Horslips

Horslips
Horslips performing at the 2014 blacksheep Festival at Bonfeld (Germany)
Background information
Origin	Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Celtic rock, progressive rock
Years active	1970–1980 2004–present (intermittent)
Website	Horslips.ie
Members	Eamon Carr Barry Devlin John Fean Jim Lockhart Charles O'Connor Ray Fean

Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".

Horslips were one of Ireland's leading rock groups of their era. Although they had limited commercial success in their own lifetime, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the O2 Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.

Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.

The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.