| The Fureys | |
|---|---|
Finbar & Eddie Furey, Musikhalle, Hamburg, in October 1974 |
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Furey Family |
| Origin | Ballyfermot, Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Folk music |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Associated acts | Finbar FureyDavey Arthur |
| Website | The Fureys.com |
| Past members | |
| Finbar Furey Eddie Furey Paul Furey (deceased) Davey Arthur |
|
The Fureys are an Irish male folk band of four brothers - Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George, from Ballyfermot, Dublin. They have also been credited as The Fureys and Davey Arthur.
The group formed in 1978 and consisted initially of four brothers.[1]
Prior to the band two of the brothers toured as a duo known simply by their names as Eddie and Finbar Furey. Their brother Paul Furey had, together with Davey Arthur and Brendan Leeson, a band called The Buskers. Both were part of a successful tour through Germany called the "Irish Folk Festival", first in 1974, where they performed as The Furey Brothers and later as The Furey Family. Here they were joined by their father Ted, a famous fiddler, who was 73 at that time. Ted Furey had recorded a solo fiddle album Toss the Feathers released by the Outlet label in 1973.[2]
In 1981, The Fureys released their most successful single "When You Were Sweet Sixteen", becoming a worldwide hit, reaching #14 on the UK Singles Chart,[3] #1 on the Irish Singles Chart and #9 on the Australian Singles Chart.[4] "The Green Fields of France" also gave them an Irish #1, remaining in the single charts for twenty eight weeks. They also had two Top 40 British albums called Golden Days and At the End of the Day.[5]
Other notable songs include "Gallipoli", "The Red Rose Cafe", and "Steal Away". As of January 2008, the band is still recording and touring. In 2008 the band celebrated their 30th anniversary.
Finbar left the band to begin his own solo career and Eddie, George and Paul reformed with Davey Arthur to became a successful band. Paul Furey died of bowel cancer in 2002, with a memorial service also held for his family and friends in Melbourne, Australia.
All four of the brothers are married with children.
Finbar and Eddie Furey began playing and singing professionally at the age of nine when they busked on trains going to football matches, at race courses and everywhere they'd get an audience.Finbar with his father Ted, a fiddle player and Ronnie Drew began the famous trad music sessions at O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin. When Finbar was thirteen he got his first bag and chanter (a half set of pipes) and when he was fifteen he won the All Ireland junior championships for pipes. Within three years of this Finbar won twenty-three senior championships including three senior All Irelands and also won a couple of duet championships with brother Eddie. The two boys plus Ted Furey, their father, also won the Ulster senior trio championships and finally in 1966 Eddie and Finbar Furey won the international folk award in Tralee. Eddie And Finbar left Ireland for Edinburgh, Scotland in 1967 and fast became a leading folk act on the UK folk scene. Eddie played 6 & 12 string guitars, bhodran, mandolin,fiddle and vocals while Finbar played Uilleann Pipes and whistle. This was innovative as guitar was not seen as a trad instrument. At this time too, Finbar was looking for a new whistle to replace a bamboo one he had played for years and asked his friend Bernard Overton to make one for him. After a summer of experimenting with Bernard doing the metal work and Finbar tuning and testing they came up with what became the Overton Low Whistle. They won many accolades including single of the year by John Peel for their single of Gerry Rafferty's 'Her Father Didn't Like Me Anyway.' In 1969 Finbar was asked by Paddy Clancy to replace Tommy Makem who had just left the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem to pursue a solo career. He brought Eddie with him and added the 5 string banjo into his repertoire then alongside the pipes.After 3 years touring the world with the Clancy's Finbar and Eddie returned to their original duo format and toured Germany opening the first German 'Irish Folk Festival.' In 1978 they asked brothers Paul and George with their band maate in 'The Buskers', Davey Arthur, to join them. And so the Fureys and Davey Arthur formed.