' +
'Stiff Little Fingers are one of the greatest punk bands not only to come out of Ireland but out of the whole world. They were one of the bands that ' +
'shaped the punk scene that developed in the late seventies. Much of their music of that period dealt with the situation in the unique enviornment in which ' +
'they grew up - Northern Ireland. One of our fourm members, Jens Holtappels, has contributed a very interesting article entitled ' +
'Northern Ireland as reflected in the lyrics of Stiff Little Fingers which is well worth a read.';
spotlightContent["Rory Gallagher"] = '
' +
'Rory Gallagher was one of the most highly regarded musicians to come out of Ireland. He was a brilliant guitarist, among ' +
'the world\'s very best, and wrote some great rock and blues rock music. He lived for his music and had a very strong-minded ' +
'determination to stay true to his musical instincts never compromising his independent spirit. ' +
'He was in his element when playing live on stage and was a very exciting player to watch. ' +
'His music and playing have inspired many well known rockers and over a decade after his death he still has a huge loyal ' +
'fanbase many who travel from all over the world to attend festivals devoted to his music such as the annual festival ' +
'in Rory\'s birthplace, Ballyshannon.
' +
'All the past spotlights have been shone on undisputed legends of the Irish rock scene, but this time we are going to focus on a band ' +
'consisting of only a drummer and guitarist who have not even released a debut album at the time of writing. That should give you ' +
'some indication of the high esteem IrishRockers.com has for Jung Turks. This Galway based band of two brothers ' +
'(James and Edward Rooney, originally from Westmeath) are something special; they combine their superb musicianship on both the drums ' +
'and guitar with an eclectic mix of genres (including Latin jazz, classical guitar, Steve Vai style guitar rock, surf guitar) to create ' +
'intricate and highly original instrumental rock music. Most importantly, their music makes great listening - this is some of the best instrumental rock music out there. ' +
'So, check out their profile and then follow the MySpace link over to their MySpace page and give their stuff a listen and you\'re in for a treat! ' +
'Live Fast, Die Jung.';
artistLogo["Mamas Boys"] = "mamasboyslogo.gif";
spotlightContent["Mamas Boys"] = '| Now we point the spotlight back to the eighties and to the hard rockin Mama\'s Boys. These boys (3 brothers from Co. Fermanagh) ' + 'made a name for themselves internationally on the hard rock/heavy metal scene. For a blast from the past, check out the videos that have been added ' + 'to their profile (Mama Weer All Crazee Now, Needle in the Groove, Runaway Dreams & Straight Forward). | ' + ' |
' +
'Barry McCabe is a blues rock guitar maestro from Co. Cavan. ' +
'Barry\'s playing is influenced by his heros Rory Gallagher and Peter Green with a Celtic twist added to some of his music for which he has coined the term \'Celtic Blues\'. ' +
'His album \'The Peace Within\' features a unique combination of blues guitar and uilleann pipes played by none other than Davy Spillane. ' +
'Barry\'s most recent album \'Beyond The Tears\' features guest musicians Pat McManus (ex-Mama\'s Boys, who also happens to be a cousin of Barry\'s), Johnny Fean (ex-Horslips) and Mark Feltham (ex-Rory Gallagher\'s band). ' +
'Barry does a lot of gigging all around Europe. Recently Barry has toured with ex-Rolling Stones guitarist, Mick Taylor. Check our gig guide for Barry\'s upcoming shows. You can catch an interview with Barry and some videos of him playing live on our Barry McCabe page.' +
'
' +
"Have a listen to Serotonin by Simple Kid and you may come to the realisation that Simple Kid is one of the most talented, " +
"yet under-rated Irish artists of recent years. To date, Ciaran McFeely has released 2 albums under the guise of " +
"Simple Kid - SK1 in 2003 and SK2 in 2006. Both have earned accolades from music critics but this music deserves more widespread exposure, " +
"this is stuff that all fans of good music should get a chance to hear." +
"
' +
'Not one of the most well known Irish bands but more of an \'undiscovered gem\', Mellow Drops have been together in various forms for the best part of 20 years. Despite having been together for so long, they only managed to release their debut album, \'Where do we go from here?\', in 2007, so they do tend to stay true to their name and chug along in the slow lane. Their music, however, is not all mellowness - it\'s a diverse, eclectic mix of noise rock sounds with spacey touches and prog rock leanings. Their songs are well crafted and the musicianship is highly accomplished. The band is currently gigging in New Zealand where some of the band members have migrated. Check out their track \'Phantom\' in our very own Irish Rock Discovery Jukebox and follow the links on our Mellow Drops page to their website and My Space page to check out some more of their very interesting and enjoyable music.' +
'