Turner & Kirwan of Wexford

• Larry Kirwan
• Pierce Turner

Bio:

Pierce Turner's early history is not well documented. He played with the Dublin-based Arrows Showband in Dublin circa 1969-70 and appeared on one of their singles. He also played with Paul Raven AKA Gary Glitter in Germany. His musical partner for most of the 1970s was Larry Kirwan. Both grew up in Wexford Town. They began writing songs together while Turner was still with the Arrows. Another Wexford showband The Supreme committed the first ever Turner/Kirwan composition to vinyl circa June 1970.

Turner & Kirwan sent a demo of a song they'd written about the 1970 disaster in Bangladesh, "We Have No More Babies Left", to Polydor Records in Dublin. Jackie Hayden liked it and signed them for a one single deal. It was released under the name Aftermath in 1971, with "Neck And Neck" on the B-side. This single gained some airplay at the time. It is now very difficult to locate.

The duo moved to New York City in January 1971 and became Turner & Kirwan of Wexford, playing the Irish pubs and clubs around the city. They developed a style which mixed Irish traditional folk music with full-blown progressive rock, creating an odd folk-rock hybrid which when it worked was very effective. They released a single on the tiny Thimble Records label in 1973 featuring a superior re-recording of "Neck And Neck" on the A-side and "When Starlings Fly" on the B-side. In 1974 they privately pressed an LP of live and studio recordings to sell at gigs. This "Bootleg" LP is now very hard to find. It includes a fantastic live version of Ewan McColl's "The Travelling People", best known to Irish music fans though the Johnston's recording in the late 60s.

Turner & Kirwan finally released their official debut album in 1977. The LP was released on Polydor in Ireland but is easier to find as the US pressing on the Peters International label, where it was issued as part of the Cosmos series, rubbing shoulders with German and Italian progressive releases, and the first Gary Moore LP. Sealed copies occasionally surface on ebay and are well worth investigating.

In 1978 they began backing poet/spoken word performance artist Copernicus and they appear on his early redords. Around 1979 they changed musical direction and became the new wave influenced Major Thinkers. For details of these and further projects, see Pierce Turner's entry.

The Arrows Showband

Pierce Turner was briefly with the Arrows Showband in 1969-70, during which time a single was released on the Target label. This is the only Arrows release to feature Turner (on keyboards). Of very little interest outside genre collectors and Pierce Turner completists.

The Supreme Showband

While neither Turner nor Kirwan appear on this single (as far as I'm aware), it is notable for containing the first ever recording of a Turner/Kirwan composition. Neither the song nor the recording are very good, even by showband standards. The Supreme were a minor league showband based in the Wexford/Waterford area.

Help!: We need your help to complete this entry. If you can tell us more about this band then please do! We welcome any corrections, missing details, connections to other bands, where are they now, etc. We also need photos, scans, copies of releases or live or demo recordings, and any other memorabilia gathering dust in the attic.