KNACKER'S YARD was formed by a group of friends in the spring of 2012 to perform primarily traditional Celtic and English folk songs, intrumentals and ballads dating from the 1600's up to the 1960's. Their repertoire includes songs made popular by voices such as Ewan MacColl, Shirley Collins, Luke Kelly, Ronnie Drew, Enoch Kent, Andy Irvine, Paul Brady and well-known musical groups such as the Dubliners, The Pogues, Corries, The Wolfe Tones, Planxty, De Danaan, and the Bothy Band to name a few.
After the first year of casual rehearsals, the group had become an ensemble of six musicians; tenor banjo, five-string banjo, bodhran, mandolin, steel-string guitar, vocals and electric bass guitar.
KNACKER'S YARD now present their first self-recorded demo, the "High Street Demo" which was recorded live off the floor during an evening rehearsal in January 2014. Although not initially intended for release, the group felt that this recording was an accurate representation of the band at the time, capturing through the simple recording the energy of the band.
The song selection on the demo represents a third of the early repertoire of the band. While arranged by the group, the songs on this demo are closest in presentation to the musical style of The Dubliners, a style the group has chosen for it's clear, direct and energetic presentation. In addition to this, the group brings in elements from the youthful urban revival of traditional music in the 60's and 70's and also from the humble, stripped down presentation such as can be found on many of the more traditional singer/songwriter albums of the 1960's.
Traditional music enthusiasts will appreciate the song-tales of lost love and betrayal, the misdeeds of ramblers and rakes, emigration, hard drinking and hard living, sea shanties and worker's songs. In addition to these ballads and chorus songs, KNACKER'S YARD also adds the explosive musical energy of traditional instrumental, reels and jigs.
