For those of you not in the know, Horslips, the founding fathers of Celtic Rock, are delighted to announce that, while rumors of their demise as a performing entity have sadly not been exaggerated, they are releasing, in July 2022, through the good auspices of Madfish Music, More Than You Can Chew – a stunning 35-disc box set overflowing with music, film and printed matter encapsulating their entire career.

The set has been curated by Bert Jansch/John McLaughlin biographer (and longstanding Horslips fan) Colin Harper in close collaboration with the band members.

The audio, including most of the film audio, has been restored and (re)mastered by IFTA award-winning engineer Cormac O’Kane. Herculean Horslips biographer Mark Cunningham has written the books, with fresh input from the band, and, wearing his day-job designer hat, has lovingly designed the set under the oversight of Horslips’ de facto art director Charles O’Connor.

In addition to the previously unreleased content, More Than You Can Chew includes two albums new to any digital medium: “Tryal” (1983) by the Host (a post-Horslips band featuring Eamon, Johnny and Charles) and “Breaking Star Codes” (1983) by Barry Devlin.

• 13 CDs – all 12 original 1972–80 albums (Live being a double) in mini-LP slipcases, in their original form and newly mastered
• 1 CD – Tracks from the Vaults Vol.2 – all of the single mixes and non-album tracks not included on the original TFTV (1977) compilation plus previously unreleased outtakes
• 8 CDs – anthologies of previously unreleased live and rehearsal recordings 1973–80, including “The Last Time” – the stunning final concert at the Ulster Hall 8/10/80 in full
• 3 CDs – 2 reunion-era Horslips albums: (1) “Roll Back” (2) “Live at the O2” (double)
• 1 CD – RTÉ Sessions 1971 – all previously unreleased
• 1 CD – RTÉ Sessions 1972 – all previously unreleased
• 1 CD – RTÉ Sessions 2004–12 – almost all previously unreleased
• 5 CDs – selected post-Horslips adventures:
1) Barry Devlin “Breaking Star Codes” (1983) – unreleased on CD;
2) The Host “Tryal” (1983) and non-album single sides (1983–85) – unreleased on CD;
3) Johnny Fean & Eamon Carr “Live & Studio 1984–86” – a new self-curated anthology of previously unreleased solo, duo and Host recordings from the period;
4) Jim Lockhart “Picking Up The Pieces” – a new self-curated anthology of his TV/radio soundtrack music (1980s-00s) – almost all previously unreleased;
5) Charles O’Connor’s “Resolution Suite Angel on the Mantelpiece” (1995).
• DVD1 – The RTÉ Vault 1973–79 – c.160 minutes (50% previously unreleased)
• DVD2 – The Reunion Era 2004–2019 – c.160 mins (95% previously unreleased)

Additionally, the Horslips will be releasing the first digital single from the box set “Sure The Boy Was Green” (Live 1980 ‘Belfast Gigs’ Outtake):

Horslips - Sure the Boy was Green (Live 1980 ‘Belfast Gigs’ Outtake)

This performance was recorded during a run of three nights at Belfast’s Whitla Hall towards the final Horslips album of their 1972-80 tenure, “The Belfast Gigs.”

It was mixed for possible inclusion on the album at the time and stored on a reel of tape but didn’t make the cut. With the multi-tracks for the three gigs now lost, this is the only professionally recorded outtake extant from those legendary gigs - Horslips going out with a bang.

On St Patrick’s Day 1972, Horslips released their debut 45, “Johnny’s Wedding” – in a single bound, inventing Celtic rock – with a press launch at Captain America, a Dublin diner. Over the next eight years they toured the world, recorded 12 albums and collapsed in a heap with a last hurrah at Belfast’s Ulster Hall in October 1980.

After lying in darkened rooms for a week or two, the five members – Eamon Carr, Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean, Jim Lockhart and Charles O’Connor – got on with their lives, enjoying many adventures in the worlds of music, media, U2-mentoring and bric-a-brac retailing in the Whitby area. In 2004, the Fab Five found themselves onstage in Derry with a bijou skiffle set at a fan-curated memorabilia exhibition.

The love in the room was overwhelming. Over the next five years, Horslips recorded a reunion album and made a handful of Irish TV and radio appearances until, in 2009, they ran out of excuses and opened the doors to the general public with sensational arena concerts in Belfast and Dublin. Twenty-nine years – the longest tea-break in history – gave way to a ten-year victory lap, untaken at a leisurely pace with huge smiles and glad-handing all round.

The Indian summer concluded by stealth at the end of 2019 – retrospectively announced in October 2021 – the legendary beast gently felled, like much else, by lockdown. Fans were glum yet grateful for a comeback that had outlasted the career proper.

Like the Spanish Inquisition, no one in the fan community was expecting a box set the size of a tombstone, or a tombstone the size of this box set. Fans can now be even more grateful – if considerably poorer.

HORSLIPS - More Than You Can Chew (35-Disc Box-Set Official Trailer)

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