born in Baile ...

went on to present the traditional music program Ceili House on RTE Radio 1. Stockton's Wing were the band playing at the céilí in the Jim Sheridan film The Field (1990). The following year, they returned to Tara Records for the release of a 20-track compilation of their first three albums (reissued in a 2005 boxset). 1992 saw the release of ''The Crooked Rose'', and in 1995, with Eamon McElholm having taken over as lead singer, ''Letting Go''. Their sound in this era has been described as pioneering "a sort of Celtic Yacht Rock – mixing

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

with

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...

, The Chieftains with

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

Twenty first century

In 2003, original members Paul, Maurice, Kieran and Tommy along with Mike Hanrahan got together for a number of reunion concerts. In January 2009 they took to the stage at the West County Hotel, County Clare. In 2020, ''Beautiful Affair: A Stockton's Wing Retrospective'', was released. The band toured in 2019/2020, and drew on recordings from two concerts in Ennis and Dublin, for the album ''Hometown''. "Showcasing material from across the band’s career", music journalist Ed Power wrote, "it is reminder of their unique blend of the ancient and modern. Folk collides with funk, confessional songwriting with rock ’n roll."

Discography

* ''Stockton's Wing'', 1978 * '' Take A Chance'', 1980 * ''Light in the Western Sky'', 1982 (deleted) * ''American Special'', 1984/85 (deleted) * ''Stockton's Wing Live – Take One'', 1985 (deleted)(re-released 2006) * ''Full Flight'', 1986 (deleted) * ''Celtic Roots Revival'', 1988 (deleted) * ''The Collection'' 1991 * ''The Crooked Rose'', 1992 * ''Letting Go'', 1995 * ''Celtic Collections'', 1997 * ''The Very Best of Irish Jigs, Reels & Songs'' 2005 * ''Live - Take One'' (re-release) 2006 *A Beautiful Affair: A Stockton's Wing Retrospective (2020) * ''Hometown'' (2022)

References

External links

Stocktons Wing Live

Stockton's Wing on YouTube

{{Authority control Irish folk musical groups Musical groups from County Clare Ennis Claddagh Records artists