Fiddle Player Kevin Burke interview, Ireland 1987

Born in London, Kevin Burke has become known as a Sligo fiddle player. Kevin Burke was born in London in 1950 of Irish parents. He started playing when he was eight years old and has become a master fiddle player on the traditional Irish music scene. A former member of The Bothy Band, he has recently formed a new band ‘Patrick Street’ with Andy Irvine, Jackie Daly and Arty McGlynn. Kevin Burke now lives in Oregon but spends much of the year in Ireland. He now hopes to spend a lot more time in Ireland with plans to come and live in Kinvara south of Galway. The main reason for the move is that he misses playing Irish music and the social aspect that goes with it. While America is a good place, it has a very different social aspect to playing music. There are not many traditional fiddle players in Oregon playing Irish music. Kevin Burke recalls going on tour to the United States with The Bothy Band which served to reignite his interest in the place. When the band split, he gradually began to spend more time there. However, as time passed, he began to miss Ireland. The obvious way to fix it was to spend more time here. Although born in London, Kevin Burke has become known as a Sligo fiddler. There’s a type of music, a style of music that’s particular to Sligo. He says some of the great Irish musicians were fiddle players many of whom came from Sligo. I just became very influence by the place and the people and the music. Kevin Burke recalls seeing some great musicians from all over Ireland playing in London when he was growing up. The fiddle players had a particular influence on him. This episode of ‘Hanly’s People’ was broadcast on 8 June 1987. The reporter is David Hanly.