LUKE HAINES & MIKE SMALLE - 'The Black Maria, O' : out 18th September 2026 (Dimple Discs/Bring Your Own Hammer) | final single from upcoming Ireland-themed compilation

Written by the Irish-American lyricist Edward Harrigan and composer David Braham, ‘The Black Maria, O’ was originally performed in New York in 1887 as part of the musical comedy ‘McNooney’s Visit’. Luke Haines and Mike Smalle have taken the song and created an incredible 21st century reinterpretation of its long-forgotten but superb lyric.

Expertly mixed by Mark Saunders (The Cure, David Bowie, Tricky, Cyndi Lauper, Cathal Coughlan, Erasure), the song evokes the criminal underworld of late 19th century New York with references to the slang term for police wagons (Black Marias) and the prison on Blackwell’s Island close to Manhattan.

Luke Haines is a musician, songwriter and author. He has recorded music under various names and with his bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder. His books include ‘Bad Vibes – Britpop and My Part in Its Downfall’. His new solo album, ‘Izzy Wizzy Let's Get Busy’, is out now on Cherry Red Records.

Mike Smalle is a musician, songwriter and producer from the west of Ireland. Over the past two decades, his work has spanned ambient, folk, pop, electronic and experimental music, alongside compositions for film, television, documentaries and art installations. In 2021, he began releasing music under his own name with the album ‘Pagan Pulse’. He has collaborated with artists including Cathal Coughlan, Jah Wobble, Simon Fisher Turner and Mark Eitzel. He is currently involved in a series of collaborations for the music and history project Bring Your Own Hammer.

These include co-writing ‘From The Tombs’, the title song of an upcoming BYOH compilation, together with vocalist and drummer June Miles-Kingston (Mo-dettes, Everything But The Girl, Fun Boy Three, The Communards). The 2xLP and 2xCD set features 21 songs and takes its listeners on a journey through the history of crime, law and order in Ireland and its diaspora in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

‘The Black Maria, O’ is also included on the compilation and is the fifth and final single to be issued from it ahead of its release on 13th November.

MIKE SMALLE and JUNE MILES-KINGSTON From The Tombs STREAM

with BERNARD BUTLER, TERRY EDWARDS, MARCUS HOLDAWAY and FERGAL LAWLER

FROM THE TOMBS

2xLP 2xCD digital

out 13th November 2026

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‘From The Tombs' features artists at the forefront of producing compelling music in Ireland and beyond: Cian Nugent, Sean O’Hagan (Microdisney, High Llamas), Mike Smalle (cane141), Audrey Riley, Adrian Crowley, SJ McArdle, Lisa Lambe, Fergal Lawler (The Cranberries), June Miles-Kingston (the Mo-dettes, Everything But The Girl, Fun Boy Three, The Communards), Marcus Holdaway (High Llamas), Bernard Butler (Suede, McAlmont & Butler, The Tears, Butler, Blake and Grant), Terry Edwards (The Higsons, The NJE, Butterfield 8), Luke Haines (The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof, Black Box Recorder), John Carter Wood, Miriam Ingram, Seán Mac Erlaine, Tony Higgins, Hugh Bunker (Fatima Mansions), Michael Walsh, Damian O'Neill (The Undertones), Brigid Mae Power, Linda Buckley, Lavinia Blackwall (Trembling Bells), Neil Farrell (Toasted Heretic), Michael J. Sheehy, Kelsey Michael, Anne Gilpin (Morton Valence), Inni-K and NQL.