Biography
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Years Active
1989 – present (35 years)
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Founded In
Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Leinster, Ireland
Irish band Engine Alley was formed in 1989 by Canice Kenealy (Vocals), Brian Kenealy (Guitar) and Eamonn Byrne (Bass). This core membership was augmented by a procession of other members, starting with drummer Emmaline Duffy-Fallon and Ken Rice (Keyboards/Violin) in 1991. Kirsty MacColl was one of several well-respected musicians to guest with the band.
Signed by Mother Records, their debut album "A Sonic Holiday" won a Smithwicks / Hot Press award for Best Irish Album of 1992. In 1994 the album "Engine Alley" was released in America, but shortly after returning from a tour there the band lost its drummer Duffy-Fallon. Another parting of the ways followed in February 1995, when the band left the Mother label. Their response was a ten-track album "Shot in the Light", released in July 1995, which had a less polished and more rocky sound than its predecessor.
After a hiatus, the band reunited in 1998 and released an EP ("The Lavender Girl") the following year. Side projects and other musical endeavours preceded and followed this release, including Canice Kenealy's band Rigmarole (based in Kilkenny, where Engine Alley had also first come into being) and a 2004 solo album by Brian Kenealy called "Paradise Place". A 2011 reunion for a headlining gig at Whelan's in Dublin suggests that there's life in the old dog yet….
The band's influences, as cited on their own MySpace page, included "anything with a bit of a auld tune like…" Specific artists cited included The Beatles, The Clash, The Smiths and David Bowie, as well as lesser-known artists such as Big Star, The Bothy Band and Can.
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