Clannad

Clannad bridged the gap between traditional Celtic music and pop. The results were usually an entrancing, enchanting form of pop that managed to fuse the disparate elements together rather seamlessly, earning the band an international cult of fans. After releasing their self-titled debut in 1973, Clannad eventually hit their commercial peak in the '90s with albums like 1990's Anam (at number 46, their best-charting LP in the U.S.), 1993's Banba (which reached the U.K. Top Five), and 1996's Lore (their sole appearance in Ireland's Top Ten). After winning a Grammy Award for Best New Age album for 1998's Landmarks, Clannad became inactive while members pursued solo projects. They reunited to tour in the late 2000s, then released Nádúr, their first studio album in 15 years, in 2013. The group only issued a handful of singles thereafter, calling it quits with a farewell concert at Royal Albert Hall in 2024.

Taking their name from the Gaelic word for "family," Clannad formed in 1970 when the Brennan family -- <a href="spotify:artist:3ZvmmlF8EMEpnnK90jfuJv">Máire</a> (vocals, harp), Ciarán (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), and Pól (guitar, percussion, flute, vocals) -- began playing at their father Leo's tavern with two of their uncles, Pádraig Duggan (guitar, vocals, mandolin) and Noel Duggan (guitar, vocals). Soon afterward, the group began playing folk festivals in Ireland. They released their self-titled first album in 1973, yet the band didn't earn any widespread success until they toured Germany in 1975. <a href="spotify:artist:3ZvmmlF8EMEpnnK90jfuJv">Máire</a>'s sister Eithne (later <a href="spotify:artist:6uothxMWeLWIhsGeF7cyo4">Enya</a>) joined the group in 1980, but left in 1982, just as the band was beginning to come into some pop success in the U.K. Clannad recorded the theme song for the television program Harry's Game; the single hit number five on the charts and won the band an Ivor Novello Award. They recorded the soundtrack to the television production Robin of Sherwood in 1984; it won a British Academy Award for best soundtrack the next year. Clannad's success continued in 1986, when <a href="spotify:artist:51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ">U2</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:0m2Wc2gfNUWaAuBK7URPIJ">Bono</a> was featured on the Top 20 hit "In a Lifetime."

The band continued to release albums into the '90s, building their pop following without losing their folk audience. Released in 1990, Anam became their highest-charting album in the States, reaching number 46 on the Billboard 200 and number 14 in the U.K. Their next LP, 1993's Banba, hit a career-high number five in the United Kingdom. They reached a career-high number ten in Ireland with 1996's Lore. Despite Lore marking their final appearance on the Billboard 200, they re-entered the Top 20 in Ireland (and the Netherlands) with early 1998's Landmarks, which earned the group their first-ever Grammy Award, though it also signaled the beginning of a long hiatus from the stage and the studio. Compilations like The Best of Clannad: In a Lifetime and solo projects from Noel and Pádraig (the Duggans) and <a href="spotify:artist:3ZvmmlF8EMEpnnK90jfuJv">Moya Brennan</a> (who had changed the spelling of her name to match her sister's) dominated the front half of the 2000s, leading to a 2008 world tour that found Clannad traveling as far away as Thailand. Finally, in 2013, the band returned to the studio for the album Nádúr, their first studio LP in 15 years, and embarked on an international tour. It would be their last album to feature Pádraig Duggan, who died in 2016. An archival live album, Turas 1980, was released in 2018, and the 2020 collection In a Lifetime featured new songs "Who Knows (Where the Time Goes)" and "A Celtic Dream." They only released a couple more songs (including a 2022 version of "White Fool" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:5xQKoGD7Ql92fWd1uWwKkf">Steve Perry</a>) before Noel Duggan's death in October 2022. Clannad played a few more shows, culminating in an October 30, 2024, farewell concert at Royal Albert Hall. The disbandment coincided with a 40th anniversary extended edition of the Robin in Sherwood soundtrack titled Legend, which saw release before the end of the month. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Marcy Donelson, Rovi