Shamrock Showband pay their dues to the acts that once entertained Ireland – the intrepid sorts who played the popular hits and hard-nosed the back roads. It was about the shiny suits, the gombeen economics, a censorious church and the danger of paramilitary murder gangs. Shamrock Showband remember the primal sass of Big Tom plus the fate of the Miami Showband, gunned down after a gig in Banbridge, 1975.
The Shankill Mission is a bit wry, often affectionate. The band members have form with alternative music, but their side hustle is Country ’n’ Irish with swooning lap steel and intense fiddle. ‘Last of Cromwell’ is cajun fever and ‘My Wee Car’ is a metamodern tootle that has kinship with the Rubberbandits and Flann O’Brien. Elsewhere, they mangle ‘Hound Dog’ and namecheck Rory Gallagher. These are musicians from the borderlands of Donegal, Monaghan and Louth. Flux comes naturally. Shamrock Showband are subversive, playful and frequently class.
Mark McCauseland by Stuart Baiie
Mark McCauseland is a stellar guitarist, sometime member of The Lost Brothers and The Basement. His native patch is Omagh and that’s the homeplace of the excellent film, The Spin. It’s the familiar tale of music being the great quest, the redemptive force. A small town record shop can be transformative and so it merits a hurtling, rescue mission. The Spin may not have required a vast budget, but it bottles the verve of Good Vibrations and High Fidelity and puts out fondness for the contours of County Tyrone.
Mark was a critical agent for the film’s creation and he plays on much of the soundtrack. He’s clearly a fan of Ry Cooder and Paris, Texas and his response is laudable. His also rounds up many gifted pals like Howe Gelb, Steve Wickham, Gemma Doherty and Stevie Scullion. The Matt McGinn tune, ‘Laughs for the Lonely’ is a pivotal part of the storyline, the voice of a jobbing musician, working through challenging times.
The soundtrack also puts out love for the mystery of John Fahey and the extraordinary skill of Omagh guitarist Arty McGlynn, who worked the showbands, the folk sessions and many other valuable scenes. When the ensemble plays ‘The Blackbird’ on this soundtrack, Arty’s presence is beautifully realised.
Stuart Bailie
(Shankill Hall Mission by Shamrock Showband is released on June 17.)
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