Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys are a Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA. First playing together in the basement of a friend's barbershop, they blended Oi!, Irish music, and hardcore. Their influences include such outfits as Stiff Little Fingers, The Pogues, The Clash, AC/DC, and the Swinging Utters. The band has made a name for itself and built a following by their non stop touring all over the world and their famous St. Patrick's Day weekend shows, which are held in Boston. Dropkick Murphys also support unions and some of their songs reflect this.



Dropkick Murphys were originally formed in 1996. The band put out a series of EPs and were signed by Hellcat Records. In 1998, they released their first full length album, Do or Die. Lead singer Mike McColgan left the band later that year and was replaced by The Bruisers lead singer Al Barr. In 1999, they released their follow-up album, The Gang's All Here. In 2001 they released their third album, Sing Loud, Sing Proud!. The album showcased their developing sound, and included collaborations with Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan and Cock Sparrer's Colin McFaull. It also marked a significant lineup change for the band. Original guitarist Rick Barton was replaced by former The Ducky Boys guitarist, James Lynch and Marc Orrell, and additional instruments were added and played by new members Ryan Foltz and Spicy McHaggis.

Their next album, Blackout, was released in 2003. The new album included the radio hit "Walk Away," as well as the song "Fields of Athenry." Notably "The Dirty Glass" with female vocals from Stephanie Dougherty (Deadly Sins) is a song about a bar in Quincy, Massachusetts called Darcy's. Around the same time the band released a re-working of the Boston Red Sox anthem, Tessie, which then became the official song of the Boston Red Sox 2004 winning World Series run. "Tessie" was also used throughout the major motion picture Fever Pitch which starred Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore and was included on the EA Sports MVP Baseball 2005 soundtrack. The band was even invited to the premiere of the movie which was held at Fenway Park where the video was also shot. In 2005, the Dropkick Murphys released "Singles Collection Volume 2", featuring covers, b-sides, and other material that didn't make it onto previous albums, and the band contributed a recording of "We Got the Power" to Rock Against Bush, Volume 2.

Their fifth studio album, The Warrior's Code, was released on June 21, 2005. It features the singles "Sunshine Highway", "The Walking Dead", "The Warrior's Code" as well as the bonus track, "Tessie". It also includes a song that was inspired by a Woody Guthrie poem the band found in his archives named "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" which is featured in the 2006 film The Departed, Martin Scorsese's adaptation of the Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs (Scorsese mentioned the band in an interview after he won his first Oscar).

The song "Last Letter Home", contains excerpts from personal letters between Sgt. Andrew Farrar, his mother and his wife. The following is taken from the album notes:

We had already finished this song that was based on general correspondences to & from the soldiers serving in Iraq, when we were contacted by the family of Sgt. Andrew Farrar who had recently died while serving there. The family wanted to tell us he was a big supporter of the Dropkick Murphys. They also passed on a letter that he had written to his mother shortly before his death in which he thanks her for sending him a Dropkick Murphys CD & said that if anything should happen to him while in Iraq, he would like one of our songs played at his funeral. He also left behind a wife, Melissa and two young boys Tyler & Liam. His tour of duty in Iraq was coming to an end & he was due to come home & renew his wedding vows with Melissa to another song of ours, "Forever". Sgt Farrar died on January 28th, on his 31st birthday. We were present at his funeral to grant his wish and played "Fields of Athenry" as his casket entered the church. This song was re-written to include excerpts from that letter.

In 2007, the band headlined their first ever Arena show at Agganis Arena in Boston .

The Dropkick Murphys just recently finished recording their sixth studio album, tentatively titled The Meanest of Times, which is due for release on September 18, 2007].