Bio
Paddy Madden, Musician Biography
Born in Cork, Paddy Madden has lived in various parts of the city before settling in Wilton throughout his life.
Active as a musician: Early 1960s
In his youth, Paddy received violin tuition and music theory education at Cork School of Music and was for a while a member of the School of Music’s Orchestra. He was taught his first chords on the guitar by a friend Dick Ryan, who went on to play with a local band called The Method.
Style: Singer and Songwriter.
Timeline
1968 – 1969 Solo Musician
Paddy started in 1968 singing and playing guitar in pubs and folk clubs and occasionally playing as a duo with friend Joe O’Callaghan (sometimes as Sweetwater).
1969 - 1971 Gaslight 1
Line-up:
Paddy Madden – vocals, 12 string guitar and mandolin
Tony Troy – lead guitar
Bill O’Brien – bass guitar, vocals
Len de la Cour – drums and bongos
This rock band played a mixture of originals – mostly by Paddy Madden – and covers of songs by the Incredible String Band, Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Lead guitar Tony Troy and drummer Len de la Cour were both from Youghal Co. Cork. They became very popular in the Cork area and toured with Rory Gallagher and Dr Strangely Strange.
Bill O’Brien left to concentrate on playing lead guitar and was replaced by ex-Taste bass player Eric Kitteringham.
1971 Sleepy Hollow
Line-up:
Bill O’Brien – vocals, guitar
Paddy Madden – vocals, 12 string guitar, mandolin
Johnny Rice – bass guitar
Len de la Cour – drums and percussion
Gaslight 2
Line-up:
Paddy Madden – vocals, guitar
Finn Costello – vocals, guitar, flute
Billy Williams – bass guitar
Eddie Fuller – keyboard
Charlie Butler - drums
1973 Gaslight 3
Line-up:
Bill O’Brien – vocals, lead guitar
Paddy Madden vocals rhythm guitar
Pete Brennan – bass guitar
Kieran Jolly – drums
1974 Black Dog, Tana, Patrick and Bill (also known as the Ballinlough House Band)
Line-up:
Mick Daly (aka Black Dog) – guitar
Tana (Mick O’Brien) – guitar, dulcimer
Paddy Madden – guitar
Bill O’Brien – guitar
The first performance was on 13th November 1974 at UCC Aula Maxima during which they performed original songs written by all players. They also played a gig in Dublin on 12th January 1975. On 20th January 1975 they also rehearsed with a drummer.
1975 Solo Musician
Through out 1975 Paddy Madden played solo gigs in various clubs, including on 18th June 1975, when he played a gig with Bill O’Brien in the Carrigmore Folk Club.
1976 Recording
On 28th April 1976, a line up consisting of Paddy Madden (guitar), Bill O’Brien (guitar), Art Lorrigan (drums), Johnny Campbell (bass guitar) auditioned for Decca Records, recording 3 songs by Paddy Madden, but a problem with the recording speed prevented them being released. The recording was made in Oliver Kane’s (Keane) studio in Bishopstown, Cork. These recordings were recently restored by Johnny Campbell in his studio and further restoration work was carried out by Dave Murphy at his Recording Studio in Blarney. However, they still do not meet the high standards for a public release.
1977 – 2013 Songwriting
2013 Driftwood
Line-up:
Paddy Madden – vocals, guitar, mandolin
Fred Willis - vocals , guitar
Greg Ahern – vocals, guitar
Neil O’Callaghan – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Formed in May 2013 as the Corner Boys, their first performance as Driftwood was on 15 June 2014. This four-piece guitar band used amplified acoustic guitars and harmony vocals playing some originals by Paddy Madden and mostly covers of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Travelling Wilburys, The Band, Everly Brothers, Credence Clearwater and others.
Songwriter
Songs written 1968 to date:
A Song for the Time Being, A Sparrow Falls, A Thousand Dreams*, After the Fire, And Patrick Danced, Back to Boogaloo, Backstreet Tripper, Better Days (there will always be), Box of Words*, Child of Circumstance, Colour Me In, Goodbye City, Dancing Around the Sunwheel, Dandelion Days, Dilly Dally in Ballydehob,, Dreams, Fourteenth Day of May, Girl in the Autumn Time, Going Back to Schull, Going to the City, Hello Magdalene, Hey Richard, Higher Love, Holding on to Nothing, Hour of Darkness*, In the Blue of the Night, I Want you to Stay Here, Last Train to Cork City, Lee River Blues, Like Falling Rain*, Lovelight, Midnight Girl, Midnight in Cork City, New Moon over Coosheen, Nothing but Dark Clouds, One of Us is Wrong, Patrick Street Incident, Rainbow Woman, Rock and Roll Child, Ruby in the Dust, Searching for Something, Seashell Lady (Save the City), She Came in Colours, She Darkened the Sun, She Got Me Rocking, Slow Motion, Sometime in April, Spirit of the Sea, SPI 490, Sunday Stroller, Tears of the Earth, Under the Elm Trees, Under Two Moons, Waiting for You, Waiting for Your Love, Wake Me When its Over, When Love Fell Out of the Black Crow Sky, Where but for Patrick Was I, Where I am Now, Wilton Road Again, Winds of Change, You and I.
Total 62. (* written with Bill O’Brien).
2019
Paddy began recording his backlog of songs at Dave Murphy’s studio in Blarney Co. Cork in February 2019 using several musicians including Bill O’Brien, Pat Crowley, Johnny Campbell, Brian Calnan, Mick Daly, Pete Brennan, Aisling Fitzpatrick, Joe O’Callaghan, Fred Willis, Jason O’Driscoll, Dan Murphy, Harry Connolly, Siona Knepper, Kathy Murphy and Dave Murphy. The recordings continued until September 2021 (paused for some time in 2020 by the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown.)
2021
33 of these songs, under the working title of Songs for the Time Being, are being released in both CD and digital format.
2022
Songs for the Time Being was released January 2022 and is available in digital or physical format through https://paddymadden.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-the-time-being-vol-1 and physical. Work continues on Volume 2, due for release in late Spring 2022