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

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

/whistle, Maurice Lennon on

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

, Tommy Hayes on bodhran, and Kieran Hanrahan on

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 in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, along with Tony Callinan on

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and vocals. They have collaborated with well known artists including Christy Moore, "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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

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

Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Republic of Ireland, 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 has been presented since 1999 by Joe Duffy, and is known for its ...

, one of the most popular radio shows in Ireland.

Name

The band took its name from a line from the

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

song "

Backstreets "Backstreets" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from the album ''Born to Run'', which was released in 1975. In the original vinyl release, it concludes side one of the record. Structure "Backstreets" begins with a minute-long instrumental introduc ...

": "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 a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

, in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. 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 Folk Festival they met

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n Stephen Cooney who then joined the band playing

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, and

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

, further adding to the evolving sonic tapestry. 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 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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. 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 Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She often appeared on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'', starting in 1985 during season 10. In 1990, Griffith appeared on th ...

's Blue Moon Orchestra, and Stephen Cooney began a fruitful collaboration with accordion player Séamus Begley. Kieran Hanrahan went on to present the traditional music program Ceili House on RTÉ Radio 1. Stockton's Wing were the band playing at the céilí in the

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish people, Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' (1989), ''The Field (1990 film), The Field'' (19 ...

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 formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

with Planxty,

The Chieftains The Chieftains were a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous w ...

with

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

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 County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

. 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 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music