The Dubliners

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: Leadfingers
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 07:45 PM

I came back from Germany in February 1964 and saw them on 'The Hootenanny Show' on BBC Television - As I recall , it was Barnie , Cairan , Luke and Barney .No Mister Sheehan then , so from my viewpoint that is the original line up . And the 'Best Mix' with John in the Line Up was on the Revolution album , with Ronnie singing in Spanish as well .

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: Jim McLean
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 01:33 PM

Hi Charles, I would say the albums you mentioned were not released as CDs. I put Live at the Albert Hall on a CD for another Mudcatter as he said a re-release was different from the original.

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: MartinRyan
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 01:13 PM

No argument, Charles - and I'm an "original Dubliner" in several senses! ;>)>

Regards

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 01:00 PM

> From: Jim McLean
>
> I was their road manager in 1967 when they first became 'famous' and the line up was that which was featured on the live at the Albert Hall album for which I wrote the sleeve notes/poems.

Thanks for your contribution, Jim. For an enthusiast such as myself, it's an honour to hear from someone so closely involved.

Although I've now digitised my vinyl copies of "Live At The Royal Albert Hall" and "Finnegan Wakes"*, the main reason that I kept them and did so was because - certainly at the time I investigated this and AFAIAA since - neither was ever released on CD. They're both great albums and I was originally really gutted to discover this.

Do you happen to know if I'm correct about this? Or were they released as CDs? If so, do you have any details?

* I'm glad to say that I've managed to make a pretty good job of the digitisation. Most of the 150 - 160 or so vinyls I still had came out as 'almost new' condition, only a few being so badly scratched as to be almost not worth the effort (though I perservered even with these) - by 'almost new' I mean that there may be one or two scratches of course, but very few are so serious as to not be removable by software editing of the resulting wave file, when I have time. In the meantime, it's really great just to be able to listen to them all again without fear of their condition degrading further:
Vinyl Restoration

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 12:34 PM

> From: Beer
>
> This is my all time favoriate.

One of the 'definitive' versions (IMO):
Whisky In The Jar (vocals Luke Kelly)

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: Jim McLean
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 12:31 PM

I was their road manager in 1967 when they first became 'famous' and the line up was that which was featured on the live at the Albert Hall album for which I wrote the sleeve notes/poems. They were a great bunch of lads and are sadly missed.

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 12:06 PM

> From: MartinRyan
>
> No - Barney died last April - and John Sheahan was not in the original group.

Sad to hear about Barney, I didn't know about that.

The question asked was not how many "founding members" but "How many of the original Dubliners are alive?". John was an original Dubliner in the sense that he was in the group at the time it first became famous, and has, I think, featured on all their recordings - certainly he's been credited an every Dubliners' album I ever seen (at least 10).

I think he must now be the only "original Dubliner" left?

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: Beer
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 11:50 AM

Thank you Charles.
This is my all time favoriate.
Ad.

http://youtu.be/9whbpYwk680


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Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: MartinRyan
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 11:47 AM

No - Barney died last April (Click here ) - and John Sheahan was not in the original group.

Regards

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 11:43 AM

I think only Barney McKenna (banjo) and John Sheahan (fiddle).

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: Beer
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 11:31 AM

How many of the original Dubliners are alive?
Adrien

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: GUEST,Charles Macfarlane
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 11:25 AM

Although I was never lucky enough to see them live, I was a great enthusiast of the first (or so) line-up with Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew as the singers. Last year I digitised all my remaining vinyls, which included "More Of The Hard Stuff", "Finnegan Wakes - Live At The Gate Theatre, Dublin", and "Live At The Royal Albert Hall", and am thus able to enjoy again these three wonderful albums, which in my late teens and early twenties were constantly on my record deck.

I've never heard a better ballad* singer than Luke - his versions of classics such as "Peggy Gordon", or MacColl's "The Shoals Of Herring", or Stan Kelly's "I Wish I Were Back In Liverpool", were almost definitive, in the sense that it is difficult to even imagine them being sung better. And Ronnie's renditions of such as Glyn Hughes' "Whisky On A Sunday" were also not far short of definitive.

For me, although it seems a bit negative to say so, subsequent line-ups just haven't cut the mustard as far as singing goes.

* The word 'ballad' seems to be changing its meaning, or maybe has always meant different things to different people. My 1970s dictionary gives (the examples are mine):
    1) "narrative poem in short stanzas" - eg: "Sir Patrick Spens"
    2) "simple sentimantal song" - eg: "The Rose Of Allandale"
A meaning along the lines of 2) seems to be how it is most often used, and is the closest meaning to my own, but I've also heard pundits of popular music apply it to any modern popular song that has lyrics that go beyond the usual banal lowest common denominator, eg: (I suppose) K T Tunstall.

Subject: RE: The Dubliners
From: Elmore
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 09:28 AM

Saw them once in Boston Ma. many years ago. Memorable.

Subject: The Dubliners
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 05:43 AM

Just read over on The Session message board that The Dubs are carrying on gigging and Gerry O'Connor is filling in for Barney McKenna on tenor banjo on a permanent basis.

I'd go to see them just to see Gerry.

Dave H