It’s a great table quiz question. Where did The Smiths play their first Dublin show? Better still, where did Blur play one of their earliest Irish shows, or Snow Patrol formulate their plans to conquer the world?

The answers to all these questions involve third level institutions. Gary Lightbody formed Snow Patrol whilst at university in Dundee, Blur played UCD’s student bar back in the early 90s, while over 20 years ago Morrissey stuck a daffodil in his back pocket and did his thing with The Smiths in Trinity’s Buttery bar. Going back a little bit further, in the heady days of the ‘70s, The Clash played Trinity College, UCD played host to the Boomtown Rats, The Undertones and The Radiators (not to mention acts as diverse as George Melly and the Pink Fairies!) and in Cork, the UCC backed Downtown Campus, run by Elvira Butler, was one of Ireland’s great gigs.
Colleges have always been breeding grounds for the next big thing. Radiohead, Manic Street Preachers, The Beatles and Coldplay are all groups who formed at UK third level colleges. Similarly Irish universities have played no small part in the formation of groups such as Whipping Boy, The Thrills and the equally promising Delorentos.
But what is the live music scene currently like at student level? Are universities attracting big name acts to campus venues, and are the next Snow Patrol honing their craft in a student bar near you? David Reid seems to think so. An A&R scout for Atlantic Records (US), Reid is one of the main movers behind the National Student Music Awards, an event which showcases the best student acts across the UK and Ireland, and which was won earlier this year by Dublin band Delorentos.
“Quite a lot of bands come out of the college scene,” notes Reid positively. “Bands tend to prosper within the student environment and sort of hone their sound before they branch out to more established venues. Through the NSMA we’ve noticed the standard to be reasonably strong amongst the more serious bands and the strength of that talent is evident in this year’s winners.”
As this year’s victors, Delorentos are a band flying the flag for the student music scene. They formed in 1999 whilst at college and in the last six months have been tipped as one of the Irish acts to breakthrough over the coming year. Their success at the awards meant that they’ve been demoed by Sony, have picked up a manager and have had the prestige of mastering their forthcoming EP at London’s Abbey Road Studios.
“90% of student bands are crap,” says vocalist and guitarist Kieran. “Most do it for a laugh, but you get the few that take it seriously. One of the benefits for those that do take it seriously is that at college you have the time to really focus on it and put in the work. A lot of how successful the live scene is, is down to individual entertainment officers and how good they are at promoting events.”
Reid is in total agreement. “The standard and success of a student music scene at any given college can be down to the ENTs officer and their passion for live music,” he says. “A good ENTs officer will book high profile names from both Ireland and the UK, whilst also helping those acts within the college by offering them prestigious support slots to boost their profile on campus, and increase interest in the student circuit.”
One ENTs officer looking to resurrect the music scene in his university is UCD’s Anthony Kelly. The Dublin 4 campus has been something of a sleeping giant over the last number of years, with its events often haemorrhaging money. Now, Kelly seems determined to tap the potential of his own college at least. “Right across the board, the student music scene is underdeveloped really,” says Kelly. “Out here in UCD, we’ve attracted some big acts in the past, but to be honest the Trinity Ball is still the event that consistently attracts the big names.”
Kelly is hoping all that will change. Already, he’s made an impressive start. This year’s UCD Fresher’s Ball will bring Groove Armada and Republic of Loose to campus while, in something of a coup, The Coral will roll into town the following week.
“What I really want to do is to give the original music scene in UCD a boost,” says Kelly. “By bringing in people like The Coral I’d hope to place UCD bands in support slots. The aim is to bring in bigger acts, whilst also cultivating an environment where student bands can have a platform to bigger audiences.”
One of the major difficulties obstructing the growth of the student music scene has been the quality of venues available. UCD are one of the better equipped institutions, with two live venues. Trinity College Dublin is less fortunate. “We’ve just got The Buttery bar to put on gigs,” says Trinity ENT’s officer Niall Hughes, “and we can’t charge into that. So bringing in major acts isn’t cost effective. Of course we bring in some of the Irish acts but we save the bigger international names for the Trinity Ball.”
The major event for Trinity’s student acts is the battle of the bands to open the Ball, which claims the status of Europe’s largest private party. Last year’s winners, Porn Trauma, have recently exploded on to the capital’s music scene. “The Trinity Ball certainly boosted our profile,” notes frontman Stephen Fanning. “It’s a great gig to get, and of course only open to students. Suddenly people know your name and it’s easier to get high profile gigs as a result, so it is a boost.”
Outside of the capital, NUI Galway is one of a number of campus’s running events without an ENT’s officer. They host nights for their own student talent whilst also bringing in Irish acts such as David Kitt.
“We haven’t had an ENT’s officer for three or four years,” says Student’s Union Vice President Liam Hennelly. “We use outside promoters and it’s been a success for us. We might not have the bigger acts of a Trinity or UCD but we still get a lot of the big Irish names.”
Throughout the country then, the student music scene is alive and well. “The talent is coming through, and will continue to come through,” says David Reid, “and as gradually the venues and facilities get better, the scene will grow. Between now and Christmas most of the established Irish acts will be touring the colleges and that in itself is a sign of a yearning for live music. Hopefully bands will feed off that and new up-and-coming student acts will emerge around the country.”