Moving Hearts

Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.<ref name="MHBio">Harris, Craig. Moving Hearts. AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2016.</ref>

Career

The group was formed in 1981 when Dónal Lunny (bouzouki) and Christy Moore (vocals, guitar and bodhrán), of Planxty, wanted to explore the possibilities of linking contemporary music to Irish traditional music.<ref name="LarkinGE">Template:Cite book</ref> They initially intended to form a trio with guitarist Declan Sinnott,<ref name="DLBioHS2011">Speek, Han (2011). Dónal Lunny – a short biography. xs4all.nl. Retrieved 13 May 2007.</ref> but then expanded the group to include established Irish musicians Keith Donald (alto sax), Eoghan O'Neill (bass), Brian Calnan (drums), and Davy Spillane (uilleann pipes).<ref name="LarkinGE"/> In their first year together, Moving Hearts performed to packed audiences during their three-night-a-week residency at the Baggot Inn on Baggot Street in Dublin.<ref name="MHRes1981">McCann, Eamon (11 June 1987). Ace of Hearts. Hot Press. hotpress.com. Retrieved 20 January 2017.</ref>

This laid the basis for a powerful, new Irish sound, which was coupled on the band's first two albums, Moving Hearts and The Dark End of the Street, with songs of explicit political engagement, often concerning the situation in Northern Ireland.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The band was organised as a cooperative effort, with all profits and costs borne by the seven band members and three members of the road crew.

Calnan was replaced for the group's second album by Matt Kelleghan, and, in 1982, Moore left to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Mick Hanly.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

Moving Hearts played many prestigious gigs including the Montreux Jazz Festival, The Bottom Line in New York and the Lorient Festival in Brittany, and the line-up with Hanly was recorded on the 1983 album Live Hearts. They also played on two tracks on Van Morrison's 1983 album A Sense of Wonder.

For a period after Hanly's departure, Flo McSweeney and Anthony Drennan came in on vocals and lead guitar.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The following year the group performed as an instrumental group, recording the album, The Storm. At this point the line-up consisted of Spillane and Declan Masterson on uilleann pipes, Lunny on bouzouki, synthesiser & bodhrán, Donald on sax, Noel Eccles on percussion, Matt Kelleghan on drums, O'Neill on bass and Greg Boland on guitar.

The group ceased touring in 1984, appearing only at occasional festivals such as the Preseli Folk Festival<ref name="Preseli Folk Festival">Thompson, Richard (April 1986). Hokey Pokey – The Richard Thompson newsletter No.3 Template:Webarchive. archive.richardthompson-music.com. Note: Preseli Folk Festival (24 May 1986) is mentioned in section on 'DAVE SWARBRICK', page 3. Retrieved 5 March 2015.</ref>–now the Fishguard Folk Festival–in 1986. In 1990, the band performed at Dublin's Point Theatre for a sold out farewell concert, with McSweeney on vocals.

Moving Hearts re-formed in 2007, announcing concerts in Dublin<ref name="MHReunion2007">Moving Hearts Reunion. (December 2006). taramusic.com. Retrieved 28 April 2007.</ref> and at the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway.<ref name="MHCeltFest2007">Great line up for Hebridean Celtic Festival 2007. (1 March 2007). www.stornowaygazette.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2017.</ref> The new line-up was: Lunny, Spillane, O'Neill, Donald, Kellaghan, Eccles, Drennan, Kevin Glackin and Graham Henderson.

They continue to reunite for occasional concerts every few years. The 2022 line up is Lunny, Spillane, Donald, O'Neill, Eccles, Drennan, Bradley and Henderson.<ref>Moving Hearts will play their rescheduled show at 3Olympia Theatre on Tuesday 10th May 2022.</ref>

Discography

Studio albums

• Moving Hearts (1981)<ref name="LarkinGE"/>
• Dark End of the Street (1982)<ref name="LarkinGE"/>
• The Storm (1985)<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

Live albums

• Live Hearts (1983)<ref name="LarkinGE"/>
• Live in Dublin (Recorded 2007, released 2008)
• Live in Dublin Vinyl Double Album (Recorded 2007, released 2020)

Compilation albums

• Anthology (1981) – Vinyl LP with 9 tracks from two studio albums (Moving Hearts & Dark End of the Street)<ref name="Anthology1981LPdiscogs">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Dark End of the Street (1981) – Musicassette with two entire studio albums (Moving Hearts & Dark End of the Street)<ref name="DEofS1981MCdiscogs">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Dark End of the Street (1982) – Vinyl LP with 10 tracks from two studio albums (Moving Hearts & Dark End of the Street)<ref name="CompLP1982TracksDiscogs">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Dónal Lunny's Definitive Moving Hearts (2003) – CD with 13 tracks<ref name="DLDMHCD2003AllMusic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• The Platinum Collection (2007) – CD with 14 tracks<ref name="TPCCD2007Discogs">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Filmography

• Live in Dublin (Recorded 2007, released 2008) – DVD

External links

• Moving Hearts Biography. Page at Tara Records website.