Whipping Boy were an influential Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band who were active in the 1980s and 1990s. The band reformed briefly in 2005

2005 in music

-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...

 for a series of shows. 2011 has seen Whipping Boy emerge again, this time without Paul Page and Myles McDonnell. The Whipping Boy Periscopes Up tour summer 2011 will see Joey(bass) and Finn(guitar) replace them and long time live guitarist Killian McGowan will complete the line up.

History

Whipping Boy formed in Dublin in 1988, the band comprising Fearghal McKee (vocals), Paul Page (guitar), Myles McDonnell (bass, vocals), and Colm Hassett (drums). They initially performed cover versions of songs by The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...

 and The Fall, and went by the name Lolita and the Whipping Boy, shortening their name when their female guitarist left.
After a couple of EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

's on the Cheree label, they released their low-key debut album, Submarine

Submarine (album)

Submarine is the debut album by the Irish rock group Whipping Boy, released in July 1992 on the Liquid Records label.The album used shades of early Sonic Youth and Post Punk Rock along with Ian McCulloch Vocal styles in places.Blending music stylings of My Bloody Valentine and The Loop with same...

in 1992 on Liquid Records . Their live performances raised their profile, with McKee known to cut himself with broken glass on stage. The album was critically acclaimed though commercially unsuccessful, and led to a deal with Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

, who issued the band's second album, Heartworm

Heartworm (album)

Heartworm is an album by the Irish rock group Whipping Boy, released on November 1, 1995 on Columbia Records. It was recorded between September and November 1994 in Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin.-Track listing:#"Twinkle"#"When We Were Young"#"Tripped"...

, in 1995, along with three minor hit singles. Heartworm received much critical acclaim, with Allmusic calling it "an earth-shatteringly powerful experience". The group split up in 1998 after being dropped by Columbia, leaving a third album unreleased. The eponymous titled album

Whipping Boy (album)

Whipping Boy is the third studio album from the Irish band Whipping Boy. It was released on April 28, 2000 on Low Rent Records.-Track listing:#"So Much for Love"#"Bad Books"#"Pat the Almighty"#"Mutton"#"Fly"...

 was eventually released in 2000 on their own Low Rent label.

The band reformed in September 2005, announcing several Irish dates and mentioning the possibility, which never materialised, of recording another album.

Albums

• Submarine
  Submarine (album)
  Submarine is the debut album by the Irish rock group Whipping Boy, released in July 1992 on the Liquid Records label.The album used shades of early Sonic Youth and Post Punk Rock along with Ian McCulloch Vocal styles in places.Blending music stylings of My Bloody Valentine and The Loop with same...
  
  (1992) Liquid
• Heartworm
  Heartworm (album)
  Heartworm is an album by the Irish rock group Whipping Boy, released on November 1, 1995 on Columbia Records. It was recorded between September and November 1994 in Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin.-Track listing:#"Twinkle"#"When We Were Young"#"Tripped"...
  
  (1995) Columbia
  Columbia Records
  Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
  
  
• Whipping Boy
  Whipping Boy (album)
  Whipping Boy is the third studio album from the Irish band Whipping Boy. It was released on April 28, 2000 on Low Rent Records.-Track listing:#"So Much for Love"#"Bad Books"#"Pat the Almighty"#"Mutton"#"Fly"...
  
  (2000) Low Rent

Singles

• Sweet Mangled Thing EP (1989) (self-issued cassette-EP)
• Whipping Boy EP (1990) Cheree
• I Think I Miss You EP (1991) Cheree
• "Favourite Sister" (1992) Liquid
• "Twinkle" (1995) Columbia
• "We Don't Need Nobody Else Here" (1995) Columbia (UK
  UK Singles Chart
  The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
  
  #51)
• "When We Were Young" (1996) Columbia (UK #46)
• "Twinkle" (1996) Columbia (UK #55)