BAND HISTORY

The original Band members (Seamus Flynn, Mick Maher, Martin Day and keyboard player, Mike Landers) first met at a 1995 Fundraising Benefit in aid of the (then collapsing) Sacred Heart Church in Mill Hill NW7. Having never met before in their lives they were asked to combine their talents and "play a few songs" to help the evening along.

As Seamus Flynn explained, "We were given about 10 minutes to produce a credible sound – I remember playing about 27 verses of ‘The Mason’s Apron’, Mick sang ‘Sean South from Garryowen’ (twice) and Martin sang ‘Me and Bobby Magee’ (once, thankfully). At the end of the night, we discussed getting a Band together to see if we could develop and improve on what we had played that night".

Over the coming months, the band was launched on the public of North West London at the first ever Mill Hill Music Festival in June 1995, where they headlined on two separate evenings, and various Band members came and went (including original member, Mike Landers). It seemed that their early promise had drowned in a sea of Guinness. Then one night, Seamus brought his younger sister, Mary, to rehearsals (the Family had only allowed her to attend because Seamus was acting as her chaperone!) In the event, she turned out to be the stabilising influence the Band needed.

The Band wanted one more traditional instrument to complete the line up and Mary suggested a Flute Player she knew named Alan O’Brien. Mary, Seamus and Alan had studied under the same Irish Music Tutor (the excellent Brendan Mulkaire of Co. Clare) from an early age and as such, all three of them had an almost telepathic understanding of each other’s playing.

Having dragged Alan out of the Pub and into the Rehearsal Studio, the Band started playing local Irish Pubs and Clubs in and around the North London area – now they were 5.

About this time, John Flynn (Brother to both Seamus and Mary) returned from his travels around Australia and the USA. Among his souvenirs, he brought back a Bodhrán and began bringing it along to rehearsals "just to keep the beat…" The instrument fitted in so well with the Band’s sound that John quickly became the 6^th member – and the line-up was complete.

 THE FUTURE

Since their first ‘real’ performance at the Mill Hill Music Festival in 1995, Last Orders have progressed to playing with groups such as the legendary Wolfe Tones and even pop music acts such as Space. The Band have become prolific songwriters and are currently halfway through recording their first album of original material for release late Spring/early Summer 1999.

As with any ambitious Band, they have their eyes set on securing a recording contract with an established Record label and presenting their music to a wider audience. They do not, however, suffer from ‘stars in their eyes’ as Martin Day explains, "The music business is exactly that – a business – and we know that whilst dreams of wealth and fame are great, you should never let it get in the way of hard work and dedication".

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