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Biography
From the Gaelic word for ‘family’, Clannad founding members are Moya Brennan on vocals and harp, Ciarán Brennan on vocals, keyboards and bass, Pól Brennan on vocals, guitar and flute, and Uncles Noel Duggan and the late Padraig Duggan (died 2016) on guitar, vocals and mandolin. The group would play on stage at the family pub named Leo’s Tavern before travelling beyond their home town’s limits to play over 500 Gaelic songs around areas of Ireland. Whilst a number of the band were still in school, Clannad entered a folk festival competition in Letterkenny, County Donegal and won themselves a recording contract.
In 1973 came the resulting album, the self-titled “Clannad” which became noted for its traditional roots with contemporary Irish and modern influences. The debut produced the singles “The Pretty Maid”, the drinking song “Níl Sé Ina Lá” and “An Pháirc” which the band performed at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Clannad’s follow-up album “Clannad 2” showed a band really finding its feet and not scared of singing in Irish despite the mainstream’s reluctance to do so. The album retains a traditional Irish folk atheistic whilst being deemed quite experimental for their times.
The band’s big break came in 1982 when the band signed with RCA Records and was asked if they’d like to create a song for the British mini-series “Harry’s Game”. The result was the single “Theme from Harry’s Game” which remains the only hit single in the UK to be sung entirely in Irish Gaelic. The single appeared on their album “Magical Ring” in 1982 which represented a major shift towards popularity and an international career. The album was certified gold and delivered the singles “Tower Hill”, “Passing Time” and “Newgrange”.
In 1984 Clannad released the soundtrack album “Legend” for the 26-episode TV drama “Robin of Sherwood” which won the band a BAFTA for Best Original Television Music. A year later came the album “Macalla” featuring all but one original songs and a duet with U2’s Bono titled “In a Lifetime” further proving Clannad’s ability to walk the line between traditional Irish and pop.
Clannad subsequently released “Sirius” in 1987, “Atlantic Realm” in 1989, “The Angel and the Soldier Boy” in 1989, “Anam” in 1990, “Banba” in 1993 and “Lore” in 1996. In 1997 came the album “Landmarks” which earned Clannad their first ever Grammy award and was followed up by the 2013 album “Nádúr”. BMG released a career-spanning anthology called ‘In A Lifetime’ in early 2020 and will undertake their Farewell World Tour throughout 2021 and 2022.
Live reviews
I have always wanted to see Clannad but somehow kept missing the chance to see them. But, after much waiting, I was finally lucky enough to get to see them this year.
The opening act were The Henry Girls. Although good musicians and lovely singers, came across as a bit boring. I almost fell asleep half way through. Maybe it was due to most of the songs sounding monotonous and not unique. And as I had been there to see Clannad, I would have preferred a more tradional band supporting them. Also, some songs in Irish would have been good. It's a pity their best performance was actually with Clannad at the end.
But onto the main act, Clannad. As a huge fan of Clannad, I hate to say this, but they were just slightly above average. Máire Ní Bhraonáin still looks amazing and her magical voice is still going strong. No fault there on either part. However, she had very little 'connection' with the audience. She rarely spoke to the audience. In fact, any communication with the audience was from the other band members. It felt as if she was very robotic for the night, lowering the high standard that you'd expect from such a great band.
Nevertheless, on saying that, I'd still go back to see Clannad. I am just hoping that I had a bad day.
Just to hear the wonderful Irish language songs as only Máire Ní Bhraonáin can sing, brings you into a magical place, connecting you with the past and the Irish culture. It's amazing how well Máire Ní Bhraonáin and Clannad can keep going strong. Maire just needs to learn more how to connect with her audience better.
Faoilean
Formed back in the 70s, the Irish band of Clannad have produced some master pieces over the years, despite their lengthy gap of records between 1997 and 2013. Beginning their career as winners of a Donegal music competition, the band were signed at a relatively young age, with members still in school and college.
It’s not very often that a band are capable of giving me goose bumps and maintaining that sensation, but goodness me, their live show got me time and time again. Their beautiful folk voices intertwining with each others harmonies, and their delicate guitar playing was simply mesmerising. The overwhelming talent seemed to capture the whole room, and everyone was immersed in the sheer talent and quality of the performance. Marie’s voice is as strong as ever, and the entire band were on top form from beginning to end.
Hearing songs in Gaelic, you would assume that it would be distancing and stop the audience from understanding the message of the song, but instead it forced us to learn the narrative through the melody, which was really special. Their classics and their recent work compliment each other wonderfully, and their progression has been of positive growth throughout their career.
yazhow
Clannad have this huge auditorium filled with an audience packed in like sardines. The atmosphere is just electric with the anticipation of this band, the support acts set the scene, and fill the room with just the right vibe to pave the way for Clannad to take to the stage. This band employ a sort of Celtic sound complete with accordions, harps, pennywhistles, fiddles and mandolins to create a huge sound. Their sound is large and the audience are receptive in the best way, hanging on every hook. There’s a special moment when they play “Robin of Sherwood Medley”, and the haunting vocals of Moya Brennan fill the room. It’s fantastic when they start to perform works from their Grammy Award winning album from 1999, called “Landmarks”, the audience applaud all the way through. “In A Lifetime” is the closing song of the set, which is accompanied by the vocals of Brian Kennedy, their voices interlace fantastically with these counter melodies.
Lannistaar
The show featuring Clannad I went to on Sat Mar 7th ar the Sage, Gateshead was long look forwards to. I saw them at Norwich Theatre Royal in the 1980’s and immediately became a fan.They were fabulous in both shows, masters of their craft.
The acoustics were great, it was an excellent night.
lankybob2003
