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Bio:
Long running band fronted by Brian O'Reilly. Loudest Whisper grew out of an
earlier band called The Wizards, who were active in the Fermoy area for a number of years
during the 1960s. The final Wizards lineup became Loudest Whisper ca 1970.
The name was chosen to reflect their attempt to mix folk with the heavy music of the day.
Loudest Whisper are most famous for the "Children of Lir" folk rock musical,
which was first performed on the 7th January 1973 in Fermoy. "Children of Lir" combined
American/West Coast folk rock with Brian's interest in musicals and Irish folklore. The
results far exceeded everyone's expectations and the musical was soon on the road, playing to
larger audiences. It received further exposure through a segment recorded for Tangents,
a magazine-style current affairs TV show on RTE, which followed the main evening news.
Spurred on by this success, Brian wrote a second musical "Perseus" which featured new singer
Geraldine Dorgan, who was still at school. "Perseus" premiered at the Fermoy Youth Centre during Christmas 1973.
RTE filmed a 20 minute TV special on "Perseus" but managed to loose the footage before it could be
screened. It
was revived in April 1979
by students at Chanel College Coolock in Dublin.
The success of "Children of Lir" inevitably led to record label interest and Loudest Whisper were signed by
Polydor Records. The band recorded their debut single "William B", a tribute to W.B.Yeats, and began
sessions for recording "Children of Lir", with Leo O'Kelly in the producer's chair. This proved to be a long,
drawn-out process as it had to be
done over many weekends. Ron Kavanagh, who sang the lead role in the original state production,
left the band during these sessions. Brendan Neligan also left, preferring the bands earlier, less folky
sound. "William B" had to be re-recorded when the W.B.Yeats estate objected to a quotation used
in the original version. It was finally released in 1974. The release of "Children of Lir" appears to have
been downgraded after Polydor UK's lukewarm reaction to the album and Polydor Ireland's subsequent
loss of enthusiasm for the project. Nowadays, it'is considered a folk rock classic.
After it's release, Geraldine Dorgan who by then had finished school,
became a full-time member of the band.
1975 was taken up by a third musical, "Maiden of Sorrow". This was never recorded in a studio
(shame on you Polydor!). If you want to hear it, you'll have to track down the Kissing Spell CD
issue of a bootleg live recording. During 1976-77 the band scored a couple of hits in Ireland.
John Aherne left in 1977, unable to balance live work with his day job. In 1978, work began
on building a recording studio in Fermoy. Fiona Studios was a joint venture between Brian O'Reilly
and a local music shop. It opened it's doors in 1979. Loudest Whisper had another
hit the same year with the autobiographical "Magic Carpet Ride".
In the late 70s, Brian O'Reilly wrote the soundtrack music for a short Frank Morgan film titled
Old Grumpy And Mary B. The music was performed by Loudest Whisper. The production date
of the film is unclear: different sources list it as 1975, 1977 (BFI), and 1979. In 1980 it
was re-edited and submitted for the Daily Mail Challenge Trophy for the Best Amateur Movie of the Year,
which it won. The soundtrack is unreleased.
In 1980, Polydor agreed to a second album, as long as it included the hit singles. The third
album "Hard Times" (November 1982) featured Brian O'Reilly on bass, John McGrath on lead
guitar, and new co-lead singer Bernadette Bowes.
By 1985 a new lineup was performing a new musical titled "Buskin'", which played in Cork
and London and was a stage success but was alas unrecorded apart from "Spread Your Wings"
which was issued as a single. This band included the
O'Reilly's plus Orla Gowen (vocals), Ernie Touhig (lead guitar) and Harry Corneliusson (bass).
Ernie Touhig suffered a serious accident which puts things on hold.
More details to follow.
Other musicians who played with Loudest Whisper include Mike Russell, Mo O'Connor (slide
guitar on "Satisfaction") and bassist Chris Hurley (also in Discovery/Driveshaft).
Ron Kavanagh suffered a serious accident in September 1973,
touching a live microphone and then falling, fracturing his skull.
Original LP Liner Notes: Hailing from Fermoy, Co.Cork, Loudest
Whisper proved their originality with the
success of their first folk rock musical
"The Children of Lir". That was back in
1973. Today, after two more successful
musicals "Perseus" and "Maiden of
Sorrow", and some of the hit singles
featured on this album, Loudest Whisper
have established their own recording
studio in Fermoy "Studio Fiona". Brian
O'Reilly, founder of the group, and his
brother Paul, write all their own material.
Drawing influences from both American
and European sources, Loudest Whisper
successfully combine the best of
traditional folk and soft rock to produce a
highly original sound.
"Cold Winds Blow" is a re-recording of the Children of Lir track.
"Name of the Game" is Part 1 only.
The Kissing Spell CD resequences the original LP running order for no good reason.
Notes:
At first glance this is a best of selection, but these are new, re-recorded versions
made by the early 90s lineup of the band: Frank McClellan (vocals), Brian O'Reilly (guitar), Johnny Campbell (bass) and
Paud O'Reilly (drums) lineup. As such, it's actually Loudest Whisper's fourth album.
The project was arranged with the band's new label K-Tel Records, and "Too Many Questions"
was earmarked as a single, but by the
time of release management at K-Tel had changed and there was no attempt
to promote the album. K-Tel were unwilling to return the rights to the band,
and so "The Collection" remained hard to locate until a second issue was
arranged, sponsored by the Clonakilty Black Pudding Co whose CEO was a
longtime fan. The K-Tel was not withdrawn but it was not promoted and
is hard to find.
The blurb... "This collection is representative of the coming together
of two great Irish traditions, music and food. It is the ultimate statement of
25 years of musical magic bringing together the finest ingredients of folk and
rock. Loudest Whisper are long established as a highly creative and original
band with their own blend of folk/rock music." ...of course, all that black
pudding clogging up your arteries is not really good for you!
Notes:
A re-working of the musical with three new songs. Recorded at Fiona Studios
between February 1992 and September 1994. Credits:
Brian O'Reilly - acoustic Guitar, keyboards, vocals
Donovan - vocals
Geraldine Walsh - vocals
Mary Farrell - vocals
Philip Donnelly - acoustic guitar
Ron Kavana - mandolin, mandola
Liam O'Flynn - pipes, whistle
Dave Primm - bass
Oran O'Reilly - bass
Noel Eccles - percussion
Promo only one track CD single issued in anticipation of Loudest Whisper's first new album in many years "Our World". The band lineup is Brian O'Reilly (vocals andf guitar), Oran O'Reilly (bass), Paud O'Reilly (drums), Barry Cluskey (sax), Steve Lockwood (harmonica), plus backing singers.
Notes:
Originally known as "1999 And Beyond", a CD of demos circulated to friends and relations of the band
as a means of drawing up a shortlist for the next album . . . which appears five years later as
"Our World".
Credits:
Brian O'Reilly - vocals, guitar, piano
Frank McClellan - guitar, vocals
Oran O'Reilly - bass, vocals
Johnny Campbell - bass
Paud O'Reilly - drums, vocals
Steve Lockwood - harmonica
Barry Cluskey - saxophone
Frances Foley, Ger Walshe, Melaine O'Reilly - backing vocals
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