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Bio:
Pierce Turner's early history is not well documented. He played with the Dublin-based
Arrows Showband in Dublin circa 1969-70 and appeared on one of their singles.
He also played with Paul Raven AKA Gary Glitter in Germany.
His musical partner for most of the 1970s was Larry Kirwan.
Both grew up in Wexford Town. They began writing songs together while Turner was still
with the Arrows.
Another Wexford showband The Supreme committed the first
ever Turner/Kirwan composition to vinyl circa June 1970.
Turner & Kirwan sent a demo of a song they'd written about the 1970 disaster in Bangladesh,
"We Have No More Babies Left", to Polydor Records in Dublin. Jackie Hayden liked it and signed them
for a one single deal. It was released under the name Aftermath
in 1971, with "Neck And Neck" on the B-side. This single gained some airplay at the time. It is now very difficult to locate.
The duo moved to New
York City in January 1971 and became Turner & Kirwan of Wexford,
playing the Irish pubs and clubs around the city. They developed a style which
mixed Irish traditional folk music with full-blown progressive rock,
creating an odd folk-rock hybrid which when it worked was very effective. They released a single on
the tiny Thimble Records label in 1973 featuring a superior re-recording of "Neck And Neck" on
the A-side and "When Starlings Fly" on the B-side. In 1974 they privately pressed an LP
of live and studio recordings to sell at gigs. This "Bootleg" LP is now very hard to find. It includes a fantastic
live version of Ewan McColl's "The Travelling People", best known in Ireland
as a hit for The Johnstons in 1966.
In 1974 they appeared on Michael O'Brien &am,p; Chris King's 'Eire Nua' LP.
Turner & Kirwan finally released their official debut album in 1977.
The LP was released on Polydor in Ireland but is easier to find as the US
pressing on the Peters International label, where it was issued as part of the
Cosmos series, rubbing shoulders with German and Italian progressive releases,
and the first Gary Moore LP. Sealed copies occasionally surface on ebay and
are well worth investigating.
Polydor Records Ireland were very keen on the album, advertised it in Hot Press and elsewhere
and scheduled "Girl Next Door" as a single. RTE DJ Val Joyce mentioned to Polydor MD John Woods
that the proposed single was about a threesome involving two
women and a man. The staunchly Catholic Woods was scandalised and, concerned for
the labels reputation, he ordered mnaufacturing of the album to stop and all remaining
copies to be dumped outside the pressing plant. This explains why the Irish pressing
is difficult to locate and also why sleeveless copies occasionally turn up.
During 1978-79 they were the houseband at The Bells Of Hell pub in New York. A live
recording of their last ever performance is in circulation. Their set includes unreleased
an original ('Father Reilly Says Goodbye') and covers of 'Death of a Clown', 'Lola',
the New Riders 'Panama Red', and concludes with a long, climactic version of 'The Foggy Dew'
featuring Moog pyrotechnics.
In 1978 they began backing poet/spoken word performance artist Copernicus and
they appear on his early redords. Around 1979 they changed musical direction and became the
new wave influenced Major Thinkers. For details of these and further projects,
see Pierce Turner's entry.
Notes:
Demo album designed to get the band a record deal. The album came in a blank white cover with
a sticker on the shrinkwrap. The sticker read "BOOTLEG TURNER AND KIRWAN
OF WEXFORD" and was added by hand by the duo themselves. Few of these stickers
have survived. Just 500 copies were pressed and most of these were sent out as demos.
The title and track listing sheets shown above were either inserts or were part of the
press pack sent out with the album (or it's possible the above were homemade).
The album itself is a collection of live and studio tracks, some of which were re-recorded
for the debut LP. Given how little Turner & Kirwan released in their lifetime,
it's an essential companion to the debut.
Note: there is no link to the Cabbage Records label active in NYC in the 1980s (Kraut).
Notes: O'Brien & King also recorded as Trinity II -- see Pierce Turner for more details. The full lineup is Michael O'Brien (vocals, lead guitar, mandolin, harmonica), Chris King (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Mike Lussen (bass, also appears on the Trinity II LP), with Larry Kirwan (rhythm guitar) and Pierce Turner (Moog). Housed in a glorious Brian Mor O Baoigill cover.
Pierce Turner was briefly with the Arrows Showband in 1969-70, during which time a single was released on the Target label. This is the only Arrows release to feature Turner (on keyboards). Of very little interest outside genre collectors and Pierce Turner completists.
• Mercy / See SawWhile neither Turner nor Kirwan appear on this single (as far as I'm aware), it is notable for containing the first ever recording of a Turner/Kirwan composition. Neither the song nor the recording are very good, even by showband standards. The Supreme were a minor league showband based in the Wexford/Waterford area.
• I Can't Go Back To Boston / The Big Bamboo
Help!: We need your help to complete this entry. If you can tell us more about this band then please do! We welcome any corrections, missing details, connections to other bands, where are they now, etc. We also need photos, scans, copies of releases or live or demo recordings, and any other memorabilia gathering dust in the attic. If you can help, then please get in touch.
thanks to TP McLoughlin