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{{short description|Irish musician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Mick Pyro
| image = Republicofloose.JPG
| caption = Mick Pyro (left) on stage with [[Republic of Loose]]
| image_size = 221
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name = Michael Tierney
| origin =
| instrument = [[Lead singer|Vocals]]
| genre = [[Funk rock]], [[hip hop music|hip hop]], soul, [[blues]]
| occupation = Musician, singer-songwriter
| years_active =
| label =
}}
'''Michael Tierney''',<ref name="Gebrselassie shows talent not affected by age">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0117/1232059657608.html|title=Gebrselassie shows talent not affected by age|date=17 January 2009|accessdate=2009-08-16|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|quote=But there was Mick Pyro (real name Tierney) commanding the stage, dancing just like Bo Diddley and shooting from the hip just like Jesse James, every one of those kids in the palm of his hand. Mick has been at this act since well before he was 18 and I thought to myself he's getting better with age, even though he is now at least my age. I didn't feel so old then.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Meagher, John|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/day-and-night/music-bounce-at-the-devil-by-republic-of-loose-2370593.html|title=Music: Bounce at the Devil by Republic of Loose * * *|date=8 October 2010|accessdate=8 October 2010|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]|quote=Mick Tierney – aka frontman Johnny Pyro – remains the best thing about the group, and his cocksure attitude simply oozes from the speakers.}}</ref> better known as '''Mick Pyro''', is an Irish musician. He is best known as the frontman of the [[Dublin]] [[funk rock]] band [[Republic of Loose]]. He has also participated in other independent work with Irish and international musicians. He has also written for the ''[[Irish Independent]]''.<ref name="Nightwatch: Mick Pyro">{{cite news|author=Mick Pyro|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/day-and-night/columnists/nightwatch-mick-pyro-1803935.html|title=Nightwatch: Mick Pyro|date=3 July 2009|accessdate=2009-08-21|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref> He released his first solo album, ''Exit Pyro'', in 2023.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Corr |first=Alan |date=2023-08-04 |title=Mik Pyro is still on fire on his debut solo album |url=https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/music-reviews/2023/0804/1397713-mik-pyro-is-starting-fires-on-his-solo-debut-album/ |language=en}}</ref>

== Education and influences ==
Pyro has an [[Master of Arts|MA]] in [[Renaissance literature]] and is an avid reader.<ref name="Loose lips">{{cite news|author=Una Mullally |url=http://www.tribune.ie/article/2006/apr/16/loose-lips/ |title=Loose lips |date=16 April 2006 |accessdate=2009-08-21 |newspaper=[[Sunday Tribune]] }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He is known for his diverse musical tastes and likes [[hip hop]], [[Soul music|soul]] and [[blues]].<ref name="At Home With... Mick Pyro">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.hotpress.com/archive/2782671.html|title=At Home With... Mick Pyro|date=23 February 2005|accessdate=2009-03-14|magazine=[[Hot Press]]}}</ref> He has described hip hop as "one of the most innovative art-forms around and it's constantly capable of shocking and surprising me".<ref name="At Home With... Mick Pyro" /> Pyro cites [[Cee-Lo Green]]'s 2004 album ''[[Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine]]'' as his favorite album.<ref name="At Home With... Mick Pyro" /> Pyro has also cited 1980s soul and funk artists [[Alexander O'Neal]] and [[Rick James]] as his heroes.<ref name="At Home With... Mick Pyro" /> He also likes [[Metal music|metal]] and listens to blues and jazz such as [[Howlin' Wolf]], [[John Lee Hooker]], [[Mahalia Jackson]] and soul singers such as [[Al Green]] and [[Solomon Burke]].<ref name="At Home With... Mick Pyro"/>

== Style ==
Pyro is known for his excessive stage antics, with ''[[The Irish Times]]'' describing him as having "cajoled, provoked, teased, screamed, shouted, stomped and flirted away" through an entire set with Republic of Loose,<ref name="On the Loose">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2008/04/29/on-the-loose/|title=On the Loose|date=29 April 2008|accessdate=2008-03-14|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref> whilst the ''[[Irish Independent]]'' has compared him to "an insane rock version of [[Robbie Williams]], with the voice of a young and drunk James Brown".<ref name="Why does it always rain on festivals?">{{cite news|author=Larissa Nolan|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/why-does-it-always-rain-on-festivals-132403.html|title=Why does it always rain on festivals?|date=9 July 2006|accessdate=2009-08-21|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref> John Meagher, writing in the ''[[Irish Independent]]'', described Pyro as "the focal and vocal point of Republic of Loose" who "works his stage like a ''[[The Joshua Tree|Joshua Tree]]''-era [[Bono]]"<ref>{{cite news|author=John Meagher|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/day-and-night/critics-choice/review-of-the-week-republic-of-loose-1343745.html|title=Review of the Week: Republic of Loose * * * *|date=11 April 2008|accessdate=2009-08-16|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref> During Republic of Loose's 2008 residency at the [[The Academy (music venue)|Dublin Academy]], Pyro's stage presence was described by Ed Power in the ''Irish Independent'' as "more wedding-dance flap than Harlem shuffle, but he carries his shtick off with so much charisma you find yourself applauding instead of guffawing".<ref name="Footloose funkateer's new cuts hit the spot">{{cite news|author=Ed Power|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/footloose-funkateers-new-cuts-hit-the-spot-1340369.html|title=Footloose funkateer's new cuts hit the spot|date=8 April 2008|accessdate=2009-08-21|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref> His battles with alcoholism are chronicled in the song "Poquito" which features on the Republic of Loose album ''[[Vol IV: Johnny Pyro and the Dance of Evil]]'' and he also wrote the song "Comeback Girl" whilst drunk.<ref name="Rock -- Loose men">{{cite news|author=Neil Dunphy |url=http://www.tribune.ie/article/2008/apr/27/rock-loose-men/ |title=Rock – Loose men |date=27 April 2008 |accessdate=2009-08-21 |newspaper=[[Sunday Tribune]] }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Career ==
Mick Pyro performed with self-described "rubbish rock bands" for several years before the formation of Republic of Loose.<ref name="Let Loose"/> Experiencing what he termed "a huge metaphysical overturning of my value system", Pyro developed a fascination with musicians such as [[James Brown]] and [[The Rolling Stones]].<ref name="Let Loose"/> This change of musical interest prompted him to create Johnny Pyro, an alter-ego, who, according to Pyro, "disassociated himself from the normal lifestyle of an Irish bourgeois kid".<ref name="Let Loose"/> This alter-ego later developed into Republic of Loose.<ref name="Let Loose">{{cite news|author=Eamon Sweeney|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/let-loose-1357716.html|title=Let Loose|date=25 April 2008|accessdate=2009-08-16|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref> With this band, Pyro has performed at numerous music festivals, including [[Glastonbury Festival]] and [[Reading and Leeds Festivals]] in England.<ref name="Interviews: Republic of Loose @ Reading Festival 2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.virtualfestivals.com/latest/interviews/4032 |title=Interviews: Republic of Loose @ Reading Festival 2007 |date=3 September 2007 |accessdate=2009-03-15 |publisher=Virtual Festivals |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929130436/http://www.virtualfestivals.com/latest/interviews/4032 |archivedate=29 September 2011 }}</ref> However the band sell most of their records in Ireland, where they have been regulars on the festival circuit for many years.<ref name="Interviews: Republic of Loose @ Reading Festival 2007"/>

In 2008, Pyro was part of a collaboration of Irish and international musicians who combined to celebrate the life of [[Ronnie Drew]] by recording "[[The Ballad of Ronnie Drew]]" at [[Windmill Lane Studios]] in Dublin.<ref name="O'Connor duet to light up Meteor Awards">{{cite news|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/entertainment/index.aspx?jp=mheyojojmhoj|title=O'Connor duet to light up Meteor Awards|date=22 January 2008|accessdate=2008-01-22|newspaper=[[Irish Examiner]]}}</ref> During this recording he met [[Sinéad O'Connor]], who asked him if they could perform a duet.<ref name="Sinead cuts Loose with new band"/> O'Connor and Republic of Loose performed a cover of the [[Curtis Mayfield]] song "We People Who Are Darker Than Blue" during the [[Meteor Music Awards]] in 2007.<ref name="Sinead cuts Loose with new band">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/sinead-cuts-loose-with-new-band-1271809.html|title=Sinead cuts Loose with new band|date=23 January 2008|accessdate=2008-02-01|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref><ref name="Stars out for the Meteors (RTÉ 2008)">{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/0216/meteor.html|title=Stars out for the Meteors|date=16 February 2008|accessdate=2008-02-17|publisher=[[RTÉ]]}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Pyro's sister, Annie,<ref name="At Home With... Mick Pyro"/> from Tieranniesaur and Yeh Deadlies was previously in a band called Chicks and Pyro helped write some of the songs.<ref name="A Loose definition of the rock 'n' roll life">{{cite news|author=Sophie Grenham|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/a-loose-definition-of-the-rock-n-roll-life-124486.html|title=A Loose definition of the rock 'n' roll life|date=22 April 2007|accessdate=2009-08-21|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]]}}</ref> Pyro lives in the basement pad of a 1960s [[Sweden|Swedish]]-style house in residential Dublin suburb of [[Terenure]].<ref name="At Home With... Mick Pyro"/> Pyro has spoken about his battles with alcoholism.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2008/04/29/on-the-loose/|title=On the Loose|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=29 April 2008|first=Jim|last=Carroll}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Republic of Loose}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyro, Mick}}
[[Category:Irish male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Irish singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2000s in Irish music]]
[[Category:2010s in Irish music]]
[[Category:2020s in Irish music]]

Mick Pyro - Revision history

imported>Arjayay: Stray word removed