British post-rock band Billy Mahonie formed in London in 1997, and consisted of Gavin Baker (guitar), Howard Monk (drums), Hywell Dinsdale (bass and guitar) and Kevin Penney (bass). Their first release was on the Fierce Panda record label, and was a split-single with Rothko, with their contribution being the track 'Hoon'. This was followed later the same year with their own single, 'Whistling Sam' / 'On The Brinck', on the Fierce Panda offshoot Livid Meerkat, and in 1999 by the 'Little Feet' EP on Gold Hole Recordings. At the start of 1999, the band signed with Too Pure, who released their debut album 'The Big Dig', produced by Head, and they also recorded the first of their two John Peel Sessions. The album was purely instrumental post-rock, and has been described as sonic wallpaper, but it gained the band a loyal following, helped by exposure on the John Peel shows, and their subsequent sessions for the DJ. In 2000 the band moved to Southern Records and recorded their second album with Toby Robinson, Harvey Birrell and Head producing, with the double album 'What Becomes Before' being released in 2001. This is regarded as much better than 'The Big Dig', with rhythm and feel being given more prominence, and even sounding funky at times. This was followed by a second European tour, after which the band took a few months off in 2002, but regrouped in the autumn with a new line up of Baker and Monk joined by Duncan Brown (bass) and Anthony Barratt (guitar).
After a switch to new label Tritone Records, they released their third album, 'Dust', in 2004, and then in 2005 Oof! Records issued a collection of their early singles. Between 2004 and 2006 the band played shows with a mixture of line-ups, including all six members, after which they took a break from live work. A compilation of demos, out takes and singles entitled 'Exhale On Mare Street' came out on Unlabel Records in 2007 and was re-released in 2010, with a couple of extra tracks. In 2009 the band released their fourth album, 'BM', on another new label, Static Caravan, although the music was actually recorded by just Baker and Monk. The original line-up of Baker, Dinsdale, Monk and Penney played selected shows in 2009, as well as the Audioscope Festival in 2010, and The End Festival in 2014, before officially reuniting in 2017 for two shows, and to record new material. Their fifth studio album, 'Field Of Heads', arrived in early 2024, on their own newly-formed label, Whistling Sam Projects, and it featured the original line-up of Baker, Monk, Dinsdale and Penney, and was recorded over two long weekends either side of the Covid lockdowns. Throughout their career Billie Mahonie have released a number of split 7" singles with other bands, which featured non-album tracks, as well as EPs and singles made up of exclusive material, and even their Peel sessions included previously unrecorded music. This post collects them all together in one place, to either introduce the band to a whole new raft of fans, or to fill some gaps in the collections of people who remember them fondly from their heyday in late 90's and early 2000's.
Track listing
Disc I - 1998-1999
01 Hoon (split single with Rothko 1998)
02 Whistling Sam (single 1998)
03 On The Brinck (b-side of 'Whistling Sam')
04 The Evil Donor (from the 'Come On Billy Mahonie Give It Your Best Shot' 3CD set)
05 No No No No No (from the 'Come On Billy Mahonie Give It Your Best Shot' 3CD set)
06 Harmonics (from the 'Come On Billy Mahonie Give It Your Best Shot' 3CD set)
07 Man With The Woman Head (from 'Come On Billy Mahonie Give It Your Best Shot' 3CD set)
08 Rot Of The Stars (split single with Seafood 1999)
09 Little Feet (single 1999)
10 Are We Rolling (b-side of 'Little Feet')
Disc II - 1999-2001
01 World Inaction (split single with Jullander 1999)
02 Let Them Eat Shit (split single with Jullander 1999)
03 We Both Agreed That The Lemon Was The (John Peel session 1999)
04 Au Lac Contraire (b-side of 'Flume' 2000)
05 Be Delta (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
06 No Closer (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
07 As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
08 Thirteen: Two (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
09 The Seven Percent Solution (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
10 The Snow Princess (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
11 Theme From E. B. Munsen (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
12 For Your Friends (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
13 The Band That's The Strongest (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
14 Not Right Timing (from the 'Tribute To Jet Johnson' EP 2001)
