Whole Tribe rises to challenge

The Whole Tribe Sings have taken up the gauntlet thrown down by veteran folkies People of No Property to a battle of the bands clash in Derry over the Bloody Sunday weekend.

The titanic clash to be held in Henry Joy McCracken's in Derry's Magazine Street on Saturday 30 January will, according to seasoned watchers of the folk scene, ``sort out the men and women from the boys and girls''.

However first blood seems to have been drawn by the Whole Tribe. At the launch of their latest single Missing You in Sandinos in Derry last Sunday the Whole Tribe produced a show of blistering power and energy.

``I never heard them play so well,'' said a long standing fan.

And the talk coming out of Derry now is that Derry based Joe Mulheron, the hub of People of No Property who hail from Belfast, has accepted that the Whole Tribe will win out.

Mulheron who owns Sandinos where the single was launched, left the bar when he witnessed the show. Observers saw him standing in Foyle Street, nodding his head in disgust muttering to himself, ``we're banjaxed!''

But insiders, who also saw the Whole Tribes' show say that ``the People of No Property shouldn't be written off as no hopers. Youth, and I use the word guardedly, tends to be OK for the short, sharp hop. Veterans know how to pace themselves and have a wealth and depth of experience that will see them through''.

So to be part of a historical, musical clash be at Henry Joy's on Saturday 30 and support the Bloody Sunday cause.