The River Detectives were a folk rock duo from Craigneuk in Wishaw, Scotland.^[1] The duo, formed in 1985, comprised Sam Corry (vocals, guitar, harmonica) and Dan O'Neill (vocals, guitar, drums).^[1] The River Detectives have released three albums to date and had a UK top 75 hit with their song, "Chains".^[2]

The band played their first show at Jack Daniel's Pub in Motherwell on 18 August 1986.^[3] In 1988 the band toured extensively in Scotland and attracted the interest of the Warner Bros. Records label, becoming the first Scottish band to sign for them in over a decade.^[3] Shortly afterwards, the duo moved to Glasgow to pen the songs for their debut album, Saturday Night Sunday Morning. The album spawned the UK top 75 hit "Chains".^[1][2]

The band recruited Van Morrison's backing group for the follow-up album, Elvis Has Left the Building, released in 1992.^[3] The album's title is a reference to the state of music at the time of the record's release when computer technology and the rise of the DJ were rampant and conventional performers were becoming peripheral.^[3] After the album's release, the band relocated to Ireland,^[4] where they wrote and toured extensively and guested on a number of records. By 1996, after playing the Splashy Fen festival in the Natal Province, the band received further invitations to tour in the country and relocated to Durban for a year before returning to the UK in 2000 to take a break.

The duo reunited when Corry asked O'Neil for assistance in finishing lyrics to a new song, "Capetown to Glasgow". This song featured on their third release, King of the Ghost Train Ride, which was released on Neontetra Records in 2005.^[4]

The duo played a full band set at the O2 ABC in Glasgow on 28 September 2009, which they announced during the show was their farewell gig.