Hothouse Flowers

Hothouse Flowers is an Irish rock group that combines traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock.

The group first formed in 1985 when Liam Ó Maonlaí and Fiachna ó Braonáin (who had known each other as children in an Irish-speaking school) began performing as street musicians, or buskers, on the streets of Dublin, Ireland as "The Incomparable Benzini Brothers." They were soon joined by Peter O'Toole, and had won a street-entertainer award within a year. They renamed the group "Hothouse Flowers" and began writing songs and performing throughout Ireland. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the best unsigned band in Europe."