Whiskey in the Jar

& Mr Grumpy's Ceilidh Band

 

Main Menu:

 

The North's favourite Irish Band

LATEST NEWS

 

29 07 2010 - Hydes Brewery Promotion.

It's been ten years but Manchester based brewery Hydes are hosting a series of promotional nights featuring the band. The first three dates have been confirmed (see gigs on the home page). 

03 07 2010 - Special rates.

A special offer to pubs and clubs in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, one third off our normal rate if you book the band for dates between December and February. 

03 07 2010 - Phil moves house.

Following Phil's move to Derbyshire, most of the band are now based much more handily for working around the Yorkshire, Derbyshire area and further afield.  

02 03 2010 - Batley Irish Club.

We are delighted to have been asked to play again at Batley Irish Democratic League Club, based in West Yorkshire. 

We return to the club on Saturday April 17th, hopefully see a few old friends on the night. 

05 02 2010 - Team Spirit (Oldham).

Over the past few months we have had dealings with a company called TEAM SPIRIT that I wish to tell you about in order to suggest you refrain from working with them. 

In August last year this events management company based in Oldham, Lancashire contacted a highly respected band agent with a view to booking Mr Grumpy’s Ceilidh Band. Team Spirit initially asked the agent to reduce our fee as they told us they were under pressure from the client, we therefore reduced our fee accordingly yet found out that they added a whacking £500 to the bill for their own ‘administration’, nearly doubling the charge to their clients. 

With only a week to go before the October booking, Team Spirit eventually agreed to a contract which included payment within 30 days. After two months without payment we had to revert to the Small Claims Court to force them to pay, they kept telling us that they had not been paid by the client. We found out that they had in fact been paid in full weeks before the booking took place. 

Team Spirit also told the client they had contracted the band for a second event in February and took another hefty deposit for that event. In fact they had not contacted the agent or the band.  

My advice is ask your agent if any booking has come through Team Spirit on behalf of a client. These people have no qualms about how they treat clients, agents and bands alike.  Phil: Whiskey in the Jar.

12 01 2010 - Clancy Brothers Tribute night.

Saturday 6th March sees the band perform a tribute to The Clancy Brothers as part of the Manchester Irish Festival. The evening takes places at the Union Bar, Levenshulme.

14 11 2009 - Another new date.

Saturday 12th December sees the band play for the first time at St Cuthbert's in Withington for a charity concert. Tickets at £5.00 are available from the Red Lion next door.

20 08 2009 - New dates added.

New date added are: August 29th Heaton House Beer Festival, September 5th Waterloo RUFC, September 18th Bolton Irish Centre and November 7th Parrswood Hotel, Didsbury near Stockport.

10 08 2009 - Change in the line-up.

After 10 years with the band, our long-standing banjo player Stuart has opted to have a break from the band. We are fortunate that the band's caller Brendan has agreed to join the band on a permanent basis adding a new dimension to the band. Brendan plays Mandola and Bodhran and enjoys singing too, a great addition to the band.

10 07 2009 - New diary dates.

Preston this coming Saturday for an evening with the Shamrock Dancers and their annual charity gig, St Benedict's is the venue this time. A few more public gigs have been added too, see the home page for details.

10 07 2009 - New date for Penketh festival.

A change of date for our appearance at the Ferry Tavern, Penketh, near Warrington. The new date is Sunday 2nd August, starting 4.00pm. A date not to be missed.

23 02 2009 - Two new gigs announced.

If you're a Glasgow Celtic fan you'll want to celebrate their anticipated Co-Op cup win on March 15th at the Bolton Irish Centre. If you can't make that occasion then we are back locally on April 26th at the Bryn Hall Hotel in Wigan.

06 02 2009 - St Patrick's weekend in Manchester.

A rare appearance in Manchester has been arranged for St Anne's Social Centre in Stretford as part of their St Patrick's weekend festivities. Saturday 21st March is the date.

06 02 2009 - Return to Bolton Irish Club.

The band return to Bolton Irish Centre on 24th April following their successful appearance in January. The club are advising people to arrive early as a big crowd is expected on the night. Entry is just £3.00 tbc.

11 2008 - Another 20th Anniversary Gig.

The band return to the Haslingden Irish Democratic League on Saturday 14th February. The club is enjoying much success in recent times and are again booking bands.

18 11 2008 - Barrowford gig confirmed.

We have confirmed a rare appearance in the Burnley area as guests of the Pendle Irish Society. Ticket details will be announced on this website soon.

08 11 2008 - Bolton gig confirmed.

We are pleased to confirmed that the band are to play at Bolton Irish Centre on Friday 23rd January. The band always enjoy the hospitality and great atmosphere at the club.

14 10 2008 - 20th Birthday Celebrations.

The band is 20 years old in 2009, and we plan to celebrate with a series of public gigs. We have written to around 80 venues inviting them to book the band during the promotion period, so if you want to see us at a venue near you, give us a call. Details on the contact page.

20 06 2008 - St Patrick's Day 2009.

We are now booked for St Patrick's Day 2009.

22 08 2008 - CD's available.

'Ceol Agus Craic'

The History of Whiskey in the Jar   Vol 1

£8.00 plus £1.50 p&p

&

'By Request'

The History of Whiskey in the Jar   Vol 2

£8.00 plus £1.50 p&p.

Both CD'S £15.00 plus £2.50 p&p

We still have a limited number of cassettes available at £5.00 for 1, £9.00 (2), £12.00 (3) and £15.00 (4)

The cassettes, in order are 'Live 1990', 'By Request 1992', 'Encore 1994', 'Whiskey and Water' 1996.

 

22 08 2008 - More rare public gigs.

Our next public gigs are confirmed for Colne Valley Beer Festival at Slaithwaite, Nr Huddersfield and BB's in Widnes. See the date sheet on the home page for details.

04 03 2008 - Our new website.

Welcome to the new-look home of Whiskey in the Jar and Mr Grumpy's Ceilidh band. Some changes being planned here... soon you'll be able to listen to many of the songs listed on the band page.

15 06 2006 - Second CD due out soon.

A new compilation of tracks taken from the band's previous recordings will be available as a follow up CD in July. The release is to be promoted by a live appearance on BBC Radio Manchester's flagship Irish programme "The Parlour" on Monday 26th June. Due to the many requests that we receive, we are re-releasing all four previous cassette recordings at the same time.

25 01 06 - Problems uploading the latest news.

We apologise for the lack of up to date news on the band. Difficulties with the web server have prevented regular updates. Hopefully we are back to normal again and back with the latest news.

23 08 2004- Thrapston Fire Station Gig.

A mention of a rare gig in the midlands.

Thrapston Fire Service.  We have played for the lads at Thrapston for the last two years and are chuffed to be asked back this year. All the lads are part-time fire-fighters but give up a lot of time in helping charities, not just their own charity too. This years gig will be another sell-out occasion and a special thanks to John Lynch and the rest of the crew at Thrapston for the way they look after the band and make our trip so worth-while. We look forward to meeting all our friends again in the future.

09 08 2004 - C D released.

Our new CD entitled "Ceol Agus Craic" (music and the crack) is now on sale at £10.00. The one hour long CD charts the history of the band and features songs from all the different line-up's over the years. The last four tracks are all new recordings from the present line-up.

25 07 2004 - TOUR of IRELAND 2002..  What a great week in Ireland

Wed 18th .. arrived at Bundoran, Co Donegal, spent the first night gently breaking in to the spirit of the week... or was it the Guinness.

Thurs 19th.. a sign for a session out the Bridge tonight but the landlord said we'd be too late after playing at Donegal town, after buying us a beer or two and listening to the music.. he told us .." sure we're open till 4 in the morning, just ring the bell". Nice to see our friends from Leitrim on a day trip to Bundoran, Marion and Brendan Shanley.. certainly gave us a surprise for the day. Followed that with a trip to Glenties in Donegal.. home of renowned Donegal fiddlers, then back to The Central Hotel in Donegal. A great gig to start the tour.. followed by.. the session back at The Bridge.. the drinking had started.                                                                      

Fri 20th..  The short trip down to Sligo for a drink at The Harp Tavern.. an old haunt of the band, followed by some bar at Strandhill, followed by a drink or two at tonight's venue.. The Venue at Strandhill. Another great gig and great hospitality from Peter and Yvonne.

Sat 21st..  another short journey, this time to Mayo.. and breakfast at the local supermarket, followed by.. a pint or two. Got to the venue for tonight's gig, The Humbert Lodge at Killala and the sad news of the sudden death of my (Phil) friends mother, so had to relocate the beds to the pub we were playing. Took a ride to Ballycastle for a drink but my first choice was closed as it was the brother of the bereaved family, so next door to the welcome of the week. Michael at Katy Mac's.. a Dubliner and nice whistle player.. what a fabulous man. It was a pleasure playing for 3 hours to such a man as he (and a few regulars).. the only trouble was that by five o'clock we were already feeling the drink again. After a very private couple of hours with Tony and Carmel's family at Belderig (thanks for inviting us and letting us sing to you on such a sad occasion), and a couple of Belderig measures of whiskey, we had to go and do the nights work back at Killala.   Thanks again to Ger and Geraldine at the Humbert for putting us all up at short notice.

Sun 22nd..  Great to be back in County Leitrim and people I have known for over 25 years, and who have been good followers of the band on previous tours. Jamie and Stuart just HAD to play some O'Carolan tunes at a pub called O'Carolans.. and we thought the drinking was to stop today !!. McKeons at Keshcarrigan was the first Leitrin gig.. and to see my old friend Ben in such fine form was a bonus... he booked the band before we were good !!

Mon 23rd..  Woke up at the home of Margaret and Pat Curran.. familiar friends and familiar breakfasts.. and at last a day off from the drink. followed by the familiar surroundings of Quinn's Lounge at Fenagh. Thanks to new landlord Tommy Flynn for taking the risk of putting on a band on a Monday night.. fair play to you and a great night.

Tues 24th..  and the last night of the tour. The drive to Dublin was quieter than usual.. the end was in sight. Not the busiest gig of the week at The White House, The Ward, near the airport  and just outside the city, but what a welcome from those who turned up.. and the promise of a gig next year on a Friday night when they get 200-250 in the place. Thanks Simon Rutledge for your hospitality on the night.

01 08 2002 - FIRST IRISHMAN INTO SPACE !!!  (True story) !!

It was Easter 2002 when Stuart, the bands banjo caller received a visit from his life-long friend Lawrence O'Brien. Lawrence knew he didn't have long for this world and asked Stuart to take him on a "last look" around some of the parts of Lancashire he so loved. In particular he took Lawrence to the "Pots and Pans" landmark, near Saddleworth where he asked Stuart to spread his ashes when he died. It was not many weeks after that that Lawrence's wife Sonia rang from their home at The Boghill Center, near Doolin, County Clare, to tell Stuart that Lawrence had indeed passed away, and arranged for the ashes to be brought to Oldham. 

To cut a (very) long story short, Stuart and his friend John Harrison, also a director of the Boghill Center, arranged for his ashes to be spread, but were refused entry onto the land because of the foot and mouth epidemic, and could not afford a "helicopter drop". On a visit to his local hardware store, Stuart discovered a £17 firework rocket.. and yes.. the answer to his problem. Along with a host of fiddlers and other musicians fro across Ireland and England, off came the top of the rocket, in went the ashes, and up went the firework.. bursting into a cloud of dust, and settling over the Pots and Pans as the crowd cheered for Lawrence.

That night at the wake in the local pub, Stuart and the lads played among others, a tune called "Michael's Waltz". The tune was written by Stuart in memory of Lawrence's brother, Michael, along with "O'Brien's lament" written during a quiet moment in the company of Stuart's memories of the family. During the evening a local reporter interviewed Stuart and John and took a few photo's as usual... think of the surprise next morning in the Manchester Evening News, Oldham Chronicle, The Sun and The Mirror at the headlines . .  

"Retired Rat-catcher sends first Irish man into space".

Top

 

PREVIOUS TAPE RELEASES

1991 "Live" Recorded in Chorley and Ingelton.

1994 "By Request" First studio recordings.

1996 "Encore" Our best seller.

1997 "Whiskey and Water" with Blue Water Folk.

 

 

Copyright © 2008 Philip Taylor