Boys Of The Lough
This Irish-Scottish group formed in 1967 and were well known for their arrangements of Celtic music. The original line-up of Robin Morton (b. 24 December 1939, Portadown, Northern Ireland; vocals/concertina/bodhran), Cathal McConnell (b. 8 June 1944, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; flute/vocals/whistle), and Tommy Gunn (b. Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; fiddle/bones/vocals) adopted the name Boys Of The Lough during a recording session for a television programme. After a tour of Scotland and England, Gunn left the trio, leaving McConnell and Morton to continue as a duo. In 1988, at the Aberdeen Folk Festival, they performed with another duo, Aly Bain and Mike Whelans. This became the new line-up of the group. Dick Gaughan then replaced Whelans, in 1972, and in this guise appeared at the Cambridge Folk Festival, the same year, to considerable acclaim. In 1973, Gaughan left to pursue a solo career. He was in turn replaced by Dave Richardson (b. 20 August 1948, Corbridge, Northumberland, England; guitar/mandolin/cittern/concertina/tenor banjo/hammer dulcimer), for the group's upcoming American tour. The group then toured regularly for the next few years, on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1979, Morton left, to be replaced by Tich Richardson, brother of Dave, on guitar. This line-up toured worldwide into the '80s, but in September 1984, Tich was killed in a car accident. In February 1985 Christy O'Leary (b. 7 June 1955, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, Eire; uillean pipes/vocals) joined, followed by John Coakley (b. 30 July 1951, Cork, Eire; guitar/piano). From this point, the Irish music in their act took a greater precedence. In February 1988, they celebrated their 21st Anniversary with a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall which was released as an album the following year on the Sage Arts label. Despite the personnel changes, they have retained their popularity, and the standard of musicianship has remained consistently high. The group continue to tour the USA regularly, with the various individual members undertaking their own projects concurrently. In Bain's case this has involved much television work, including DOWN HOMEin 1985, ALY BAIN AND FRIENDS in 1989, and PUSH THE BOAT OUTin 1991. Morton, meanwhile, went on to head Temple Records in Edinburgh.