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Artist
Black 47
12+ albums
rockcelticceltic rockirishalternative
about
Black 47 was an American Celtic rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by Irish musician Larry Kirwan and Chris Byrne (the band name derives from a traditional term for the summer of 1847, the worst year of the Great Famine in Ireland). The band split in November 2014. The band got their first big break when their 1990 debut release, Home of the Brave, launched as a cassette at a St. Patrick's day gig at Reilly's in NYC, was heard by Frank Murray, manager of The Pogues, who signed them to his newly launched label. Their 1993 single, Funky Céilí from the CD, Fire of Freedom, with its signature eclectic sound and socio-political lyrics, and their off-the-wall live shows, is said to have paved the way for other Irish influenced bands such as Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys. Other band members were Geoffrey Blythe (saxophones; founder member of Dexy’s Midnight Runners), Fred Parcells (trombone; worked extensively in Latin/Jazz and big bands), Thomas Hamlin (drums; veteran of the Max’s/CBGB’s scene), Joseph Mulvanerty (uilleann pipes and various flutes), and Joseph “Bearclaw” Burcaw. In the late 1990s, Byrne amicably left the band to concentrate on his solo project, Seanchai & the Unity Squad and Black 47 went on an unofficial recording hiatus, The band began performing, and recording, again in 2001. In 2010, the band's 14th release, "Bankers and Gangsters" mixed rock, reggae, hip-hop, folk, Irish traditional, downtown noise, jazz and blues and featured socio-polit
