Marc Carroll

Marc Carroll (born 25 January 1972) is an Irish musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has released 11 albums. He is currently signed to One Little Indian Records, who released his most recent studio album, Love Is All Or Love Is Not At All on 6 November 2015. The label also released remastered and expanded editions of his first 4 albums in February 2014. He has received considerable critical acclaim for his recorded output but has never reached any significant level of mainstream success. The Irish Times newspaper have called him "One of Ireland's great lost songwriters, touched by genius and whose dealings with the music industry have become the stuff of legend", and British rock critic Fred Deller wrote in Mojo Magazine that his work was "deserving of a far wider audience." Carroll was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1972. Aged 15 he moved to London. He played in several punk bands during this time. A 7" single was recorded in 1989 at a studio in Islington, London. 250 copies were pressed of this record but most were subsequently destroyed. A test pressing of the record is the only known copy to exist. In an interview with Uncut magazine he said "The Sex Pistols and Buddy Holly were the two things that changed my life." Carroll has cited Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson among his inspirations. In an article for the US magazine, American Songwriter in 2013, Carroll spoke about the diversity of his influences, "All through my life I have been drawn to melodies and so often these melodies were delivering urgent, savvy messages and stories. Frequently these tales and stories came from so-called outsiders. The voices that sang these songs were distinct and unique. They filled your heart and refreshed your soul. From Chuck Berry to Chuck D. Anything was possible. From the Sex Pistols to Captain Beefheart. There are no rules. From Crass to Bob Dylan. There is no authority but yourself." Returning to Dublin in 1990, Carroll was a founding member and the sole songwriter of Dublin three-piece power/punk band, Puppy Love Bomb. The band recorded several radio sessions for the Dave Fanning show and were courted by record labels, notably Warner Brothers, before eventually signing with the UK independent label Rough Trade and releasing 3 singles. Two EPs were produced by Martin Carr of The Boo Radleys. The band toured across Europe with Bob Mould's post Hüsker Dü outfit, Sugar. Mould joined the band on the last night of the tour to play a version of The Beatles classic song, Ticket To Ride. No album ever materialised as the label fell into financial difficulties and the band split acrimoniously after a final show at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. Carroll returned to London where Rough Trade took over his management. The group's official recorded output has been out of print since 1994. Although the band only released 10 songs commercially, outtakes, radio sessions, demos and unreleased material have surfaced on several bootleg CDs originating from Japan. The recorded output and copyright is now under the ownership of One Little Indian Records. The Hormones were a rock band formed in London in 1996. Carroll was the sole songwriter for the group, whose sound was described as a mixture between Teenage Fanclub and Stiff Little Fingers. Carroll was a founder of the band, who released their debut single in 1996 as part of the Trade2/Island records singles club. The band members were Jez Housden on Bass and former Guns n' Wankers and Wildhearts drummer, Pat Walters. The group eventually signed to Richard Branson's V2 label and released 5 singles. The third single "Mr. Wilson" was Carroll's tribute to Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, the lyrics almost entirely consisting of Beach Boys song titles. Brian Wilson heard the track and Carroll was invited to the legendary songwriter's birthday show at New York City's Beacon Theatre in 1999. An album, Where Old Ghosts Meet (a reference from On Raglan Road by Patrick Kavanagh), was released in 1998 but deleted the same week. It has been listed in a book 101 Irish Records You Need to Hear Before You Die. The band featured in the wedding episode of US TV show Friends - a track written by Carroll and originally issued as a B-side, "Tired Old Souls", was featured.[citation needed] The band toured consistently throughout the UK and Europe. Carroll also performed with the Scottish Poet/Songwriter Eric Bogle at the Weavers Club in London in 1996 and the band opened for The Cranberries on a European tour in 1999.[citation needed] A 2-CD edition of the album was issued in Japan on the Excellent label in 2002 in a limited run of 1000 copies. The bonus disc featured B-sides and unreleased material. A second pressing of the vinyl edition was issued on the Velvet label in Japan in a pressing of 500 copies. The group split in 1999 after a show in Madrid, Spain and the recorded output remains out of print.[citation needed] A multi disc (6CD) bootleg set was released on the Last Waltz label in Japan in 2003; it included demos, outtakes, alternate mixes, radio sessions and unreleased material. The group released 5 singles from the Where Old Ghosts Meet album, with each single featuring 3 exclusive non-album B-sides, which added up to 15 extra songs that were not included on the original album.[citation needed] Carroll signed to Universal Music in 1999 and recorded his first solo album, Ten of Swords later that year. 3 singles were released in Ireland only. Carroll played all of the instruments himself as well as taking on co-production duties with longtime recording partner, Adi Winman. Former Smiths Guitarist, Craig Gannon played on several tracks. Gannon also toured the album with Carroll across the UK and Japan in 2002. The album featured Andrew Stidman, drummer of UK rock band, The Wildhearts on one song. The album was hampered by further record company problems. The UK label refused to release the record. In an interview with The Irish Times in 2005 Carroll said, "Sometimes record companies will sign you up so no-one else can, and that happened to me. I was left dangling at Universal for two years of my life so I had no hesitation in saying goodbye." The Irish division of Universal pressed the album and sent it to media but it was withdrawn a week before its scheduled release date. Legendary UK A&R figure, Andrew Lauder eventually released the album on his Evangeline label in 2002 and the record was met with critical acclaim with UK music magazine Uncut awarding it a 4 star review and calling it "One of the finest debuts of recent times." The album received mainly positive critical feedback. Mojo magazine's review of the album stated "A soul full of Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds and The Buzzcocks...he could move to Nashville and become a millionaire." The Village Voice in New York said "He sounds like a jacked up Wilco." Ireland's Hot Press ran a poor review under the heading "Blunt Sword" and criticised Carroll's version of the traditional song "Row the Boat Ashore", noting that its inclusion was a "blunder of Spinal Tap proportions, it's not funny and it's not clever." The Independent wrote "His dealings with the record industry are fast becoming stuff of legend but he delivers a wide range of musical goods with palpable passion." The Irish Times in an interview with Carroll in 2005 wrote that "those who skipped over 'Row The Boat Ashore' on Ten of Swords and worried about the inclusion of 'On Raglan Road' on All Wrongs Reversed were missing the point and the music." The cover of the album is a homage to the infamous bootleg label, 'Trade Mark of Quality'. The album title came from a Bob Dylan 10 LP Bootleg set of the same name. The Japanese edition of the album included two bonus tracks and was issued in a red sleeve. It was reissued again with different packaging by High Noon Recordings in 2006. In 2014 One Little Indian released a remastered and expanded edition of Ten of Swords as part of a comprehensive overhaul