EXPERIENCE THE ENDURING LEGACY OF HORSLIPS WITH MADFISH’S NEW 5 DISC SET HORSLIPS – ‘AT THE BBC’ – 4CD + DVD SET COMPRISING LIVE PERFORMANCES, BBC TV FOOTAGE & RARE ARCHIVAL MATERIAL.
Few bands have left as distinct a mark on the musical landscape as Horslips. Emerging in the early 1970s, they more or less created ‘Celtic Rock’, drawing from Irish traditional music & British/American rock, crafting a sound that was both timeless & radical.
The BBC captured the band in the 1970’s & again during their unexpected Indian summer return in the 2010s. ‘At The BBC’ gathers these vital recordings – spanning nearly 50 years – into one definitive collection.
Disc 1 begins the journey in 1973-74, landmark years in which Horslips took their fusion of mythology & musicianship to the airwaves & concert halls of Britain.
Included are performances from Radio 1’s In Concert, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Radio 1’s Sounds of the 70’s, 2nd House (BBC 2) & Radio 1’s John Peel Show, showcasing the group in full flight, brimming with invention & zeal.
By 1979, fresh from the inevitable hard slog of trying to conquer America, Horslips returned to Radio 1’s In Concert with a set that captured their ability to fit in with the times & the power of their live performances.
Disc 2 continues with an unplugged ‘comeback’ session from 2010 & a BBC NI performance in 2019 of ‘Sideways To The Sun’ – written about magical Irish beings disappearing from mortal sight – which would, perhaps fittingly, prove to be their last official recording.
Disc 3 presents Horslips’ unique 2011 performance with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, in its previously unreleased BBC Radio Ulster broadcast mix. Including epic suites from classic albums ‘The Tain’ & ‘The Book Of Invasions’ & fan favourites like the eight-minute ‘I’ll Be Waiting’, a showcase for late guitarist Johnny Fean (d. 2023), many – including band members – view this concert as Horslips’ finest hour (and a quarter).
Disc 4 is a bonus disc, comprising recently discovered 1979 ‘working mixes’ of the album ‘Short Stories, Tall Tales’, recorded at Dublin’s Windmill Lane. They offer an intimate glimpse into a band in transition, shifting from the US FM rock that had influenced recent albums towards the spikier, sharper British New Wave sound.
‘At The BBC’ is completed by a DVD bringing together clips from The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1974 documentary material & magical fan footage of two songs from the 2011 Waterfront Hall concert, synced to sparkling BBC audio. Presented in a deluxe hardback book package with rare photographs & extensive liner notes by band biographer Mark Cunningham, legendary BBC producer Jeff Griffin & curator Colin Harper, ‘At The BBC’ is a celebration of a band whose influence still echoes through the decades. The mastering is shared by Eroc in Germany & band associate Cormac O’Kane who mastered ‘More Than You Can Chew’.
