HORSLIPS Vinyl Records and CDs

Horslips were the first "Celtic Rock" band in Ireland, releasing their first single in 1972. They disbanded in 1980, with some of their members going on to high profile careers (Eamon Carr as a journalist, Barry Devlin as a screenwriter and Jim Lockhart as a top Irish radio producer). The original line-up has reformed in 2005. [u]A note on CD editions[/u]: All CD editions prior to 1999 are inferior. When Horslips split in 1981, the rights to their back catalogue were sold by their last tour manager to Outlet Records of Belfast. This was done without the bands consent. Outlet reissued all the albums on vinyl, cassette and eventually CD over the following years. The original editions of these CD issues are direct transfers (no mention of remastering on the covers) released in conjunction with Homespun Records of Dublin. Later Outlet issues are remasters with improved sound quality and cover artwork, but some still questioned their quality. In 1999, Horslips won a lengthy legal battle with Outlet, re-gaining the rights to their back catalogue, and ceasing all manufacture of Outlet editions. A new remastering program was launched and the first official CD remasters came out on Edsel Records in 2000. All subsequent CD issues are official remasters.