Lost Irish Bands of the Eighties

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Basically I'm thinking of people like Cry Before Dawn, Cactus World News, Those Nervous Animals, Light A Big Fire, Microdisney, Auto Da Fé, In Tua Nua, etc.

Were any of these bands any good? Did any of them release any good records? Did any of them sneak out one or two good songs on otherwise turgid pomp rock albums?

― The Dirty Vicar, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Damn! forgot Toasted Heretic, even if they did pathetically squeeze into the '90s and almost get signed to Factory.

My initial impression is that all lost Irish bands from the '80s are grade-A, U2-copying, SHITE, with the exception of Auto Da Fe and Toasted Heretic.

― The Dirty Vicar, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What about Stump? I'm told that they did themselves a big disservice by letting most people know them only for that Charlton Heston put his vest on novelty item (a version of this argument seems to apply to many bands). Mine you, they're from 'whimsical' Cork, so I expect you wouldn't like them, Dirty Vicar.

Microdisney were great, as I said on another thread I can't (shock! horror!) be bothered to look up.

― Nick, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh thank you. I can now express my undying LURVE for the Stars of Heaven. "Rain on the sea" is one of my fave record ever. Jingly- jangly country rock heaven. Like the Go-Betweens with decent melodies. All those bands you mentioned above were shite. Microdisney had two good tunes ("Singer's Hampstead Home" and "Town to town") but only got interesting when Cathal Coughlan formed Fatima Mansions.

― Michael Bourke, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Something Happens' "Been there, done that.." was allright too. It had "Beach" on it which is a gorgeous song. Far better than that "Parachute" rubbish which irritates me greatly. Would Something Happens count as a lost Irish band though?

― Michael Bourke, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Of the list above Microdisney definitely the best, with 3 fine albums (Clock comes down the stairs, crooked mile and 39 minutes).
I like Fatima Mansions more in theory than practice, bottom line being that despite being more interesting (i.e varied) musically, I don’t think the songs quite cut it. I think also Cathal Coughlan works best as a crooner rather than a ‘rocker’. Exception being the truly malevolent Blues for Ceacescu, if ever a singer sold his soul to the devil it was Cathal Coughlan on that.

Still better than the High Llamas who I have to say are pretty dull for the most part.

― Billy Dods, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Broadly in agreement about Microdisney ('Loftholdingswood' was always a favourite) and the hugely under-rated Stars of Heaven. Both of them were a complete antidote to U2 at the time. Cry Before Dawn are one of the worst bands I've ever come across - bland beyond belief, Ireland's answer to Danny Wilson and Deacon Blue! One of the blokes out of Cactus World News was Eamonn Andrews son, wasn't he?

― Jonathan, Thursday, 16 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Stump: I liked them a bit. Well I liked "Charlton Heston" and I liked the one where they say 'Mind the Oranges, Marlon'. I found the album "A Fierce Pancake" a bit wearing last time I listened to it (a long time ago - ripe for reappraisal).

Something Happens - a lot of their own songs are very bland, but they were really good at doing cover versions. They did a great 'Borderline' by Madonna.

― The Dirty Vicar, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No, none of those bands are any good. They're all rubbish.

― the pinefox, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Pinefox is on the punts

― gareth, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

microdisney had their moments. pink skinned man is fine. never felt inclined to delve much further tho'. fatima mansions were obviously dire.

― cw, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Not forgetting the unfeasibly turgid Les Enfants, the lumpen arse- rock of Blue In Heaven, and the shockingly dumb Aslan. God forgive the bastard who sold these bozos their leather waistcoats. Now the Subterraneans, on the other hand... & I'll always have a soft spot for the Gorehounds' version of 'Ruby'. But basically, Irish rock in the 80s was a wasteland of mulleted dimwits only marginally less interesting than the poodle-permed losers who'd been around ten years earlier. Christ, it's all coming back to me: the kind of culture that would eventually produce a primetime TV music show called, in all sorry seriousness, 'No Disco'. The pointless, styleless, guileless idiocy of it all. And where did they get those NAMES?

― Brian Dillon, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I had a certain fondness for Blue In Heaven because they were borderline gothic, which has to be a good thing. Ditto the Subterranaeans.

I missed the Gorehounds, mainly seeing them as the band whose unsold records the guy from Comet Records was always trying to unload.

Why were Irish bands in the '80s so shite (and I'm not saying they're any better now)? I think one problem the music scene here has always had is being full of bands who wanted to be the next BIG thing, with the result that you got loads of wannabe U2s or whatevers, but very few bands who were part of the great indie tradition. And then whenever you did get bands trying to do the indie thing, the English music press would basically ignore them because there were so many other pomp rockers flouncing out of the country.

― The Dirty Vicar, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Blue In Heaven were the greatest Irish rock band of the 80s and they were not "borderline Gothic". The closest thing Ireland ever got to the Stones/Stooges with Shane being the the most amazing frontman in Irish rock history. The 1987/88 gigs were things of madness and hysteria. Idiot Bono castigated them for their unholy Self Aid appearence in 86, basically for being too roch n'roll in those pompous flag waving days. Explicit Material is Ireland's version of Funhouse and with it iconic sleeve should have been recognised as a classic. Remember, it was Chris Blackwell himself who took them under his wing but after their disaster touring America they always seemed doomed.

― David, Monday, 20 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one year passes...

a true classic was I Will Wallow by Paranoid Visions. the 80s were a great time, great music, great shows - 5 go down to the sea, all the cork people, Stano, Michael o'Shea (a wonder!), virgin prunes on the late late show, spending dole money at freebird and basement x, anything goes, blah blah blah and we've ended up with westlife, the corrs, but at least smiley bolger is still going strong,

― johnny, Wednesday, 22 January 2003 17:31 (twenty-three years ago)

at work we use a database program called Clanad. Awesome.

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 23 January 2003 00:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Something Happens are still gigging on occasion, but more as an institution than anything else. They put out a great album when I was 14 :)

Stump are shite. Their other good song is on the same EP as Charlton Heston, and the rest of their output should be buried at midnight.

No Disco is well aware of the irony of its title, IMHO.

And why has no-one mentioned the Forget-me-nots? Y'all are hataz.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 23 January 2003 15:50 (twenty-three years ago)

PS: No Sweat!

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 23 January 2003 15:50 (twenty-three years ago)

three years pass...

Cactus World News - Years Later
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef0clL-R4kc

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 19 October 2006 12:52 (nineteen years ago)

Cactus World News - The Bridge [live at Self Aid 1986]

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWNPKi_iVXI

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 19 October 2006 12:56 (nineteen years ago)

It's all about Five Go Down To The Sea folks!

― Diddumsismus (Dada), Friday, 20 October 2006 17:00 (nineteen years ago)

revisited the first Power of Dreams LP this week. so pure, naive, naked, heartfelt and honest. almost timeless. reminded me of Whipping Boy's Heartworm. how does ILX rate PoD?

― Ghost Bear Junior High Attendance Party (Ghost Bear Junior High Attenda), Friday, 20 October 2006 17:08 (nineteen years ago)

one year passes...

Five go down to the sea were great! does anyone remember into paradise? vaguely shoegazerish and adrian borland from the sound produced a couple of albums. also does anyone know the title of their last single? was played on dave fannings beat box on sunday mornings back in '93(?)

― Michael B, Sunday, 21 September 2008 14:34 (seventeen years ago)

Microdisney were great. Cathal was hilarious. Typical sarky intro: "This song is about authority, cos all the
bands hate authority".
I also have a soft spot for The Radiators album Ghost Town. This was Phil Chevron's band, later of
the pogues. "They're Looting in the Town" had an absolutely killer chorus, though the verses were
alot weaker.

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Sunday, 21 September 2008 19:44 (seventeen years ago)

why are irish bands generally crap?

― keythkeyth, Monday, 22 September 2008 04:38 (seventeen years ago)

poitin

― the bridge to erewhon (velko), Monday, 22 September 2008 04:44 (seventeen years ago)

A House started in the mid-80s and released On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round in '88. Couse strung together some decent lyrics.

― oh_een, Monday, 22 September 2008 05:48 (seventeen years ago)

I was just about to post to this thread that this seemed a very unpromising source of good music, then found that I'd already written, over SEVEN YEARS AGO:

No, none of those bands are any good. They're all rubbish.
― the pinefox, Friday, 17 August 2001
The Pinefox is on the punts
― gareth, Friday, 17 August 2001

!!!

― the pinefox, Monday, 22 September 2008 07:18 (seventeen years ago)

Microdisney, Stars of Heaven and Stump all not rubbish.

― Tell me where the fuck you find a anorexic blapper (Noodle Vague), Monday, 22 September 2008 09:13 (seventeen years ago)

twelve years pass...

Today’s “Featured Article” on (EN) Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Go_Down_to_the_Sea%3F

― search term: buttrock (morrisp), Friday, 18 June 2021 05:03 (four years ago)

Barely 1980s, but I remain very fond of Co Cavan's The Would Be's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kzwfCr07xM

― Piedie Gimbel, Friday, 18 June 2021 06:51 (four years ago)

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Lost Irish Bands of the Eighties - CD/SD