The Johnstons were an Irish close-harmony folk band, founded in Slane, County Meath, Ireland, consisting of siblings Adrienne, Luci and Michael Johnston.
The Johnstons began performing in the early 1960s in Slane. They signed to Pye Records in 1965 and recorded Ewan MacColl's "The Travelling People", a major hit for them. They added Mick Moloney, who was then becoming a major figure in the Irish music scene, and Paul Brady, while Michael Johnston departed. They continued recording to great success in Ireland, then signed to Transatlantic Records in London, releasing a United Kingdom album called The Johnstons in 1968. This was followed by two albums released on the same day, the traditional The Barleycorn and more contemporary Give a Damn.
When the Johnstons moved to London to further their career, Luci Johnston resigned and stayed in Dublin, leaving Adrienne as the only original Johnston in the group. After moving to London, the Johnstons toured and appeared on British television and radio. They also toured the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Germany, then had a minor hit in the United States with a rendition of "Both Sides Now", by Joni Mitchell. In the United States, they played at the 1971 Philadelphia Folk Festival, and performed at the Gerde's Folk City, and with Bonnie Raitt at Tufts College, Boston; they were also among the first bands to perform in the opening weeks of The Bottom Line nightclub in New York City in February/March 1974.
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Links to Peel[]
If I Sang My Song - The Johnstons, Transatlantic 1972 Complete
The Johnstons were the kind of folk group whose close-harmony sound found favour with BBC radio producers, and in the late '60s and early '70s they appeared on both folk music shows and middle-of-the-road programmes like the non-Peel Night Ride. Nonetheless, JP liked them enough to play a couple of tracks from their current LP, If I Sang My Song, on Top Gear in early 1972 and booked them for a session, at a time when he was featuring an increasing amount of Irish music on his shows. (Although no line-up is given on the session listing in Ken Garner's The Peel Sessions, on the album the group had become a duo, comprising Adrienne Johnston and Paul Brady and were performing their own compositions rather than traditional material.) On one occasion he said he'd been offered the chance to play football with them but chickened out after seeing Gaelic football on TV.[1]
After they split up in 1976, singer Paul Brady did a Peel session under his own name in 1978, the year in which his album Welcome Home Kind Stranger was chosen as Melody Maker's Folk Album Of The Year. Brady went on to have a successful solo career in the 1980s and '90s, touring with Eric Clapton, having his songs recorded by Tina Turner and Bonnie Raitt and being praised by Bob Dylan. However, despite this acclaim, it seems that he disappeared from Peel playlists after 1980, although he did do a session for Andy Kershaw in 1986.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- None
Sessions[]
One session. No known commercial release.
1. Recorded 1972-03-27. First broadcast: 14 April 1972. Repeated: 26 May 1972:
- Ready Teddy / Won’t You Come With Me / Continental Trailways Bus / If I Sang My Song
- Paul Brady
One session. No known commercial release.
1. Recorded 1978-11-20. First broadcast 28 November 1978. Repeated: 20 December 1978.
- The Hunter’s Purse / The Sailor On The Rock // Crazy Dreams // Jigs // Mulqueeny’s (Hornpipe) / Fergal Of Gara (18th Chieftan) / Drag Her Round The Road
Other Shows Played[]
- 25 February 1972: Border Child (LP - If I Sang My Song) Transatlantic TRA 251
- 14 March 1972: Bread And Wine (LP - If I Sang My Song) Transatlantic
- Paul Brady
- 09 February 1977 (& Andy Irvine): Arthur McBride And The Sergeant (album - Andy Irvine / Paul Brady) Mulligan LUN 008
- As I Roved Out: A Century Of Folk Music (1999-09-22): interview clips