In a triumphant return to Dublin’s 3Arena, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker took fans on a nostalgic journey through the band’s early Irish gigs—culminating in a sharp, hilarious callback to their very first Dublin show in 1993 at The Rock Garden. This piece dives into that chaotic, shoestring early gig, the roots of the city’s live music scene in the '80s and '90s, and the long, winding road Pulp took to stardom. From basement venues to festival stages, dodgy hotels to stolen gear, this is a story of perseverance, wit, and a band that finally claimed its moment—thirty years in the making
IN THE ROCK GARDEN
I worked for a couple of years with my friend, Jeff Brennan, in The Rock Garden, the live music venue and sometime restaurant that opened in Crown Alley, in Temple Bar, Dublin, almost 25 years ago. It was the late Aiden Lambert, Blink’s manager, who brokered that job for me and I’ve written about our... Continue Reading →
BRILLIANT TREES: GOLDFINGLAS
I absolutely loved The Brilliant Trees and, listening back to their two excellent albums from a distance, time hasn’t dimmed my enthusiasm for them. Some had them marked as being as good as early Oasis, others cited a Blur influence and there were times when, with the vocals stripped out, they had the classic reach... Continue Reading →
TRASHCAN SINATRAS: SONGS FOR SWINGING LOVERS
Trashcan Sinatras have long been one of my favourite bands and I’ve spent years giving them the shift of death in print, on television and on radio. We got behind them royally during my time on No Disco, where tracks like ‘Hayfever’, ‘I’ve Seen Everything’ and especially ‘The Genius I Was’ appeared as regularly as... Continue Reading →
Recent Comments