Boys of the Lough

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The Boys of the Lough are one of the longest running British Celtic folk bands . It was founded in the early 1970s.

Band history

The 1960s

In the 1960s, Edinburgh's Forest Hill Bar was a hangout for folk singers and instrumentalists. Fiddler Aly Bain , guitarist Mike Whelans and singer Dick Gaughan also met here for sessions. At the same time, Cathal McConnell, who came from a family of flute players in County Fermanagh , Ireland , played with Tommy Gunn and Robin Morton. These two ensembles met at the Falkirk Folk Festival in Scotland and formed the Boys of the Lough.

The 1970s

The line-up of their first album Boys of the Lough (1972) consisted of Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathal McConnell (flute), Dick Gaughan (vocals and guitar) and Robin Morton (flute). Gaughan then left the band to pursue a solo career, and Dave Richardson (mandolin) joined. With this line-up, the band played their next six albums. They played instrumentals and songs, in equal parts from traditional Irish and Scottish sources, according to their line-up. Her concert tours abroad took her mainly to America, where she was seen as a Scottish equivalent of the Chieftains .

The 1980s

The 1978/79 tour of the Boys of the Lough had been announced as the final tour, but two years later the band got back on track with the album Regrouped (1980). Robin Morton left the band to start the Scottish music label Temple Records . This was to Regrouped and duty system come three new members, including John Coackley (fiddle), which should remain the following twelve years Christy O'Leary (bagpipe) previously with De Danann was on tour.

The 1990s

In 1992 the Boys of the Lough performed at Carnegie Hall . After 32 years, co-founder Aly Bain has not been with the group since the album Lonesome Blues and Dancing Shoes (2002). On the two latest albums, only Cathal McConnell can be heard from the founders of the band.

Discography

  • Boys of the Lough (1972)
  • Second album (1973)
  • Live at Passim's (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)
  • Live at Carnegie Hall (1992)
  • The Fair Hills of Ireland (1992)
  • The Day Dawn (1994)
  • The West of Ireland (1999)
  • Lonesome Blues and Dancing Shoes (2002)
  • Twenty (2005)

Web links