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The Bible According to MacManus

By
Mike Farragher
,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 4:08 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:47 PM
Read more: United Kingdom, London, Ireland


DO you remember a time when Shane MacGowan had a working set of choppers? How about the time you heard bands like the Saw Doctors and Black 47 for the first time?

Here's something that makes you feel old - those bands are about to mark their 20th anniversaries!

While seeing those bands today is still a nice kick, when was the last time you got knocked over the head with fresh new music in the Irish rock genre?

Your wait is now over, though. The music of Biblecode Sundays takes you back to that time, offering a wildly original voice to the Irish rock genre with their CD Ghosts of Our Past.

Led by Elvis Costello's kid half-brother, Ronan MacManus, Biblecode Sundays bring that famous sibling's defiant energy while neatly avoiding any comparisons. Songs like "Pirates of Clew Bay" and "See You at the Crossroads" have a big, meaty rock undercurrent that flows beneath banjos and flutes; if Bruce Springsteen snorted some Lucky Charms, it might sound something like this.

The band can put down the whiskey long enough to write a tearjerker that will hit every Irish immigrant in the gut. "The moonlight where we used to walk/I left you standing there/I left you alone/I could swear the my sorrow you could see from my shadow," MacManus sings to his lover before he boards "the coffin ship to New York" on the gorgeous "Mayo Moon."

This six-piece band of "Irish Londoners" are music industry veterans who have been breaking festival records in the U.K. and Europe. The group is led by McManus, Andy Nolan (ex-MacGowan and the Popes) on accordion, Carlton Hunt (ex-Bad Manners) on drums, Enda Mulloy (son of Tom from the legendary Mulloy Brothers) on harmonica, bass and vocals, Joe Moran (ex All-Ireland champion) on flute, whistles, guitar and vocals and one of the best young fiddle players in London, Patrick Franklin.

I first caught a glimpse of the band last year during a raucous, unforgettable set at Rocky Sullivan's, where they were playing to small crowds in an attempt to build a fan base over here.

They literally shredded their instruments. There was only one string on Ronan's guitar when he walked off the stage.

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The Bible According to MacManus | Entertainment in Ireland and Around the World | IrishCentral


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