People tell me they learn more from songs than history books
Trad band’s Brian on immigration, final shows & his dreams of a duet with Kylie
HE’S the frontman for one of Ireland’s most successful, and controversial, groups but Wolfe Tones singer Brian Warfield remains humble to the core.
The Dublin musician, 78, is to hang up his banjo later this year as the rebel band will retire after playing three shows in the 3Arena this October.
While the trad band is no stranger to headlines, with many being offended by their republican songs such as Come Out Ye Black & Tans and Rifles of the IRA, their fan base has continued to grow every year.
At Electric Picnic 2023, The Wolfe Tones drew the biggest crowd ever seen at the festival’s Electric Arena stage, with revellers filling up all green space available outside the tent.
Brian said: “We felt a surge in popularity about 10 years ago with a lot of young people coming to the shows, we were doing gigs all over the place and they were selling out.
“There was a young following there, but I think it’s the identity, the music and the story of Ireland, that’s what The Wolfe Tones have done over the 60 years. And funnily enough, we did bring every generation along with us as we went through the years.
“When we did the shows in Citywest we had all age groups from nine to 90 and I think people realised that the story of Ireland is important to them and they realised that The Wolfe Tones was telling that story and we’ve been doing that for years across America, Europe, everywhere.
“People often come up to us and say ‘I’ve learned more about Ireland from your show than I ever learned from all the history books’.”
The songwriter said he was amazed to see such a large crowd at Electric Picnic and is delighted they will be taking to the bigger main stage at this year’s festival.
However, he has his eye on collaborating with a certain Australian popstar, who will be playing her set right after the rebels.
Brian added: “At Electric Picnic we were very humbled, we knew we filled the tent but we didn’t realise how many people were outside, it was amazing.
“They said there were 30,000 outside and 30,000 inside so that’s a big crowd. “We are really looking forward to [the main stage].
“We have Kylie Minogue coming after us, so it’s going to be fun.
“I wonder if she will come on and play the ‘ooh aah’ [in Come Out Ye Black & Tans] with us.
“I’ll ask her, of course, I would. She must be Irish with a name like Minogue. She looks Irish doesn’t she.”
Through his music, Brian has been vocal about his wish for a united Ireland, and the musician believes the possibility is now “closer than ever”.
He added: “It’s hard to put a timeline on it, it’s difficult for anybody, but I’m getting to an age now that I would like to see it in the next 10 years. I’m sure it would make the majority of people on this island very happy, so why not discover it, befriend the unionists and get out there and have that conversation.”
The harpist said he believes a united Ireland would be beneficial for the economy of the island and would solve migration problems.
Brian said: “If we had one Ireland in the EU we wouldn’t have the problems that we have today with people coming through borders.
“It would solve a lot of problems and it would give us a strong economy, one economy. I think the people would be happier in that situation than they are.
“It would stop the way they are throwing them in from England now at the moment. The only reason that is there is to keep the border open and not have posts at our border here in Ireland but it would solve that problem and many other problems. I think it would be much better for the island.” While the band is doing a slew of gigs as their ‘final farewell’, Brian confirmed their third night in Dublin, which tickets are still available for, will be their ‘final final’ show.
He added: “The final, final gig is the 3Arena on the Sunday. I thank everybody for giving us such a good send-off
It would make the majority of people on this island very happy
over the 60 years, it’s been such a pleasure, a wonderful experience, the road we travelled across America, Australia, and Europe, the friends we made.
“I wrote a goodbye song for everybody, we have made many friends and many people just love The Wolfe Tones and what we did and I thank them for that support.”
Despite retiring his banjo and harp, Brian said he isn’t quite ready to step out of the limelight and already has a musical play in the works. He added: “Brian Warfield will never retire. I have written a musical and it’s my ambition to get it on the road after we finish. I hope to take it around Ireland.
“I will introduce it and play some songs and then introduce the play and what it’s all about. I know everyone will love it, we have workshops going on at the moment and we have done table reads.
“I hope to have it ready for November and January when The Wolfe Tones finish up and it gives me something exciting to do.”
I thank everybody for giving us such a good send-off