Shillelagh Sisters
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The Shillelagh Sisters were a UK female group consisting of Jacquie O'Sullivan (vocals), Lynder Halpin (double basValentinejoesmiths), Patricia “Trisha” O’Flynn (saxophone) and Maria “Mitzi” Ryan (drums). Their music style was a mixture of rockabilly and punk, probably because Jacquie’s and Lynder’s boyfriends were Boz Boorer and Phil Bloomberg, guitarist and bassist, respectively, of the rockabilly group the Polecats.
The group was founded in early 1983. Legend has it that the group was formed when the girls met in a men’s restroom at a party. The group had little experience playing instruments, but learned all along the way. Initially the group had two more members called Helen and Amice, which both played guitars.
With this lineup, they toured playing at London clubs, appearing as the supporting act for the likes of the Pogues (then named Pogue Mahone) or Bad Manners. They mostly played covers of rockabilly tunes. However, they soon lost both guitarists and so Boz Boorer played the guitar on their shows. Phil Bloomberg managed them.
After gaining a substantial club following and some press coverage, they signed a record deal with CBS records. A move which Halpin later regretted: “It was not particularly what I wanted to because I can’t stand majors. I would have gone for an independent like Rough Trade and keep more control over what we were gonna do. The records we did with CBS were not really what I would have wanted them to have been.”
Tensions arose when recording the first single, ‘Give Me My Freedom’. CBS felt the final result wasn't commercial enough and so it was re-done with a different producer, losing the band’s original sound in the mix, Halpin later commented. The A&R person that signed them left soon after doing so and the new A&R wasn’t of the band’s liking. And finally, CBS didn't allow Boz Boorer to be a full band member, without letting him appear on the single cover, interviews or the videoclips, probably because they wanted to market the group as a novelty female rockabilly act (although he appeared in early promo pictures).
Despite all these problems, Give Me My Freedom was released in April 1984 on 7” and 12” plus a special edition clover-shaped picture disc. The group had good press coverage by music magazines like Sounds or Debut, also doing some television shows (most notably The Tube) and a John Peel session in Radio One, playing 3 songs: Beetle Bug Bop, Black Cadillac and Romp And Stomp. The Shillelagh Sisters went on tour as the supporting act for British rock band Spear of Destiny . However, all this promotion did not lead to pop success and the single charted poorly at #100 in the UK charts in May 1984.
Soon after, CBS released their second single, the latin-flavoured Passion Fruit, with a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walking as the b-side. The record was remixed by pop mogul Pete Waterman. It failed to gain any interest and didn’t make the UK top 100, peaking in the 140s.
The band was dissatisfied with the way CBS was marketing them and also differences between O’Sullivan/Halpin and O’Flynn/Ryan led to the band's demise in late 1984.
1986-1992
In 1986, Jacquie O’Sullivan and Lynder Halpin created another group called Max Attraction. It was comprised of O’Sullivan, Halpin, Boz Boorer, Phil Bloomberg, Neil Rooney, John Buck, Hilary C. Book, and Shirley. They toured with Gary Glitter and Captain Sensible and did some demos, but nothing got released and the group parted ways a year later.
In 1986 Trisha O'Flynn became part of the female group Coming Up Roses (created by two ex-members of cult band Dolly Mixture), playing the saxophone, but it didn't last long and she, alongside Leigh Luscious (guitar) and Claire Kenny (bass) left the band. The band did not release any record while she was part of it.
In 1988 Jacquie O’Sullivan joined girl band Bananarama, where she enjoyed several UK top 40 hits (including 2 top 5 hits). After promoting a Greatest Hits album and releasing a studio album, she left the group for good in late 1991. She then formed the group Slippry Feet with friend Paul Simper.
Lynder Boorer married Boz and played in some indie bands.
Tyrannical Mex
In 1993 Jacquie O’Sullivan, Lynder and Boz got together again as the Shillelagh Sisters for a Japanese tour. They recorded an album in one day, titled Tyrannical Mex, prior to the tour and then went to Japan with drummer Woodie Taylor. The tour was a success but it didn’t translate into anything more.
Sham’Rock And Roll
In 2001, Jacquie O’Sullivan signed a 3-album deal with AlmaFame records. She released a Slippry Feet album, Freak Time Viewing in late 2001 and in 2002 a Shillelagh Sisters album, titled Sham’Rock and Roll, including the band's demos. Give Me My Freedom and These Boots Are Made For Walking from their CBS days were also included in its demo forms. It also featured two demos from Max Attraction.
Around this time, an official website www.shillelaghsisters.co.uk, featuring a discography and an interview with Lynder, was assembled, but it soon vanished.
A third album from Jacquie O’Sullivan, tentatively titled “The Jacquie O Collection”, featuring new songs and re-recordings of her hits with Bananarama, was announced but the label folded and nothing was released.
Discography
Give Me My Freedom (single, released April 1984). B-side: Teasin’ Cheatin’Man. UK #100
Passion Fruit (single, released 1984) B-side: These Boots Are Made For Walking
Tyrannical Mex (album, released 1993)
Sham’Rock & Roll (album, released 2002)
Links
[1]: Lynder Boorer’s myspace website. [2] Boz Boorer’s myspace website. [3] Official Boz Boorer site. [4]: interview with the band from 1984. [5]: Jacquie O'Sullivan fan group
