Folk punk
Encyclopedia
Folk punk is a fusion of folk music
and punk rock
. It was pioneered in the late 1970s and early 1980s by The Pogues
in Britain and Violent Femmes
in America. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in that decade. In more recent years, one of its subgenres, Celtic punk
, has experienced some commercial success.
Unlike Celtic rock
and electric folk
, folk punk tends to include relatively little traditional music
in its repertoire. Most folk punk musicians perform their own compositions, often in the form of punk rock, but using additional folk instruments, such as mandolin
s, accordion
s, banjo
s or violin
s. Nevertheless, some folk punk bands have adopted traditional forms of folk music, including sea shanties
and eastern European Gypsy music.
, formed in 1982, whose mixture of original songs and covers of established folk singers, many performed with a punk sensibility, led to three top ten albums in the UK, and a number two single in "Fairytale of New York
" (1987) with Kirsty McColl, plus a string of top ten singles and albums in Ireland. Their lead was adopted by a large number of performers in the 1980s.
The pioneers of a more distinctively English brand of folk punk were The Men They Couldn't Hang
, founded in 1984. Also important were the Oysterband
, who developed from playing English Céilidh
music to an often fast and harder rock sound from about 1986. The Levellers, founded in 1988, making less use of traditional melodies, but greater employment of acoustic instruments, including guitars. Probably the most successful figure associated with English folk punk is singer-songwriter Billy Bragg
, who enjoyed a series of hits in the 1980s. Often considered part of a wider rogue folk movement are bands like Edward II
, who mixed reggae with English folk music.
Pioneered by the Violent Femmes
, American folk punk became a thriving genre with the advent of Plan-It-X Records.
from Scotland, and Australia
's Roaring Jack
. It has been particularly popular in the USA and Canada, where there are large communities descended from Irish and Scottish immigrants. From the USA this includes the Irish bands Flogging Molly
, The Tossers
, Dropkick Murphys
, Street Dogs
, The Young Dubliners, Black 47
, The Killdares
, Jackdaw
and Flatfoot 56
, and for Scottish bands such as Seven Nations
. From Canada are The Real McKenzies and The Mahones
, from Australia, Roaring Jack
and Mutiny
, and from the Czech Republic, Pipes And Pints
. These groups were also influenced by American forms of music, and sometimes contained some members with no Celtic ancestry and commonly singing in English.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
. It was pioneered in the late 1970s and early 1980s by The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
in Britain and Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
in America. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in that decade. In more recent years, one of its subgenres, Celtic punk
Celtic punk
Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The genre was founded in the 1980s by The Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who celebrated their Irish heritage. Celtic punk bands often play covers of traditional Irish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions...
, has experienced some commercial success.
Unlike Celtic rock
Celtic rock
Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock and a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context...
and electric folk
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
, folk punk tends to include relatively little traditional music
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
in its repertoire. Most folk punk musicians perform their own compositions, often in the form of punk rock, but using additional folk instruments, such as mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
s, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
s, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
s or violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s. Nevertheless, some folk punk bands have adopted traditional forms of folk music, including sea shanties
Sea Shanties
Sea Shanties is the debut album of Progressive Rock band High Tide. The cover artwork was drawn by Paul Whitehead.-Production:Denny Gerrard produced Sea Shanties in return for High Tide acting as the backing band on his solo album Sinister Morning...
and eastern European Gypsy music.
History
Folk punk was pioneered by the London-based Irish band The PoguesThe Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
, formed in 1982, whose mixture of original songs and covers of established folk singers, many performed with a punk sensibility, led to three top ten albums in the UK, and a number two single in "Fairytale of New York
Fairytale of New York
"Fairytale of New York" is a song by the Irish rock group The Pogues, released in 1987 and featuring the British singer Kirsty MacColl. The song is an Irish folk style ballad, written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan, and featured on The Pogues' album If I Should Fall from Grace with God...
" (1987) with Kirsty McColl, plus a string of top ten singles and albums in Ireland. Their lead was adopted by a large number of performers in the 1980s.
The pioneers of a more distinctively English brand of folk punk were The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush , Paul Simmonds , Philip "Swill" Odgers , Jon Odgers and Shanne Bradley .- Controversy and success:Their first single, "The Green Fields...
, founded in 1984. Also important were the Oysterband
Oysterband
Oysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
, who developed from playing English Céilidh
Céilidh
In modern usage, a céilidh or ceilidh is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. It originated in Ireland, but is now common throughout the Irish and Scottish diasporas...
music to an often fast and harder rock sound from about 1986. The Levellers, founded in 1988, making less use of traditional melodies, but greater employment of acoustic instruments, including guitars. Probably the most successful figure associated with English folk punk is singer-songwriter Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, who enjoyed a series of hits in the 1980s. Often considered part of a wider rogue folk movement are bands like Edward II
Edward II (band)
Edward II is an English band named for King Edward II, which play a fusion of world music, English folk and reggae. Active from 1985, the band broke up after losing several key members in 1999, relaunching as "e2K" in 2000...
, who mixed reggae with English folk music.
Pioneered by the Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
, American folk punk became a thriving genre with the advent of Plan-It-X Records.
Celtic punk
The Pogues' style of punked-up Irish music spawned and influenced a number of Celtic punk bands, including Nyah FeartiesNyah Fearties
Nyah Fearties were a music band from the village of Lugton, Scotland, that created a near-unique brand of anarchic modern folk between 1982 and 1995....
from Scotland, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Roaring Jack
Roaring Jack
Roaring Jack is an Australian Celtic punk/Folk punk band of the 1980s and 1990s. The band formed in 1985 and played their first shows in Sydney in 1986...
. It has been particularly popular in the USA and Canada, where there are large communities descended from Irish and Scottish immigrants. From the USA this includes the Irish bands Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...
, The Tossers
The Tossers
The Tossers are a six-piece Celtic punk band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in July 1993. They have toured with Murphy's Law, Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22, Dropkick Murphys, The Reverend Horton Heat, Flogging Molly, Street Dogs, Clutch, Sick of it All & Mastodon. They opened for The Pogues...
, Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....
, Street Dogs
Street Dogs
Street Dogs are a punk rock band originally from Boston, Massachusetts. The band's current line-up includes Mike McColgan, former lead singer of Dropkick Murphys, Johnny Rioux, Marcus Hollar, Tobe Bean III and Paul Rucker.-History:...
, The Young Dubliners, Black 47
Black 47
Black 47 are a New York City based celtic rock band with Irish Republican sympathies, whose music also shows influence from reggae, hip hop, folk and jazz...
, The Killdares
The Killdares
The Killdares are a Dallas celtic rock group formed in 1996. The group has released four studio albums and two live music projects; the live CD LIVE from 2002 and live DVD/dual CD combo Up Against the Lights in 2010...
, Jackdaw
Jackdaw (band)
Jackdaw were a Celtic rock band from Buffalo, NY from 2000-2009. One of the group's members, George Tutuska, was a former drummer for the Goo Goo Dolls....
and Flatfoot 56
Flatfoot 56
Flatfoot 56 is a Celtic punk band from Chicago, Illinois. The group's use of Scottish Highland bagpipes has led to their classification as a Celtic punk band, comparable to Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly.-History:...
, and for Scottish bands such as Seven Nations
Seven Nations
Seven Nations is a Celtic rock band that formed in New York City in 1993. The name comes from the seven Celtic nations, including Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Galicia...
. From Canada are The Real McKenzies and The Mahones
The Mahones
-Biography:The Mahones are an Irish-born, Canadian Celtic punk band, influenced by the Celtic Rock revival of the late 1980's, pioneered by such bands as the Pogues and the Waterboys....
, from Australia, Roaring Jack
Roaring Jack
Roaring Jack is an Australian Celtic punk/Folk punk band of the 1980s and 1990s. The band formed in 1985 and played their first shows in Sydney in 1986...
and Mutiny
Mutiny (band)
Mutiny are an Australian folk punk band based in Melbourne. Their slogan is "Folk punk for punk folk".They first formed in 1991 and have performed in Australia, Europe and the US. The original members were Chris Patches , Greg Stainsby , Briony Grigg , and Alice Green...
, and from the Czech Republic, Pipes And Pints
Pipes and Pints
Pipes and Pints are a celtic punk band from Prague, Czech Republic, combining punk rock with Highland bagpipes.Pipes and Pints were formed in 2006 by Vojta Kalina with a dream of a band that combines punk rock with dirty folk music such as The Pogues...
. These groups were also influenced by American forms of music, and sometimes contained some members with no Celtic ancestry and commonly singing in English.