Will Millar and Irish Rovers Scrapbook

Scrapbook page 1 - a general overview.

1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Upcoming Concerts

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who made this possible: My parents, for taking me to the first Irish Rovers concert I went to in 1970. Will, Joe, Jimmy, George, and Wilcil for getting together in the first place! My husband Cal, for buying a computer for me and letting me have Internet access at home. My friend Marla for taking the pictures of Will in the summer of 2004 and sending them to me. Mary, who ran across this site and was frustrated by the size of the newspaper clippings, who very kindly scanned the printouts I sent her and sent them back on CD in a format that I could post for everyone to read. And last but certainly not least, Will Millar himself for sending the copy of the review of his "Ireland - Where the Song and Dance Began" that's on the 2000 page.

Where else but the Internet could I let the world see my Irish Rovers newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, and pictures?

As you read through this web page, you will see who my absolute favorite Irish Rover is, was, and always will be. All the guys are great and no matter who’s in the line-up they put on a wonderful show, but if I seem to mention one in particular – well, it’s my web site! Will, if you ever get a chance to read this, this is for you.

Since I've split out the decades, the pictures should load fairly quickly now.

I have absolutely loved the Irish Rovers ever since I first heard the song “The Unicorn” on the radio. Over the years I’ve kept a scrapbook with newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, photos (some really fuzzy ones taken with a point-and-shoot camera of the TV screen – that’s how much of a fan I am), and lately pages printed from the Internet. I will try to share some of those with you here.

I first heard “The Unicorn” on the radio a lot earlier than 1968, which is the date I always see listed for it. It had to be in the fall of 1966. We lived at Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan then, and since that’s just north of Detroit we could pick up the radio stations from Windsor, Ontario, loud and clear. We had one button on the car radio set for a Windsor station (don’t remember the call letters – we used to just call it “the Canadian station.”) and the radio in the kitchen was set for the same station. Since it was one of those radios with the very fussy tuner, we just set it for one station and didn’t change it because once it was changed it was very hard to get tuned in again. One fall day I was outside playing after school and waiting for my father to get home from work. When he got home I ran up to him like kids do (I was 11-1/2) and my father got out of the car and said, “Turn on the Canadian station, there’s a song on there I think you’ll like.” So I ran into the kitchen, turned on the radio, and heard most of “The Unicorn.” Daddy was right – I liked the song.

Sometime before too long we bought the 45 rpm record with “The Unicorn” on one side and “Black Velvet Band” on the other. I must have driven my parents crazy with that – I listened to one side, then flipped it over and listened to the other, then flipped it over . . . on and on and on. Now I wish I had kept the sales slip and taped it to the record jacket, but at the time I never knew this was going to be a lifetime thing. I still have the 45.

My father retired from the Air Force in December 1966 and we moved to Spokane, Washington. Over the intervening years I bought several Irish Rovers albums (which I still have too). We watched them on TV when we knew they were on. Never did see the episode of The Virginian they appeared in because that wasn’t a show we watched on a regular basis, until 2008 when a new friend sent a copy to me (thanks again Bobby!)

1970 was when I began going to their concerts. Here’s a list of when and where I have seen either the Irish Rovers or Will Millar perform live:

November 10, 1970 -- Coliseum -- Spokane, Washington
September 4, 1971 -- PNE -- Vancouver, British Columbia
February 7, 1972 -- Fox Theater -- Spokane, Washington
May 13, 1972 -- Trail High School -- Trail, British Columbia
April 17, 1973 -- Fox Theater -- Spokane, Washington
August 30,1974 -- Opera House --Spokane, Washington
October 17, 1975 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
April 17, 1977 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
October 28, 1978 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
April 9, 1980 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
April 9, 1982 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
February 4, 1986 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
February 7, 1987 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
February 21, 1988 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
February 5, 1989 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
March 9, 1990 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
March 9, 1991 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
March 12, 1995 -- Opera House -- Spokane, Washington
March 20, 1997 -- The Met -- Spokane, Washington -- first time I saw them after Will left.
March 28, 1998 -- The Met -- Spokane, Washington – Will and his Mad Irishmen
November 25, 2001 -- Performing Arts Center -- Omak, Washington – Irish Rovers
March 17, 2002 -- Sid Williams Theatre -- Courtenay, British Columbia – Will
March 30, 2003 -- The Met -- Spokane, Washington – Irish Rovers
November 9, 2004 --Charles Bailey Theatre -- Trail, British Columbia -- Will with "Ireland - Where the Song and Dance Began" This marks the 34th year since I first saw him in concert!

March 17, 2008 -- Duncan, British Columbia. I drove up there on my days off to see the opening of Will's art exhibit. Details on the 2000's page. Short review - it was GREAT!

My Collection

Lily the Pink/Mrs. Crandall's Boardinghouse

Whiskey on a Sunday/The Orange and the Green

Did She Mention My Name?/Peter Knight

Wasn't That A Party/Matchstick Men and Matchstick Cats and Dogs

Now, why are there 2 pictures of the "Wasn't That A Party" album? Because I bought one up in Canada (the one with the orange stripe on top)and then a few weeks later saw it in Spokane in K-Mart. I liked the picture on the US cover much better. But first I told myself it was silly to spend $7 just for a better picture of the guys. I did the rest of my shopping and wound up asking myself, do you really want to pay $7 just for a picture? I answered myself YES so I went and bought it. On the way home I said to myself, "Ok, I'm hooked. Only a totally obsessed fan would buy a second copy of a record just for the picture."

I also want to make it clear that none of my items are for sale.

If you're looking for the Irish Rovers' newer CDs, they are available from the Irish Rovers website. Will Millar's newer CDs and books are for sale at Will's web site.

For older records and CDs, try e-bay, Amazon, or "Google it". The Irish Rovers Fan Club has a very fine list of places to buy their older records.

More odds and ends from my collection:
I bought the songbook in 1972 when they were at the Fox Theater. It has the sheet music for several of their songs, including the Unicorn.

The buttons came from the Unicorn Restaurant in Calgary. The waitress just gave them to me - she must have figured out I was a fan.

The book of poems was offered in the back of the songbook. Now I kind of wish I had bought the hardback but I chose the paperback version. When I was taking some college courses and first had access to the Internet, I ran across an article about a children's book/CD ROM that Will had written called "The Cuckoo's Gift." At that time I didn't have a good computer at home so I didn't follow up on it.

Later when I did get a computer and Internet access at home, I finally ran across it on e-bay and bought it. It's a story about treating all creatures nicely.

Will has written two books and gathered jokes together for a third:

These books are really worth having. Children of the Unicorn was written by Will back when the Irish Rovers were in their heyday and tells about the early days of the group. Messing About in Boats is more autobiographical and very interesting. The joke book is - well, a joke book.

And the crown jewel of my collection - the painting "Otter Crossing at Port Townsend" painted by Will Millar.

There's a web site that has lots of information about the Irish Rovers and now has a Q&A session with George Millar posted on their site. Check it out at The Balladeers 20 questions.

NOTE: When I spoke to Will after the concert in Trail, he said his brother George has been rewriting history. My suggestion is: Read George's interview at the above site. Then get a copy of Will's book "Children of the Unicorn" which was published in 1974 before the big fight. Then make up your own mind. I know who I believe - but then I've already admitted who I like the best.

Now climb on your Unicorn, or fly along in the Biplane Evermore, or sail on a Tall Ship, and use the links below to go to pages for the various decades. Enjoy!

LINKS:

If any of the graphics above do not show up and you just see a square with an X, right click on the X and select "show picture" from the menu. Even on my own computer sometimes the pictures don't all show - I think because it's dial-up and kind of slow. Questions?? Comments?? E-mail me at either