- Culture
- 15 Feb 22
Following their 30th anniversary tour for their debut album, The Stunning will return to Ireland this year.
Classic Irish rock outfit The Stunning have announced a date in Dublin this winter.
Following their sold out Paradise in the Picturehouse 30th anniversary tour, the Galway-formed group will return to Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre on December 10. Tickets for the show will be on sale from this Friday, February 18.
Announcement! Here's a Saturday night out for next Christmas sorted! It'll sell out, so don't forget to get your tickets in advance. @3olympiatheatre https://t.co/m0KO9rXg9F
— The Stunning (@TheStunningBand) February 15, 2022
Other appearances slated for this year include the Mayo Claremorris Folk Festival on May 1, the Galway International Arts Festival July 17 and the Revival Festival Listowel on August 12.
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After forming in 1987 – jump started by guitarist Steve Wall taking out an ad out in Hot Press – The Stunning earned their first top 20 single just a year later, quickly followed by two more top 10 hits before anyone had even heard a full length album from the group.
Their debut, Paradise in the Picturehouse, earned them the number one spot for five weeks. Now a household name, the band garnered a cult following – soundtracking the lives of a whole generation of Irish people during the '80s and '90s.
The next few years saw continued success for The Stunning with four more hit singles, followed by another number one album. Despite this, the band parted ways in 1994.
After an absence of almost ten years, the band came together in 2003 for an 18-date tour that would go on to be one of the highest grossing tours in Ireland.
In 2012 around 30,000 people turned up to see The Stunning play a free concert in Galway city – a testament to their lasting impact.
Their 2017 single 'Brighten Up My Life' received over 1700 plays on Irish radio. The following year the group released a re-vamped version of their number one album Once Around the World – aptly named Twice Around the World.
In 2021, the band embarked on a sold-out tour of Ireland celebrating their debut album.
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Guitarist Steve Wall spoke to Hot Press in 2020 about the group's early years and the challenges of the music industry today.
“1990 was a year in Ireland when so many things were changing,” Steve Wall reflects. “You had this new generation of Irish kids, who hadn’t had every ounce of confidence beaten out of them by the Christian Brothers. It was the year of Italia ‘90 and Jack Charlton. It was the summer of the first Féile. It was a new Ireland. And it was also the summer that our album was No.1.”
Revisit Steve Wall's Hot Press interview, here.