Four to the Bar

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Four to the Bar was an Irish band in New York City during the early- to mid-1990s. From its beginnings as one more hard-drinking pub band from the boroughs, it ventured into a neotraditional fusion of pop, rock, and Irish and American folk.

Band History

The Early Days: 1991-1992

Four to the Bar was formed in the working-class/immigrant Irish community of Woodside, NY, in 1991. The initial lineup was Martin Kelleher (from Cork) on bass guitar, David Yeates (from Dunboyne, Co. Meath) on vocals and flute, David Livingstone (from Co. Monaghan) on mandolin, and a fourth member (name unknown) on guitar.

That August, Kelleher switched to guitar and the band placed a classified ad for a bass player in the Irish Voice newspaper. Patrick Clifford (from New York City) answered the ad, was hired, and completed the Kelleher-Yeates-Clifford nucleus that would hold for the remainder of the band’s existence.

Four to the Bar immediately began to tour regionally. It was during this time that the band gave an opening act for then-rising star Sharon Shannon at the Bog in Jamaica Plain, MA, which brought attention.

In 1992, Livingstone abruptly left the band and returned to Ireland. For a number of months, the lead-instrument slot was filled by various fiddlers and mandolin players, most notably Chris Murphy and John Farrell (later of the Prodigals and Fathom).

The Heydays: 1993-1994

In early 1993, Four to the Bar found and retained Keith O’Neill (from New York City), the 1985 All-Ireland fiddle champion.

Soon after this, the band completed its first commercial recording, a four-song EP produced and engineered by Henry Gorman and titled simply Four to the Bar (1993). This was available only on cassette.