Paul Brady to release box set “The Archive”

Release to launch with Ireland and London dates.

After many years of trying to figure out what to do with his vast archive, Paul Brady finally dusted off the crates and personally assembled a selection from his long and storied career. “The Archive” is due out 28th March 2025, via the Last Music Company, and supplements not only Brady’s impressive album catalogue but also the recently published autobiography “Crazy Dreams”.

“The  Archive” comprises four compact discs containing demos, acoustic rarities, collaborations with other artists and rare live recordings that amply fill any gaps in his published work to date. In addition to the four discs, it is accompanied by a 12” square book housing over 70 pages crammed full of photos and images of the assorted memorabilia that he has accumulated since the late 1950s.

As a teenager at college in Dublin during the mid ‘60s Brady played with a succession of local Irish groups which included The Inmates, The Kult, Rootzgroup and Rockhouse. Having discovered the embryonic folk scene, he sold his prized Fender Mustang electric guitar to Phil Lynott replacing it with a Harmony Sovereign acoustic.

He joined The Johnstons for five years and recorded seven albums with them.  He lived in London and New York with the group before returning to Dublin in 1974 at the request of Liam Ó O’Flynn to replace the departing Christy Moore in Planxty.  Following the inevitable demise Planxty a year later, Brady went on to perform as a duo with fellow ex-member Andy Irvine, recording the milestone “Andy Irvine and Paul Brady” album.

By 1978, he had enough material and a sufficient following to make a solo record, and the resultant “Welcome Here Kind Stranger” was voted Folk Album of the Year in Melody Maker.   “Hard Station” (1981) revealed a very different Brady setting his compositions in a new, contemporary setting.   It also introduced the likes of Tina Turner, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Art Garfunkel, Cher, Cliff Richard, Phil Collins, Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton and more to Brady’s original material, which they have each subsequently graced with their own covers.

Brady has received Lifetime Achievement awards from both The Irish Recorded Music Association and the BBC.  He was inducted into the British Composers and Songwriters Academy in 2004 and the (Irish) IMRO Songwriters Academy in 2013 and was further honoured by the President of Ireland with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.  His autobiography “Crazy Dreams” is published by Merrion Press. The Preview single, ‘Let’s Get Together’ has been released on digital platforms and you can listen to it below.

Brady will perform in Donegal, Dublin and London in April 2025 to launch “The Archive”. A list of confirmed tour dates at the time of this writing can be found below and tickets obtained via this link.  Here are the dates:

Thursday, 3 April, Bush Hall, London, UK
Friday, 4 April, Bush Hall, London, UK
Friday, 11 April, Vicar Street, Dublin, IRE
Saturday, 12 April, Vicar Street, Dublin, IRE
Sunday, 13 April, Mt. Errigal Hotel, County Donegal, IRE

About Richard Parkinson 262 Articles
London based self-diagnosed music junkie with tastes extending to all points of big tent americana and beyond. Fan of acts and songs rather than genres.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments