Brothers in Arms

If there’s been one man whose name is on the lips of people around the world this year, then it’s that of the new American president Barack Obama. Not only is he the first black president, he’s also the first Socialist Muslim in the White House too, and now, thanks to research by Canon Stephen Neill, it’s been revealed that he’s got Irish ancestry as well (when you think about it logically though, his surname was a giveaway from the start). Keen to take advantage of this little quirk in history, North Tipperary outfit the Corrigan Brothers have written a song all about it called ‘There’s No-One As Irish As Barack Obama’ in tribute to the man himself. Clearly, they smell what Barack is cookin’.

“Barack Obama’s relatives all come from Moneygal, County Offally,” reveals Corrigan head honcho Ger. “We decided to write a song about it at the start of the year and it took about 20 minutes to do and it’s literally changed our lives for the better.”
Up until relatively recently, Ger and his brothers Brian and Donncha were called Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys, but after a quick name change and appearances on The Late, Late Show and The Afternoon Show and The Andrew Marr show on the BBC as well as Stateside programmes such as Hardball, the boys were quickly snapped up by Universal Records and they’re now releasing their single just in time for Christmas.
“It’s mad how quickly everything came together,” proffers Ger. “Our song has really captured people’s imaginations and we love the fact that we can make someone smile with something jovial and fun in such a bleak time. We’ve even been invited to play at the Irish American Democrats inauguration party in Washington in January and we’re brining Canon Stephen Neill as well as some of Barack’s long lost relatives over. Ted Kennedy is even turning up apparently, which will be great.”
Needless to say, with all the interest the Corrigan Brothers have garnered, it seems like a good idea to look into other celebrity family trees. Maybe Samuel L. Jackson has a bit of Irish in him…
“I know. Maybe we should make a concept album about it,” laughs Ger. “We’re so grateful for all the coverage we’re receiving though. I’m over the moon to be talking to Hot Press. I’ve still got the very first issue of the magazine with the Boomtown Rats on the cover.”
While the anoraks among you may point out that Rory Gallagher was our first ever cover star, Ger’s enthusiasm is charming nonetheless and it’s that honesty that has made the Corrigans such a hot property at the moment.
“We’ve always been like this,” says the singer. “We’re hard workers and we have most of our first album written already and our next single ‘The Irish Invented Rock ‘N’ Roll’ is all good to go.”
Taking a leaf out of the Corrigan’s book, Hot Press decided to do a little digging into the background of the boys and we discovered that yes, while they are indeed related, Ger has some rather dodgy roots playing in an 80s hard rock band that he’d prefer to keep hidden.
“I used to be in a group called The Tear Collectors,” he smiles. “Don’t worry though, I made sure to bury everything we’ve ever done and if anyone out there has one of our singles, I’ll gladly buy it off you so I can destroy it. But yes, we are all officially brothers. We have the birth certificates to prove it and if anyone doubts it you can ask our mother.”
With songs about Barack, Roy Keane, the dreaded Credit Crunch and transexuals under their belts, it’s pretty clear that the band aren’t short of subject matter for their soon to be released debut and ’09 should be exciting times for the former Nancy Boys.
“We’ve got lots of ideas for songs,” concludes Ger. “We just want to put a little bit of light back into the world. We’ve a good few new songs and we’ve also got some great old ones as well. We’ve a tune called ‘Ladyboy’ that was a big hit on Podge and Rodge’s Ballydung Idol two years ago and some other stuff in the can as well. We’re hoping to make a big splash at the summer festivals, so fingers crossed everything will work out.”

‘There’s No One As Irish As Barack Obama’ is out now on Universal Records