Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at the Helix in Dublin, Ireland, accompanying the Celtic Concert Orchestra under the direction of Phil Coulter, the musical director of the group.
Since the group's formation, Celtic Thunder has released twelve albums: Celtic Thunder, Act Two, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment!, Celtic Thunder Christmas, Storm, Heritage, Voyage, Voyage II, Christmas Voices and Mythology as well as best-of collection Homeland, and twelve live performances on DVD, entitled Celtic Thunder: The Show, Take Me Home, It's Entertainment!, Storm, Christmas, Heritage, Voyage, Voyage II, Live and Unplugged and Mythology, as well as a Christmas performance. In December 2009 Billboard magazine named Celtic Thunder the Top World Album Artist.
Celtic Thunder is known for its eclectic style with songs ranging from a soloist to an ensemble focus. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic effects via lighting and choreography as well as a stage set resembling an ancient stone pathway suggestive of those referenced in Celtic lore.
Members
The members of Celtic Thunder are (in alphabetical order of family name):
Neil Byrne (born November 16, 1977): Music has always been a major part of Neil's life. Born into a musical family, Neil’s father has worked as a professional musician his entire life and his mother is a huge fan of all music. By the age of 5, Neil was gripped by rhythm, which instinctively lead him to drum on anything in front of him. He began learning the guitar when he was 7, hugely helped and encouraged by his father. Later in life a mutual friend approached Neil and asked him to play at a function for one of Ireland’s most renowned songwriters and producers, Phil Coulter. When Sharon Browne and Phil began working on production for Celtic Thunder he was invited to record backing vocals for the debut DVD, and subsequently play lead guitar player for the live show. Neil would have to say the most memorable and prestigious performance of his career to date was in Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Since then he has toured America and Canada extensively with Celtic Thunder and most recently has joined the cast as the 6th leading vocalist with Celtic Thunder.
Paul Michael Byrom (born April 11, 1979) is from Dublin, Ireland. In addition to Celtic Thunder, he has also performed at major sporting events in Ireland and abroad, including singing at the All Ireland Finals in Dublin's Croke Park and at Heinz Field for a Pittsburgh Steelers game in the USA. He has also performed for Ireland's President, Mary McAleese, and for Emperor Akihito of Japan. Paul has released two albums: Velvet and I'll Be Home For Christmas. He left Celtic Thunder as of 2011 to pursue his solo career. Member from 2008-2011
George Donaldson (February 1, 1968- March 12, 2014) is the oldest member of the group and is a well-known balladeer, guitarist and flutist from Glasgow, Scotland. At Scotland's Celtic Park, Donaldson played to 65,000 fans at the opening match of the 2000-2001 season.
Keith Ronald Harkin, (born June 10, 1986), like Damian, is from Derry, Northern Ireland. He plays the guitar and has written one of the songs for Celtic Thunder: "Lauren and I". In 2008, a new solo album by Keith was rumoured to be in the working stages but has not yet been released as of mid 2009. Keith enjoys surfing and has written a song called Chasing Dreams that articulates his love for it. Keith has now recorded more original songs apart from Celtic Thunder, some titles include: Vanity, Don't Lose the Feeling, and What I Like.
Ryan John Kelly (born November 6, 1978) is from The Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He holds two degrees from the Queen's University Belfast, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and also a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Accounting, qualifying Ryan to be a chartered accountant.
Damian Joseph McGinty, Jr. (born September 9, 1992) was the youngest member of the group for 4 years and is from Derry, Northern Ireland. He recorded the first Celtic Thunder album when he was only fourteen years old. It is rumoured that McGinty will begin work on a solo album in the next 6 months. He won his first singing contest at the age of five. He recorded the first Celtic Thunder album when he was fourteen years old. McGinty lists Michael Buble, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra among his inspirations.[5] On April 29, 2011 it was announced that Damian was chosen as one of 12 contenders for The Glee Project, a reality series on the Oxygen Network. He tied for first and had a guest starring role in the third season of the Fox hit TV show Glee. He debuted on Glee season 3 episode 4 Pot o' Gold. Though originally awarded a seven-episode arc, his run-time was later extended to 16 episodes including a guest appearance in season 4's Glee Actually. In the summer of 2013 Damian joined Paul Byrom for "The Me and My Shadow" Tour. McGinty is also part of Ethan Bortnick's concert.
Emmet Michael Cahill (born October 18, 1990) became Paul Byrom's replacement. 2010 was a very exciting year for Emmet Cahill; he was awarded the 2010 John Mc Cormack Bursary for the most Promising Young Tenor, and was named the most promising young singer at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He has been a multiple prizewinner at the National Feis Ceoil singing competition in Ireland. Emmet is 20 years old and hails from Mullingar in County Westmeath in Ireland. His musical journey began when at just 5 years old he began learning the piano. By 7 Emmet had begun voice training, and he soon went on to win a music scholarship for high school in Mullingar and spend 5 years intensively studying and playing music. At school he furthered his studies in piano, organ and violin and vocal training, however singing has always been his true love. He continued his education at the prestigious Royal Irish Academy of Music where he received a university degree in Music Performance. He has been in many stage productions in Dublin and has performed on stage at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin and as a soloist at the National Concert Hall. He is an avid sports fan and has performed twice at Croke Park in Dublin, in front of crowds of 90,000. One such occasion was for the 125th Anniversary of The GAA. He has also performed for the President of Ireland Mary McAleese and at several international rugby games Dublin’s new Aviva Stadium. Emmet also sings regularly at the Mullingar Cathedral.
He is a huge sports fan and has won many prizes playing football with his college and local teams. In his spare time, he also loves attending music and sporting events, playing the guitar and listening to music. He attended auditions for Celtic Thunder in June 2010 and was delighted to be asked by Sharon and Phil to join the show. Emmet Cahill is the latest addition to the Celtic Thunder family.
Daniel Furlong
Vocalist
Daniel Furlong was the newest (and youngest) member of Celtic Thunder. Daniel is 13 years old and hails from the town of Taghmon in County Wexford on the Southeast coast of Ireland. He is a boy soprano and was discovered when he entered a singing competition at the age of seven and won! Although Daniel is barely a teenager, he has been performing and singing in public for over six years. Daniels hometown of Wexford is synonymous with Opera and is host to the internationally acclaimed Opera Festival in October of every year. Indeed Daniel is no stranger to opera and played the role of Edgar in the Wexford Light Opera Society production of Ragtime in 2008. In 2008 and again in 2009, Daniel was also cast in the lead role of Oliver in the musical Oliver with both Oyster Lane and Festival productions. He has also performed solo on two national television stations in Ireland. In 2009 Daniel won an All Ireland Song Contest as a solo singer, competing with artists considerably older than he. In 2011 he won "The All Ireland Talent" Show a nationally televised talent competition and Irelands answer to Americas Got Talent. In light of all of his incredible achievements to date, his home county of Wexford honored Daniel by naming him "Wexford Person of the Year" for 2011.
Daniel describes himself as an outgoing and optimistic, friendly and a fun person. He likes to spend time with his friends and family, and he loves the chance to perform. He is quite competitive and loves playing team sports such as hurling, Gaelic football, soccer and rounders (softball). Music is obviously Daniels passion, he practices with his local choir "The Young Wexford Singers" every week and is also learning to play the guitar and the pigeon box. Daniel came to the attention of Celtic Thunder producer Sharon Browne, when he won the All Ireland Talent Show" and she quickly arranged to meet him. His energy and enthusiasm is infectious and once Sharon had met Daniel and seen him perform, she immediately offered him a place in Celtic Thunder. He performs an angelic version of Walking In The Air in the Christmas show and also sings solo in Heritage on Somewhere Over The Rainbow and the Josh Groban hit To Where You Are. Daniel also joins with other members of Celtic Thunder in the Ensembles and performs duets with Keith and Emmet.
Colm Joseph Keegan (born August 2, 1989) is from Dublin, Ireland. He attended University College Dublin on a music scholarship, graduating in 2011 with an honors degree in Music and Irish. Colm auditioned for and was selected for Celtic Thunder in May 2012 as a new vocalist, becoming a sixth member of the previously five-man group. He was formerly a member of the Aontas Choral Ensemble, who are known for their work with Celtic Woman. Colm appeared in the Celtic Woman DVDs 'Songs From The Heart' (2009) and 'Believe' (2011).
Emmett O'Hanlon (born July 9, 1991), Celtic Thunder's newest member, is Emmet Cahill's replacement. He is Irish- American. Emmett will be touring with Celtic Thunder during their Mythology tour and the Christmas Voices Symphony tour.
Beginning in March 2008, the group has been featured throughout the US on the PBS television network more than 1200 times, and during May and June 2008, members of the group were interviewed on dozens of local PBS stations during performances of their show
Celtic Thunder is also the name of a traditional Irish band formed in 1977. The band recorded three albums―1981’s Celtic Thunder; The Light of Other Days (1988), and Hard New York Days in 1996.
Bad
Celtic Thunder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man named Leroy Brown
Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand about six foot four
All the men just call him "Sir"
[Chorus: x2]
And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Now Leroy, he a gambler
And he likes his fancy clothes
And he likes to wave his diamond rings
In front of everybody's nose
He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun
He got a razor in his shoe
[Chorus]
Now Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And ooh that girl looked nice
Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown learned a lesson 'bout messin'
With the wife of a jealous man
[Chorus]
Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone
And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Yes he's badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
The song "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" by Celtic Thunder is a tribute to a notorious man named Leroy Brown who lived in the South side of Chicago. The lyrics evoke the sense of warning and caution that one needs to be on the lookout for when they encounter Leroy, as he is known to be a troublemaker. The song describes him as a tall man standing about six-foot-four with all the downtown ladies calling him "Treetop Lover" and all the men referring to him as "sir." The lyrics give the impression of Leroy as invincible, as evidenced by his nicknames and reputation.
Leroy's love for gambling is evident, as we learn that he often wears fancy clothes and loves to wave his diamond rings in front of everyone. He owns a custom Continental and an Eldorado, but what stands out most is the fact that he carries a 32 gun in his pocket and a razor in his shoe, which further showcases his fearless attitude. The song takes an interesting turn when Leroy meets a girl named Doris, and he casts his eyes upon her, starting trouble. The storyline implies that Doris is already with a jealous husband who finds out about Leroy's advances and delivers a beating that leaves Leroy in bad shape.
Line by Line Meaning
Well the South side of Chicago
The South side of Chicago is a notorious place where you should be careful.
Is the baddest part of town
It is the most dangerous part of town.
And if you go down there
If you go there, you should watch your back.
You better just beware
You need to be cautious.
Of a man named Leroy Brown
There is a man named Leroy Brown who is well-known and dangerous there.
Now Leroy more than trouble
Leroy is more than just a problem.
You see he stand about six foot four
He is a very tall man.
All the downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
He is known for being tall and attractive to women.
All the men just call him "Sir"
Men are intimidated by him and show respect.
And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
Leroy Brown is infamous for being dangerous.
The baddest man in the whole damned town
He is the most notorious and dangerous person in the town.
Badder than old King Kong
He is even worse than the famous movie monster King Kong.
And meaner than a junkyard dog
He is as ruthless and violent as an aggressive guard dog.
Now Leroy, he a gambler
Leroy has a gambling problem.
And he likes his fancy clothes
Leroy enjoys dressing well.
And he likes to wave his diamond rings
He likes to show off his expensive jewelry.
In front of everybody's nose
He likes to flaunt his wealth and material possessions.
He got a custom Continental
He owns a personalized Continental car.
He got an Eldorado too
He also owns an Eldorado car.
He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun
He carries a gun around casually for his own amusement.
He got a razor in his shoe
He secretly carries a sharp weapon in his shoe for self-defense.
Now Friday 'bout a week ago
About a week ago on a Friday,
Leroy shootin' dice
Leroy is playing a gambling game involving dice.
And at the edge of the bar
There is a woman named Doris sitting at the bar.
Sat a girl named Doris
There is a woman named Doris sitting at the bar.
And ooh that girl looked nice
Leroy finds her attractive.
Well he cast his eyes upon her
He looks at her with interest.
And the trouble soon began
His interest in Doris causes problems.
And Leroy Brown learned a lesson 'bout messin'
Leroy learns a lesson about getting involved with someone else's spouse.
With the wife of a jealous man
Doris is the wife of a possessive and jealous man.
Well the two men took to fighting
The jealous man confronts Leroy and they engage in a fight.
And when they pulled them from the floor
They are separated by other people in the bar.
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
Leroy's face is badly beaten up and looks like a jigsaw puzzle.
With a couple of pieces gone
His face is severely injured with missing pieces.
Yes he's badder than old King Kong
Leroy is worse than the famous monster King Kong.
Meaner than a junkyard dog
He is as heartless and violent as a fierce guard dog.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: James Croce
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
WillowMoon
One of my favorite songs, in fact I'm probably one of the few women in her 20s that knows all the words.
Ryan does an excellent job with this song, and the dancing just makes it all the better!
Rohini Lazarus
i love it! the choreography was awesome and greet performance by the dancers! great job!
Joyce Cunanan
Love this. Ryan at his best in his "Show man" roles. :-)
Patricia Harman
I think that Ryan Kellie's rendition of Bad Leroy Brown is great! I can watch it 1,000 times and still love it. He should do this often. Ryan is a natural talent. I love to watch him perform, he is perfection in his performances.
Jewelia Blazia
Isn't he just?! He's INCREDIBLE with his dancing skills! I personally think he should do Broadway sometime! I mean, HECK, he's got the lungs for it! And his dancing skills certainly meet MY criteria of AWESOME!!!!
squidy2343
God, I love Ryan's voice. Makes me swoon every time haha. :)
Elizabeth Smith
Luv it! Choreography is great.! Awesome
Lolah Lolah
This quickly became one of my top favs! :) <3 it!!
Stephen Abourjilie
Sweet !!!! Love that version of an old classic
Hannah Schultz
Ryan Kelly is badass! Luv 'em!