IRA is a Polish rock band formed in 1987 in Radom by Jakub Płucisz (guitar). They gained wide popularity in Poland in the early nineties, mainly after releasing the "Mój Dom" album, with the hit title song, which dates back to their garage and semi-professional days. They also gained some local popularity amongst Polish-speaking citizens in the United States, where they lived and worked for few months. After signing a professional contract back in Poland, they released a few albums which did not prove to be commercially successful (except for the "Mój Dom" follow-up, which was "IRA 1993"), and the band disbanded afterwards. Artur Gadowski started a solo career. He opened for Brian May before his show in Warsaw in September 1998. Artur's solo efforts were not very successful either, and what success he did gain was largely based on the then high profile of IRA.
A few years later the band reunited, and remains active. Once again, they have not attained much popularity, but are well known amongst hard rock fans in Poland, and their concerts are well attended.
The name "IRA" comes from a Latin word ira, meaning anger (this was the band founders' intention). However, this has been mistaken for the acronym of the Irish Republican Army.
Members Artur Gadowski - vocals (1987-1996, 1998, 2001-present), guitars (1987, 2001) Sebastian Piekarek - guitars (2003-2005, 2015-present) Piotr Konca - guitars (2005-present) Piotr "Jinx" Sujka - bass guitar (1989-1996, 1998, 2001-present) Wojciech Owczarek - drums (1987-1996, 1998, 2001-present) Current touring members Marcin Trojanowicz - keyboards, accordion (occasionally 2009-present)
Former members Jakub Płucisz - guitars, founder (1987-1996, 1998) Paweł Matracki - guitars (1990-1991) Piotr "Peter" Łukaszewski - solo guitar (1991-1996) Zbigniew Suski - guitars (2001-2003) Maciej Gładysz - guitars (2003-2005) Marcin Bracichowicz - guitars (2003-2015) Dariusz Grudzień - bass guitar (1987-1989) Grzegorz Wawrzeńczyk - keyboards (1987-1988, died in 2012) Tomasz Bracichowicz - keyboards (1988-1989) Jarosław Zarychta - keyboards (1989-1991) Former touring members Tomasz Czyżewski - solo guitar (1992, 1993, 1998) Tomasz Ciastko - guitars (2001) Wojciech Gadaszewski - keyboards (acoustic concerts 2022) Discography
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales CertificationsPOL Ira Released: December 1989 Label: Pronit Formats: CD, CS —Mój dom (My home) Released: June 1991 Label: Kontakt, Top Music Formats: CD, CS —1993 rok (Year 1993) Released: 16 April 1993 Label: Top Music Formats: CD, CS —Znamię (Mark) Released: 1 September 1994 Label: Top Music Formats: CD, CS —Ogrody (Gardens) Released: 28 September 1995 Label: Zic Zac Formats: CD, CS —Tu i teraz (Here and now) Released: 12 August 2002 Label: BMG Poland Formats: CD 24Ogień (Fire) Released: 29 April 2004 Label: El Mariach Formats: CD 2Londyn 08:15 (08:15 London) Released: 3 September 2007 Label: QL Music Formats: CD 19 Released: 2 November 2009 Label: QL Music Formats: CD, digital download 15 POL: 15,000+ POL: GoldX Released: 16 April 2013 Label: My Music Formats: CD, digital download 4My (We) Released: 20 May 2016 Label: Polskie Radio Formats: CD, digital downloadJutro (Tomorrow) Released: 14 May 2021 Label: Universal Music Group Formats: CD, digital download "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
References
External links Official website