contain the "Her eyes they shone like diamonds" chorus also collected from Harry Cox. While working for the BBC, Peter Kennedy recorded a version in Belfast in 1952. In 1959, a version was found in Australia. An earlier version by the publisher Swindells in Manchester is very wordy, and has no chorus. It places the events in Barking, Essex. Some of the earliest versions mention the Old Bailey and London Town. The publication date of that version is probably between 1837 and 1853. An American song called "The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band", credited to Cliff Carlisle and Mel Forre, was recorded by Bill Monroe, Doc Watson and Mac Wiseman among others. It has a similar plot and may be loosely based on "Black Velvet Band". Following the Ireland rugby team's Grand Slam win in 2009, winger Tommy Bowe sang his own version of 'Black Velvet Band' to a triumphant crowd on the team's homecoming on Dawson Street, Dublin. The Dubliners The Dubliners version, possibly the best known, is slightly adapted from a version recorded by Ewan MacColl from the Norfolk singer Harry Cox in 1955, and recorded by MacColl and Peggy Seeger on their 1964 LP Chorus from the Gallows. Recordings Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger on their Topic LP, Chorus from the Gallows (TSDL502, 1960) The Wolfe Tones on their album Up The Rebels in 1966. The song appears as "The Black Ribbon Band" The Irish Rovers on their album The Unicorn in 1967. Single was released 1967 on the B side of The Unicorn. The Dubliners version reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, number 4 in the Irish Singles Chart and number 28 in the European chart in 1967. Carlton Showband on their Canadian RCA LP, A Night at the Pub (1967). Harry Hibbs on his Canadian debut LP At the Caribou Club (1968). Dropkick Murphys on their album Blackout (2003). Like many of Dropkick Murphys' recordings of Irish ballads, this version changes the setting to the band's home state of Massachusetts, in this case the city of Brockton. Four to the Bar on their live album Craic on the Road (1994), in a medley with "The Galway Shawl" and "The Wild Rover". Bill Monroe (as "Girl In The Blue Velvet Band") Brobdingnagian Bards on their album The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs (2006). Bakerloo on the compilation Here's To The Irish, Vol.