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1976
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"...Do You Love A Laddie With Curly Brown Hair?"
Taking their name from the ramshackle homes of migrant workers (they were called 'bothies') and the traditional music groups that sprang up from them – as a Dubliner who lived through it - I loved THE BOTHY BAND then and have done so with a passion all of my life.
But a bit of history is needed to fully review the impact of their arrival and especially their magical first platter "The Bothy Band" aka "The Bothy Band 1975" or just "1975" because of the photos on the front cover (it's actually credited as "The Bothy Band" on the label and spine so "The Bothy Band" is its official title).
When their properly-Traditional debut album hit the streets of the UK in March 1976 on Polydor Super 2383 379 (reissued by Mulligan in June 1976) - Irish Folk music was often mired in horrible pro-Nationalist rhetoric and the bloodshed that followed it. Sure we had Planxty with Christy Moore (who were also wonderful and on Polydor Records) and Clannad and the boozy shenanigans of The Dubliners and the crossover Folk-Rock of Horslips and The Woods Band - but little else we young Irish with half a brain wanted to hear. THE BOTHY BAND changed all of that. They brought the 'Tradition' back into the Traditional. And in the live environment, they were utterly magical too.
First up there were six in THE BOTHY BAND...
MICHAEL O'DOMHNAILL (Michael O'Donnell) - Guitar and Lead Vocals
TRIONA NI DHOMHNAILL (Triona O'Donnell) - Harpsichord, Bodhran and Lead Vocals
DONAL LUNNY - Bouzouki and Vocals
MATT MALLOY - Flute and Whistle
TOMMY PEOPLES - Fiddle
PADDY KEENAN - Uilleann Pipes and Whistle
1. The Kesh Jig/Give Us A Drink Of Water/The Flower Of The Flock/Famous Ballymote – Instrumental [Side 1]
2. The Green Groves Of Erin/The Flowers Of The Red Hill - Instrumental
3. Do You Love An Apple? - Lead Vocals, Triona
4. Julia Delaney - Instrumental
5. Patsy Geary's/Coleman's Cross - Instrumental
6. Is Trua Nach Bhfuil Me In Eirinn - Lead Vocals, Michael
7. The Navvy On The Line/The Rainy Day - Instrumental
8. The Tar Road To Sligo/Paddy Clancy's - Instrumental [Side 2]
9. Martin Wynn's/The Longford Tinker
10. Pretty Peg/Craig's Pipes - Lead Vocals, Triona
11. Hector The Hero/The Laird Of Drumblaire (Strathspey & Reel)
12. The Traveller/The Humours Of Lissadel
13. The Butterfly
14. The Salamanca/The Banshee/The Sailor's Bonnet
Tracks 1 to 14 are their debut album "The Bothy Band" - released March 1976 in the UK on Polydor Super 2383 379 and June 1976 in Ireland on Mulligan Records LUN 002 (with three different rear sleeve photos - see Notes below). The British issues only had one rear sleeve (Donal and Tommy, bottom left) - the three different 'rear photos' sleeves applied ONLY to Irish copies. The 1976 French LP on Polydor 2460 264 had a different front and rear sleeve - the front being a painting of a tombstone-type granite celtic cross with the words 'Folk Celtique' running down it - the band and LP credited as 'The Bothy Band'. Sometimes the French variant of their debut is referred to as 'Folk Celtique' because of the artwork on the front sleeve. The Bothy Band's first US issue of their debut didn't happen until 1981 on Green Linnet SIF 3011 where it was called "1975 - The First Album" - and again - with different artwork (front and rear) to the UK and Irish LPs from 1976.
MULLIGAN Records and THE BOTHY BAND.
DONAL LUNNY (who'd been with Planxty) formed Mulligan Records in Ireland in 1975 - releasing important albums like Andy Irvine and Paul Brady's album of the same name in 1976 (with "Arthur McBride" on it), Barry Moore's gorgeous "Treaty Stone" on Mulligan LUN 022 in 1978 (later went under the name Luka Bloom) and Paul Brady's brilliant solo debut proper called "Welcome Here Kind Stranger" from September 1978 on LUN 024. Mulligan wasn't averse to Rock acts either - bands like Scullion (Sonny Condell from Tir na n'Og with Phillip King and Greg Boland), pre Scullion Irish band Supply Demand And Curve (with guitarist Greg Boland), Gay and Terry Woods and their former incarnation as The Woods Band, Freddie White - and even Irish punk bands like The Vipers, The Radiators, The Atrix and The Boomtown Rats (strange they never issued a Bothy Band 45). Mulligan's very first Irish Folk LP (LUN 001) from late 1975 was by self-titled "Pumpkinhead" album headed up by Thom Moore (he would join Midnight Well in 1977). Produced by both Donal Lunny and Michael O'Domhnaill of The Bothy Band "Pumpkinhead" also had Fiddle Player Kevin Burke on one track ("Cedars Of Lebanon") who would himself join The Bothy Band for albums two and three ("Old Hag You Have Killed Me" and "Out Of The Wind, Into The Sun") and later in the mid 80ts - join the Bothy Band offshoot group - Patrick Street.
Mulligan also put out Deke O'Brien's "Nightbus" LP in July 1976 in Ireland with members of Jimi Slevin's band Nightfly on it (Donal Lunny of the Bothies also contributed). But Mulligan was primarily about (and is remembered for) Irish Folk and Irish Folk-Rock, and gave voice to Mick Hanley, Kevin Burke, Jim Crowley, Andy Irvine, Matt Molloy, Liam Weldon, Dolores Keane, Bobby Casey, Dennis Doody and as already mentioned - Christy Moore's brother Barry Moore. Donal Lunny would also be involved with U2 and Windmill Lane Studios and remains a leading light in Irish music to this day.
Irish Pressings of Bothy Band albums were usually on Mulligan Records with the circled 'p' before the date that normally denotes a 'Made In The Republic of Ireland' pressing. You can see from a discography that I've provided below – they were usually issued 'after' the Polydor pressings in England and I've provided those British release dates from a rare 'Fifth Anniversary Special Presentation Copy' of the Music Master Catalogue of 1979 (hardback). It's one of the few places where you can get accurate release dates for the mid Seventies onwards.
A little known ditty is that the Irish album covers of "The Bothy Band" on Mulligan Records also featured three different rear photos in black and white – the shots missing from the photo-album depicted on the front sleeve. The front sleeve has a colour 'photo' of the six-piece at a bar (bottom right corner). The rear cover shows them in 'twos' in black and white. So one variant of rear sleeve has Michael and Paddy (Top Left, rarest), another has Triona and Matt (Top Right, second rarest) whilst the most commonly seen one is Donal and Tommy (Bottom Left) which is also the one used on the March 1976 British release. Their debut LP is also often cited as first available 1975 on Vinyl and Cassette - but with cover photos dated early November 1975 (7 and 8 November to be exact) - it is far more likely that spring 1976 is the true release date (March 1976 UK). The 1975 Copyright date is what makes people think it was issued in 1975 - it wasn't. For dead wax buffs - the Irish LPs didn't have different run-out grooves to depict different sleeves - they were all the same LP - just the three rear artwork covers were different. Now let's get to the music...
SOUND: The significance of the sheer number of bodies meant that The Bothy Band's rhythm section had an 'oomph' other four-piece Traditional Irish Folk groups like say Planxty simply didn't have. As the songs progressed - the combo of Triona's Harpsichord and Donal Lunny's Bouzouki would provide a backbeat that elevated the expert Fiddle playing of Tommy Peoples and the amazing pipes of Paddy Keenan. The power of this both in the studio and live would have audiences in raptures - clapping and feet-stomping. This musical set up is taken for granted now – but at the time it was kind of revolutionary (see You Tube footage of The Bothy Band doing The Green Groves of Erin and you will get the gist of what I'm saying).
Throw in two deeply beautiful voices from the leads (brother and sister) - Triona singing "Do You Love An Apple" or Michael singing "Is Trua Nach Bhfuil Me In Eirinn" and the heartstrings would be tugged as well. Bands such as STOCKTON'S WING and DE DANAAN followed in their wake at the time and into the 90's and 00's with ALTAN, DERVISH and even Scotland's CAPERCAILLIE.
The 'Irish' CD I have is made in Austria and distributed by CM Distributions in Harrogate, North Yorkshire using the Mulligan Records logo and catalogue number Mulligan LUN CD 002 (Barcode 5016364300859) and is a straightforward transfer of the album (47:48 minutes) issued in the 1990s. Outside of the musician credits that came with the original LP - there's absolutely zero info on the gatefold slip of paper that acts as an inlay - essentially an advert for other CM Distribution titles. There are no mastering credits of any kind but the AUDIO IS GREAT - full and lively. There's a wonderful vitality to the disc. I know there's a Shanachie Records reissue of the album out of the States but I can't comment on it as I don't own a copy.
Of all the 14 songs - each was a Traditional Irish air arranged by the group - and most unknown to us. These were musicians in their late 20s when they formed - steeped in Irish Folk - expert players - giving us jigs, reels, pipe solos and following the instrumental dexterity with vocal ballads full of fun - songs about love and longing. I can remember being in The National Stadium in Dublin when Triona sang "...before I got married I wore a black shawl...but since I got married...I wore bugger all...but still I love him...I can't deny him...I'll be with him wherever he goes..." in "Do You Love An Apple". The men laughed but the women shed a tear because they knew the woman's voice and heart (too damned true).
Triona would then make us laugh with "Pretty Peg" where a frisky girl has "...a boy in her bed..." with her mum downstairs - prayer book in hand - praying for the doubtful soul of her lusty daughter. The lyrical craic then segues into Paddy Keenan and Tommy Peoples doing a Pipes/Fiddle double that romps it home. I can also remember feeling an 'Irish' awakening at the time - this was music we could be proud of. I even had "The Bothy Band" sewn onto the back of my Wrangler shirt by a girlfriend of mine in beautiful gold and green Irish calligraphy - it was the envy of many and I got asked to sell it a hundred times over (wore out after too many washes).
Of the jigs and reels the opening "Kesh Jig" ensemble is fantastic stuff and if you've heard the posthumous live BBC set - you'll know that Paddy Keenan's pipe playing on "Patsy Geary's..." would bring the house down. I don't know how many notes he hit in three minutes but I wouldn't like to count them. The Harpsichord is used to fabulous effect on "The Butterfly" lending the song an English madrigal feel. Other highlights include "Pretty Peg" and the builder "Julia Delaney" - an instrumental that would convert even the doubter. In fact, "The Kesh Jig..." Medley appears as an entry for exemplary Irish Folk Music on the 2002 Topic Records 4CD Box set "The Acoustic Folk Box" - all tracks Remastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering in Scotland (see separate review).
The Mulligan CDs usually all use those reissue catalogue numbers LUN CD 002 and LUN CD 007 etc. There isn't any CD anywhere that tells you this nor did they use the three different photo rears. And as I say, they lazily call it "1975" because that is what is on the front cover or it suits them - leading to confusion over the release date of the LP (didn't arrive until March 1976).
"The Bothy Band" debut has been reissued any number of times on Mulligan CDs with the same catalogue number – 1990, 1998, 2011 – it's hard to get any accuracy on exact dates and it seems they want it that way. There's also a Compass Records CD variant from November 2008 out of the USA on Mulligan LUNCD 3002 (use Barcode 766397300221 to locate it) with a rear cover that matches the colour of the front sleeve (it has 1975, 2008 as copyright dates). That is readily available on Amazon. None give mastering credits.
As for The Bothys music - hell even a dance band sampled the entirely Acapella 'mouth music' vocal racehorse that is "Fionnaghula" on their second album "Old Hag You Have Killed Me" from October 1976. If they reformed – many would come running from wide and afar...
"The Bothy Band" is a great album and a forgotten masterpiece of the Irish Folk genre minus any of its more dubious politics. They went on to make two more studio LPs and one cracking live album (see list below) – but my heart will always be with this brilliant opening salvo.
"...Do you love an apple...do you love a pear..." – they sang nigh on 50 years ago.
Indeed I do and I suggest (in the best possible taste of course) you get rightly fruity with them too...
THE BOTHY BAND Discography on LP and CD
1. The Bothy Band
March 1976 UK LP on Polydor Super 2383 379, May 1976 in Ireland on Mulligan LUN 002 - CD is Mulligan LUN CD OO2 (Barcode 5016364300859)
2. Old Hag You Have Killed Me
October 1976 UK LP on Polydor Super 2383 417, November 1976 in Ireland on Mulligan LUN 007 - CD is Mulligan LUN CD 007 (Barcode 5016364300774)
3. Out Of The Wind, Into The Sun
October 1977 UK LP on Polydor Super 2383 456, October 1977 (reissued September 1978) in Ireland on Mulligan LUN 013 - CD is Mulligan LUN CD 013 (Barcode 5098990120803)
4. Afterhours – Recorded Live In Paris
February 1979 UK LP on Polydor Super 2383 530 (with insert), March 1979 in Ireland on Mulligan LUN 030 - CD is Mulligan LUN CD 030 (Barcode 5098990120902)
5. The Best Of The Bothy Band
September 1980 UK LP on Polydor Super 2383 583, reissued August 1986 on Mulligan LUN 041 - CD is Mulligan LUN CD 041 (Barcode 5098990121008)
6. Live In Concert (Recorded in London in 1976 and 1978)
May 1994 CD-only compilation on Windsong International WINCD 060 (Barcode 5018766943061)
