Artist Bio:
When asked which single band has influenced them the most profoundly, Irish musicians from the mid-'70s onward will almost unanimously cite an ensemble called Planxty. Although the folk-rock trend was in full swing, Planxty steadfastly stuck to its roots, yet the group did so in a remarkably unstodgy way that attracted fans from all walks of life and took Ireland's music forward.
Planxty was named for a musical term coined by the iconic blind harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738). The group was established in 1972 during the recording of Christy Moore's second album, Prosperous. The four original founding members were Moore (vocals, guitar), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitar), Liam O'Flynn (uillean pipes, tin whistle) and Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy). After Moore's project wrapped, the musicians saw no reason to stop playing together and decided to formalize their association, releasing a single called "The Cliffs of Dooneen"; they signed with Polydor shortly thereafter.
The band's first live performance, as an opening act for Scottish folk-rocker Donovan, proved revelatory; the players displayed an uncanny knack for respecting traditional acoustic music while modernizing it plus a rare talent for communicating with an audience.
Planxty's eponymous first release (often referred to as the Black Album) only confirmed early intimations that this would be a group for the ages. Over the ensuing couple of years, Planxty was to galvanize fans in Ireland, the U.K. and Europe, with word of their exploits also crossing over to the U.S.A. Despite personnel changes, with Johnny Moynihan (later of De Dannan) replacing Donal Lunny in 1973 and Paul Brady taking over for Christy Moore in 1974, the band recorded two masterly albums, The Well Below the Valley (1973) and Cold Blow and the Rainy Night (1974,) which was voted Melody Maker's best folk album for that year. Then, in 1975, Planxty split up.
At the end of the 1970s Moore, Lunny, O'Flynn and Irvine decided to give Planxty a new lease on life. Three new albums appeared, After the Break (1979), The Woman I Loved So Well (1980) and Words & Music (1983). As had become customary, there were several shifts in the band's lineup. Among the musicians who passed through the ranks were the brilliant flautist Matt Molloy, late of the Bothy Band and shortly to join the Chieftains, fiddlers James Kelly, Nollaig Casey and Tony Linnane, concertina player Noel Hill and keyboardist Bill Whelan, who later achieved worldwide fame as the composer of "Riverdance." In 1981, Planxty performed Whelan's arrangement of a piece called "Timedance" during intermission at the prestigious Eurovision song contest, which was held in Ireland that year; the tune was later issued as a single.
History repeated itself when Christy Moore and Donal Lunny left Planxty in 1983 to concentrate on a groundbreaking trad-rock fusion band called Moving Hearts, which was nothing less than the missing link between '60s-era unplugged outfits and "Riverdance." Meanwhile, O'Flynn and Irvine embarked upon busy solo careers. It seemed that this was finally the end of the road for Planxty, but in fact the four were in constant contact and even got together for periodic jam sessions. In 2003, the band reconvened for a modest gig before a couple hundred people in Lisdoonvarna. The reception the musicians received there inspired them to perform a series of concerts in Dublin, Ennis, County Clare, Belfast and London in late 2004 and early 2005. Some of these events were filmed and are now available on DVD and CD.
All four Planxty founders have made crucial additions to their nation's musical development. Lunny, who had also been in the Bothy Band, became a supportive and highly influential producer responsible for dozens of major recordings. He has also made invaluable contributions as a sideman. After taking a hiatus from the music industry in the mid-'90s, Moore is now a beloved singer-songwriter whose talents have taken him all over the globe. Irvine has achieved renowned by mixing traditional and original material with jazz and Eastern European styles. Among his later affiliations are the multinational ensemble Mosaic and Patrick Street, with noted fiddler Kevin Burke. Liam O' Flynn has played pipes on various symphonic works and film soundtracks. He had made more than 50 recordings and remains in high demand in Galicia, Brittany and the rest of the modern Celtic world. —Christina Roden
