The Saw Doctors

Few folk-rock bands from the west of Ireland have a story quite like The Saw Doctors, who started out in Tuam, County Galway, in 1986. Leo Moran and Davy Carton founded the group, and through 1987 and 1988 they toured in support of the Hothouse Flowers, the Stunning and the Waterboys, building a name on dynamic live shows. Their music blends folk and rock, and their reputation was built first on the stage.

Their breakthrough came with 'I Useta Lover', released in July 1990, which spent nine weeks at number one in Ireland and remains the country's biggest-selling single. The 1991 debut album, If This Is Rock and Roll, I Want My Old Job Back, entered the Irish albums chart at number one. Overall they have logged eighteen Top 30 singles in Ireland, three of them chart-toppers, and released seven studio albums. Their 1996 album Same Oul' Town peaked at number six in the UK Albums Chart. In 2008 they received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards, and Carton and Moran remain at the core of a band that still tours and releases new music.