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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZFLOOKFlook is a Irish-flavored folk quartet, formed in November 1995 for a one-off tour as Three Nations Flutes, with a frontline of three flutes and whistles, and what sounds like a good pub act has become something more than that. They were first called Fluke, then renamed themselves after a cartoon-strip character created by trad jazz clarinetist Wally Fawkes in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.Irishman Brian Finnegan had been a member of Upstairs in a Tent, while Londoner Sarah Allen was a veteran of the adventurous Barely Works and Bigjig. From Manchester, Michael McGoldrick was winner of the 1995 Young Tradition Award. As well as a founder member of Flook, he was in at the beginning of Lúnasa and has toured with Afro Celt Sound System and Capercaillie, and maintained a strong solo career. Acoustic guitarist Ed Boyd from Bath had played with Red Ceil. The original lineup was preserved on their debut album Flook! Live! (1997 on a Smallworld label), but McGoldrick soon moved on. Instead of another flutist, the band brought in another Mancunian, John Joe Kelly on the bodhrán, adding a new dimension. He had played with Altan and Paul Brady, had been an occasional guest with Flook, and has been described as the best bodhrán player in the world. Finnegan plays lead flute (you might say) supported by Allen's harmonic abilities (and her piano accordion, which offers yet more variety), while Boyd and Kelly are more than a supporting rhythmic role. Several critics have remarked that even people who think they're not interested in this kind of music should be enchanted by Flook's jigs and reels and ballads. An out-of-print album, The Four of Us, was another live record, followed by their studio sets, each one more polished than the last: Flatfish 2000, followed by Rubai 2004 and Haven in 2006, all on their own Flatfish label. |