Years active 1974–present | Website The Fureys.com | |
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Members Davey Arthur, Finbar Furey, Eddie Furey, George Furey, Paul Furey, Aidan Guilfoyle, Danny Lynch | ||
The fureys when you were sweet sixteen
The Fureys are an Irish male folk band originally formed in 1976. The group consisted initially of four brothers who grew up in Ballyfermot, Dublin. Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George Furey are of Irish Traveller heritage. Two of the band's singles have been number one hits in Ireland, and two of their albums charted in the United Kingdom. They have also been credited as The Fureys and Davey Arthur.
Contents
- The fureys when you were sweet sixteen
- The green fields of france by the fureys davey arthur
- Background
- Band
- Ted Furey and Brendan Byrne
- Eddie and Finbar Furey
- The Clancy Brothers with Finbar and Eddie Furey
- Finbar Furey
- Ted Furey
- The Buskers
- The Fureys and Bob Stewart
- The Furey Family
- The Fureys and Davey Arthur
- The Fureys
- Songs
- References
The green fields of france by the fureys davey arthur
Background
Prior to the band's formation, two of the brothers toured as a duo known simply by their names as Eddie and Finbar Furey. For a while in 1969–1970, the duo performed with The Clancy Brothers and appeared on two of the Irish folk group's albums. The second of these albums contained two songs composed by the Fureys, "Flowers in the Valley" and "Jennifer Gentle". In the meanwhile, their brother Paul Furey had, together with Davey Arthur and Brendan Leeson, formed a band called The Buskers. Eddie and Finbar and the Buskers appeared together in Germany at the "Irish Folk Festival" in 1974, where they performed as The Furey Brothers. The Buskers, now with the addition of George Furey, appeared there again a year later as The Furey Family, when they were joined by their father Ted, a renowned traditional fiddler, who was 73 at that time. Ted Furey had recorded a solo fiddle album Toss the Feathers released by the Outlet label in 1967.
Band
Finbar, Eddie, and Paul Furey formed a folk group called Tam Linn in 1976 with Davey Arthur. When their brother George joined them later that year, the band changed its name to The Furey Brothers and Davey Arthur. They eventually simplified their name to The Fureys and Davey Arthur (and just The Fureys when Arthur did not perform with them).
In 1981, The Fureys released their most successful single "When You Were Sweet Sixteen", becoming a worldwide hit, reaching #14 on the UK Singles Chart, #1 on the Irish Singles Chart and #9 on the Australian Singles Chart. "The Green Fields of France" also gave them an Irish #1, remaining in the single charts for twenty eight weeks. They also had two Top 40 British albums called Golden Days and At the End of the Day.
Other notable songs include "Gallipoli", "The Red Rose Cafe", and "Steal Away". As of January 2008, the band is still recording and touring. In 2008 the band celebrated their 30th anniversary.
Finbar left the band to begin his own solo career; Eddie, George, and Davey Arthur continues to great success. Every year they perform throughout Ireland, the UK and the continent. http://www.thefureys.com/concerts Paul Furey died suddenly in June 2002.
All four of the brothers married and had children. Finbar's son, Martin Furey, is a folk singer and musician with The High Kings. George's son Anthony is the singer with the Young Folk.
Ted Furey and Brendan Byrne
Eddie and Finbar Furey
The Clancy Brothers (with Finbar and Eddie Furey)
Finbar Furey
Ted Furey
The Buskers
The Fureys and Bob Stewart
The Furey Family
The Fureys and Davey Arthur
The Fureys
Songs
When You Were Sweet SixteenThe Fureys & Davey Arthur · 1986
Red Rose Cafe30 Years On · 2008
Steal AwayLive at Dublin National Stadium · 1994