Crystal Swing | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Lisgoold,Cork, Ireland |
| Genres | Country and Western Irish showband Country and Irish |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Members | Mary Murray-Burke Dervla Burke Derek Burke |
| Website | crystalswing.com |
Crystal Swing are a new waveCountry and Western, andCountry and Irishshowband, fromLisgoold, County Cork, Ireland. The family group is made up of mother Mary Murray-Burke and her children Dervla Burke and Derek Burke.[1]
The group rose to national fame in February 2010 when a video of "He Drinks Tequila" became a viral 'sensation'[2] after their video was posted by several well-known bloggers including Irishdrag performerPanti[3] and comedy writersRobert Popper andGraham Linehan.[4] A few days later the video was posted bySean Moncrieff on the website of Irish radio stationNewstalk.[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 onYouTube. "He Drinks Tequila" gained international recognition on 3 March when American chat show host andAmerican Idol judgeEllen DeGeneres[6] sent a link to the YouTube video on her official Twitter page. Despite being offered to perform onNewstalk, Crystal Swing opted to perform on theRTÉ flagship showThe Late Late Show.
On 17 March 2010 (Saint Patrick's Day), US TV hostEllen DeGeneres showed a clip of Crystal Swing on her show,The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[7]
On 18 March 2010, the single "He Drinks Tequila" entered theIrish Singles Chart at number 18.[8]
In 2010, Crystal Swing appeared on satellite television show,Rural TV. A video of their appearance was then posted on YouTube, and immediately gained thousands of views daily. TV talk show hostEllen DeGeneres tweeted about the group.[9] On 12 March, they made their first live television appearance on Irish television onThe Late Late Show withRyan Tubridy. On 15 March, they appeared onNewstalk 106-108fm withSeán Moncrieff, and on 16 March they appeared onThe Afternoon Show. Later in the month they made appearances onXposé andIreland AM. On 6 April, they flew to Hollywood to make an appearance onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show. The show was recorded on Thursday 8 April, and was broadcast in America on Monday, 12 April.[10]
After their initial media exposure, the band undertook an extensive tour of the major venues in Ireland with a five-piece band and support acts. The band has appeared with stars such asLily Allen andBonnie Tyler as well as most of the home-grown Irish stars of the music industry.[citation needed]
Since 2010, Crystal Swing have continued to tour and have featured on many mainly Irish TV and Radio shows including Living with Lucy, Celebrity Bainisteoir, Driving me Crazy, Republic of Telly, Celebrity Head Chef, Charity ICA Bootcamp, Mastermind and many others.
The band have also performed in London, Portugal and the Caribbean.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRL [11] | UK | ||
| 2008 | Sweet Dreams
| — | — |
| 2010 | The Best Years of Our Lives
| 56 | — |
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRL [11] | |||
| 2010 | "He Drinks Tequila" | 18 | The Best Years of Our Lives |
| "The Hucklebuck" | 42 | ||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart. | |||
