| Crystal Swing | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Lisgoold, Cork, Ireland |
| Genres | Country and Western Country and Irish |
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Website | crystalswing.com |
| Members | |
| Mary Murray-Burke Dervla Burke Derek Burke |
|
Crystal Swing is a new wave Country and Western and Country and Irish musical group, from Lisgoold, Cork, Ireland. The family group is made up of mother Mary Murray-Burke and her teenage children Dervla and Derek Burke.[1]
The group rose to national fame and/or notoriety in February 2010 when a YouTube video of their single "He Drinks Tequila" became a viral sensation[2] after their video was posted by several well-known bloggers including drag performer Panti[3] and comedy writers Robert Popper and Graham Linehan.[4] A few days later the video was posted by Sean Moncrieff on the website of radio station Newstalk.[5] The video achieved 80,000 hits in four days and as of 2 April 2010 the group's video have collectively received over 1,000,000 hits on YouTube. "He Drinks Tequila" gained international recognition on 3 March when American chat show host and American Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres[6] sent a link to the YouTube video on her official Twitter page. Despite being offered to perform on Newstalk, Crystal Swing opted to perform on the RTÉ flagship show The Late Late Show, the longest running chat show in the world, who demanded exclusive rights.Despite their sudden rise to fame, the band has come under some criticism, most notably from Ian O'Doherty in the Irish Independent.[7] Derek mentioned on The Late Late Show that he is a fan of the showbands, and is influenced by Brendan Bowyer and Declan Ryan. He also performed The Hucklebuck on the show.
On 17 March 2010 (Saint Patrick's Day), U.S. TV host Ellen DeGeneres showed a clip of Crystal Swing on her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[8] On 18 March 2010, the single "He Drinks Tequila" entered the Irish Singles Chart at number 18.[9]
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Early in the year, Crystal Swing appeared on satellite television show, Rural TV. This video was then posted on YouTube, and immediately gained a reaction, gaining thousands of views daily. TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted about the group.[10] On 12 March, they made their first live television appearance on Irish television on The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy. On 15 March, they appeared on Newstalk 106-108fm with Seán Moncrieff, and on 16 March they appeared on The Afternoon Show. Later in the month they made appearances on Xposé and Ireland AM. On 6 April, they flew to Hollywood to make an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The show was recorded on Thursday 8 April, and was broadcasted in America on Monday, April 12.[11] The group are due to start a nationwide tour on May 10. They also plan to play in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in early December.[12]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRL [13] |
UK |
||
| 2008 | Sweet Dreams
|
— | — |
| 2010 | The Best Years Of Our Lives | 56 | — |
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRL [14] |
|||
| 2010 | "He Drinks Tequila" | 18 | The Best Years Of Our Lives |
| "The Hucklebuck" | 42 | ||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart. | |||