Hothouse Flowers

Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock group from Monkstown, Ireland, formed in 1985. Their line-up includes Liam Ó Maonlaí, Fiachna Ó Braonáin, Peter O’Toole, Wayne Sheehy, Jerry Fehily, Robbie Malone and Leo Barnes.

Formation and early years

The group begins when Liam Ó Maonlaí and Fiachna Ó Braonáin, who know each other from an Irish-speaking school, start performing as buskers in Dublin under the name The Incomparable Benzini Brothers. Peter O’Toole later joins them, and within a year they win a street-entertainer award. They then adopt the name Hothouse Flowers and start writing and performing songs across Ireland. Rolling Stone describes them as the best unsigned band in Europe, and Bono of U2 offers support after seeing them on television in 1986.

Recordings and chart success

Their first single, “Love Don’t Work This Way”, appears on U2’s Mother Records label before they move to London Records, a PolyGram subsidiary. Their debut album, People, becomes the most successful debut album in Irish history, reaches number one in Ireland and number two in the UK Albums Chart, and gains wider attention when “Don’t Go” is shown during the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest interval.

The second album, Home, is released in 1990 after being recorded during a long period of touring in Dublin, London, Carlow and New Orleans with Daniel Lanois. It reaches number two in Australia. Its singles “Give It Up” and “I Can See Clearly Now”, a version of the Johnny Nash song also performed by Jimmy Cliff and Bill Withers, reach number 30 and number 23 in the UK Singles Chart.

Songs From the Rain follows in 1993 and receives strong reviews, with some chart success in Australia and Ireland. After extensive touring, the band takes a long break in the mid-1990s as members recover from exhaustion and deal with changes in their personal lives.

Line-up changes and later releases

During the break, the band splits from its long-time manager. Leo Barnes and Jerry Fehily leave, while O’Toole and Ó Braonáin also work with Michelle Shocked. Ó Maonlaí collaborates with Tim Finn and Andy White and studies traditional Irish music. In 1998 the group returns with Born, joined by Wayne Sheehy on drums and Rob Malone on bass. O’Toole contributes extensively as a songwriter and plays guitar, bouzouki and keyboards on the recording, which also uses more electronic loops, synthesizers and studio effects.

By 1999 the band has finished its contract with London Records. The label and the group do not renew, and a live album, Live', is self-released later that year from recordings made mainly at a Dublin Stadium show, with one track from Tokyo. Sheehy and Malone then leave, Dave Clarke joins on drums, and O’Toole returns to bass. London Records issues the compilation Best of in 2000.

In 2003 the band releases Vaults: Volume 1, which collects previously unreleased recordings from the period between Songs From the Rain and Born. In 2004 they release Into Your Heart, produced by the band and John Reynolds. The single “Tell Me” reaches the Irish top 20, and the album appears on RubyMusic in Europe and is distributed by Redeye in the United States. The band tours widely in support of the record and plays Glastonbury Festival in 2004.

Related activity

Ó Maonlaí also performs solo acoustic tours and releases the album Rian in 2005.