Happy Surfin' Santa rides again

'Could it be that this was in fact the defining moment for U2, the event or series of events that put the iron in their soul? And if so, how has a lifetime gone by with scarcely a mention of it?'

Here's an amazing story from the histories of the Dublin punk scene and the band that redefined pub-decor in the new millenia. As always, the unison.ie papers require registration, but it is a free service.


It was the summer of '79, when the Heat was felt by McGuinness
Sunday Independent, Declan Lynch

The other way of looking at this, was the old-time rock 'n' roll way: a fanzine is a fanzine is a fanzine. It is not the New York Times, it has a licence to screw up. Don't fight it.

And this was the prevailing view at the time, as the dispute escalated to the extent that a benefit gig was organised to finance the defence of Heat. It was held in the National Ballroom in July 1979, and as I recall, a great time was had by all.

A band was formed specially for the occasion, called The Defenders. It featured ex-Horslips Charles O'Connor and Eamonn Carr (Eamonn's brother Jude was one of the main men at Heat). Gary Eglinton played bass, Donal Broughan (now an RTE radio announcer) was on vocals along with iconic roadie the late Paul Verner, and Frankie Morgan of Sacre Bleu played keyboards. A selection of Dublin's finest rock 'n' roll characters completed the line-up, which delivered a storming set of classics such as Who do You Love? and It's Not Unusual, joined onstage by guests such as the great Steve Rapid, ex-Radiators and another of the founding fathers of Heat.

The Sinners and The Fabulous Fabrics weighed in, Rocky De Valera and the Gravediggers were also on the bill. The legendary Terri Hooley, majordomo of the Good Vibrations record label in Belfast, came down to lend his considerable moral and fraternal support.

In fact, it was such a vastly enjoyable night all round, it has settled in the memories of many as a coda to the whole punk and new wave era in Dublin, a sort of a goodbye-to-all-that gig which transcended all the unpleasantness which brought it about.

More at the link.

Horslips Siting on Blogger

Babs Babbles

Cocktail Shack: New Show Today

Carr's Cocktail Shack - Online Today

T'was online last week, but I wasn't sure until right at showtime.



There was a siting of Eamon Carr on the ChoiceFM webcam last week! I've been hoping to see him enjoying a Quickie myself, but not had much luck yet.

Barry McCabe's Beyond the Tears - with Johnny Fean

From Barry McCabe's newsletter:

OK, 48 hours to go - and then the pre-order period for "Beyond The
Tears" will be over!! So you STILL have 48 hours to avail of our special
2-for-1 offer!!

To remind you, here's what the deal contains.

* you get an extra CD for FREE with EVERY CD you buy.
you buy 1 CD you get 2 in the post. You buy 2 CDs you get 4 CDs in the
post. It will show as 1 item in the CD Baby basket but it's really 2 -
and you only have to pay postage on 1.

* The FREE CD is EXACTLY the same as the 'main' CD. It's not a slimmed down version, it isn't marked promo or anything like that, it has the full colour 12 page booklet, etc. It's EXACTLY the same.

* ALL CD's are AUTOGRAPHED - that includes the FREE CD.

* you WILL get the 2-for-1 deal if you order via CD Baby. Some people
seemed to think you'd only get that deal if you ordered via my site.
Not so.

* we will guarantee this offer for another 48 hours. After that we'll
have to see if we continue with it or not. Part of me certainly wants to but
we'll just have to review the complete situation and take everyone's
opinion on board.

OK, you can pre-order here

cdbaby.com/cd/bmcband4

or here

barrymccabe.com/music

Here's what U2's production manager had to say about the CD. Now if
THAT doesn't convince you then I don't know what will!! :)

Peace
Barry

"Now listening to the album for the third time. No doubt, this is your
most mature work to date. "Trouble" blew my mind. If I close my eyes I think this is what Horslips could have sounded like if they had kept going, but they didn't and you did, and have produced a cracker of a song.

"The Sunset Waltz" is a masterpiece. "Catch me if you can", "Rollin", "In the dead of Night", all excellent. If the Stones at this stage of their career produced songs of this quality, they would be hailed as geniuses.

There is a wonderful mood to the album, and you hear that in all the playing. Guitars, Hammond, harp, accordion throughout the album are beautifully blended and sit perfectly within the songs. It will sit right along side Mick Taylor's - Leather Jackets in my collection

Guess what McCabe, you've found what you're looking for. Good lad. It's been a road worth travelling."

Mein damen und herren, madames et monsieurs, Cats and Kitties!

Sunday, September 10:


The Shack is Back!


(Image is shaken not stirred over at the Three Button Deluxe Lounge)

Cue the conga drums:

Let us put man and woman together
And see which one is smarter
Some say man, but I say no
The woman got the man like a puppet show

It ain't me, it's the people that say
The men are leadin' the women astray
But I say that the women today
Are smarter than man in every way
Well that's right, the women are smarter
That's right, the women are smarter

Little boy sat down and cried
An old man passin' asking him why, he said
I can't do what the big boys do
Old man sat down and he cried too

Ain't me, it's the people that say
The men are leadin' the women astray
But I say, that the women today
Are smarter than man in every way

Classic Shack with Lola the Vamp

You'll be seeing much 'more' of Lola and her friends this season! So set your dial for 92.1 Choice FM in Dublin and get ready for Season Two of the show that 'bares' all!

Reviewing Tonite's Gig: Horslypse

From the Official Horslips Guestbook

Firstly, Barry came on to rapturous applause to sing GOTN backed by Horslypse. He also came back a little while later to do Furniture another track expertly handled by the lads in Horslypse. Jim & Johnny duly made their appearance and the hall which was already fairly hoppin' went wild. From here on in it was a case of 'rollback' the years as among others Trouble, KOTF and a house raising Dearg Doom to finish were performed to an audience gone wild. Everyone was on their feet. I swear I felt the hair raise on the back of my neck. It was almost like being transported back in time. Of course it had to come to an end and following Dearg Doom the 'bands' made their way off the stage only to be forced to return as the 'Horslips' chant reached a crescendo. So back they came to finish the night as one might expect with - Shakin' All Over. It felt right. A wonderful performance by Horslypse enhanced by the presence of Johnny, Jim & Barry and all for a good cause too...

Posted by Laobhan. There's more at the link. There's sure to be pictures and soundfiles and more to follow.