Music like Black 47

Black 47 was an American Celtic rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by Larry Kirwan and Chris Byrne, and derives its name from a traditional term for the summer of 1847, the worst year of the Great Famine in Ireland.

Kirwan originally arrived in New York City from Wexford aged 19, and played in a succession of bands before teaming with Byrne, a Brooklyn policeman, in 1989. The combination of Kirwan's electric guitar and Byrne's use of traditional Irish instruments initially received a poor reception, but a year later, with the addition of new members Geoff Blythe (founding member of Dexy's Midnight Runners), Fred Parcells and Thomas Hamlin, they were playing regularly at Paddy Reilly's bar on Manhattan's East Side. The band began to play three to five nights a week, and garnered praise for both the socio-political lyrics and "off-the-wall" live shows, quickly drawing a fan base from both the political left and right. Kirwan stated in an interview that the band was "formed to be political", with the socialist lyrics attracting one half of the political spectrum, and the songs of the day-to-day life in America attracting traditionally right-leaning "cops, firemen and construction workers."