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Chieftains honoured by the BBC
 The
Chieftains helped to save Irish traditional music from disappearing —
so it’s claimed in a BBC 4 programme to be transmitted on Friday,
March 14 at 9pm.
The programme recounts how The Chieftains spread the sound and popularity
of traditional Irish music across the world over the last 45 years.
The band has sold millions of albums and picked up six Grammies and countless
other awards along the way. This special Legends programme tells the story
of their extraordinary career.
Even after 45 years the group’s story continues to evolve.
There are just four band members left — Seán Keane (fiddle),
Kevin Conneff (bodhrán and vocals) and Matt Molloy (flute).
The group is led by the chief of The Chieftains Paddy Moloney who plays
the pipes and tin whistle.
Speaking form his hotel room in Nashville he told The Irish Post how honoured
he was to be part of the making of the programme.
He said: “It’s a terrific honour to have such high calibre
musicians speaking so highly of us.
“The programme was very well researched and well made by the BBC.
“There is so much footage there that they could make a longer series
if required.
“Other members of the band that have retired were sneaked back in
to share their views and stories.
“It should make for a very interesting programme indeed.”
The programme also tracks down original Chieftains members who provide
an insight into their history with the band. Also featured are exclusive
interviews with some of The Chieftains’ biggest fans and collaborators
including Rolling Stone Keith Richards, Sting, Elvis Costello, Ry Cooder,
Sir James Galway and Andrea Corr.
Delving deep into the band’s archive the one-off documentary not
only shows rare footage of The Chieftains as young men but also footage
from over the years as they’ve toured and joined forces with some
of the world’s most famous artists including Van Morrison, Frank
Zappa, Ricky Skaggs and even a young Michael Flatley.
The Chieftains were one of the coolest bands of the 1970s. Controversially,
they won Melody Maker’s Band-of-the-Year in 1975 raising questions
about them selling-out on their native traditions.
They were one of the busiest touring bands of their generation and this
brought fame and wealth but also led to managerial conflict and personal
family problems.
In the film Moloney tells how his single-minded determination kept the
group together.
Today The Chieftains continue to sell-out concerts and fill their stage
with a new generation of traditional musicians and BBC Four gained exclusive
access to the group on their latest concert at the Belfast Festival at
Queen’s.
Legends — The Chieftains, Friday, March 14, 9-10pm, BBC 4.
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