"Admiral William Brown"
Single by the Wolfe Tones
from the album A Sense of Freedom
Released1983
GenreIrish folk
Length4:39
Label
  • Triskel Records
Composer(s)Derek Warfield,[1] Brian Warfield[2]
The Wolfe Tones singles chronology
"Streets of New York"
(1981)		 "Admiral William Brown"
(1983)		 "Farewell to Dublin"
(1983)

"Admiral William Brown" is a song written and first performed by the Wolfe Tones in 1982,[1] the year of the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom.[3] The song recounts the biography of Irish-Argentine admiral William Brown (1777–1857),[4] and contains denunciations of imperialism, colonialism and the United Kingdom. It was included in the group's 1983 album, A Sense of Freedom.[4][5]

The song was popular in Ireland,[6] reaching number four in the Irish Singles Chart.[7] In the United States, Admiral William Brown reached the top spot on WROL's "Irish Hit Parade".[8] While the song was reportedly not released in the UK,[3] according to the group, the controversial lyrics caused all of the Wolfe Tones's music to be banned on radio in the UK from 1983.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Daly, Raymond, ed. (2008). Celtic & Ireland in Song and Story. Dublin: Studio Print. p. 87. ISBN 9780956104700. The song was recorded by The Wolfe Tones and was a top ten hit in Ireland that year. The ballad pays tribute to Admiral William Brown (1777-1857), also known in Argentina as Guillermo Brown, "The Father of the Argentinian Navy"
  2. ↑ Mallon, Sandra (14 December 2022). "Wolfe Tones star praises Argentina football bosses over Falklands War chant". dublinlive.ie. Mirror News Group. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Singing hit at Britain". Evening Post. Bristol. 6 May 1982. p. 33. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Wolfe Tones: Songs With Bite". washingtonpost.com. Washington Post. 3 February 1984. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  5. ↑ Baños Pozzati, Malena (6 December 2020). "The Wolfe Tones, el legendario grupo irlandés que les canta a las Islas Malvinas Argentinas y está prohibido en Gran Bretaña". clarin.com (in Spanish). Clarín Group. Retrieved 22 December 2022. La canción sobre Brown, incluída en el 12° disco del grupo llamado "A Sense of Freedom"
  6. ↑ Edwards, Ruth (11 March 2013). "To hell with those who would sell out the Falklands islanders. Our loyalty to them is a matter of national honour". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Charts - Search - Admiral". irishcharts.ie. Irish Music Rights Organisation. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022.
  8. ↑ "Clubs Get a Jump on St. Paddy's Day Fun". The Pittsburgh Press. 10 March 1983. p. 50. Presently the No. 1 hit on the Irish Hit Parade is their newest ballad "Admiral William Brown"
  9. ↑ "Los músicos irlandeses que llevan 40 años prohibidos en Gran Bretaña por un tema que dice 'las Islas Malvinas argentinas'". clarin.com (in Spanish). Clarín Group. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
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