Flogging Molly – working class Celtic rock heroes

Flogging Molly are a rock band with a strong Celtic influence to their music.

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They are based in Los Angeles but singer Dave King was born in Dublin. They have sold over a million albums and are known for their high energy live shows and their politically conscious lyrics.

Their albums contain a mixture of hard rocking Irish music and more thoughtful slow paced songs.

Flogging Molly - Los Angeles band with strong Celtic influence to their music
Flogging Molly

Their musical influences range from the Dubliners to the Pogues to the Clash to Johnny Cash.

King said: “We’re not a traditional band, we are influenced by traditional music and inspired by it, but without question we put our own twist on it.”

Starting out at Molly Malone’s pub

They were formed when King joined forces with Bridget Regan, Ted Hutt and Jeff Peters .They developed into a rock group with a traditional Irish feel. King was no stranger to life in a band having been part of heavy rock groups Fastway and Katmandu.

His newly formed group played every week at Molly Malone’s pub in LA and built a loyal fan base.

They spent so much time at Molly Malone’s that they named their band after the pub. King said: “We used to play there every Monday night and we felt like we were flogging it to death, so we called the band Flogging Molly.”

The Worst Day Since Yesterday

Swagger got a 5 star review on Punknews.org which said “every song is a keeper, without a clunker in the bunch”.

Hutt and Peters left to join their former band and were replaced with Nathan Maxwell. The new Flogging Molly line-up were signed by record company, SideOneDummy Records, after the owners saw them perform and were impressed with their intensity.

The band released their debut album, Swagger in 2000. It was a hit with the critics who felt that Flogging Molly had elements of both the Pogues and the Dropkick Murphys in their sound.

The album includes the song, The Worst Day Since Yesterday, which was featured in the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie comedy, Mr and Mrs Smith.

Drunken Lullabies – you’ll wish you were Irish

Their second album, Drunken Lullabies, was released in 2002. It got good reviews from critics. The lyrics in the album explored problems in modern society. Allmusic said that “after one listen, you’ll probably wish you were Irish”.

Final-version

The title track featured on Tony Hawk’s video game, Pro Skater 4, and also on the anti-Bush compilation album, Rock against Bush Vol 2. The album featured the track, If I Ever Leave This World Alive, which featured in the Hilary Swank movie, P.S. I Love You.

Despite the success of their albums, the band continued think of themselves first and foremost as a live band. They played venues of all sizes from bars to rock festivals across the US, Europe and Japan. King said: “In Ireland, you go to the pub to have a conversation. That’s what we do every night on stage, go to the pub and trade stories.”

Flogging Molly Screaming at the Wailing Wall

Flogging Molly
Screaming at the Wailing Wall
Flogging Molly Videos

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