GIG REVIEW – The Mary Wallopers / Brògeal

GIG REVIEW

THE MARY WALLOPERS

Special Guests

Brògeal

Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow

Thurs. December 19

I’d been following the fortunes of The Mary Wallopers for a wee while before I actually got to catch them live for the first time in Glasgow just before Christmas.
I’d considered heading along to TRNSMT on the Sunday during the summer purely to see them, but then realised they had an early afternoon slot, which was only 30 minutes, so I gave it a miss.

However, I noticed they were playing a few nights at the Barrowland in my dear green city and managed to buy a couple of tickets to see them on Thursday, December 19.

“The Barras” is a venue I’ve been attending since before it opened for live music gigs, during the very late 1970s/early 1980s it was the home of a roller skating “disco”, which I can assure you it was not for the faint-hearted.

The futuristic film Rollerball had been released in the mid-70s and a fair number of those who attended the skating days at Barrowland had one aim only, to re-enact the senseless violence scenes from the movie, unleashing chaos if not death on unwitting participants rolling around to the latest chart hits on an old dance floor in Glasgow’s east end.

Teenage hoodlums would hold onto the handrail on the periphery waiting patiently on a tight pack of skaters before launching themselves into them as they passed, which would often end with piles of people lying on the famous ballroom’s floor with skates in the air. I can still hear the screams and shouts of confused skaters.

The Barras is a place I’ve been to countless times since and it hasn’t changed very much, apart from the removal of the handrail, in the near half-century since I first climbed the stairs. It’s a place with a special atmosphere and following the closure of the Glasgow Apollo it filled the void and became the go-to place for touring acts to perform in the city. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some brilliant bands over the years. The Clash, The Ramones, The Pogues with both Kirsty MacColl and Joe Strummer in the line-up, and just over a week before The Mary Wallopers came to town I was there to see The Damned put on an incredible show, that belied the age of its members.

So I found myself back in the Barras again. The Irish boys had initially caught my attention as much by their haircuts and fashion style as by their sound. I was intrigued, and that was followed by my admiration after seeing them take a firm stance in opposition to the so-called “Ireland is full” “patriots” who’ve been levelling their hatred at refugees in fairly recent times.

So, I was looking forward to catching the boys from Dundalk and I’d heard from a friend that their show a couple of nights earlier had been great.

My wife was meant to be attending with me but illness meant she had to give it a miss, her uncle Barry was happy to take her ticket and come along with me to see the band.

Support for the night were Brògeal, from Falkirk, who I had seen on the Friday at TRNSMT on the River Stage and was suitably impressed – so much so that I went along to see them play at St Luke’s some months later, an excellent modern venue in an old church in the Calton just a stone’s throw from the Barras.

It’s not the first time they’ve shared a stage with the Wallopers and again they did not disappoint. The band members all met as they travelled to Celtic games on the same supporters bus from Falkirk.

They took their name from a travelling band of Scottish clansmen, who would perform for payment during times of peace, otherwise they would be fighting. Brògeal openly admit that their song, Roving Falkirk Bairn, was stolen from another local musician, Joe Allison, with the lyrics re-written.

It was a great way to warm up for the main act of the night and I’m sure there would have been a good few in the crowd searching YouTube and music streaming apps to hear their songs again.

Admittedly, I rolled up on the night not knowing all of The Mary Wallopers’ songs, although almost all of the songs they do perform are traditional numbers written by others. I had purchased their album Irish Rock n Roll some time previously, and was really impressed with the three original songs they’ve written themselves and included on the album; The Idler, Vultures of Christmas, and Gates of Heaven. All three songs contain serious messages. To the best of my knowledge, their debut album didn’t feature any original works (but I don’t own a copy of it).

The Hendy brothers, Charles and Andrew, and Sean McKenna, are backed by a band of talented musicians and the old ballroom place was packed as they took to the stage.

A personal highlight for me was Madam, I’m a Darlin. The majority of the crowd had turned up for a Hooley and they certainly got it with Holy Ground particularly raucous.

My only complaint of the evening that when the Dundalk lads were playing more sombre or serious numbers, many in the crowd remained tuned into their original party frequency when a bit better order was required. I thought to myself, Christy Moore, would never put up with this!

All in all a very good night in the run-up to Christmas, and confirmation that the band’s original songs, especially Gates of Heaven, are as good if not better than anything else they’ve borrowed from others and will last the test of time.

Michael Pringle is a journalist from Glasgow. He is a member of the Garngad Millburn CSC and has been a regular contributor to More than 90 Minutes since 2004.