'An infrequent conversation between fans of music, some of it long-lost’
In July, 1981, The Mayo News carried a small advert publicising an upcoming novelty football game in Castlebar. The Jimmy Magee All-Stars, a Gaelic football team assembled from the ranks of Ireland’s light entertainment royalty, were billed to take on a selection of former inter-county players from Connacht with the aim of raising money for... Continue Reading →
Sack’s excellent second album, ‘Butterfly Effect’, is the latest in a line of fine local releases from the 1990s to receive the big birthday treatment. Or, if you prefer, up-dated declarations of affection from dreary old-timers like myself, accompanied by ageless live shows in Cork, Dublin and Listowel. In marking the issue of a record... Continue Reading →
The Frank and Walters, Into Paradise, Serengeti Long Walk, Kooky, Blink, We Cut Corners and Bawl: just some of the numerous Irish groups I’ve spent far too much time obsessing about over the many decades I’ve put in as a hanger-on. In the great, untouchable traditions of popular culture, they’ve all triggered my brain enough... Continue Reading →
On Friday afternoon, 2nd August 2, 1990, Pat Scannell loaded four of us into his old beater and faced it for Thurles. Not, as would have been the norm, to see Munster championship hurling but, rather, to take in the opening night fare at the first ever live music weekend to take place at Semple Stadium. As we set... Continue Reading →
On Tuesday, December 28th next, on RTÉ One at 6.30, Brian Reddin’s documentary, ‘How Ireland Rocked the ‘70s’ looks at the evolution of the festival circuit in Ireland during that decade. A decade in which rock music – national and international – began to take real root in Ireland. Against a back-drop of political instability... Continue Reading →
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