Dropkick Murphys play Stockwell, London

Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996.  Click on the Flaming Clef to play the track.

Stockwell is quintessential inner city London and is only a short walk down Stockwell Road to Brixton which was the epicentre of people's outrage at Thatcher's Imperialistic narcissism. The Brixton riots happened in 1981 and, at the time, we thought we were about to change the world. I wish the Dropkick Murphys had been around at the time because I think they would have provided a special kind of stimulus to People Power with their brand of pacey Irish stomp and real-life lyrics.

When they wrote their first song, Bar-room Hero, they were surprised to hear how much the vocal melody sounded like old Irish music they heard as children. "It dawned on us that Irish music was a bigger influence on all of us than we'd realized," said Ken Casey.  "Growing up in Boston, every time you went to a wedding or a wake or your grandparents' house, you heard that music.  I went through a phase of hating it just because it's what my (folks) listened to”.

The band will be appearing at O2 Academy Brixton, 211 Stockwell Road, Stockwell, Greater London SW9 9SL on Saturday March 21, 2015
at 7:00 PM