page_title: Clannad
section_title: 1990–2000: Four-piece band, Anam, Banba, and Lore
hierarchical_section_title: Clannad / History / 1990–2000: Four-piece band, Anam, Banba, and Lore
caption_attribution_description: Clannad in London
context_page_description: Clannad are an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including folk, folk rock, traditional Irish, Celtic and new-age music, often incorporating elements of smooth jazz and Gregorian chant.
  Initially known as Clann as Dobhar, they shortened their name to Clannad in 1973 after winning the Letterkenny Folk Festival with the song "Liza". By 1979, they had released three albums and completed a successful US tour. From 1980 to 1982, they operated as a six-piece with their sister/niece Enya Brennan on additional keyboards and vocals, before she left the group to pursue a solo career. Later in 1982, Clannad gained international attention with their single "Theme from Harry's Game", which became a top-five hit in Ireland and the UK. The song was featured on Magical Ring, which was met with much acclaim. They experimented with more new-age and pop-influenced sounds in the 1980s and 1990s, as evident on Macalla, and Anam.
context_section_description: After Pól's exit, Clannad continued as a quartet and recorded Anam (Irish for Soul) in Dublin and England. It marked a return to their sound heard on Magical Ring and Macalla, and features greater contributions from Ciarán who is credited as a writer on nine of the album's ten original songs. The US edition, released in 1992, features "In a Lifetime" with Bono and "Theme from Harry's Game", which had been included in the film Patriot Games and a Volkswagen television advert, boosting the group's recognition in the country. The latter won a Billboard Music Award for World Music Song of the Year. Clannad dedicated "Rí na Cruinne", the opening track, was included on the One World One Voice charity album to raise awareness of environmental issues.
  In 1991, Clannad released a duet with Paul Young, a cover version of the Joni Mitchell song "Both Sides Now". The track had been put together for the Blake Edwards film Switch, featuring Ellen Barkin. In the storyline, a nasty male chauvinist, is reincarnated as an attractive female. The use of the Joni Mitchell song was therefore suitable and proved a hit for the group. Released in 1993, Banba became Clannad's 13th studio album and received rave reviews and the band's first Grammy nomination. The album jogged comfortably to the number one spot in the World Music Chart. Banba is a romantic mythical name for Ireland. In the track "I Will Find You," written especially for the film The Last of the Mohicans, Máire sings in English, Mohican and Cherokee. Once again all the songs were written and produced by Ciarán Brennan, except "Sunset Dreams", written by Noel Duggan. Moya Brennan described the album as "a fusion of various styles of music, growing out of a traditional Gaelic root." Banba has been described as one of Clannad's most visual albums, and has sold over 1 million copies to date.
  The album Lore (1996) gave some thought to the Native American Indians. On "Trail of Tears", when Noel Duggan imagines how it felt to be exiled from one's ancestral land, he was also thinking about these people and their connection with the Irish. It opens with "Croí Cróga" ('braveheart' in English) which was written as a theme tune for the Mel Gibson film Braveheart which, for unknown reasons, never made it onto the soundtrack. Lore features American drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and Mel Collins. It contained a strong jazz element, with songs such as "Seanchas" blending contemporary sounds with traditional Irish music and the Irish language. Clannad toured Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in 1996 to promote the Lore album, but due to apparent disagreements with Atlantic Records, plans to tour the USA were scrapped. In 1996, they received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish recording industry (the IRMA).
  Clannad returned in 1997 with another album, Landmarks.  In the song "Of This Land", Máire sings about Ireland, of its past and of its future. The track "Fadó" (translates as Long Ago), demonstrates the influences of old Celtic history on Clannad's music. It became one of the most celebrated Irish albums in history and in 1999, it won the group a Grammy award for Best New Age Album.
  In 1999, the group composed the song "What Will I Do" for the Kevin Costner film, Message in a Bottle.
caption: Clannad as a quartet in London, March 2008
exif: {}