The rock and rollercoaster history of The Saw Doctors defies logical 
explanation until you remember that, in the end, perseverance gets 
rewarded.
The very definition of journeymen rockers, Ireland's Saw Doctors have 
blazed back phoenix-like from almost two decades of unsung glory. Out 
of the blue, their rambunctious cover of The Sugababes' About You Now 
rocketed to No1 in Ireland, restoring them to their rightful place as 
that nation's best-loved good-time band.
Fronted by two criminally under-rated songwriters, Leo Moran and Davy 
Carton, this is the band that entered the record books back in 1990 
when I Useta Lover spent nine weeks at number one, becoming Ireland's 
best-selling single of all time. They followed up with another No1, 
N17, and a chart-topping album, If This Is Rock And Roll, I Want My 
Old Job Back, but somehow the momentum wasn't maintained.
Irresistably singable songs (To Win Just Once, Hay Wrap and Same Oul' 
Town to name but three), still flowed from Moran and Carton; their 
stormingly exuberant live shows remained unparalleled celebrations of 
the spirit of great rock; and their substantial phalanx of hardcore 
fans on both sides of the Atlantic never wavered in support.
Even so, the hits dried up. Instead of giving up, though, The Saw 
Doctors resigned themselves to the honourable tradition of keeping on 
keeping on. They toured America every year, building an ever-
increasing fan base, released ten acclaimed albums and simply refused 
to go away.
"I suppose we’re a bit like an old dress," says Leo Moran with a wryly 
philosophical smile. "If you keep it long enough, it’s bound to come 
back into fashion."
Typically for the Saw Doctors, coming back into fashion happened in 
the least likely way imaginable, on February 12, 2008. "We were on the 
Podge And Rodge Show," laughs Davy Carton. "It's a late-night RTE tv 
show hosted by two rude puppets. Part of the show involves a spinning 
music board. They spin the board and the guest artist has to perform 
whatever song it lands on. It landed on The Sugababes hit About You 
Now."
At the end of the show, The Saw Doctors took to the tiny Podge And 
Rodge stage and delivered up their blindingly transformed re-
interpretation of what had been a slick r'n'b pop hit. Now it was 
entirely their own, as surely as if Moran and Carton had written it 
themselves. Suddenly, About You Now had become a ranting, raving rock 
anthem.
To their surprise, this totally off-the-cuff performance stirred up so 
much interest that the band realised they had no option but to commit 
their version to record.
On October 18, 2008, with hot releases from P!nk, Kings Of Leon and 
Snow Patrol trailing along in their dust, About You Now by The Saw 
Doctors debuted at No1 in the Irish Charts. Generous to a fault, the 
band donated all proceeds, over €10,000, to Galway’s Salerno Cystic 
Fibrosis Fund.
Analyzing exactly what makes a hit single is a fool's game. Even so, 
it's hard not to notice that a lyric which conveyed angsty twenty-
something romantic regret in the hands of The Sugababes, carries a 
completely different message when sung by men who have experienced 
more than their fair share of life's upheavals. With Carton howling 
out the hooks, the song says that no matter how old you are, it's 
never too late to make mistakes and never too late to try to put them 
right.
There's a trace of impish delight in Davy Carton when he notes that 
The Sugababes' original version of About You Now stalled at No2 in the 
Irish Chart. "We're not pretty to look at," he admits, "but we were 
No1."
Leo Moran is typically self-effacing when he addresses the question of 
exactly what went right for The Saw Doctors after almost two decades 
of hovering just off the radar. "Sometimes you stumble upon a bit more 
attention," he reckons. "Last year, with The Podge and Rodge Show, and 
the Meteor (Lifetime Achievement) Award, we got a lot of attention.”
For many artists a Lifetime Achievement Award comes towards the end of 
a long and acclaimed career but, for The Saw Doctors, it came at the 
start of their second sprint to the top – just three days after their 
momentous appearance on the Podge And Rodge Show.
Nevertheless, it was still a moment that enabled them to reflect on 
their achievements so far.
The Saw Doctors were formed in Tuam, Galway, Ireland, in 1986. 
Although membership has fluctuated over the years, two founder-members 
have remained constant. Leo Moran, formerly of local reggae combo Too 
Much For The White Man and Davy Carton, a refugee from short-lived 
punk band Blaze X, were there right at the start, when it felt like 
success to be able to play in local venues such as Tuam's Imperial 
Hotel.
Within a couple of years, though, they were already attracting 
attention as an ear-grabbling support act on national tours by major 
artists including Hothouse Flowers and, more significantly, The 
Waterboys, with whom they formed a lasting friendship, and from whom 
they gained a longstanding member, saxophonist and bassman Anthony 
Thistlethwaite.
Even after the first flush of success faded, The Saw Doctors were 
never far out of earshot. Guinness, for example, used the Saw Doctors' 
song Never Mind the Strangers in a multi-million dollar ad campaign 
for Harp Lager in the USA. The band made a film appearance in Walter 
Foote's directorial debut, The Tavern, which featured Same Oul' Town, 
and their song She Says became the theme to the BBC Northern Ireland 
comedy series Give My Head Peace.
Through it all, the twin planks of the band's enduring appeal have 
been immensely singable songs and riotous live performances. Instead 
of the usual swaggering rock cliches about life on the road, drug 
problems and easy sex, their songs range from bringing in the harvest, 
to running away to join the army;  from the plight of Ireland’s 
unmarried mothers to the effect of strong religion on a nation’s 
youth; from playing football against a neighbouring village to loving 
the prettiest girl in town from a distance but lacking the courage to 
tell her.
Saw Doctors' fans go home glowing from a gig crammed end to end with 
songs about real life. They work the same live magic wherever they 
play, from the Royal Albert Hall to a convent, from the paddock at 
Sandown Racecourse to the front room of a lucky fan who won a live Saw 
Doctors concert as a competition prize.
For a band so clearly in tune with tradition, they're also well aware 
of the pros and cons of the digital age. Their 2007 single, I’m Never 
Gonna Go on Bebo Again is a case in point. Although it details the 
perils of being stalked by an ex-lover on the social networking site 
Bebo, the band is savvy enough to maintain its own lively Bebo presence.
Asked about their current approach to songwriting, Moran says, "We’re 
being picky and more meticulous than before. We’re trying to put in 
all the little things that pop records have now. We’re trying to put 
the fairy dust on things.”
As this compilation hits the streets, The Saw Doctors (currently Leo 
Moran (vocals, guitar), Davy Carton (vocals, guitar), Kevin Duffy 
(keyboards), Anthony Thistlethwaite (bass guitar, saxophone), and 
Eímhín Cradock (drums) are embarking on a UK tour that will run 
throughout November and December of 2009
And beyond that? In the words of Leo Moran, "We never look more than a 
few months ahead. It's tempting fate. We're just pleased to still be 
around."