The Boys of the Lough is a Scottish-Irish
Celtic music
Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considerab ...
band active since the 1970s.
Early years
Their first album, called ''Boys of the Lough'' (1972) consisted of
Aly Bain
Aly Bain MBE (born 15 May 1946) is a Scottish fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. The former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell called Bain a "Scottish icon."
Career
Bain was born in the town ...
(
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 ...
), Cathal McConnell (
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 ...
),
Dick Gaughan
Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters.
Early years
Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Roy ...
(vocals and
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 Robin Morton (
bodhran and vocals).
Since the 1960s, the
Forrest Hill Bar in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
had been a centre for folk singers and instrumentalists. In the pub, always nicknamed "Sandy Bell's" and now formally called that, fiddler
Aly Bain
Aly Bain MBE (born 15 May 1946) is a Scottish fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. The former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell called Bain a "Scottish icon."
Career
Bain was born in the town ...
played along with singer/guitarists Mike Whellans and
Dick Gaughan
Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters.
Early years
Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Roy ...
in sessions. Aly Bain was from the
Shetland Islands
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
, and steeped in the Shetland style of playing. Meanwhile in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Cathal McConnell
Cathal McConnell (born 1944) is a musician and singer best known as the mainstay of traditional band The Boys of the Lough, of which he was a founder member. His main instruments are the Irish flute and the tin whistle.
Early life
McConnell came ...
was an All-Ireland champion in both flute and whistle. He was from a family of flute players in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...
in Ireland. Cathal's musical collaborators were Tommy Gunn and
Robin Morton. The two halves met at
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
folk festival in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and formed Boys of the
Lough
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...
.
In 1973, Gaughan left to pursue a solo career and the
Northumberland musician Dave Richardson (
concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front.
The ...
,
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 ...
,
cittern
The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
) joined.
This line-up was constant for the next six albums.
Richardson was also a writer of new material. They played ensemble instrumentals and the occasional song, equally divided between traditional sources from Ireland and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
''Regrouped''
The Boys of the Lough 1978/79 tour was billed as their final tour. However they returned a year later with ''Regrouped'' (1980). Robin Morton had left to found a Scottish folk music label called
Temple Records (featuring such groups as the
Battlefield Band
Battlefield Band were a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band.
The band is noted for t ...
). The "Regrouped" line-up had two new members, and eventually fiddler John Coakley was added, who remained with the group for the next 12 years. Their 1980s sound also included
Christy O'Leary
Christy may refer to:
* Christy (given name)
* Christy (surname)
* ''Christy'' (novel), by Catherine Marshall
* Christy (towel manufacturer), a UK textile firm established in 1850
* ''Christy'' (TV series)
* '' Christy: Return to Cutter Gap'', ...
from
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
(
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 their ...
),
who had previously toured with
De Dannan
De Dannan (originally ''Dé Danann'') is an Irish folk music group. It was formed 1975 by Frankie Gavin ( fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott ( banjo) as a result of sessions in Hughe ...
. Tich Richardson (guitar, bass) died in a car accident in Scotland in September 1984.
In 1992, Boys of the Lough played at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
.
1990s
In 1994, the band released ''The Day Dawn''. John Coakley left the band.
2000s
In 2002, the band released ''Lonesome Blues and Dancing Shoes''. They invited guests to appear for a single album.
Chris Newman (guitar) and
Kathryn Tickell
Kathryn Tickell, OBE, DL (born 8 June 1967) is an English musician, noted for playing the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle.
Music career Early life
Kathryn Tickell was born in Walsall, then in Staffordshire, to parents who originated fro ...
(Northumbrian pipes) sat in with them on tours and albums. After 32 years,
Aly Bain
Aly Bain MBE (born 15 May 1946) is a Scottish fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. The former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell called Bain a "Scottish icon."
Career
Bain was born in the town ...
left to play with other musicians, most notably
Phil Cunningham (
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
), and was replaced in 2002 by fellow Shetland fiddler
Kevin Henderson of
Fiddlers' Bid.
In 2006, Boys of the Lough participated in TG4's ''
Geantraí
''Geantraí'' () is an Irish television programme, presenting Irish traditional music.
The name derives from ''Geantraí'', one of the three types of Irish music enumerated in the "three noble strains"; ''geantraí'' (joy music), ''suantraí'' ...
''. An album of the same name was issued in 2007, with contributions from Boys of the Lough,
Gerry O'Connor,
Joe Burke, Noel Hill, Mairtín O'Connor and others.
In 2009, "Paidraig O'Keefe's/Con Cassidy's" from ''In The Tradition'' was included in
Topic Records
Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...
70 year anniversary boxed set ''
Three Score and Ten
''Three Score and Ten: A Voice to the People'' is a multi-CD box set album issued by Topic Records in 2009 to celebrate 70 years as an independent British record label.
The album consists of a hardback book containing the seven CDs and a paper ...
'', as track fourteen on the third CD.
Discography
;Albums
*''
The Boys of the Lough
The Boys of the Lough is a Scottish-Irish Celtic music band active since the 1970s.
Early years
Their first album, called ''Boys of the Lough'' (1972) consisted of Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathal McConnell (flute), Dick Gaughan (vocals and guitar) and ...
'' (1973)
*''Second Album'' (1973)
*''The Boys of the Lough III (Live at Passim)'' (1974)
*''Lochaber No More'' (1976)
*''The Piper's Broken Finger'' (1976)
*''Good Friends ... Good Music'' (1977)
*''Wish You Were Here'' (1978)
*''Regrouped'' (1980)
*''In the Tradition'' (1981)
*''Open Road'' (1983)
*''To Welcome Paddy Home'' (1985)
*''Far From Home - Live'' (1986)
*''
Farewell and Remember Me'' (1987)
*''Sweet Rural Shade'' (1988)
*''The Session'' (1991) - a compilation from the albums ''In the Tradition'', ''Regrouped'', and ''Open Road''
*''Live at Carnegie Hall'' (1992)
*''The Fair Hills of Ireland'' (1992)
*''The Day Dawn'' (1994)
*''Midwinter Night's Dream'' (1996)
*''The West of Ireland'' (1999)
*''Lonesome Blues and Dancing Shoes'' (2002)
*''Twenty'' (2005)
*''Midwinter Live'' (2007)
*''
Rising Fawn Gathering'' with
Norman Blake (2009)
*''The New Line'' (2014)
;Contributing artists
*''
The Rough Guide to Scottish Music'' (1996)
References
External links
Boys of the Loughofficial site
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boys of the Lough
Irish folk musical groups
Scottish folk music groups
Shetland music
Transatlantic Records artists
Topic Records artists