Rock of ages

VAN MORRISON – ASTRAL WEEKS

In 1968, Van Morrison entered a New York recording studio with an odd collection of jazz musicians that had been put together for the session. In an astonishing two days, they laid down one of the most uplifting, intriguing, intense, profound and enduring albums of all time, Astral Weeks. It married folk-style guitars, jazz rhythms, prominent stand-up bass and atmospheric flute with intensely poetic, introspective lyrics. With Morrison in fine, soulful form on vocals what emerged was a beautiful, haunting, mystical record. For confirmation, check out ‘Madame George’ and ‘Cypress Avenue’.

RORY GALLAGHER – LIVE! IN EUROPE

Following the break-up of Taste, Rory Gallagher formed a new band with Gerry McEvoy (bass) and Wilgar Campbell (drums), a unit that in 1972 served up the album Live! In Europe. A corker from start to finish, it captured Rory at his storming best, his sweat-soaked trade-mark Stratocaster wrenching unparalleled emotion from every note. By this time, Gallagher was one of the most in-demand live acts in Europe and this album, like the later Irish Tour ’74, captured him in full glorious flight, treading the boards with unparalleled conviction. A guitar hero who would scale the heights had announced his arrival.

THE SEEDS OF REVOLUTION

In 1972 Christy Moore recorded the album Prosperous, effectively the first Planxty album in all but name. It was the beginning of a total radicalisation of Irish folk and traditional music. Planxty brought a new awareness of the potency of Irish trad, and in doing so brought it to a fresh, younger and more musically discerning audience. Together, Christy Moore, Liam O’Flynn, Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny sowed the seeds that enabled the later emergence of The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts – and for Christy’s own solo career. Both of these outfits brought something new and vibrant to the party – but it was the meeting of minds in Prosperous that lit the vital spark.

HORSLIPS – HAPPY TO MEET... SORRY TO PART

In 1972 there was such demand for Horslips’ debut album, that when its release was delayed by the complexity of the printing of its concertina-shaped sleeve, record shops actually sold it without its cover, on the basis that they would supply covers in due course. Happy To Meet... Sorry To Part was the culmination of all that Horslips had been leading up to, with their inventive blend of rock, reggae, glam-pop, Celtic imagery and Irish trad tunes that had first been hinted at on their debut single ‘Johnny’s Wedding’. It was the beginning of a new kind of Ireland that would have its own homegrown and, importantly home-based rock stars – lads you could meet on the street one day and then hear their depravity denounced from the pulpit on Sunday (if you were still young enough to go to Mass).

THIN LIZZY – WHISKEY IN THE JAR

In 1973, Thin Lizzy were struggling in the wake of two fine, but commercially unrewarding, albums. A casual bout of studio doodling saw them run through a well-known Irish ballad, more for laughs than for any kind of artistic intent. It might have been consigned to a B-side, but the record company loved it, as did the fans, and it soon rose to number six in the UK charts. That breakthrough sent the band spiralling off on a career that was immensely colourful and often controversial – and that made them darlings of the rock scene at home and abroad. With the definitive line-up of Philip Lynott, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, they recorded one of the greatest live albums of all time, Live And Dangerous, in 1978.

SUMMER OF 1977

In June of ’77, hotpress was launched. A couple of weeks later, Rory Gallagher headlined the first real open-air Irish rock festival at Macroom in county Cork. It was a seminal occasion, to which kids who had the rock’n’roll dream in their veins made the pilgrimage, from all over Ireland, and the maestro turned in a commanding and brilliant performance. A little over a month later, Thin Lizzy headlined a show at Dalymount Park that also featured Graham Parker and the Rumour, The Boomtown Rats and The Radiators From Space. The old town was awash that night with a new generation of fans who had – over the summer – seen the best of the Irish come up trumps like never before. The time for accepting the role of outsiders at the banquet of rock was over. Very soon, we’d be in the driving seat…

TEENAGE KICKS

Regarded by many (including BBC DJ John Peel who wants it played at his funeral) as one of the greatest singles of all time, ‘Teenage Kicks’ was released as the lead track on The Undertones’ debut EP on the Good Vibrations label in 1978. It starts with that unmistakable guitar riff, before Feargal Sharkey’s angst-ridden teenage voice enters the fray, proclaiming John O’Neill’s graphic lyrics about sexual desire and masturbation, was a nagging pop melody, piles of energy, shed loads of attitude and the sense that eventually, life will be worth living. It was the first of nine UK hits for the Derry band who were one of the finest pop practitioners of ther era – and who made in Sin Of Pride, one of the great, under-rated Irish rock albums.

THE BOOMTOWN RATS ON TOP OF THE POPS

The Rats had already burst into the consciousness of the British and Irish pop public with a string of memorable hit singles. But with ‘Rat Trap’, they really hit the mark and as the single clambered up the charts, the question was – could they go all the way to the coveted No. 1 spot? The wait was agonising, as John Travolta and Olivia Newton John held off their challenge with ‘You’re The One That I Want’ from the musical Grease. But Geldof and the boys would not be denied. In what was one of the most dramatic moments on Top Of The Pops in aeons, on an evening in October of 1978 – when the announcement of the new chart-topper was due – the camera focussed in on a picture of the ousted disco duo. The photo was torn dismissively down the middle, and from behind it emerged the face of a triumphant Bob Geldof, who launched into the Springsteen-esque saga of Joey and the boys comin’ on strong on the mean streets of Dublin. The Rats may have made an even more epic contribution to the Irish rock canon with ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’, but ‘Rat Trap’ was a real cause for celebration: the first ever No.1 single in the UK by an Irish rock band.

THE RADIATORS – GHOSTOWN

Life is cruel sometimes. If there was enough justice to go round, this album would have found a snug corner in record collections all over the world and garnered a wall full of platinum discs. It didn’t, but Ghostown can truly lay claim to being one of the top Irish rock albums of all time. A great record about Dublin and Ireland, it announced the arrival, in Philip Chevron, of a songwriter with an acute sense of both history and poetry. Irish songwriting had never been quite this ambitious before. Balanced by the fine pop sensibility of Pete Holiday, Ghostown was great achievement that remains required listening for Irish tunesmiths. They don’t come any better than ‘Song Of The Faithful Departed’ or ‘Kitty Rickets’.

U2’S FIRST SINGLE

In 1979 U2 released their first single ‘Out Of Control’ (also known as U23). It’s moderate impact on the Irish charts only hinted at what was to come, but it was the first major step towards world domination that was ultimately to revolutionise Irish rock music, make Dublin a place of pilgrimage for music fans for far and wide and stimulate Ireland to become, in the words of a US music industry tycoon, “a talent source for the ’90s”. Yeah and much more besides!.

PAUL BRADY GOES ELECTRIC

Having begun his career with beat groups in the ‘60s, Paul Brady had switched to the folk camp, enjoying considerable success with The Johnstons. He stayed in the trad mould throughout the ’70s – but all the while he was writing songs and in the process finding a voice that demanded a different kind of musical setting. That came about in 1981, with the release of Hard Station a ground-breaking album of original compositions that set the terms in many ways for the singer-songwriters that followed – from Christy Moore through to Mundy. It was the basis on which Brady would establish a reputation as a songwriter of real substance, his songs being recorded by Tina Turner, Santana and Bonnie Raitt, among dozens of others.

CLANNAD – HARRY’S GAME

It seemed like an exercise in the impossible, getting a song with lyrics in Irish into the UK top 5, but Clannad did it with the wonderfully ethereal ‘Theme From Harry’s Game’ in 1983. The singular success of that track helped propel its attendant album Magical Ring into millions of homes all over the planet and made the band, for a time, one of the hottest acts in the USA. With Máire Ní Bhraonáin to the fore, their blend of traditional influences with state of the art technology took Irish music into previously uncharted realms, and laid the foundations for a highly successful period for the group.

THE POGUES – RUM SODOMY AND THE LASH

Emerging from North London in the early ’80s, The Pogues were a veritable Irish stew of punks, power poppers, drunks, poets, working-class heroes and folkies who injected passion instead of maudlin sentimentality into Irish ballad music. This apparent lack of reverence disgusted the great keepers of the tradition who were reduced to stuttering incomprehensibility and the band even faced down their critics in an historic 2FM radio debate. Rum, Sodomy And The Lash in 1985 was the perfect reply, with tracks of the calibre of ‘The Old Main Drag’, ‘I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day’ and a breathtaking version of ‘Dirty Old Town’. But then any band with the likes of Shane MacGowan, Philip Chevron and Terry Woods on board was bound to rock a few boats.

U2 – JOSHUA TREE

The rise of U2 was experienced back home as a series of plateaus each of which in turn seemed to be so impressive that you assumed that they could hardly go any higher. The Joshua Tree album arrived in March 1987, following a period in which Bono and the boys had immersed themselves in roots music. With a track-list that could pass for a greatest hits collection (‘Where The Streets Have No Name’, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’, With Or Without You’, ‘Bullet The Blue Sky’ etc) it crashed into the US charts at number one and established itself as the USA’s then fastest selling album of all time. Of course, we all thought they had definitely reached their zenith this time. But we were wrong. Since then, from a critical perspective, Achtung Baby! and All That You Leave Behind have rivalled The Joshua Tree in their claims to the status of U2’s finest album ever. But The Joshua Tree established U2 as the biggest band on the planet – and there was no going back.

SOMETHING HAPPENS AT THE BAGGOT

Through 1987/8 Something Happens played a series of gigs at the Baggot Inn that for sheer unadulterated pop mayhem have hardly ever been bettered on Irish soil. Long before Messrs Dunne, Byrne, Harman and Ryan got their first deal with Virgin Records, the queues would form around the block of fans eager to sup at the table of one of this country’s most imaginative and exhileratingly snappy pop/rock bands. Ploughing a musical furrow somewhere between Led Zeppelin and REM, there was humour, wit and literacy in their songs, many of which would end up their debut album Been There, Seen That, Done That in 1988. That was before ‘’Parachute’ and the Gulf War crossed paths and things began to go slip slidin’ away. But I guess you had to be there.

VAN MEETS THE CHIEFTAINS

The Chieftains are one of the world’s great roots bands, with a portfolio of fine records to their credit, that span a period of forty years and more. They have been involved in countless (well, nearly!) collaborations with the great and the good of contemporary music, as well as producing traditional albums of astonishing beauty. But in 1988, they did what many consider to be their finest work, joining forces with Van Morrison for the magnificent Irish Heartbeat album. This is a thing of great beauty, with Van sounding extraordinarily relaxed and singing wonderfully on classics like ‘Raglan Road’, ‘Carrickfergus’ and ‘The Star Of The County Down’, amongst other wonders. The Chieftains were also stirred to new heights, adding swoops and swathes of brilliance and joy to the sessions. Watch out for the moment where Paddy Moloney sneaks in a snatch of ‘The Sash’ and try to keep the grin off your face!

ENYA HITS NUMBER ONE

With the moody music for The Celts already under her belt, Enya and her co-conspirators Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan had established the blueprint. But the release, in 1988, of the finely wrought and hugely impressive Watermark lifted the Donegal chanteuse into the stratosphere. The debut single from the album, the haunting pop masterpiece ‘Orinoco Flow’, which had many a hardened rock critic reaching for the superlatives, steadily climbed to number one in the UK – and thence to a similar exalted position in charts all over the world. It represented the definitive arrival of a truly remarkable Irish phenomenon. Since then Enya and the Ryan team have scaled the heights again and again. She has sold an astonishing 60 million albums over the past 14 years. With the success of ‘Only Time’, a track that captured the imagination of audiences in the US in the wake of the September 11th massacre, her latest album A Day Without Rain is on course to become her most successful to date.

THIS IS VALENTINE’S DAY

Originally formed in 1984, My Bloody Valentine gradually metamorphosed into one of the most important and influential bands ever to come out of Ireland. In 1988, they released Isn’t Anything, which saw guitar maestro and band leader Kevin Shields strike out in a different direction, using processing and loops to achieve an original and monumental guitar sound. It also introduced the vocal talents of Bilinda Butcher to the band’s armoury. However, it was with the classic Loveless, released in 1991, that they achieved the apotheosis of Shields’ vision. It became a hugely influential album, setting the shoegazing phenomenon alight and also entering the mainstream, with U2 among the outfits that acknowledged the impact that the record made on their sonic adventures. My Bloody Valentine may not have sold millions of albums, but their imprint was all over the music of the ‘90s, maiking them one of the most musically important Irish bands ever.

SINEAD RIPS UP THE POPE

Sinead O’Connor had already established herself as the finest ever Irish female songwriter with her 1987 debut The Lion And The Cobra and the hugely successful I Do Not Want What I Have Not Go, released in 1990. The latter contained her cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares To You’, a performance which captured the public imagination in the most extraordinary way, and which gave her a world wide No.1 hit. But Sinead never accepted that the role of the artist involved making great music, and leaving it at that. Instead she engaged with the world and its inequities in a heartfelt and conscientious way, risking her career, and occasionally a lot more besides in the process. She might have felt differently about it, recollecting later in tranquility, but it was a defining moment for Irish music – and indeed for women all over the world – when in 1992 she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul 2 live, on prime-time television in America. The gesture was a measure of her bravery, and she became the target for a vicious campaign of personal attacks as a result. But it just one of the acts of public witness that Sinead gave to us – in the process contributing immensely to the process of change that has taken place in Irish society, and confirming that music and musicians really can make a difference.

CRANBERRIES CONQUER AMERICA

Somewhat miffed by the UK and Ireland’s indifference to their 1993 debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, the Cranberries departed for America where supports with The The and Suede awaited.

The fact that Dolores & Co. were blowing away the headliners on a nightly basis soon came to the attention of MTV who put the collection’s second single, ‘Linger’, on fast rotation. Three months later, it was number 8 on the Billboard chart and on its way to becoming one of the most played records on American radio ever.

It didn’t take long for people on this side of the Atlantic to catch up, with Everybody Else… soon going gold throughout Europe.

THE ARRIVAL OF LOUIS WALSH

Having enjoyed a degree of success with a number of showband artists, and most notably with the Irish Eurovision winner Johnny Logan, Louis Walsh began to look for a new direction in which to take his managerial talents in the early 90’s. The sceptics were out in force when he bagan a talent search to create Ireland’s first boyband – one that would compete with he likes of Bros and Take That who between them had been dominating the UK charts over the previous five years. When the first line-up of Boyzone hit the Late Late Show, the sceptics knew they were right – these boys couldn’t sing, they couldn’t play and they couldn’t even dance. But Walsh was smarter than most people on this side of the Irish Sea had allowed. He hustled and pushed and worked the turf and with the backing first of Polygram and then – crucially – of the UK pop weekly Smash Hits, he marshalled Boyzone into a tidy and effective pop team that began to storm the British charts with extraordinary regularity, from 1994 on. The group went on to become the biggest pop phenomenon of their era, but Walsh knew when their time was up and engaged in a number of smart strategies to keep the bandwagon rolling. He peeled Ronan Keating away to pursue a solo career that has met with considerable success. And he went one better with the formation of Westlife, who have gone on to break all sorts of box office and sales records both in Ireland and virtually all over the planet. Major American success had eluded Walsh until he took Samantha Mumba under his wing – but Ireland’s first died-in-the-wool r’n’b diva has delivered both creatively and commercially, lending a new musical credibility to Walsh’s endeavours. He has been the target of the ire of many rock musicians and fans, who dismiss his acts as manufactured, but there is no doubting the impact that he – and they – have had on music here.

A WOMAN’S HEART

Irish women singers had already established a reputation as interpreters par excellence, with Mary Black, Maura O’Connell, Mary Coughlan and Dolores Keane to the fore. However, in 1992, that trend reached its apex – only this time, a song by an emerging Irish writer was at the heart of the action. Written by Eleanor McEvoy, and performed by Eleanor with Mary Black, ‘A Woman’s Heart’ was the title track on an album that captured the moment in spectacular fashion. It topped the Irish charts for 20 weeks, and went on to notch up sales of over half a million. A tour, a second album, and another follow-up tour ensued, in what was one of the most successful initiatives ever by an Irish independent label. Eleanor McEvoy subsequently wrote more mature and better songs but ‘A Woman’s Heart’ announced her arrival.

THE EMERGENCE OF DAVID HOLMES

Throughout our illustrious musical past, the focus has invariably tended to fall on live performance, eschewing for the most part the latest technological innovations unless they can be used as icing on the cake. But along came David Holmes in 1994 to show us there was another way. In the years that followed he took us far beyond his initial dance dabblings to embrace all the technological trickery with truly creative wit and flair. As a dance DJ he was an inspiration to clubbers and DJs alike all over Ireland. As an artist, composer, producer and soundtrack boffin, he has brought us into a fresh dimension entirely, culminating in his work on the Ocean’s 11 soundtrack, released this year.

THE CORRS CORNER THE MARKET

Initially tipped to make it big in the States, The Corrs confounded expectations in a number of ways. Their debut album Forgiven Not Forgotten achieved its greatest success on this side of the Atlantic, establishing the band throughout Europe in particular. However, it was their follow-up Talk On Corners, released in October of 1997, that achieved landmark status. After its initial quiet success, the band pulled off a masterstroke, bringing re-mixes of tracks like ‘What Can I Do’ and ‘So Young’ by Todd Terry, K-Klass and Tin Tin Out together for a special edition. Sales went ballistic, and the album continued to top the UK charts – as well as charts all over the world – through 1999. During that period the band achieved a coup with Talk On Corners and Forgiven Not Forgotten occupying the No. 1 and No. 2 places in the UK charts simultaneously. By the end of 1999, Talk On Corners had become the biggest selling album of the year in the UK, contributing hugely to the band’s current tally of 25 million sales.

ASH’S IVOR NOVELLO AWARD

Or, to be more exact, Tim Wheeler’s Ivor Novello award for ‘Shining Light’ in 2002. Traditionally, the Ivor Novello award has paid tribute to music’s middle-of-the-roadsters, so for a band with Ash’s in-your-face rock credentials to score one is a serious achievement – confirmation that the Downpatrick four-piece have come a long way. But it’s only the latest addition in a long line of gongs the band have collected over the years, including two at this year’s hotpress Awards. Their versatility was hinted at as far back as the 1977 album in 1996. It’s just taken a while for some people to catch on.