The Walls

The Walls

The Walls are an Irish rock band. They were formed in 1998 by two ex-members of The Stunning – brothers Steve and Joe Wall. Their debut album Hi-Lo was released in 2000 and included the singles "Bone Deep", "Something's Wrong" and "Some Kind of a Girl". U2 invited The Walls to support them at their second show in Slane Castle in 2002 after the band sent them copies of their debut. A number of songs from Hi-Lo featured in movies: Goldfish Memory, On the Edge, and Dead Bodies. In 2002 they released the single "To the Bright and Shining Sun". It was used on an Irish TV commercial and became a hit in Ireland. The subsequent album New Dawn Breaking (2005) included "To the Bright and Shining Sun" and three other singles: "Drowning Pool", "Passing Through" and "Black and Blue". The 2013 movie Begin Again starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo features "Drowning Pool" over the opening credits. The first track on the album "Open Road" proved a favourite with Nic Harcourt on his KCRW show Morning Becomes Eclectic and he invited the band to play a session on the show in 2006. They played SXSW in Austin, Texas, a few days beforehand. The following year the band travelled to Australia and played their first shows there, opening up for Crowded House on the latter's first reunion gigs. The Walls opened the shows in Sydney and Melbourne and also performed their own gigs in both of those cities. The band's third album Stop the Lights was released in 2012. The first single "Bird in a Cage" became a firm favourite with Irish radio, in particular with Irish DJ Tony Fenton who championed them. The second single was the title track "Stop the Lights", an autobiographical story of a motorbike crash. A video was shot for the song in the brother's hometown, Ennistymon, and in the Dublin mountains. In March 2013 the band played their first shows in Russia and performed live on the Evening Urgant show. They returned the following year. In 2014 the band decided to take a break to concentrate on other projects, but they have not broken up. Drummer Rory Doyle recorded and toured with Irish band Bell X1 and also Hozier with whom he appeared on the 2015 Grammy Awards. Steve developed a new career as an actor, appearing in the History channel series Vikings and in Chris O'Dowd's Moone Boy, amongst others, including Silent Witness and Crossing Lines.

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