Billy Mahonie

Billy Mahonie is a British instrumental post-rock quartet formed in London in 1997. The original line-up consisted of Gavin Baker (guitar), Howard Monk (drums), Hywell Dinsdale (bass and guitar) and Kevin Penney (bass).Their first release was on the Fierce Panda record label, a split-single with Rothko, followed by a release on the Fierce Panda offshoot Livid Meerkat and an EP on Gold Hole Recordings. At the start of 1999 the band signed with Too Pure, who released their debut album The Big Dig produced by Head. That year they also recorded their first of two Peel Sessions, and toured Europe.
In 2000 Mahonie moved to Southern Records and recorded their second album with Toby Robinson, Harvey Birrell and Head producing. The double album What Becomes Before was released in 2001. This was followed by a second european tour. The band took a few months off in 2002 but regrouped in the autumn with a new line up of Baker and Monk joined by Duncan Brown (bass) and Anthony Barratt (guitar). A third album Dust was released on Tritone Records in 2004.
A collection of singles Found was released in 2005 on Oof Records and the band played shows in 2004, 2005 and 2006 with mixture of line-ups including all six members. They then took a break from live work. A compilation of demos, out takes and singles entitled Exhale on Mare Street came out on Unlabel in 2007 and was re-released in 2010 having been remastered with a couple of extra tracks.
A fourth album BM came out in autumn 2009. This time the album was recorded by just Baker and Monk and was released on Static Caravan as a limited lathe-cut record and download. The original line-up of Baker, Dinsdale, Monk and Penney played selected shows in 2009, 2010 (Audioscope Festival) and 2014 (The End Festival). The original band reunited once more in 2017 for two shows and again in 2019, this time at Church Studios, London, where they recorded new material. 
==Links to Peel==
Peel discovered the group in August 1998 when he played their track, 'Soon', which was a split single with Rothko. Further material from the group were played on his shows including two sessions recorded for his programmes between 1999 and 2002. He nominated their single, 'Flume' as one of his records of the month for December 2000 (Peel's Record Box) and their album, 'What Becomes Before' as one of his records of the month for September 2001 (Peel's Record Box).
==Sessions==
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1. Recorded: 1999-01-24. First Broadcast: 30 March 1999
*Watching People Speak When You Can't Hear / World Inaction / We Accept American Dollars / We Both Agreed That The Lemon Was The
2. Recorded live: 2002-12-11. First Broadcast: 11 December 2002
*As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs / Dusseldorf
==Other Shows Played==
;thumb|220x220px1998
*13 August 1998: Hoon (shared single with Rothko) Fierce Panda
;1999
*12 January 1999: ‘Man With The Woman Head (7 inch – Little Feet)’ Gold Hole Recordings
*January 1999 (FSK): Man With The Woman Head (8 Track) (CD - Come On Billy Mahonie Give It Your Best Shot) Too Pure
*21 January 1999 (Radio Eins): Little Feet (7") Gold Hole Recordings
*18 February 1999: Are We Rolling? (7" - Little Feat) Gold Hole
*25 February 1999 (Radio Eins): Are We Rolling? (7" - Little Feat) Gold Hole
*18 March 1999: Glenda Compilation (v/a album - Will Our Children Thank Us) Foundry
*June 1999 (FSK): Glenda (CD - The Big Dig) Too Pure
*22 June 1999: We Accept American Dollars (LP - The Big Dig) Too Pure
*23 June 1999: Watching People Speak When You Can't Hear What They're Saying (LP - The Big Dig) Too Pure
*24 June 1999 (Radio Eins): Drago (LP - The Big Dig) Too Pure
*15 July 1999 (Radio Eins): Flagiolettes (LP - The Big Dig) Too Pure
*22 July 1999: 'Watching People Speaking When You Can't Hear What They're Saying (CD-The Big Dig)' (Too Pure)
*10 August 1999: 'We Accept American Dollars (CD-The Big Dig)' (Too Pure)
;2000
*13 December 2000: Flume (7”) Speakerphone
*14 December 2000 (Radio Eins): Flume (7”) Speakerphone
;2001
*January 2001 (FSK): Flume (7") Speakerphone
*21 February 2001: 'Flume (7")' (Speakerphone Recordings)
*06 September 2001: Fishing With A Man For A Shark (LP - What Becomes Before) Southern
*20 September 2001: Fishing With A Man For A Shark (LP - What Becomes Before) Southern
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
 
Category:Artists