Editing Clannad (section)

===1982–1985: "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" and ''Magical Ring''===
{{listen
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 | title        = "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" (1982)
 | description  = The song that introduced Clannad to a worldwide audience.
 | format       = [[Ogg]]
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}}
In 1982, the then-five-piece Clannad signed to [[RCA Records]] and acquired Dave Kavanagh as their new manager. They accepted an invitation to record the title music for ''[[Harry's Game]]'', a three-part television drama depicting [[the Troubles]] in Northern Ireland, based on the novel of the same name by [[Gerald Seymour]]. Seymour suggested that the band record music for the show.<ref name="BT82" /> {{lang|ga|italic=unset|Ciarán}}, {{lang|ga|italic=unset|Pól}}, and {{lang|ga|italic=unset|Máire}} wrote "[[Theme from Harry's Game|Theme from ''Harry's Game'']]" in a few hours. It was recorded in two days and became an atmospheric piece featuring a [[Prophet-5]] synthesizer and over 100 tracked vocals, a departure from their usual acoustic folk sound.<ref name="BT82" /><ref name="OTT85" /><ref name="Grdn" /><ref name="SOS93">{{cite magazine |url= https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/clannad/10748 |title=Clannad |first=Mark J. |last=Pendergast |date=October 1993 |work=[[Sound on Sound]] |issue=Oct 1993 |pages=108–110 |via=Muzines |access-date=29 June 2023}}</ref> Released as a single in October 1982, "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" became the band's commercial breakthrough and caught international attention. It peaked at No.&nbsp;2 in Ireland and No.&nbsp;5 in the UK, and reached the top 20 in the Netherlands and Sweden. It remains the only UK hit single to have been sung entirely in Irish. Clannad's national exposure increased further when they performed the song on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.<ref name="NEP84">{{cite news |url= https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003894/19841005/008/0008 |url-access=subscription |title=Looking after family business |first=Simon |last=Harbridge |work=[[Nottingham Evening Post]] |date=5 October 1984 |page=8 |via=British Newspaper Archives |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref> From 1983 to 1987, Irish rock band [[U2]] used the song at the end of their concerts.<ref name="Clannadfaqs">{{cite web |url= http://www.extrasolar.net/clannad/fuaimart.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070330065614/http://www.extrasolar.net/clannad/fuaimart.htm |archive-date=30 March 2007 |title=Clannad Article: 1993 ''Fuaim'' Insert}}</ref>

{{blockquote|1=Two minutes of haunting vocal magic – the sort of thing Clannad have been doing for years – and all of a sudden everybody wants to know who they are. |source=''Belfast Telegraph'', November 1982<ref name="BT82">{{cite news |url= https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002318/19821106/161/0010 |url-access=subscription |title=Clannad - Winners of ''Harry's Game'' |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |date=6 November 1982 |page=10 |via=British Newspaper Archives |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref>}}

Following this success, the group released their seventh studio album, ''[[Magical Ring]]'', in March 1983. In addition to "Theme from ''Harry's Game''", it featured a mix of original and traditional Irish songs plus a cover of "[[I See Red (Jim Rafferty song)|I See Red]]" by [[Jim Rafferty]]. The album peaked at No.&nbsp;26 in the UK, and became the group's first album to be [[Music recording certification|certified gold]] by the [[British Phonographic Industry]] (BPI).<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=John T. |editor-last=Koch |editor-link=John T. Koch |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopaedia |publisher=[[ABC-Clio]] |date=2006 |pages=1627–1628}}</ref> Two singles were released from the album: "I See Red" went to No.&nbsp;19 in Ireland and No.&nbsp;81 in the UK, and "[[Newgrange (song)|Newgrange]]" reached No.&nbsp;30 and No.&nbsp;65, respectively. In April 1983, Clannad were awarded a ''Hot Press'' Music Award for their impact on Irish music in the previous year.<ref name="BT83">{{cite news |url= https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002318/19830416/152/0011 |url-access=subscription |title=Clannad: The Success Theme Continues |first=Liam |last=Creagh |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |date=16 April 1983 |page=11 |via=British Newspaper Archives |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref> Around this time, {{lang|ga|italic=unset|Máire}} noted that although the group had lost fans of their traditional folk sound, they had gained new ones as a result of their commercial success.<ref name="NEP84" />

A month after ''Magical Ring'' was released, the band were commissioned to score the 26-episode television drama series ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]'', which was broadcast on ITV from 1984 to 1986.<ref name="BT83" /> They created music for a range of characters and events related to the legend of [[Robin Hood]] and, for the first time, they recorded entirely in English. In May 1984, a soundtrack album from the series was released as ''[[Legend (Robin of Sherwood soundtrack)|Legend]]'' and reached No.&nbsp;9 in New Zealand and No.&nbsp;15 in the UK. The theme tune of the series was released as a single titled "[[Robin (The Hooded Man)]]" that went to No.&nbsp;19 in Ireland and No.&nbsp;42 in the UK. Clannad won a [[BAFTA]] for Best Original Television Music, the first Irish band to win it, in 1985.<ref name="OTT85">{{cite magazine |url= https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/that-clanned-moment/11781 |title=That Clannad Moment |first=Tony |last=Bacon |date=June 1985 |work=One Two Testing |issue=Jun 1985 |pages=54–55 |via=Muzines |access-date=29 June 2023}}</ref> In 1984, the band embarked on their first major concert tour of the UK, which was followed by a 18-month world tour, including dates across the US and USSR.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002320/19840810/185/0018 |url-access=subscription |title=Last Chance to Catch Clannad |first=Eric |last=Myles |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |date=16 April 1983 |page=11 |via=British Newspaper Archives |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="NEP84" />