It wasn't that long ago that we all grabbed our popcorn and watched the ringside seats during the Battle of the Irish Boy Bands in the nineties.
Engineered by a puppeteer of pre-pubescents known as Louis Walsh, Boyzone and Westlife duked it out on the charts while we all covered our eardrums and watched the bloody mess of music.
Inspired by the runaway success of Celtic Woman, history is about to repeat itself this year as two new male ensemble shows compete for your support. This throw-down, however, will be infinitely more interesting to watch than the one-dimensional paper doll brawl of the manufactured teen bands.
The first to throw a punch are the High Kings, a thrilling show composed by Celtic Woman maestro David Downes and produced by Celtic Woman's Dave Kavanagh. High Kings is aptly named, since the show features both Finbarr Clancy of the venerable Clancy Brothers family and Martin Furey, son of the legendary Finbarr Furey, and Riverdance alum Brian Dunphy, son of sixties show band sensation Sean Dunphy.
They are joined by Darren Holden, another Riverdance graduate who also landed the lead role on Broadway in the Billy Joel musical Movin' Out a few years ago.
"The show is centered on old traditional songs and, singing-wise, we sing the old fashioned way," says Clancy during an interview with the Irish Voice. "The score and the visual are modern and make these songs relevant.
"It is visually stunning and musically reminds me of the Clancy Brothers. I think it is a nice blend of paying homage to our past while bringing the music forward at the same time."
Unlike Walsh, who put pieces together from random talents collected in a random audition, these High Kings are old friends who are excited to be working together for this show.
"Myself and Martin go back a long way," says Clancy. "Finbarr Fury was my dad's best friend; I am named after him. We would spend many Christmases together; we are still very close.
"We hadn't seen each other in years and just before this show got together. I got a call informing me that Martin was doing a show in this bar that my cousin owned. I went down to see him and we reconnected. He is a great musician.
"So, we didn't just meet one another cold in some audition. When we all got together, we all knew where we were coming from and we all had a common enthusiasm. I am so thrilled to be working with these guys I can't tell you. The voices are so different but it all works when it comes together."
I'll drink to that! This is a seasoned pack of pros who know these melodies like the back of their hand. There is little clutter in Downes' emotive arrangements, and the spine-tingling harmonies of the High Kings are allowed to shine on tracks like "Black Velvet Band," "Marie's Wedding" and "The Auld Triangle."
According to Clancy, the shows were recorded over two nights for a live CD and DVD production in Ireland's Ardmore Studios. It was there that he unveiled the show to the family he was trying so hard to honor.
"My mother and my sisters were there, along with my fiancée," says Clancy proudly. "At the middle of the second part we put on the Aran sweaters and did a Clancy tribute. Mom thought it was moving. My sister Aoife loved it as well, which meant a lot because she toured with my father, Robert. It was very gratifying to have her tell me that we hit the mark."
Clancy also sees this as an opportunity to keep the Clancy style of entertainment alive in future generations. He claims that even within his own generation, the Clancys are an unknown entity.
"When I went to school in the seventies, parents would have told my classmates about the Clancys because I was in the school; otherwise, they never would have heard of them," he says. "It is very important to bring back the relevance of the sixties Irish folk since, so I am really looking forward to the show reaching new audiences."
PBS is always looking for something green to air during their crucial March pledge driving season. That exposure has launched the careers of the Irish Tenors, and yes, Celtic Woman.
The High Kings will bask in that green spotlight all next month (check local PBS listings). According to Clancy, the group will tour of PBS stations beginning February 27 and will wrap up on March 21 before coming back for a full tour of the States that begins in April. Their self-titled DVD and CD launched this week on the EMI label. For more information, log onto thehighkings.com.
Will they be the reigning kings of PBS this year? Not if Phil Coulter has anything to say about it. He has teamed up with Celtic Woman creator Sharon Browne to unveil Celtic Thunder.
The group is a blending of five Irish and Scottish men who bend their voices around both traditional and modern pop melodies.
"Sharon mentioned this Celtic Woman concept a few years back and she had signed the four birds and couldn't get them arrested," says Coulter. "It didn't appeal to me for a nanosecond and I wished her well because I thought the Celtic thing had peaked. I was obviously wrong on that one.
"Some months later I got a call from the graphic designer who was doing the artwork for the show. He told me that I was 'breathing all over it.' When I heard it, I had to agree. It was derivative of what I do, to be sure.
"So, she called me again after her relationship with that show ended with a new idea for a male show and I said to her, "Sharon, if this is Celtic Woman in trousers, forget it.' The concept had been done to death, so it would have to be a real challenge for me."
According to Coulter, the two found a common creative vision and he worked with Browne to find "fresh faces in open auditions." They found five guys, with ages ranging from a 14-year old Derry lad to a 41-year old from Glasgow.
Coulter describes the show as a highly energetic blending of ingredients, ranging from Irish classics like "Lovely Dearest" to the Eagles "Desperado."
They also included early work like the immortal "Old Man" with new pieces, and everything sits well next to a variety of pop songs that range from "Knights in White Satin," and even Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love."
As you would expect, Coulter's voice during our phone chat is just like his music - pastoral, soothing, and seductive. When this reporter haplessly mentioned that he read where David Downes studied under the maestro, Coulter's tone becomes sharper.
"He worked for me as an intern," he declared, a sneer hanging on that last word. "Guys come to work for me from university are called interns. So they come and work as librarians that archive my work and transcribe old scores. I would hardly call that studying."
Sounds like fightin' words to me! Hopefully, there is room for two shows that promote Celtic culture; tune into your local PBS channel to find out!
Celtic Thunder will launch a CD and DVD this week on Universal's Decca label, with airings of the show on WLIW in March before a massive tour in the fall.