Lir (band)

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[edit] History

Lir were a prog rock band who hailed from Donaghmede, north Dublin, Ireland.

Founding members were Ronan Byrne (Lead Guitar), David Hopkins Keyboards, Craig Hutchinson (Drums) and Rob Malone (Bass).

The band was originally called Uproar, and then Lyre, before settling on Lir. Uproar played a number of gigs around north Dublin with singer Keith 'Hairy' Aherne, before employing long-term frontman David McGuinness.

Lir released 2 albums on independent label W.A.R.? (What Are Records?) - "Magico Magico" in 1994 and "Nest" in 1995. The latter received 4/5 in a Hot Press review.

The band toured the U.S.A. relentlessly in 1993, 1994 and 1995 before David Hopkins decided to quit the band to remain in the U.S. Hopkins was replaced by Colm Quearney, formerly of Dublin band "Dragonfly", but not on keyboards but electric guitar.

The introduction of a 2nd guitar to the mix greatly changed the dynamic of the band. The band set about reinventing it's material in absence of Hopkins' virtuso keyboards. Quearney also added a new dimension to the band in the form of harmony vocals which had been sadly missing.

The relentless touring continued to take it's toll. In 1996, drummer Craig Hutchinson decided to leave the band and was replaced for a time by drummer Johnny Boyle, now of Irish band The Frames which features Glen Hansard.

The band finally split in 1997 after a well publicised falling out with their management company, Muchwood Management.

The various members continued to perform with different bands. Byrne went on to form Earthquake Hair. Malone played bass for Hothouse Flowers before becoming permanent bass player for David Gray. McGuinness formed a band, BigWig, with his brother Noel, formerly of fledgling Dublin band, Nude. Querney went solo under the monicker 'Q'.

In 2007. W.A.R.? released (digitally) an acoustic session which the band had recorded in 1993.

Irish movie maker and director Shimmy Marcus is making a documentary about the band in 2008. Members of the band have submitted video footage to him for inclusion in his documentary.


[edit] Albums

Magico Magico ! (1994) Tracks: 1. Traveller 2. Dog Rhythms 3. Not To Be Overlooked 4. New Song 5. Some Folks Are Truly Evil 6. 3 Legged Guy 7. The House Of Song 8. In A Day 9. Good Cake Bad Cake 10. Two Worlds 11. In The Parlour

Nest (1995) Tracks: 1. Halcyon Days 2. Temple Child 3. Groove Improvement 4. Into Our Dreams & Far Away 5. Wickerman 6. Railroad 7. More To Me 8. Nest 9. Shrine 10. Skywalker 11. Room Blessing

Acoustic Session (2007) Tracks: 1. Good Cake, Bad Cake 2. Good Day 3. Wicker Man 4. Some Folk Are Truly Evil 5. 40 Second Song 6. From A Life 7. Two Minutes 8. In Your Place 9. Ten-Eleven

[edit] External links