Sultans Of Ping F.C.

Sultans Of Ping F.C.

Sultans Of Ping F.C. are a punk band from Cork, Ireland, active from 1988 to the present. The group is associated with punk and punk rock, and its core members include Niall O'Flaherty and Pat O'Connell.

Background and style

The band develops a chaotic, humorous image built around songs about everyday and absurd subjects, including shopping, sheepdogs, toilet bowls, turnip-fish and Japanese girls. Their early reputation comes from a rowdy live act and a sound that combines punk energy with a deliberately playful approach.

Albums and songs

Their 1992 album Casual Sex in the Cineplex contains some of their best-known material, including Stupid Kid, You Talk Too Much and Where's Me Jumper?, which becomes a regular student-night favourite. Other notable B-sides include Turnip Fish, Armitage Shanks and Riot at the sheepdog trials.

Live performances and line-up changes

Live shows are described as small-venue performances with an anarchic stage presence, led by Niall O'Flaherty, who struts, leaps and dives around and sometimes off the stage. A literal dance routine accompanies Wake Up And Scratch Me, with the performance said to leave crowds entertained and unsettled.

The band's name later changes to Sultans of Ping for their second album, Teenage Drug, and then to The Sultans for their third album, Good Year For Trouble. The group disbands in 1996, starts playing again in 2005, and later releases the single Girlwatching in 2007. The line-up at that point includes Niall O'Flaherty, Morty McCarthy, Pat O'Connell, Sam Steiger and Ian Olney.