Frogtoon Music

The Night Pat Murphy Died by Great Big Sea

Artist Biography For Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea Was A Canadian Folk Rock/celtic Rock Band From Newfoundland And Labrador Best Known For Performing Energetic Rock Interpretations Of Traditional Newfoundland Folk Songs Including Sea Shanties Which Draw From The Island's 500-Year Irish Scottish And Cornish Heritage. The Band Was Very Successful In Canada With Eleven Of Their Albums Being Certified Gold In The Country Including Four Being Certified Platinum And Two Achieving Multi-Platinum Certifications. Between 1996 And 2016 Great Big Sea Was The Sixteenth Best-Selling Canadian Artist In Canada And The Sixth Best-Selling Canadian Band In Canada. While It Has Been Confirmed That The Band Has Officially Retired Former Members Alan Doyle And Séan McCann Have Continued Performing In Their Own Solo Careers Typically Including Music From Great Big Sea In Their Setlists. The Band Played Its First Official Concert On March 11 1993 Opening For The Irish Descendants At Memorial University Of Newfoundland In St. John's Newfoundland. The Founding Band Members Included Alan Doyle Vocals Guitar Bouzouki Mandolin Séan McCann Vocals Bodhrán Guitar Tin Whistle Darrell Power Vocals Bass Guitar Bones And Bob Hallett Vocals Fiddle Accordion Mandolin Concertina Bouzouki Whistles Bagpipes . Power McCann And Hallett Had Already Been Playing Together In Another Band. In The Winter Of 1989 The Band A Six-Piece With Guitar Bass Fiddle Accordion And Mandolin Played Its First Show At The Memorial University's Winter Carnival Talent Show Under The Name "Newfoundland Republican Army" Or NRA And Won First Prize. The Band's Only Other Appearance As NRA Was Later That Winter At The University "Grad House". The Band Then Dropped The Fiddler Accordion Player And The Name. The Band Found Its New Name As Original Bassist Jeff Scott Rented An Apartment On Rankin Street St. John's Where The Members First Met And Discussed The Formation Of The Band. As A Four-Piece The Band First Appeared As "Rankin Street" At A Little Pub In Downtown St. John's Called "The Rose And Thistle" Playing For $100 And Beer. They Played Through Sean McCann's Stereo System As Renting A PA Would Have Cost More Than The Night's Earnings. Susan Hickey Guitar And Vocals Left The Band Months Later To Attend School In Halifax And Was Replaced By Darrell Power. The Band Gained Much Popularity Playing Such Local Pubs As Bridget's And Greensleeves. In 1991 Jeff Scott Was Replaced By Jackie St. Croix On Bass. The Band Released One Recording On Cassette Titled "Rankin Street". In 1997 The Band Reached The Top Ten Of The Canadian RPM Pop Chart With "When I'm Up I Can't Get Down " A Cover Of A Song By The British Folk Group Oysterband. They Performed At The 1999 Stardust Picnic Festival At Historic Fort York Toronto. The Band Won The Entertainer Of The Year Award At The East Coast Music Awards For Every Year Between 1996 And 2000. In 2001 They Decided Not To Submit Their Name For Nomination In Order To Allow Other Bands To Compete. They Have Also Been Nominated For Several Juno Awards Including Group Of The Year In 1998 2005 2009 And 2011. Darrell Power Retired From Great Big Sea In 2003 To Spend More Time With His Family And Friends. Supporting Members Of The Band Include Canadian Freelance Drummer Kris MacFarlane 2002 Drums Accordion Guitar Backing Vocals And Murray Foster 2003 Formerly Of The Band Moxy Früvous Bass Backing Vocals . In Late 2005 The Band Released Its Long-Awaited "traditional" Album The Hard And The Easy On Which They Recorded Their Favourite Newfoundland Party Songs. The Title Of The Album Comes From A Line Of The Song "Tickle Cove Pond" One Of Two Songs On The Album About A Horse Falling Through Ice. On June 13 2007 The Band Announced They Would Return To The Studio With Producer Hawksley Workman. On March 14 2008 The Band Announced That The Title Of The New Album Would Be Fortune's Favour Borrowing A Phrase From One Of The Songs On The Album "England". The Album Was Officially Released On June 24 2008 Across All Of North America. On February 23 2010 Band Member Séan McCann Released His Debut Solo Album Lullabies For Bloodshot Eyes To Pleasing Critical Success. On July 13 2010 Great Big Sea Released Their New Album Safe Upon The Shore In North America. Alan's "From The Road" Blog On The Band's Website Originally Confirmed Its Production In An April Posting Speaking Also Of The Album's Subsequent Release In July. "Nothing But A Song" Was The First Single Off The Bands' Ninth Studio Recording With A Subsequent Tour Kicking Off At The End Of The Summer 2010. Great Big Sea Announced A 'greatest Hits' Album Titled "XX" In October 2012 Accompanied By A 20th Anniversary Tour With 32 Dates In 28 Cities Across The US And Canada Which Kicked Off On March 5 2013 In Los Angeles And Finished In St. John's On April 23 2013. In 2013 McCann Announced That He Would Be Leaving The Band At The End Of The XX Tour Much To The Dismay Of His Bandmates. Struggling To Maintain His New Sobriety He Told His Bandmates In January Of 2013 That XX Would Be His Last Tour With The Band But The Rest Of The Band And Its Management Refused To Announce This Publicly. Finally In November 2013 With XX Almost Over McCann Announced His Departure Himself In A Tweet Feeling That The Fans Needed To Know. While Largely Vilified By Great Big Sea Fans With Little Said By The Band Or Management To Counter This View McCann Claims He Was Devastated By How Great Big Sea Ended And Wishes It Could Have Gone Differently. Following McCann's Departure The Remaining Band Members Spent A Year Or So Trying To Find An Amicable Way That They Could Continue Without Him. Eventually Coming To The Realization That They Didn’t Want To Go On Like That And Happily Retiring The Band.

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