The three members of The Clarke Sisters met by chance in the summer of 1999 in a pub called, appropriately, The Stroke of Luck. They had turned up along with other musicians for a traditional session of mainly Irish music. Many late nights of music making followed and it wasn't long before Emma, Willie and Harriet started to work together as a band. Willie came up with the band's name, the title of a Go-Betweens song, in case you didn't recognise it.

So, no, they're not really sisters.

Despite all the confusion the name has caused, The Clarke Sisters have played live extensively in England and Ireland to great acclaim and have gained a reputation as a kicking folk band. They have been busy working on original arrangements of traditional tunes and songs as well as penning their own material. In the summer of 2000 The Clarke Sisters recorded their first eponymous CD in Co. Kerry, Ireland. It captures the originality and energy that is The Clarke Sisters.

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