A lone Wolfe Tone comes
In what has become an annual date, Derek Warfield brings his version of the Wolfe Tones to The Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar, this coming Bank Holiday Monday, August 6th, for what is bound to be a rousing show if you`re into that kind of thing.
Warfield, a founding member of the rebel song group who left the fold at the turn of the century, never fails to pack the place out and this year should be no different. He comes with an all-new six piece outfit, a continuity Wolfe Tones if you like, and doors open at 8.30pm with tickets available at the door.
The Wolfe Tones have been cheered, applauded and booed off stages all over Ireland and Europe for over 35 years. But in recent years the question has been: Which Wolfe Tones do you prefer?
The split can be traced back to sometime around 1989, when Derek Warfield signed a contract allocating rights to an American distributor. The contents of this contract were apparently misrepresented to the other members of the band, resulting in a clause that prevented them from recording. Unable to reverse this agreement, they continued to tour albeit without any new material.
In 1995, Derek Warfield released a studio album entitled "Legacy" as he was still eligible to record under his own name. With Derek on vocals and mandolin, the music on this album was performed by a new band, although he was still in fact touring with The Wolfe Tones. Derek`s solo releases continued on bi-annually. At shows you had the laughable sight of two merchandise stands: one for Derek, and the other for the Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle and Tommy Byrne!
Then in 2001, after a Limerick gig, Derek finally departed the band under circumstances that remain unknown to this day. Brian, Noel and Tommy would later go on to release a World Cup cash-in "You`ll Never Beat the Irish", a dreadful departure from their usual acoustic style. This was to be their last all-original compositions, with subsequent albums being comprised of a few new songs with the bulk being made up of re-recordings and re-releases of previously heard tracks. This version of the Wolfe Tones continue to tour as the `official Wolfe Tones` but as a three-piece band comprising Brian, Noel and Tommy.
Derek Warfield recorded songs dealing with the Irish role in the American Civil War among other Irish-abroad issues, while The Wolfe Tones have examined new aspects of The Troubles that even they didn`t see the first time around, even going as far as recording songs usually associated with unionist tradition!
Live, Derek tends to favour the more traditional acoustic style, with the emphasis on playing, whilst the other three still reach for the roof with a rabble-rousing sing-a-long style.