Black 47 was an American Celtic rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by Larry Kirwan and Chris Byrne,
History
Beginnings
thumb|Larry Kirwan at [[Dublin Irish Festival in 2014]]
Kirwan originally arrived in New York City from Wexford at age 19, and played in a succession of bands before teaming with Byrne, a Brooklyn policeman, in 1989. The combination of Kirwan's electric guitar and Byrne's use of traditional Irish instruments initially received a poor reception, but a year later, with the addition of new members Geoff Blythe (founding member of Dexy's Midnight Runners), Fred Parcells and Thomas Hamlin, they were playing regularly at Paddy Reilly's bar on Manhattan's East Side. The band began to play three to five nights a week, and garnered praise for both the socio-political lyrics and "off-the-wall" live shows, with the socialist lyrics attracting one half of the political spectrum, and the songs of the day-to-day life in America attracting traditionally right-leaning "cops, firemen and construction workers."
Breakout
The band got their first big break when their debut release, Home of the Brave, launched as a cassette at a St. Patrick's day gig at Reilly's in 1990. It was heard by Frank Murray, manager of The Pogues, who signed them to his newly launched label. They went on to open for The Pogues at Brixton Academy in December of the same year, and following the collapse of Murray's label the band released an eponymous independent album in 1991, which brought them to the attention of EMI. They went into the studio with Ric Ocasek of The Cars, Black 47 gained access to a significantly wider audience when "Funky Céilí (Bridie's Song)", a track from Fire of Freedom gained extended air-play on music channel MTV, becoming the band's breakout single. The song was praised for the use of a traditional jig, riotous conclusion and as "a knockout example of how Irish music can rock." A second song from the album, "Black 47", caused a stir amongst older fans of Irish music who had maintained close emotional ties to their ancestors who lived during the famine, traditionally a subject rarely addressed in song. but was plagued by a series of tragedies behind the scenes, and their political stance on affairs in Northern Ireland resulted in UK record companies being unwilling to support or promote the band, restricting a potentially lucrative market. At the 1996 St. Patrick's Day gig a very inebriated 22-year-old off-duty police officer, Christopher Gargan, used his department issued 9mm pistol to shoot himself in the head and the single bullet also injured Sharon Callahan-Wormworth and June Anderson, tour manager Nico Wormworth's wife and Kirwan's wife, respectively. In 1997 one of the band's sound engineers, Johnny Byrne (immortalised in the band's single "Johnny Byrne's Jig"), died from injuries suffered after falling from his apartment window in New York City not long after recording an album of children's songs with Kirwan. The late 1990s also saw band member Thomas Hamlin's apartment burn down, Kevin Jenkins retire after a car crash whilst on tour and John Murphy, a close friend of the band, die after falling into a coma after a motorcycle accident. These events are reflected upon in "Those Saints", a song on the Trouble in the Land album, released in 2000. 2000 also saw the release of the band's first compilation album to mark their tenth anniversary, Ten Bloody Years, and the departure of Byrne who amicably left the band to concentrate on his solo project, Seanchai and the Unity Squad.
Post Byrne
Black 47 went on an unofficial recording hiatus, although they maintained their live performances, influenced as much by the events of 9/11 as the departure of Byrne. The release of New York Town in 2004 reflected the city before and after the attacks, where a number of Black 47 fans, such as FDNY chaplain Mychal Judge, honoured in the song "Mychal", were casualties. Post-9/11 Black 47 had started to play regularly at Connolly's Pub in midtown Manhattan, playing shows Kirwan described as intense in order to allow fans who had lost loved ones an outlet for their emotions, and this was channelled into making the album. it was considered challenging yet enjoyable and for making "real emotional sense" and touching both the heart and soul.
Prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the band became outspoken critics of the potential war, speaking out regularly at gigs. When the invasion was announced they were playing live, and due to the political mix the band attracted some fans begun to scuffle and walk out in response to the left-leaning lyrics of the anti-war songs. and was also criticised for returning to the safe haven and not bringing anything new to the band's discography. However the album was generally well received, with praise going to the high standard of Kirwan's storytelling ability so far into the band's lifetime as well as the "rollicking spirit" of the bands.
Irish Republicanism
Black 47 were associated with Irish republicanism throughout their career, both in name and in content. Their bandname referenced "Black '47", the worst year of the Great Famine, and many of their songs engaged directly with Ireland’s history, paying tribute to people such as James Connolly and Bobby Sands, and recounting uprisings in tracks like “Vinegar Hill” and “Home of the Brave”. The band’s sound (a fusion of rock, reggae, and traditional Irish music) was grounded in the Irish-American experience and frequently tackled themes of identity, class struggle, diaspora, and historical memory. Frontman Larry Kirwan, originally from Wexford, often cited his Irish republican upbringing as a major influence on the band’s political outlook.
Kirwan was outspoken about British colonial policy in Ireland, once referring to it as an "attempt at racial cleansing". While he stopped short of blaming Britain for deliberately engineering the famine, he condemned its refusal to alter the economic system that allowed millions to die or emigrate. Songs like “James Connolly”, “Bobby Sands MP”, and “Vinegar Hill” made their allegiances clear and led to the group being described as "the musical wing of the IRA".
They have been described as 'the musical wing of the IRA’,
Discography
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !!class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| 1989 || Home of the Brave/Live in London ||
|-
| 1991 || Black 47 ||
|-
| 1992 || Black 47 || EP
|-
| 1993 || Fire of Freedom ||
|-
| 1994 || Home of the Brave ||
|-
| 1996 || Green Suede Shoes ||
|-
| 1999 || Live in New York City ||
|-
| 2000 || Ten Bloody Years of Black 47 ||
|-
| 2000 || Trouble in the Land || A 2010 poll by IrishCentral.com voted this the best Irish American album of the previous decade, from a shortlist of five.
|-
| 2001 || On Fire || Live
|-
| 2004 || New York Town ||
|-
| 2005 || Elvis Murphy's Green Suede Shoes ||
|-
| 2006 || Bittersweet Sixteen || Popular songs & rarities collection
|-
| 2008 || Iraq ||
|-
| 2010 || Bankers and Gangsters ||
|-
| 2011 || A Funky Ceili ||
|-
| 2013 || Larry Kirwan's Celtic Invasion || Various artists compilation featuring Uncle Jim, co-produced by Larry Kirwan
|-
| 2014 || Last Call || released 4 March 2014
|-
| 2014 || Rise Up: The Political Songs || Compilation
|}
Band members
- Geoffrey Blythe: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
- Joseph "Bearclaw" Burcaw : bass, vocals
- Thomas Hamlin : drums, percussion
- Larry Kirwan : lead vocals, guitar
- Joseph Mulvanerty : uilleann pipes, flute, bodhrán
- Fred Parcells : trombone, tin whistle
;Past members
- Chris Byrne : uilleann pipes, tin whistle, bodhrán and vocals (1989–2000)
- David Conrad : bass (1991–1993)
- Erik Boyd : bass (1993-1994)
- Kevin Jenkins : bass (1994–1995)
- Andrew Goodsight: bass (1995–2006)