Floral Musicians

The Hothouse Flowers began in 1985 as “The Incomparable Benzini Brothers” when Liam O Maonlai and Fiachna  O Braonain began performing as street musicians. They joined by Peter O’ Toole and rose in popularity. Renaming the group “The Hothouse Flowers” they began their conquest of Europe by writing songs and performing them in Ireland.

U2’s Bono saw them in 1986 on television and quickly offered his support to the fledgling band. They produced a single on U2’s Mother Records and quickly got a deal with London Records, a subsidiary of Polygram. People was released in 1988 and becamse the best selling debut album in Irish history. The second album quickly followed in 1990 but did not do as well as the first. In 1993, Songs From The Rain received great reviews but sales were less stellar.

Because of that, the group decided to enter a long hiatus that began in 1994. During that time, the individual members went through several changes in their personal lives. The group also separated from their manager and a line-up change took place as well. By 1999, they reached the end of their relationship with London Records as well. The band opted not to renew this arrangement. February 2004 saw the release of Into Your Heart. This album gained both critical and commercial success. This is due in large part to the extensive touring the band went through to support the release. It is hoped that they continue to put out more albums since they are a credit to the Irish music scene as a whole.

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