From: Cork
Active:
Style:
Freddie White & The House Band Lineup (1981-82):
- Freddie White - guitar, vocals
- Tommy Moore - bass, vocals
- John Ryan - keyboards, vocals
- Dave Whyte - drums
Official Tara Records biography from 1985:
Born in Cobh, Co.Cork 1951. His father played many instruments, his mother sang jazz (sometimes with
Phil Murtagh's Big Band).
1964 saw the first guitar and group. Freddie played bass lines on his guitar. The Krux followed [in 1967],
with White on electric lead. They played at The Cavern night club and supported Rory Gallagher
on bigger dates. At that time the musical influences were Cream, The Stones and The Beatles.
In Dr.John's folk loft he played his first solo gigs; playing folk-blues inspired by John Renbourn, Bert Jansch
and Jackson C.Frank. Then came Stormies Mates, an acapella outfit singing sea shanties (release
the tapes Freddie!--ed).
The next three years were spent in London - busking. Of necessity a powerful singing style developed.
Returning to Ireland, he took a training course in Tree Surgery, having inherited 'green fingers' from
his mother.
Travel again - London, Holland - busking.
1974 was spent in Crosshaven [Co.Cork], playing (often 6 nights a week) in pubs in this seaside
resort. Then came Snedger [1973 with Joe Callaghan pre Hot Guitars],
a band playing Zappa, Little Feat and The Beatles, with Freddie on bass.
He then moved to Dublin and joined The Sunday Night Band [1974, with Philip King and
Sonny Condell], which later developed into
the original Scullion [1975].
A two year residency, playing solo, put Freddie into the Dublin (and national) limelight.
He formed The Fake in 1977, a highly acclaimed band which
released one single "Green Light"/"Down On Main", now a collectors' item.
Freddie played support on Eric Clapton's first Irish appearance '76, first tour '77.
In '78 The Freddie White Band played the Clapton tour support slot.
The band featured Philip Donnelly on lead guitar.
The 'Live' LP was recorded on a tour with Clannad in 1978 and is still much
in demand. Intensive touring of the country followed, with TV appearances on
RTE's Late Late Show, Our Times, and BBC N.I's As I Roved Out.
Freddie was well received at all the summer festivals of 1979 and in 1980 brought
The Freddie White Band Mk II to the Lisdoonvarna Festival.
This band ended in October and White resumed touring the
country, road testing new material for his second LP and developing new
dimensions in his sound.
Since the release of the album "Do You Do", Freddie has turned more towards
songwriting, working with various Irish artists, notably Eamonn Linehan and
Johnny Duhan. His single "Frozen
Heart" which has been widely acclaimed, is one such example,
Freddie composing the music and Johnny Duhan the lyrics.
However, the saga of Freddie's powerful interpretations goes on, and still
included in his stage performances are some of the best works of this century's
songwriters, from Billy Joel, Warren Zevon, Randy Newman through to Hoagy
Carmichael and Louis Armstrong.
Freddie's ling association with Clannad, which led to the recording of his
first album "Live On Tour", took a new turn this Autumn [1985] when Freddie
joined the group as special guest at their Olympia [Dublin] shows.
Freddie White has just finished recording his third album "Long Distance
Runner", which will include songs written by himself, a major step forward
for this accomplished artiste.
His solo concert tour during December and January includes The Ritz in
London and The Olympia in Dublin.
Discography
• Live Tour 1978
LP - Mulligan Records - LUN 032 - IRL - 1979
Reissued on CD in the "Lost & Found" 2xCD set in May 2002.
side one:
Po-Jama People
God's Song
My Walking Stick
Desperadoes Waiting For A Train
Big Time Woman
Long Distance Love
side two:
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Down To Zero
Marie
Ain't Misbehaving
Trouble Child
In Germany Before The War
• Do You Do
LP - Mulligan Records - LUN 044 - IRL - 1981
Also on cassette (CLUN 44). Reissued on CD in the "Lost & Found" 2xCD set in May 2002.
side one:
Tenderness On The Block
Martha
Ol' Buttermilk Sky
Ghosts
Dirty Love
Romance In The Dark
side two:
Bread And Gravy
Gypsy Moth
Underneath The Harlem Moon
Dead End Street
Dry Land
Nobody
• Tenderness on the Block / Ol' Buttermilk Sky
7" - Mulligan Records - LUNS 750 - IRL - 1981
• Just Another Town / She's Got Aces
7" - Mulligan Records - LUNS 756 - IRL - 1982
• Frozen Heart / The Birth of the Blues
7" - Tara Records - TS 019 - IRL - 1984 - PS
• Long Distance Runner / Christmas In Capetown
7" - Tara Records - TS 022 - IRL - 1984 - no PS
• It's You / You Don't Know Me
7" - Tara Records - TS 023 - IRL - 1984 - no PS
• Long Distance Runner
LP - Tara Records - TARA 3013 - IRL - 1985 - insert
Also released on cassette (TARA 4TA 3013).
side one:
Werewolf
Wedding in Cherokee County
Frozen Heart
Long Distance Runner
It's You
side two:
Voices
Love Like Blood
Down Without A Fight
Christmas in Capetown
Goodbye This Time
• Silas Rat / Silas Rat (dub mix)
7" - Tara Records - TS 031 - IRL - 1986 - PS
Released late '86 or early '87.
• Have A Nice Day EP
12" - Tara Records - TS 034 - IRL - 1987 - PS
side one:
Have A Nice Day
Desperados Waiting for A Train
side two:
When Jesus Gets To Town
Martha
• Close To You
CD - Lime Records/EMI - FWCD1 - UK - 1991
tracklisting:
Close To You
Keep On Climbing
Georgie
I Saw Your Face
Running To Stand Still
Two-Way Street
Slow Hand
Paper Star
Everybody’s Girl
Fortune
Ellis Island
More recent releases:
• Straight Up (live) - CD - Little Don Records – LDCD 1001 - 1994
• My Country - CD - Little Don Records - LDCD 0112 - 1999
• Lost And Found (Live On Tour 1978 + Do You Do) - 2xCD - Little Don Records - LDCD ??? - 2002
• Four Days In May - CD - Little Don Records - LDCD ??? - 2004
• Stormy Lullaby - CD - Little Don Records – LDCD 0115 - 2008
• Here With You - CD - Little Don Records – LDCD ??? - 2012
• Better Days - CD - Little Don Records – LDCD ??? - 2014
Help!
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.
See Also: The Fake
External Links: Freddie White contines to record and release albums on his own Little Don label.