Toss The Feathers were formed in 1987 after Dave Smylie met Peter Carberry. Late in 1987 Eddie Sheehan joined replacing Martin Moylan.
They were joined by Michael McGoldrick, Angela Usher and Martin Moylan, a session at The Bridgewater Bar in Stockport followed and the group became a legend on the Celtic Rock circuit. The original line up had David Smylie on bass and vocals, Peter Carberry on banjo and accordion, Angela Usher on mandolin, whistles and banjo, on flute and whistles and Martin Moylan on guitar and vocals. Paul Usher
on drums and Dezi Donnelly on fiddle joined the band and founding members, Angela and Pete left before Chris Cormac (banjo/mandolin) made up the 5-piece. The classic 1989 five piece line-up was David Smylie, Eddie Sheehan, Michael McGoldrick, Dezi Donnelly and Paul Usher. Toss the Feathers debut album, "Columbus Eclipse" was released in 1989 to widespread acclaim. The 1991 follow-up album, "Awakenings", gave them a large following in Europe, mixing traditional music with rock. Toss The Feathers have, with differing line-ups, since gone on to play all over the UK, Ireland, and the USA although it was in mainland Europe that they enjoyed their greatest success.
