IRA is a Polish rock band formed in 1987 in Radom by Jakub Płucisz (guitar). They gained wide popularity in Poland in the early nineties, mainly after releasing the "Mój Dom" album, with the hit title song, which dates back to their garage and semi-professional days. They also gained some local popularity amongst Polish-speaking citizens in the United States, where they lived and worked for few months. After signing a professional contract back in Poland, they released a few albums which did not prove to be commercially successful (except for the "Mój Dom" follow-up, which was "IRA 1993"), and the band disbanded afterwards. Artur Gadowski started a solo career. He opened for Brian May before his show in Warsaw in September 1998. Artur's solo efforts were not very successful either, and what success he did gain was largely based on the then high profile of IRA.
IRA | |
|---|---|
 Ira in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Radom, Poland |
| Genres | rock, hard rock, pop-rock |
| Years active | 1987–1996, 1998, 2001–present |
| Labels | Proint, Kontakt, TOP Music, Akar, Zic-Zac, BMG Poland, QL Music, My Music |
| Members | Artur Gadowski Piotr Sujka Wojciech Owczarek Sebastian Piekarek Piotr Konca |
| Past members | Kuba Płucisz Dariusz Grudzień Grzegorz Wawrzeńczyk Tomasz Bracichowicz Piotr Łukaszewski Jarosław Zarychta Paweł Matracki Zbigniew Suski Marcin Bracichowicz Maciek Gładysz |
| Website | https://zespolira.pl |
A few years later the band reunited, and remains active. Once again, they have not attained much popularity, but are well known amongst hard rock fans in Poland, and their concerts are well attended.
The name "IRA" comes from a Latin word ira, meaning anger (this was the band founders' intention). However, this has been mistaken for the acronym of the Irish Republican Army.[1]
Members
edit- Artur Gadowski - vocals (1987-1996, 1998, 2001-present), guitars (1987, 2001)
- Sebastian Piekarek - guitars (2003-2005, 2015-present)
- Piotr Konca - guitars (2005-present)
- Piotr "Jinx" Sujka - bass guitar (1989-1996, 1998, 2001-present)
- Wojciech Owczarek - drums (1987-1996, 1998, 2001-present)
Current touring members
edit- Marcin Trojanowicz - keyboards, accordeon (occasionally 2009-present)
Former members
edit- Jakub Płucisz - guitars, founder (1987-1996, 1998)
- Paweł Matracki - guitars (1990-1991)
- Piotr "Peter" Łukaszewski - solo guitar (1991-1996)
- Zbigniew Suski - guitars (2001-2003)
- Maciej Gładysz - guitars (2003-2005)
- Marcin Bracichowicz - guitars (2003-2015)
- Dariusz Grudzień - bass guitar (1987-1989)
- Grzegorz Wawrzeńczyk - keyboards (1987-1988, died in 2012)
- Tomasz Bracichowicz - keyboards (1988-1989)
- Jarosław Zarychta - keyboards (1989-1991)
Former touring members
edit- Tomasz Czyżewski - solo guitar (1992, 1993, 1998)
- Tomasz Ciastko - guitars (2001)
- Wojciech Gadaszewski - keyboards (acoustic concerts 2022)
Discography
edit
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POL [2][3][4][5][6] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ira |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| Mój dom (My home) |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993 rok (Year 1993) |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| Znamię (Mark) |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| Ogrody (Gardens) |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| Tu i teraz (Here and now) |
|
24 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ogień (Fire) |
|
2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Londyn 08:15 (08:15 London) |
|
1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | 15 |
|
| ||||||||||||||||
| X | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| My (We) |
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Jutro (Tomorrow) |
|
||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Polish band, named Ira, banned in Britain". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "IRA - Tu i Teraz - Muzyka w Interia.pl". muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "IRA - Ogień - Muzyka w Interia.pl". muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "IRA - Londyn 8:15 - Muzyka w Interia.pl". muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "IRA - 9 - Muzyka w Interia.pl". muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "9 by Ira! on iTunes". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "ZPAV :: Bestsellery i wyróżnienia - Wyróżnienia - Regulamin". bestsellery.zpav.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "ZPAV :: Bestsellery i wyróżnienia - Wyróżnienia - Złote płyty CD - Archiwum". bestsellery.zpav.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "IRA - X - Muzyka w Interia.pl". muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
- ^ "X by Ira on iTunes". itunes.apple.com. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 2016-05-15.