The Martians (band)
The Martians | |
|---|---|
Indie | |
| Years active | 2001–present |
The Martians are an
The Sundowe is a musical set in Edinburgh about the rising dead, written by Edinburgh based writers and performers John, James and Gerry Kielty, and featuring their band, The Martians.
Band members and origins
- John Henry Micheal Maximillian Kielty
Head Martian and actor, writer and musician.
John Kielty had a lead role in One Life Stand film, and performed on the stage in Edinburgh. He writes musicals and also co-wrote
John met David Sneddon while performing in Romeo and Juliet. He was acting Juliet's father and David was acting Romeo. After playing some acoustic gigs together at the Tron in Glasgow in 2001, they decided to start a band and called themselves The Martians.
- Gerry Kielty
John's younger brother, vocalist, performer and lyricist. Gerry frequently adopts an unusual "mouse" style singing voice. His main interest is in writing lyrics and scripts for Martian's shows.
- Houston
Banjo player, guitarist and vocalist. Generally known as "Houston". He frequently adopts a country and western style, as is well shown in "Mulch The Undead Cowboy".[4] He co-writes much of the traditional Edinburgh Festival shows, along with the brothers Kielty.
- Harry Ward
Guitarist and vocalist. As a long-serving Martian musician Harry played himself during The Sundowe performances during the Highland Quest competition.
A time-served actor well advanced in years compared to the rest of the band, Crawford supplies much of the voice-over work, in a style reminiscent of Richard Burton's work in Jeff Wayne's "
Folklore/Marketing
The Martians claim to be survivors of a disastrous invasion attempt in "last years of the nineteenth Century" who have adopted the guise of a band to fit in whilst they regain their strength for a final destruction of the "Puny Humans". Their music and website contain multiple direct and backhanded references to
They are keen supporters of open source software and free music, and as such have several complete songs available for free download, the only stipulation being that credits are upheld.
Achievements
John Kielty and
The Sundowe
The Martians' musical The Sundowe got down to the final five stage of The Highland Quest for a new Scottish Musical competition from over 150 entrants. Written by brothers John, James and Gerry Kielty, the Sundowe is, "set in present day Edinburgh with the city in terror. People begin vanishing and vampires stalk the streets". The Quest was run in partnership with
In July 2006, highlights from these five finalists musicals were performed in Ullapool, Scotland and the Sundowe won the competition.[1]
The Sundowe was then one of the opening events in the newly constructed Eden Court Theatre, Inverness in November 2007, before it embarked on a Scottish tour.[2] it toured the Scottish Highlands. Cameron Mackintosh, who produced the musicals Cats and Les Misérables, was producing.
Greyfriars Twisted Tales
Produced by The Bridewell Theatre Company and City of the Dead Walking Tours, Greyfriars Twisted Tales premiered at the
On 27 October 2008, Greyfriars Twisted Tales transferred to London for one performance at the Etcetera Theatre. Produced by Cassie Wadsworth and Frazer Brown in association with The Rival Theatre Company.[11][12][13]
References
- ^ a b c d "Highland Quest website". Highland-quest.com. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
- ^ a b "The Sundowe is victorious". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
- ^ a b "HoME - THE MARTIANS FANSITE". Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "The Martian Chronicle". Archived from the original on 18 January 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "David Sneddon Fansite". 15 July 2006. Archived from the original on 15 July 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Paisley - Latest news updates, pictures, video, reaction - Daily Record". Dailyrecord.co.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "David Sneddon (davidsneddon) on Myspace". Myspace.com. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Musical review: Greyfriars Twisted Tales - Scotsman.com". Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
- ^ "OnstageScotland.co.uk :: Review :: Greyfriars Twisted Tales". Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
- ^ "Three Weeks". Threeweeks.co.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Etcetera Theatre". Etceteratheatre.com. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Details: The Martians: Greyfriars Twisted Tales". Etceteratheatre.com. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Greyfriars Twisted Tales at Etcetera Theatre - Fringe". Timeout.com. Retrieved 26 June 2020.