Walking on Cars was a four-piece Irish rock band, whose 2020 line-up consisted of
Pa Sheehy (singer/lyricist), Sorcha Durham (pianist), Paul Flannery (bass guitarist) and Evan Hadnett (drummer).
Their debut single "Catch Me If You Can", released in 2012, went to No. 1 on the Irish iTunes chart. The band released their debut EP, ''As We Fly South'', in 2013, and a second one, ''Hand in Hand'', in (2014), together with the accompanying single "Always Be with You". Their next single, "Speeding Cars", came out on 30 October 2015. Following the international success of the single, the band released their debut album ''Everything This Way'' on 29 January 2016, which peaked at No. 1 in Ireland. On 12 April 2019, the band released their second album ''Colours''.
The band announced its split on 21 August 2020, on the same date that a final six-track EP called ''Clouds'' was released.
History
Formation and early years
In 2010, five school friends started performing at local venues and clubs in their hometown of
Dingle
Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...
, County Kerry.
Committing wholly to their musical ambitions, the band went on to rent a house in the Dingle Peninsula and lock themselves away for the purpose of writing and recording demos. "The place we rented was a really old cottage, where we had no television, no phone, no Internet, no transport," says Sorcha, "We were there for 6 months – just our equipment and us. It was an amazing time, ideas were constantly flowing."
In 2012, Walking on Cars won the Redbull Bedroom Jam competition and gained extensive radio play with their debut single "Catch Me If You Can". As a result, the track reached no. 27 in the
Irish Charts, where it remained for over 20 weeks.
"Catch Me If You Can" also reached No.1 on iTunes, and garnered over 450,000 views on YouTube.
"Two Stones", the band's second single, reached No.12 in the Irish charts, while YouTube views exceeded 1,000,000.
Walking on Cars released their four-song EP, ''As We Fly South'', in 2013. It was recorded in Attica Studios, Donegal, and produced by Tom McFall (
R.E.M
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternativ ...
,
Snow Patrol,
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle ( ...
,
Editors
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...
). In July 2014, the band released "Hand in Hand" and "Always Be With You".
Chart success
In 2016, they released their first full-length album, ''Everything This Way'', celebrating the release with CD signings and in-store performances around Ireland.
The album went "double platinum" and reached number one on the album charts in Ireland, as well as charting in several other European countries.
In 2020, the band's single, "Monster", was used as the opening theme of the Netflix original series,
''The Stranger''. The eight part miniseries, based on the novel by
Harlan Coben, first aired on 30 January 2020.
Split and later projects
In August 2020, coinciding with the release of an EP titled ''Clouds'', the band announced that they had split.
In 2021, the former lead-singer of the band, Pa Sheehy, undertook a number of solo projects. His debut single, "Saw you at a funeral", was released in June 2021 with a follow up single "Roisin" released in August 2021.
Band members
Former members
*
Pa Sheehy –
lead vocals, piano, guitar (2010–2020)
* Sorcha Durham –
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
(2010–2020)
* Paul Flannery –
bass,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
(2010–2020)
* Evan Hadnett –
drums,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
(2010–2020)
* Dan Devane -
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 strin ...
(2010–Feb 2018)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Music videos
References
External links
*
*
*
{{authority control
Irish indie pop groups
Irish indie rock groups
Irish alternative rock groups
Musical groups established in 2010
Musical groups disestablished in 2020
Musical quintets
EMI Records artists
2010 establishments in Ireland