Artist Website: www.whippingboy.net
About Whipping Boy
Whipping Boy's origin story is two teenage cousins Paul Page and Myles McDonnell witness an Echo And The Bunneymen show in 1985 at the SFX in Dublin and were enthralled by the experience and there and then decided that one day they would play in a band and play on that stage (and indeed they did 10 years later as support to Nick Cave). In 1988, joined by two Kildare natives, Fearghal McKee and Colm Hassett, they formed Whipping Boy.
Whipping Boy's first album Submarine was released in 1992. The album was critically acclaimed although not a major commercial success, but it led to a deal with Columbia Records. Their magnum opus Heartworm, recorded at Windmill Lane Studios, was released in 1995 on Columbia. Despite its critical acclaim, Heartworm didn't sell in sufficient numbers to keep their label interested and the band was subsequently dropped from Columbia Records. However the legacy of Heartworm lived on and over the years it has become recognised by many (including this author) as one of the greatest Irish rock albums of all time.
They released a self-financed, self-titled follow up album which again got huge critical acclaim. However, without the backing of a major record company the record once was not a commercial hit. The band had already grown disheartened with their experience and had broken up in 1998, three years before they could afford to release their final album. Despite lack of commercial success, Whipping Boy frequently appear in "best album" and "best band" polls in their native Ireland, and have gained celebrity fans such as Billy Corgan and Lou Reed whe they supported on his 1996 European tour. Lou Reed claimed that if the band's single We Don't Need Nobody Else wasn't a huge hit, he knew nothing about music.
The band reformed in September 2005, announcing several Irish dates. They disbanded again in 2006. McKee and Hassett reformed the band in 2011 without the permission of Page and McDonnell. Their respective roles were assumed by Killian McGowan and Finn O'Connor. This line-up released a single called "No One Takes Prisoners Anymore" before disbanding once more in 2012.
Lineup
- Colm Hassett (drums)
- Myles McDonnell (bass guitar)
- Fearghal McKee (vocals)
- Paul Page (guitar)
Video
Whipping Boy - We dont need nobody else, live 1996
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