Wow! What a way to start 2010!
This week the BBC has been showing a further series of Guitar Heroes (tonight was number 4, and there are 6 in total).
Tonight, they showed Horslips playing Dearg Doom from their 1974 The Táin album.
Horslips circa 1974
Horslips (website here) were one of the best bands of all time, but being folk-rock fusion they never hit mainstream. They were the first band I ever saw live (at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 1978). Brilliant guitar and keyboards, they flipped effortlessly between heavy rock – and I mean proper heavy rock, not that laryngitis-fuelled crap you get now – and acoustic traditional Irish folk.
In fact, here is the Dearg Doom segment from the BBC programme:
They released another album ( Rollback ) a couple of years ago – a semi-acoustic retake on their older stuff with some newer tracks. I wish they’d tour again.
I really recommend checking out some of their stuff. The album The Book Of Invasions is incredible, and holds up well considering it was released way back in 1976! Also take a look at The Man Who Built America (the album tour I went to).
EDIT 01801/2010: Worth pointing out that the episodes can be viewed online using the BBC iPlayer . Don’t forget they are only viewable for a limited time.