Biography:
The Loudest Whisper story begins in rural Fermoy, Co. Cork, in the early 60s, when a group of teenagers encountered the music of the Beatles, and decided to form a beat group, the Wizards. The band's initial line-up comprised Brian O'Reilly and Michael Clancey on guitars, John Aherne on bass and Jimmy Cotter on drums, with all four members sharing vocals.O'Reilly recalls that initially the band was "banging on chairs and playing acoustic guitars", since electric guitars and amplifiers weren't available in Fermoy before 1968. Indeed, musical purists frowned upon all guitars, as Brian notes: "In traditional sessions in those days, they didn't like guitarists joining in - that crept in slowly".
The folk dimension that would later characterise Loudest Whisper's work was absent from the Wizards' music, which consisted mainly of Beatles, Hollies and Spencer Davis covers. Later, the band discovered Cream, Hendrix and the blues, and their music took a heavier turn. Sometime around 1969 or 1970, they changed their name to Loudest Whisper.By this time, the band had also undergone some line-up changes. Jimmy Cotter had left for Dublin "which for us, might as well have been a foreign country," notes Brian, and a fan of the band, Brendan "Bunny" Nelgian, was brought in as his replacement, despite never having played drums before. Later, Brian's brother Paud joined as a guitarist, quickly switching to drums, at which point Neligan became the band's lead vocalist.
Brian had been writing his own songs since 1966/67, taking many of his influences from American folk-rock acts like John Sebastian, the Lovin' Spoonful and the Mamas and the Papas. At the same time, he had appeared in a number of amateur musicals staged by a local society in Fermoy, whose repertoire included standards like Oklahoma and Hello Dolly.Keen to fuse these influences, and with a growing interest in traditional Irish folklore, he began work on a musical based around the mystical legend of the Irish King Lir, and his children who are condemned to live as swans. "The children were allowed to retain human voices because of the beauty of their singing” says Brian, "so to me, the legend of Lir was a great story about the power of music, and was crying out to become a musical".Rehearsals began in the summer and The Children Of Lir premiered in Fermoy on 7th January 1973. Ron Kavanagh, a singer and guitarist who had also joined the band, took the lead role due to his fine voice and acting ability, whilst the band played themselves, and around 50 other performers were involved. The size of the orchestra, which included five guitarists, was as much for practical as artistic reasons - no stage microphone available, so the band needed to make as much noise as possible.
Many of the local people who supported the shows had apparently expected a very low-key production, and were amased at what they saw. Word quickly spread, and the national TV channel RTE shot a ten minute feature, consisting of a synopsis of the show, including a narration and three songs. This was shown on the prime time show Tangents, just after the news. Meanwhile, the stage production moved to Limerick and Mullingar.Around the same time, Loudest Whisper were taking their first tentative steps towards finding a record deal. O'Reilly had written a beautiful melody entitled "William B", which was a heartfelt tribute to the poet W.B. Yeats, and an entrepreneur suggested the band record it for single release. The track was duly laid down in Dublin (for the princely sum of €71 (£56)), but no single appeared. Nevertheless, the band were able to use the "demo”, and the success of The Children Of Lir to secure a deal with the Irish arm of Polydor.
1974 proved to be a year of intense activity. Fuelled by the reaction to The Of Children Lir, O'Reilly had written another musical, Perseus, inspired by the Greek legend, and this was staged with an outstanding vocalist named Geraldine Dorgan playing the lead role. Simultaneously, the band embarked on a recorded adaptation of The Children Of Lir at Polydor's request (despite the show not having been a Loudest Whisper project per se), and prepared to release “William B" as their debut single.With Tir na N’og's Leo O'Kelly as producer, sessions for The Children Of Lir went famously despite Kavanagh leaving the band ( for a prolific solo career) midway through. Vocals were shared by Neligan, Kavanagh, Kelly and Geraldine Dorgan, and the sound was fleshed out by a string and a children's choir.The finished recording was a masterpiece of the progressive folk genre; melodic, mystical and dynamic by turns. Singling out highpoints is difficult, but "Mannanan 2" shows just what a gritty edge the band possessed in those days, and "Wedding Song" displays Dorgan's wonderfully rich voice to excellent effect, despite an obvious nod to "California Dreaming" in both the chord progressions and vocal arrangement.
With the album in the can, "William B” ready for release and Perseus attracting rave reviews, Loudest Whisper appeared poised for an international breakthrough. However, fate intervened in the cruellest of ways.First, copyright problems were experienced over "William B", which quoted from Yeats's "The Stolen Child"; the track had to be rewritten and re-recorded before being released. Secondly, RTE managed to lose the only copy of a 20-minute film based around Perseus before it could be screened. Finally, Polydor Ireland's hopes of a multinational release for The Children Of Lir were dashed when the UK branch of the label rejected it out of hand. Dispirited, the label neglected to promote the LP, which was only released in tiny quantities (a rumoured 500 copies). This scarcity, coupled with the notoriously delicate crimson-and-gold sleeve, has meant that Mint copies now attract incredible prices of € 762 (£600) or more.
Neligan left the band shortly after the LP's release, and Brian O'Reilly took over the bulk of the lead vocals. Geraldine Dorgan also joined as vocalist and electric guitarist, despite the reservations of some band members about having a female colleague. She also featured heavily in O'Reilly's third and final 70s musical, The Maiden Of Sorrow, staged in 1975.The late 70's saw Loudest Whisper gigging relentlessly, with Dorgan adding a powerful stage presence. Recordings were sporadic, however, with just a few singles being issued, which brought some minor Irish chart success. During this period, O'Reilly concentrated on building a recording studio in his back garden. Christened Studio Fiona, this was first used for the recording of the excellent 1979 single "Magic Carpet", whose lyrics summarised the band's career to date.
1. Overture
2. Lir’S Lament
3. Good Day, My Friend
4. Wedding Song
5. Children’S Song
6. Mannanan I
7. Mannanan Ii
8. Children Of The Dawn
9. Dawning Of The Day
10. Septimus
11. Farewell Song
12. Cold Winds Blow
13. Sad Children
14. William B (45a) (Bonus Track)
15. False Prophets (45b) (Bonus Track)
16. Wrong & Right (45b) (Bonus Track)
17. Silent O’Moyle (Moore/O’Reilly) (Bonus Track)
18. Wheel Of Life (O’Reilly) (Bonus Track)
19. Children Of Lir (Original Rte Broadcast) (Bonus Track)
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