Come Here To Me!

The Shakin' Pyramids at The Magnet, 30 years ago.

It’s often said that recessions ignite music scenes. (Certainly in the last while, we’ve seen the proliferation of underground Dance events in Dublin.)

Music does seem to have that extra edge when it’s written and performed beneath the dark background of economic and political crises. It seems that from the explosion of punk in the summer of 1976 to the birth of the acid house movement in 1988, all decent Irish (and British) music was characterised by bands, imagery and lyrics that told the (often depressing) story of what was going around them – unemployment, inner city riots, boredom and that consistent feeling of ‘no future’. The Blades’ ‘Downmarket’ immediately springs to mind, as does The Specials’ ‘Ghosttown’, The Pogues, UB40, Dexys Midnight Runners, two-tone, reggae, punk, Oi! The list is endless.

What I’ve found interesting recently is that it seems recessions  often reignite music scenes as well. People become more nostalgic, they look back to the ‘good old days’.

In Dublin, in the last eighteen months we’ve seen major reunions of both the 1980s Mods (who I’ve written about before) and the 1980s skinheads whose HQ was ‘The Fox and Pheasant’. Now, it’s the rockabillies and teddy boys turn.

McGrattans (off Baggot St.) sees a reunion on August 27 2011 for teds, bikers and rockabilly fans who frequented the legendary Magnet on Pearse Street. For background, see my feature on Stompin’ George and The Magnet.

No doubt it’s going to be a great night.

The Magnet 31 years ago…

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This article, on Dublin’s burgeoning underground dance scene, was written in March 2011, and published in shortened form in the latest issue of Look Left and has now been uploaded in full on the blog.

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The economic recession coupled with tight nightclub licensing laws has led to a proliferation of D.I.Y., independent after-hour parties, raves and club-nights in Dublin. People have become fed up with being overcharged for alcohol in bars and being turfed out at 2:30am due to the strict licensing laws. It is still a little known fact that Ireland has the earliest nightclub closing times in Europe. Instead of sitting around and simply complaining, various groups are channelling their anger and efforts into coming together and organising their own events which often bend or break the rules.

The response of the Garda has been swift and harsh. Numerous underground, late night and BYOB events have been shut down by the police in the last six months. Undeterred, music and art collectives have reacted to this clampdown by adjusting the way they publicise and organise events in order to dupe the authorities.

Last November this author along with around three-hundred other individuals boarded a fleet of double-decker buses on the quays on a cold Saturday night at 1am. After a twenty-minute drive we found ourselves stepping out from the bus and into an empty industrial estate in the south-west of the city. We were here for a large, after-hours rave in a disused warehouse which was rented for the night by a small group of DJs and promoters. It was a unifying experience. Young lads barely out of school from local housing estates chatted to middle-aged ravers who had been around for the first wave of Acid House in 1988 – 1992. Some people were on the chemical MDMA otherwise known as ‘ecstasy’, others weren’t. Some people brought along beer or other alcoholic drinks, others didn’t.

Warehouse Collective, November 2010. Photo - Lucia Mather

There was no reported acts of violence or theft, an all too common occurrence in our city’s clubs and streets at night. Everyone had come to listen to the music, dance and have a good time in an environment that was outside of the control of overzealous Garda, greedy publicans or thuggish bouncers. Events like these, albeit on a smaller scale, are happening every weekend in the city. Nights don’t finish at 2:30am anymore, people see it as half-time.

(more…)

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I’ve a lot of time for some Irish rappers. We had Street Literature from the northside on here before, but I love what Nugget has been doing on this site of the river. Hailing from Ballyfermot, this is a cracker.

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Andy Quirke, uber rich boy with loads of times on his hands, brings out a surprisingly catchy and well made spoof music video looking at the two extremes of Dublin social life.

11,000 views in just under a fortnight so far but with last night’s showing on the Republic of Telly, I’ll reckon it’s going to be a big one.

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Dublin skinheads, mods, punks and ska heads rejoiced this month to learn the news that No Bother, a new and second hand clothing shop, have set up in the city.

While they look for a permanent premises, No Bother will have a widely stocked stall every Saturday (12 – 5) at the flea market in The Grand Social (old Pravda) on Liffey Street.

A selection of their merchandise.

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XING (acronym for Crossing in New Genre) is a 5-member male group from South Korea. The members include Kim Dong Geun, Kim Jin Wan, Hwang Doo Hwan, Jin Hyeon Jin and Kim Wan Chul. Xing made it in to the list of the Top 5 Most Anticipated Artists In 2007.

“Classic'” may be a bit of an exaggeration. It’s essentially a cheesy Korean pop music video filmed in Dublin. “Unusual” may be a better word.

Temple Bar, Stephens Green, the Luas, the Liffey, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Smithfield all feature. The internet won’t tell me the year the video was filmed but it has to be sometime between 2006 and 2008 judging by the info on their Wikipedia page.

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+ Classic Dublin music videos:

1. Phil Lynott – Old Town (1982)

2. The Blades – The Bride Wore White (1982)

3. Bagatelle – Summer in Dublin (1980)

4. Rod Stewart – Sailing (1975)

5. The Spice Girls – Stop (1998)

6. Dina Carrol – The Perfect Year (1993)

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The last year has seen many of Dublin’s oldest and best independent record shops close. We’ve already covered the winding up of Road Records (June 2010), City Discs (January 2011) and Trout Records (February 2011). Not forgetting Fuzzy Logic (June 2010), Beatfinder (2010) and Rhythm Records (2009/10).

Today brings the sad news that Comet Records is to shut its doors for the last time on Friday April 15.

Comet’s tale has been one of ups and downs since it first opened on Chatham Street off Grafton Street in 1984 as Halley’s Comet appeared in the skies over Ireland.

Two years later it relocated to Crown Alley in Temple Bar. The shop moved again in 1989 to its present premises on Cope Street and a year later it opened a branch on Washington Street in Cork. However, in 2004 owner Brian O’Kelly was forced to close both shops.

He reopened in Dublin in 2009 but “this time we are going for good”, he told The Irish Times yesterday. “It has been on the cards for a very long time. There is a whole generation who have never paid anything for music and I don’t know if they will ever be prepared to pay anything for music.”

Comet Records, Temple Bar. Credit - infomatique.

Support the last ones out there – Borderline (Temple Bar), Freebird (Secret Book and Record Store, Wicklow Street), Mojo Records (Merchants Arch), Spindizzy (George’s Street Arcade), Rage Records (Fade Street), All-City (Temple Bar) and Sound Cellar (Nassau Street). Have I left anyone out?

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