Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic punk band formed in Los Angeles in 1994, led by Irish vocalist Dave King, formerly of the hard rock band Fastway. They are signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.
History
Early years
Prior to forming Flogging Molly, Dublin-born Dave King was the lead singer for the heavy metal band Fastway featuring guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke of Motörhead in the early to mid-1980s. He later fronted a hard rock band called Katmandu (1991), featuring Mandy Meyer of Krokus and Asia on guitars. Afterward, King retained a record deal with Epic Records and began to work on a solo album, but began to reconsider his record deal when the label opposed his idea of bringing in traditional Irish instruments. King negotiated out of his record deal to go his own way musically soon after.
In 1993, King met violin player Bridget Regan, guitarist Ted Hutt, bassist Jeff Peters and drummer Paul Crowder,[2] and put together a rock band with a Celtic music influence. They began to play a mix of Irish traditional and rock music. Putting King's poetic lyrics to rocking melodies, they played weekly at a Los Angeles pub called Molly Malone's, building a small but loyal following. Together, they wrote songs such as "Black Friday Rule" and "Selfish Man", which was the beginning of Flogging Molly's sound. Ted and Jeff then left Flogging Molly because an earlier band of theirs, Reacharound, received a record deal. King and Regan began to find new members and the current band was formed.
They continued a routine of playing every Monday night at Molly Malone's. They put out a live album, Alive Behind the Green Door, in 1997. In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, King stated that the band's name comes from the bar (Molly Malone's) that faithfully supported the band from the very beginning, "We used to play there every Monday night and we felt like we were flogging it to death, so we called the band Flogging Molly." They were signed onto SideOneDummy Records after a show when the record company's owners attended a concert and noted their intensity.
The group’s fourth studio album, Float, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in 2008 and produced two well-received singles: "Requiem for a Dying Song" (No. 35 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts)[5] and the title track (No. 40).[5]
March 2010's Live at the Greek Theatre captured a career-spanning Los Angeles, California performance from the year before as a CD/DVD set. In 2011, Flogging Molly appeared in the season premiere of Austin City Limits.[6]
Dave King performing in 2011
2011's Speed of Darkness was the band's first album issued through their own label, Borstal Beat Records.[7]
The band live-streamed a St. Patrick's Day performance on March 17, 2021, from Whelan’s Irish Pub in Dublin, Ireland. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales went toward Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Crew Fund.[9] They co-headlined a tour with Violent Femmes the same year.
Flogging Molly released their seventh studio album, Anthem, in 2022, their first with Rise Records. They co-headlined a tour with The Interrupters the same year.[10]
In November 2023, the band announced the inaugural Shamrock Rebellion Fest, scheduled for March 16, 2024, in Silverado, California, and March 17, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[11] The Road To Rebellion Tour preceded the fest, with support coming from Amigo The Devil.[12]
Flogging Molly performed The Pogues' "The Old Main Drag" at the Sinéad & Shane (billed as "a St. Paddy's Celebration of Sinéad O'Connor and Shane MacGowan") at Carnegie Hall concert in New York City on March 20, 2024. [13]
After a June 20, 2024, fire damaged Molly Malone's Irish Pub, where the band got their start,[14] the band launched a merchandise line to raise money for the venue and staff.[15]
The band began a European tour on July 19, 2024, which ran through September, with stops at several major festivals, followed by a headlining tour of the United States from late September through mid-October 2024.[16]
Salty Dog Cruises (2015–present)
From March 13 to 16, 2015, Flogging Molly began hosting a yearly Caribbean cruise. The 2015 Salty Dog Cruise Cruise[17] featured shows by the band and many others, over three days leaving from Miami to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay on the Norwegian Sky. All bands performed two times on the stages throughout the ship or on the special stage set on Norwegian's private island of Great Stirrup Cay.
On August 21, 2017, the band announced that the 2018 cruise would take place April 20–23, leaving from Miami, sailing to Key West and to Great Stirrup Cay. Originally, the cruise was supposed to take place on the Enchantment of the Seas in 2017; however, the ship was changed, and the Norwegian Sky has been announced. The line-up includes The Offspring, Buzzcocks, The Vandals, Lagwagon, and Mad Caddies, among others.
In late November 2023, the band announced the next Salty Dog Cruise, set for February 17–22, 2025, sailing from Miami to Grand Cayman, and Ochos Rios, Jamaica. As of December 15, 2023, the 2025 cruise was sold out.[19]
Their music ranges from boisterous Celtic punk, like the pirate-themed "Salty Dog", "Cruel Mistress", and "Seven Deadly Sins", or the defiant "What's Left of the Flag", "Drunken Lullabies", and "Rebels of the Sacred Heart", to more somber songs like "Far Away Boys", "The Son Never Shines (On Closed Doors)", "Life in a Tenement Square", and "Float". Lyrics typically touch on subjects such as Ireland and its history, drinking, poverty, politics, love, and death and include several references to the Catholic Church. "What's Left of the Flag" and "The Likes of You Again" were written as tributes to King's father, who died when King was a child.[20]
