Toss the Feathers

Toss the Feathers

Toss the Feathers are a Manchester, UK group that plays a mixture of Celtic folk, rock, funk and reggae. The band forms in 1987, after Dave Smylie meets Pete Carberry at Manchester’s Bouzouki By Night, and a session at the Bridgewater Bar in Stockport follows with Michael McGoldrick, Angela Usher and Martin Moylan. The group develops as a second-generation Irish band from Manchester and becomes associated with the Celtic rock circuit.

Line-up changes and early activity

Eddie Sheehan replaces Martin Moylan on guitar in 1988, while Paul Usher joins on drums and Dezi Donnelly on fiddle. Founding members Angela Usher and Pete Carberry later leave, and Chris Cormac joins on banjo and mandolin to complete a five-piece line-up. Sean Reagan temporarily replaces Dezi Donnelly on fiddle, and Jim Krawiecki also appears in the band’s history. Michael McGoldrick remains an important figure in the group, with Paul Daly stepping in when he is unavailable.

Recordings

The band’s debut album, Columbus Eclipse, appears in 1989 and leans strongly towards traditional Irish material, with a number of instrumental tracks. Their 1991 follow-up, Awakenings, also known as Rude Awakenings, shifts the tempo and mixes traditional music with rock, helping the group build a substantial following in Europe. A later album, The Next Round, is released in 1995.

Performances and reach

Toss the Feathers perform widely in the UK, Ireland and the USA, and their strongest success comes in mainland Europe, where they spend a period touring extensively. In 1992 they make their debut performance at Manchester’s Apollo Theatre, where they sell out the 2,000-capacity venue. The band also tours Asia and maintains a reputation for surviving multiple line-up changes while keeping a dedicated audience.