“Hands across the border” (and hot musical talent too!)

Stagalee was born in the Co. Kerry town of Tralee in the deep south of Ireland as the result of a cross border invasion of ‘The Kingdom" by two talented musicians from Northern Ireland,

Victor McCullough and Errol Walsh (both from the small norhern coastal town of Portstewart in Co. Derry) made some fine music together in Tralee and by the time they departed they had left an indelible mark on the musical heritage of the town.
Rock’n’Roll (and a lot more besides!) had come to stay!

Victor eventually moved on to other things and Errol moved to Dublin in search of wider audiences. There, under the guidance of manager Billy McGrath, Stagalee enjoyed huge success on the live college and rock-club circuit until punk rock suddenly exploded on the scene and demanded a rethink of the musical landscape.... it was an ignominious end to a band that was just reaching its full groove potential..... but, as we all know, one of the few certainties in life, alongside death and taxes, is that things inexorably change... and as history teaches us, they often move in a circular motion.. just like fashion.

Musical fashions come and go too of course, but the beauty of it is that they always leave a rich heritage to explore for following generations of musicians, which in turn leads to more ‘new’ music mined from the influence of their heroes.

Some bands endure the passing of time hoping that, if they survive long enough, the world will turn once again in their favour and their style will come back into fashion.
Not many do!... survive intact I mean... or even in actual fact (RIP)

But if that sounds as if the guys in Stagalee have been living on past glories and pining for a return to the ‘good old days’, you couldn’t be further wrong! All the players in the reformed Stagalee 2018 have an enviable track record as session and touring musicians with many critically acclaimed Irish and international bands and recording artistes whose names will be instantly recognisable to Ireland’s cognoscenti across many and varied musical genres.

James Delaney (keyboards); Paul McAteer (drums/percussion); Greg Boland (guitar); Tommy Moore (bass/vox) and Sean McCarron (saxes) are in constant demand as session and touring musicians with many of Ireland’s top acts... Colin Tully (sax/keys), a firm fans' favourite and occasional guest player is from Scotland. He too has an enviable pedigree internationally and brings a healthy and exciting dose of ‘alternative Celt’ to the band!

Stagalee’s front man and songwriter Errol Walsh (guitar/vocals) pursued a number of different opportunities during a 16 year stint in London where he became songwriter and front man for the award winning ‘Coyotes’ and cult band 'Tender Mercies’.Both bands featured a stellar line-up of high profile English musicians playing ‘Alt. Country’ and 'roots' music featuring Walsh’s songs.

He was also the man behind “The Business”, Ireland’s longest enduring Blues band (still playing!) The Business gave a home to the recording band from Paul Brady’s Hard Station album... so you get the idea... These guys are no slouches!