Artist Profiles: Dubliners

At the beginning of Ieland’s “ballad boom,” in the early 1960s when the Clancy Brothers made “folk songs” a meaningful category that ordinary people could relate to and take pride in, the Dubliners began their own career. While the Clancys were well-scrubbed musicians from rural Tipperary, decked out in matching white Aran sweaters, the Dubliners were hard drinking backstreet Dublin scrappers with unkempt hair and bushy beards, whose gigs seemed to happen by accident in between fistfights. But their street credibility, their undeniable talent and their honest love of the music has kept them going and made them some of the most famous Irishmen in the world.

“I first came across the Dubliners in Glasgow City Hall in the sixties. I sat mesmerized in the stalls being completely blown away. I had never seen such a collection of hairy people in my life. I had never seen such energy like Luke Kelly. I had never heard a voice as extraordinary as Ronnie Drew’s. I had never heard banjo playing as amazing as Barney McKenna’s. Ciaran Bourke looked like the gypsy from one of his own songs who was quite likely to run off with your girlfriend if you didn’t keep a close eye on him, ” said Scottish musician Billy Connolly.

Discography:

The Dubliners (Transatlantic, 1964)
In Concert (Castle, 1965)
Finnegan Wakes (Major Minor, 1966)
A Drop of the Hard Stuff (Major Minor, 1967)
More of the Hard Stuff (Major Minor, 1967)
Drinkin’ and Courtin’ (Major Minor, 1968)
At It Again (Major Minor, 1968)
Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Major Minor, 1969)
At Home with The Dubliners (EMI, 1969)
Revolution (EMI, 1970)
Hometown (EMI, 1972)
Double Dubliners (Polydor, 1972)
Plain and Simple (Polydor, 1973)
Live (Polydor, 1974)
Now (Polydor, 1975)
A Parcel of Rogues (Polydor, 1976)
Live at Montreux (Intercord, 1977)
15 Years On (Chyme, 1977)
Together Again (Chyme, 1979)
Live In Carré (Polydor, 1983)
21 Years On (Polydor, 1983)
Prodigal Sons (Polydor, 1983)
25 Years Celebration (Polydor, 1987)
Dubliner’s Dublin (Castle Communications, 1988)
30 Years A-Greying (Celtic Collections, 1992)
Further Along (Baycourt Records, 1996)
Alive Alive-O (Baycourt Records, 1997)
40 Years (Celtic Collections, 2002)
Live From The Gaiety (Celtic Collections, 2002)
Live At Vicar Street (Celtic Collections, 2006)
The Late Late Show Tribute to The Dubliners (RTÉ, 2008)
A Time to Remember (Celtic Airs, 2009)
An Evening With The Dublin Legends: Live In Vienna (Blue Groove, 2014)

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.