Hailing from Sherburn Village, County Durham , England, twin brothers Gary and Glenn Miller (who were once referred to by a UK music journalist as "the Joe Strummer and Mick Jones of Folk Music") formed The Whisky Priests in 1985, aged Eighteen, with no previous professional experience in the music industry but with a burning creative vision.
With an initial line-up made up of old school friends, they played their first gig in their hometown of Durham at Fowlers Yard Youth & Community Centre on 4th October 1985.
Within two months and after having performed only two gigs, they were invited to contribute a song for a compilation album of Durham-based bands, entitled 'Twelve Go Mad in Durham'. The fledgling Whisky Priests duly entered Prism Sound Studio in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to make their debut studio recording, and the song they chose to record was 'Danny's Hard Life', the first song Gary had written for the band.
The band's next major milestone came in January 1987, when they appeared on one of the very last editions of legendary music TV programme 'The Tube'. Later that year, The Whisky Priests debut single 'The Colliery' was released through a local independent record label, while the band graduated to playing beyond its local North East region for the first time, with a trip to Thames Polytechnic in London. This quickly led to further gigs throughout other parts of the country, as the band became regulars on the UK touring circuit.
On the strength of this, in 1988, Gary and Glenn formed Whippet Records, their own independent label, which launched with the release of two Whisky Priests 12" EPs in rapid succession...
'No Chance'...
"Accordions on acid... compulsive dementia" (Sounds, UK).
and 'Grandfatha's Fatha'...
"Raw, raucous and 100% folk-thrash fun" (Dirty Linen, USA).
These were each supported by a full UK Tour, all of which contributed towards boosting the band's emerging national profile.
Several personnel changes then led to The Whisky Priests expanding from a 5-piece to a 6-piece, including the addition of fiddle and northumbrian pipes.
This line-up recorded the band's third successive EP release 'Halcyon Days'...
"Stirring, stylish rock with its roots firmly in the North-East tradition. Can’t recommend it enough" (Rock 'N' Reel, UK).
... alongside their widely-acclaimed debut album 'Nee Gud Luck'...
"The contemporary folk masterpiece" (Rock 'N' Reel, UK).
"A cracker of a debut", (Folk Roots, UK).
... released simultaneously in 1989.