Harvest Ministers

• Gerardette Bailey - vocals
• William Merriman - guitar/vocals
• Padraig McCaul - guitar/piano/sax
• Aingeala De Burca - violin
• Brian Foley - bass
• Pat Dillon - drums

Bio:

The Harvest Ministers were formed in Dublin in June of 1987 by songwriter William Merriman and multi-instrumentalist Padraig McCaul. They began as an acoustic trio (guitar/sax/vocals) with singer Gerardette Bailey who were compared to Everything But The Girl and Prefab Sprout. They later expanded to include Aingeala De Burca (ex In Tua Nua) on violin and a rhythm section. On the early recordings this was Brian Foley (of The Vipers, The Blades, Mountain Climbers) on bass and Pat Dillon on drums. Paul Deegan (ex Moolah Babies) also played bass in an early incarnation of the band.

Carling/Hot Press finalists in 1988, their debut appearance on vinyl was the third Nationwide compilation the following year. Their self-released debut single in 1991 came to the attention of Sarah Records though Brian (Ken Sweeney) who was being courted by Sarah Records and who gave a copy of the Harvest Ministers single to Matt and Clare. Sarah eventually licensed the first few Harvest Ministers singles and released their debut LP in 1993, even though their sound was somewhat at odds with much of the rest of the Sarah catalogue. The Harvest Ministers later signed to Setanta Records (as had Brian) in 1995 and have subsequently released material on their own Crayon imprint again. There must be more recordings from the period 1988-91 but I have no more details.

Maeve Roche replaced Gerardette Bailey in 1994. Mark Byrne (ex Side One, The Candyshop) joined on bass in 1994.

track: Petticoats

tracks:
Petticoats
Drive Stakes
Misadventure's End

CDS tracks:
If It Kills Me And It Will
Can't Go It Alone
Six O'Clock Is Rosary
You Do My World The World Of Good

track: Listen Sweetie

 

side one:
Grey Matters
Railroaded
Forfeit Trials
Little Dark Mansion
Silent House
I Gotta Lie Down
Fictitious Christmas

side two:
River Wedding
Rug
When You Have A Faint Heart
I Hang From A Great Big Oak
Dominique
Don't You Ever

Notes: Recorded at Lansdowne Studios, Dublin. Produced by Pat O'Donnell. With guest musicians Andy Fitzpatrick (piano/harmony vocals) and David Duffy (harmonica)

track: Listen Sweetie

That Won't Wash
I've A Mind
A Drowning Man
Temple To Love
Dealing With A Kid
Cleaning Out The Store
The Only Seat Of Power
An Inopportune Girl
She's Buried
Modernizing The New You
Mental Charge
A Secret Way
Out Of Costume

We need your help to correct and/or complete this entry. If you can provide more information about this band, have scans, photos or any other memorabilia we can use, or spare copies of any releases, then please get in touch.