Moving Hearts | |
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 Moving Hearts on stage at the Leeds Folk Festival, 1983 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Celtic rock,folk rock |
| Years active | 1981 to 1985 2007 Intermittently later |
| Members | Dónal Lunny Davy Spillane Eoghan O'Neill Keith Donald Noel Eccles Anton Drennan Graham Henderson Liam Bradley |
| Past members | Christy Moore Declan Sinnott Mick Hanly Brian Calnan Declan Masterson Greg Boland Kevin Glackin Matt Kellaghan Flo McSweeney Jimmy Smyth James Delaney |
| Website | movingheartsmusic |
Moving Hearts is an IrishCeltic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps ofHorslips in combiningIrish traditional music withrock and roll, and also added elements ofjazz to their sound.[1]
The group was formed in 1981 whenDónal Lunny (bouzouki) andChristy Moore (vocals, guitar andbodhrán), ofPlanxty, wanted to explore the possibilities of linking contemporary music to Irish traditional music.[2] They initially intended to form a trio with guitaristDeclan Sinnott,[3] but then expanded the group to include established Irish musicians Keith Donald (alto sax), Eoghan O'Neill (bass), Brian Calnan (drums), andDavy Spillane (uilleann pipes).[2] In their first year together, Moving Hearts performed to packed audiences during their three-night-a-week residency at the Baggot Inn onBaggot Street in Dublin.[4]
This laid the basis for a powerful, new Irish sound, which was coupled on the band's first two albums,Moving Hearts andThe Dark End of the Street, with songs of explicit political engagement, often concerning thesituation in Northern Ireland.[2] The band was organised as a cooperative effort, with all profits and costs borne by the seven band members and three members of the road crew.
Calnan was replaced for the group's second album by Matt Kelleghan, and, in 1982, Moore left to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Mick Hanly.[2]
Moving Hearts played many prestigious gigs including theMontreux Jazz Festival,The Bottom Line in New York and theLorient Festival in Brittany, and the line-up with Hanly was recorded on the 1983 albumLive Hearts. They also played on two tracks onVan Morrison's 1983 albumA Sense of Wonder.
For a period after Hanly's departure, Flo McSweeney andAnthony Drennan came in on vocals and lead guitar.[2] The following year the group performed as an instrumental group, recording the albumThe Storm. At this point the line-up consisted of Spillane andDeclan Masterson on uilleann pipes, Lunny on bouzouki, synthesiser & bodhrán, Donald on sax, Noel Eccles on percussion, Matt Kelleghan on drums, O'Neill on bass and Greg Boland on guitar.
The group ceased touring in 1984, appearing only at occasional festivals such as thePreseli Folk Festival[5]–now theFishguard Folk Festival–in 1986. In 1990, the band performed at Dublin'sPoint Theatre for a sold out farewell concert, with McSweeney on vocals.
Moving Hearts re-formed in 2007, announcing concerts inDublin[6] and at theHebridean Celtic Festival inStornoway.[7] The new line-up was: Lunny, Spillane, O'Neill, Donald, Kellaghan, Eccles, Drennan, Kevin Glackin and Graham Henderson.
They continue to reunite for occasional concerts every few years. The 2022 line up is Lunny, Spillane, Donald, O'Neill, Eccles, Drennan, Bradley and Henderson.[8]
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