Popular island band The Ballaghs called time on its playing days with a final performance at the Creek in Peel on Saturday night.

The Ballaghs were formed back in 2007, when guitarist and singer Mike Wade and bass player Lee Quaggin decided to put together a folk punk group.

Some of the band's biggest achievements include supporting the Lightning Seeds and being the first Manx band to play at Glastonbury in 2010, as well as releasing their debut album ’Another Broken String' with 10 original tracks back in 2021.

In addition to Mike and Lee the Ballaghs consists of the members Brian Duffy, Ian Allen and Katie Lawrence.

The band have decided to stop performing due to the fact that bass-player Lee is moving off-island.

Talking about the final performance, Lee said: ‘What more is there to say about our final gig.

‘It was the perfect way to finish it - noisy, sweaty, chaotic, joyous, a floor of broken glass and spilt drinks, smiles, laughter, hugs, ringing ears, broken strings, falling speakers, much dancing and stomping and a pub full of love.

‘That pretty much sums up my entire 18 years of Ballagh-ing with the loons I've shared the stage with, and some others too along the way.

‘Thank you one and all for coming along!’

‘The gig was amazing. It was better than we could have ever expected,’ added frontman Mike.

‘We always liked playing at the Creek, and we hoped we could go out with a loud and raucous gig there, and that’s exactly what we got.

‘There were loads of people there and for the two and a half hours we played, they didn’t stop dancing and shouting. It was perfect.

‘It has always been incredibly gratifying that people who come to see us seem to enjoy our original songs just as much as the covers we play. All the way through there was jumping, moshing, crowd surfing, and the harder people danced, the harder we played. It was the best way to go out.’

The Ballaghs, who got their name from the Manx/English dictionary which translates to ‘rock fish’, have performed at a variety of venues across the island, including pubs, tents, stages and beaches.

Explaining his favourite venues that he’s performed at, Mike said: ‘The best place was Compton Vaults, and our gig on Tynwald Day after the lockdown was lifted in 2020, along with Half Naked Headline, was also legendary.

‘Playing at the Beltane festival in Sulby Valley was also incredible. I guess you could say Glastonbury was ok too...

‘We wanted to create a folk punk band based on Manx folk music and themes, and we got to do that for around 17 years.

‘We were hugely lucky that Katie Lawrence, one of the island’s best trad musicians, fancied it, and we dragged Ian in too.

‘My favourite memory of being in the band is any that involved being shoulder-to-shoulder with Ian and Lee, watching people fly around in front of you.’