The Wolfe Tones
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The Wolfe Tones are an
Irish rebel music Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
band that incorporate
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 w ...
in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from
Theobald Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone, posthumously known as Wolfe Tone ( ga, Bhulbh Teón; 20 June 176319 November 1798), was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members in Belfast and Dublin of the United Irishmen, a republican socie ...
, one of the leaders of the
Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...
, with the double meaning of a wolf tone – a spurious sound that can affect instruments of the violin family.


History


1963–1964: Formation

The origins of the group date back to August 1963, where three neighbouring children from the Dublin suburb of
Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Located approximately west of the city centre, Inchicore was originally a small village separate from Dublin. The village developed around Richmond Barracks (built 1810) and Inchicore railway works (b ...
,
Brian Warfield Patrick Brian Warfield (born 2 April 1946, Holles Street, Dublin) is the vocalist, banjo, harp and bodhrán player and lead songwriter with long-standing Irish band The Wolfe Tones. Brian introduces many of the songs at the Wolfe Tones live conc ...
, Noel Nagle, and Liam Courtney, had been musical friends from childhood. In August 1964 Brian's brother
Derek Warfield Derek Warfield (born 15 September 1943) is an Irish singer, songwriter, historian, and a former member of the musical group The Wolfe Tones. Personal life Born in the Dublin suburb Inchicore, Warfield was educated at Synge Street CBS. He was a ...
joined the band, and in November 1964 Tommy Byrne replaced Courtney, creating the band's most recognizable line-up, which would last for nearly 37 years until January 2001.


1964–2001

In 1989, a contract was signed by Derek Warfield, signing rights to an American distributor,
Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...
. The contents of this contract were apparently misrepresented to the other members of the band, resulting in a clause that prevented them from recording any new material. Unable to reverse this agreement, they continued to tour, albeit without any new material. In 1995, Derek Warfield released a solo studio album entitled ''Legacy'' as he was still eligible to record under his own name. With Derek on vocals and mandolin, the music on this album was performed by a new band, although he was still touring with the Wolfe Tones. Derek's solo releases continued annually until 2006. In 2001, after a show played in Limerick, Derek Warfield departed the band to concentrate on his own career. Calling themselves "Brian Warfield, Tommy Byrne and Noel Nagle, formerly of the Wolfe Tones" the three would later go on to release "You'll Never Beat the Irish" and the more recent album "Child of Destiny".


2001–present

The Wolfe Tones continue to tour, but as a three-piece band comprising Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle and Tommy Byrne. The Wolfe Tones celebrated their 45th Anniversary with a special event at the
Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Corp ...
,
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, on 26 October 2008, which was also filmed for a documentary. In 2014 they celebrated their 50th anniversary by performing at the Citywest Hotel and Conference Centre in a series of Easter weekend concerts. In 2018, they headlined the
Féile an Phobail Féile an Phobail (''The Community's Festival''), also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its ''August Féile'' (Festival). The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international cul ...
in West Belfast to a sell-out audience of over 12,000 people and were inducted into the
Barrowlands The Barrowland Ballroom (also known as Barrowlands) is a dance hall and music venue in Glasgow, Scotland. History The original building opened in 1934 in a mercantile area east of Glasgow's city centre, built by Maggie McIver, the "Barras Que ...
hall of fame for their contribution to music. At the end of each December, the Wolfe Tones perform three concerts at Dublin's Citywest Hotel.


Notable works

The song "Irish Eyes" was written by Brian Warfield as a
paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...
for his mother Kathleen who died of cancer the year previous to its release. A song about emigration to London entitled "My Heart is in Ireland" became a number 2 hit for the band. The song '' Celtic Symphony'' was written by Warfield in 1987 for the centennial of
Celtic Football Club The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...
. Other famous songs written by the group include "Joe McDonnell", a song about the life and death of the
Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
member Joe McDonnell who was the fifth person to die on the 1981 Hunger Strike; and "The Protestant Men", a song about some of the notable
Protestant Irish nationalists Protestant Irish Nationalists are adherents of Protestantism in Ireland who also support Irish nationalism. Protestants have played a large role in the development of Irish nationalism since the eighteenth century, despite most Irish nationa ...
. The band also covered "The Streets of New York" which Liam Reilly from
Bagatelle Bagatelle (from the Château de Bagatelle) is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the 19th century) past wooden pins (which act as obstacles) into holes that are guarded by wooden ...
wrote, inspired by stories of the Tones' friendship with NYPD. Warfield also penned his rendition of "
The Helicopter Song "Up and Away (The Helicopter Song)" was a number one single in the Republic of Ireland for the Irish traditional folk band the Wolfe Tones. Background Originally written by Sean McGinley from Castlefin, County Donegal, the song tells the story of ...
" which was written by Sean (Jobby) Mc Ginley. "
The Helicopter Song "Up and Away (The Helicopter Song)" was a number one single in the Republic of Ireland for the Irish traditional folk band the Wolfe Tones. Background Originally written by Sean McGinley from Castlefin, County Donegal, the song tells the story of ...
" stands as the fastest selling single of all time in Ireland, shooting straight to number one in 1974 as a result of the escape from Mountjoy Jail. Footballer
James McClean James Joseph McClean ( ; born 22 April 1989) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL Championship club Wigan Athletic and the Republic of Ireland national team. McClean played with Trojans, Institute, his hometown ...
(of
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
at the time) attracted criticism when he tweeted that he listened to their song "
The Broad Black Brimmer "The Broad Black Brimmer" is an Irish Republican folk song written by Art McMillen. The song narrates the story of a boy whose father died before he was born, fighting in the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The narrator is asked by his mother to try ...
" before a match, a song in which a son learns of how his father was killed in fighting for the IRA. He was told by club manager
Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...
to refrain from using Twitter. In 2002, after an allegedly orchestrated e-mail campaign by fans to "try and mess it up" their rendition of "
A Nation Once Again "A Nation Once Again" is a song written in the early to mid-1840s by Thomas Osborne Davis (1814–1845). Davis was a founder of Young Ireland, an Irish movement whose aim was for Ireland to gain independence from Britain. Davis believed that song ...
" by Thomas Osborne Davis was voted the number one song of all time in a BBC World Service poll. The BBC hosts an artist's page for the band that includes excerpts of their songs. The band's 1982 hit "
Admiral William Brown "Admiral William Brown" is a song written and first performed by the Wolfe Tones in 1982, the year of the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The song recounts the biography of Irish-Argentine admiral William Brown (1777–18 ...
" pays homage to the Irish-born Argentine naval hero William Brown. In January 2020, the band's version of " Come Out Ye Black and Tans" reached No. 1 on the Ireland and UK
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
charts, following criticism of the Irish government's planned commemoration of the RIC, as part of its ' Decade of Commemoration'. As a result of this, on 10 January, the song entered the
Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
at No. 33 and also debuted at No. 1 in the
Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
.


Personnel


Members

;Current members * Noel Nagle – tin whistle, low whistle, uileann pipes, vocals (1963–present) *
Brian Warfield Patrick Brian Warfield (born 2 April 1946, Holles Street, Dublin) is the vocalist, banjo, harp and bodhrán player and lead songwriter with long-standing Irish band The Wolfe Tones. Brian introduces many of the songs at the Wolfe Tones live conc ...
– banjo, whistle, harp, piano, guitars, bodhran, vocals (1963–present) * Tommy Byrne – guitars, vocals (1964–present) ;Former members * Liam Courtney – guitars, vocals (1963–1964) *
Derek Warfield Derek Warfield (born 15 September 1943) is an Irish singer, songwriter, historian, and a former member of the musical group The Wolfe Tones. Personal life Born in the Dublin suburb Inchicore, Warfield was educated at Synge Street CBS. He was a ...
– mandolin, vocals (1964–2001)


Lineups


Discography

;Studio albums * '' The Foggy Dew'' (1965) * '' Up the Rebels'' (1966) * ''
The Rights of Man ''Rights of Man'' (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the ...
'' (1968) * '' Rifles of the I.R.A.'' (1970) * '' Let the People Sing'' (1972) * '' 'Till Ireland a Nation'' (1974) * '' Irish to the Core'' (1976) * '' Across the Broad Atlantic'' (1976) * '' Belt of the Celts'' (1978) * '' Spirit of the Nation'' (1981) * '' As Gaeilge'' (1982) * ''
A Sense of Freedom ''A Sense of Freedom'' is a 1981 Scottish crime film directed by John Mackenzie for Scottish Television. The film stars David Hayman and featured Jake D'Arcy, Sean Scanlan, Hector Nicol, Alex Norton and Fulton Mackay. It is based on the auto ...
'' (1983) * ''
Profile Profile or profiles may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Music * ''Profile'' (Jan Akkerman album), 1973 * ''Profile'' (Githead album), 2005 * ''Profile'' (Pat Donohue album), 2005 * ''Profile'' (Duke Pearson album), 1959 * '' ''Profi ...
'' (1985) * ''
Sing Out for Ireland ''Sing Out for Ireland'' is the fourteenth album by Irish folk and rebel band The Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from T ...
'' (1987) * '' 25th Anniversary'' (1989) * '' You'll Never Beat the Irish'' (2001) * ''
The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
'' (2004) * ''
Child of Destiny ''Child of Destiny'' is the eighteenth album by Irish folk and rebel band The Wolfe Tones. Track list # Child of Destiny # Swing a Banker # Cliffs of Moher # Hibernia # Uncle Nobby's Steamboat # Siobhain # Anne Devlin # Moonbeams # Celtic Peopl ...
'' (2011) * ''The Dublin Rebellion 1916'' (2016)


References


External links


DMC Promotions

Wolfe Tones Fest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe Tones Irish folk musical groups Musical groups established in 1963 Musical groups from Dublin (city) Political music groups 1963 establishments in Ireland