Musicians - Paddy Keenan

Home > Listing Index > Musicians > Paddy Keenan

	Musicians - Paddy Keenan

Paddy Keenan is an Irish player of the uilleann pipes.

The early years

Paddy Keenan was born in Trim, County Meath in 1950. His father and grandfather were both uilleann pipers, and his father, Johnny Keenan, spent many nights playing along with piper Johnny Doran; Paddy's lightning-fast playing style can be traced directly back to Doran. He began playing at the age of ten, and at the age of 14 he played at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. He then turned towards blues and rock and toured England and Europe when he was 17.

The dustbin and the Beatles

At one point, Paddy found himself busking on the London underground. He had both a guitar and a set of Crowley uilleann pipes with a custom-made Leo Rowsome chanter. It seemed to him that playing the bagpipes was "not cool" in 60s London, so went to a pawn shop to sell his set. He couldn't get the price above two shillings and left the shop totally disheartened. Just as he was about to toss the pipes into a bin, a friend stopped him. Weeks later, he met the Beatles, who were looking for exotic sounds to add to their recordings and asked to hear him playing the pipes. He was so lacking in confidence that he didn't bother going to Abbey Road; instead he went with his hippie girlfriend to Piccadilly Circus. In 1971 he played the uilleann pipes in St James's Park, London. Unexpectedly, a crowd gathered round and threw money into his box. The tide had turned.

A not-for-profit band

Triona Ní Dhomhnaill was the sister of Mícháel O Dhomhnaill. They recorded with Skara Brae in 1971 and on Triona's solo album in 1972. Planxty was the greatest folk group in Ireland from 1972 to 1973. They were an artistic success but a financial disaster. Matt Molloy and Donal Lunny left Planxty looking for a similar traditional acoustic band. They found Triona and Michael playing along with Paddy Keenan. Fiddler Paddy Glackin and accordionist Tony Macahon were also in this group called Seachtar, Irish for "seven". From the word go, this suggests a band too big to be profitable. Seachtar played several gigs around Ireland. Tony MacMahon and Paddy Glackin left, and Tommy Peoples joined. The result was The Bothy Band. The name was derived from a photograph of a band in the 1890's. They were a supercharged version of Planxty, with Paddy's pipes at the heart. They were the best-known Irish band from 1975 to 1978. Unfortunately, they turned out to be a not-for-profit organisation. To this day, members are still trying to get the rights to their recordings.

A solo career

In 1980, Paddy went to early rehearsals for Moving Hearts. Wary of large groups, he left and suggested that Davy Spillane should replace him. He has tried to keep tight control of recording rights and costs ever since. The solo albums "Poirt An Phiobaire" and "Ná Keen Affair" are classics of Irish piping. He has frequently appeared at festivals, including Gaelic Roots at Boston College. Other American appearances include a performance with James Keane and John Doyle at the Washington Irish Folk Festival at Wolf Trap. This was broadcast worldwide. Unlike many famous soloists, he is also modest enough to play as part of low-profile ceili bands.

Discography

Solo albums

Poirt An Phiobaire (1983)
Ná Keen Affair (1997)

Paddy Keenan and Paddy Glackin

Doublin' (1978)

Paddy Keenan and Tommy O'Sullivan

The Long Grazing Acre (2004)

Sound Sample

with Irish-Newfoundland band Tickle Harbour

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Paddy Keenan ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Paddy Keenan; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay