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Biography

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 t...

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-political commentary of “Long Hot Summer” and “Bankers and Gangsters” through humorous scenarios like “Long Lost Tapes of Hendrix” and “Izzy’s Irish Rose” to the classic pop songwriting and romantic nostalgia of “Yeats and Joyce” and “That Summer Dress.” “This time it was more about creating a balance between the joyous and the thoughtful,” said front man Larry Kirwan. “Really focusing on the rhythm section and coming up with innovative arrangements for the brass and pipes. After immersing myself in IRAQ it was a blast to catch the humor in the old Lower East Side friction between Jewish and Irish in ‘Izzy,’ or the plight of a wily Yank who seeks to steal the long lost tapes of Jimi Hendrix from the sex-starved ladies of West Cork – a true story, I might add. It was also nice to tip the cap to old friends like Hilly Kristal, Lester Bangs and Staten Island Danny in Long Hot Summer."

The band split in November 2014.

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