‘I can't come over to this bloodbath' – Irish gig promoter reveals top music stars' fears of playing gigs here in 70s
While
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6
Peter Aiken has told of the battle to convince global stars to come to Ireland in the 70s
Credit: Darragh Kane
6
Violence here — including the 1974 Dublin bombing — persuaded many to stay away
Credit: AP Photo/Peter Winterbach
6
Don McLean said 'I don't want to go to Belfast, there's a war up there'
Credit:for Lighthouse Immersive and Impact Museums
A new podcast from
The first episode of Fields of Dreams reveals how Ireland's huge 1970s youth population started to turn their backs on the stifling Church/State combo which had ruled their parents' lives.
But he was certainly up against it.
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Read more in News
Listen to
Fields Of Dreams
on
Peter said: 'In the north at that time, which was the nearest thing you could get to civil war, without it actually being civil war — and in a lot of people's eyes, it was — an awful lot of very, very innocent people died for nothing.
'There was very little scene in
'But when Rory came in 1972, the concerts were at 11 o'clock in the day, so people would be home by 4pm. People were terrified. The whole of Belfast, there was a ring of steel all around it.
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Most read in Irish News
'You got searched getting into the town. And at five o'clock, that all shut down. So anything that was inside the city was shut.
'All the cinemas were gone at that time too. We had Willie Nelson coming one time and he read something in his local paper and he actually rang the office himself and said, 'I can't come over to this bloodbath'.
'You had to have power of persuasion, and he'd been with the manager of Don McLean and he said, 'You have to come to Belfast'.
'THERE'S A WAR UP THERE'
'But he said, 'I don't want to go to Belfast, there's a war up there'.'
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American Pie singer McLean did come under Aiken's watch, as did
But when it came to going north of the border, there were often obstacles and headaches.
He said: 'I remember Dad telling me that he was bringing in Merle Haggard one time, I think 1978, and I happened to be there in the Europa Hotel in Belfast.
'AT LEAST WE'RE TOP OF SOMETHING'
'I wouldn't say it was with pride, but you're saying, 'Do you know the hotel you're staying in is the most bombed hotel in the world?' At least we're top of something!'
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In the course of our podcast, future musicians, including Tom Dunne from Something Happens, Steve Wall from The Stunning, The Radiators from Space star Pete Holidai, Sharon Shannon and Fiachna O'Braonain from the Hothouse Flowers, outline their first steps into music in a country that was then rooted firmly in the past.
Dunne said: 'The early Seventies, there was nothing. A combination of the Church and the State, and a lack of radio had really kept the Sixties out of Ireland.
'It's really remarkable that when bands like the Beatles and the Stones were having number ones worldwide, we were getting 'Limerick, You're A Lady' and really weird songs about funerals. Ireland was like this sad nation.'
GROWING REBELLION
The whiff of growing rebellion was inspired by folk, punk and rock music.
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The Showbands era was coming to an end by the mid-70s as new technologies began opening the country up to outside influences.
Dunne said: 'I wouldn't have given them the time of day. I couldn't see any real distinction between the worst of country and western and the showbands. It was just all palaver, you know, men dressed as Indians.
'It was just a pile of sh*te, and it never, even for a second, beeped on my radar.
'PART OF SOME MAD VISION'
'It was part of some mad vision of Ireland that had got nothing to do with me whatsoever.'
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Dunne was among those who credited Celtic rock band The Horslips with saving Ireland's youth during a decade which slowly began to take shape.
'In the north at that time, which was the nearest thing you could get to civil war, without it actually being civil war — and in a lot of people's eyes, it was — an awful lot of very, very innocent people died for nothing."
Peter Aiken
Horslips were the first Irish band to really take control of their own affairs, from album covers to production, and blazed a trail for others to follow. But they went further than that.
Bass player and singer Barry Devlin said: 'There was a funky fun club where you got a joke record at Christmas. And you know, if you wrote in to the lovely 'Samantha', who was the secretary who took care of all these things, you would get a reply.
LETTER WRITERS
'You always got a reply. But the lovely 'Samantha', unfortunately, was me and Eamon Carr.
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'And so we spent a lot of time writing return letters to lovesick teenage boys!'
The Fields of Dreams podcast is presented by Irish singer-songwriter Róisín O, who introduces her
Mary, who thought everybody could sing until she went to school and realised she might have real talent, said: 'On a Sunday afternoon, after the pubs closed and Daddy had come over, and all the men and the neighbours had come in, singing sessions and musicians all — Daddy always had instruments in our house.
'PUSHED AT THE FRONT'
'We didn't have a lot, but we always had plenty of instruments.
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'I was always the one pushed at the front to sing.'
Promoter Philip Flynn put on Ireland's first weekend outdoor folk festival in a field in
'The early Seventies, there was nothing. A combination of the Church and the State, and a lack of radio had really kept the Sixties out of Ireland."
Tom Dunne
It was an early template for the major events of the future which would become summer staples, like Forbidden Fruit and Electric Picnic.
'THERE WAS NOTHING'
The Boys of Ballisodare Festival founder said of his 1977 event: 'We didn't need planning permission, we didn't need a licence, we needed nothing because there was nothing.
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'What you did need in Ireland at the time was a dance licence, but that only applied if you wanted to do dancing.
'I have a significant memory of Christy Moore standing on the hill in Ballisodare with myself and my brother Kevin on the Monday after the first festival, just saying how great it was.
'He said every parish will be at this now. And he was right.
'People, when they see something, think they can replicate it. And they have an overblown view. People thought I was a millionaire.'
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The first two episodes of Fields Of Dreams are available on
6
Willie Nelson said 'I can't come over to this bloodbath'
Credit:6
Rory Gallagher was happy to perform despite the Troubles
Credit: Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images
6
Tom Dunne from Something Happens joined our podcast to outline his music journey
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The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
‘I can't come over to this bloodbath' – Irish gig promoter reveals top music stars' fears of playing gigs here in 70s
A CONCERT promoter has told of the huge battle to convince terrified global stars to come to Ireland during the brutal 1970s. While Advertisement 6 Peter Aiken has told of the battle to convince global stars to come to Ireland in the 70s Credit: Darragh Kane 6 Violence here — including the 1974 Dublin bombing — persuaded many to stay away Credit: AP Photo/Peter Winterbach 6 Don McLean said 'I don't want to go to Belfast, there's a war up there' Credit:for Lighthouse Immersive and Impact Museums A new podcast from The first episode of Fields of Dreams reveals how Ireland's huge 1970s youth population started to turn their backs on the stifling Church/State combo which had ruled their parents' lives. But he was certainly up against it. Advertisement Read more in News Listen to Fields Of Dreams on Peter said: 'In the north at that time, which was the nearest thing you could get to civil war, without it actually being civil war — and in a lot of people's eyes, it was — an awful lot of very, very innocent people died for nothing. 'There was very little scene in 'But when Rory came in 1972, the concerts were at 11 o'clock in the day, so people would be home by 4pm. People were terrified. The whole of Belfast, there was a ring of steel all around it. Advertisement Most read in Irish News 'You got searched getting into the town. And at five o'clock, that all shut down. So anything that was inside the city was shut. 'All the cinemas were gone at that time too. We had Willie Nelson coming one time and he read something in his local paper and he actually rang the office himself and said, 'I can't come over to this bloodbath'. 'You had to have power of persuasion, and he'd been with the manager of Don McLean and he said, 'You have to come to Belfast'. 'THERE'S A WAR UP THERE' 'But he said, 'I don't want to go to Belfast, there's a war up there'.' Advertisement American Pie singer McLean did come under Aiken's watch, as did But when it came to going north of the border, there were often obstacles and headaches. He said: 'I remember Dad telling me that he was bringing in Merle Haggard one time, I think 1978, and I happened to be there in the Europa Hotel in Belfast. 'AT LEAST WE'RE TOP OF SOMETHING' 'I wouldn't say it was with pride, but you're saying, 'Do you know the hotel you're staying in is the most bombed hotel in the world?' At least we're top of something!' Advertisement In the course of our podcast, future musicians, including Tom Dunne from Something Happens, Steve Wall from The Stunning, The Radiators from Space star Pete Holidai, Sharon Shannon and Fiachna O'Braonain from the Hothouse Flowers, outline their first steps into music in a country that was then rooted firmly in the past. Dunne said: 'The early Seventies, there was nothing. A combination of the Church and the State, and a lack of radio had really kept the Sixties out of Ireland. 'It's really remarkable that when bands like the Beatles and the Stones were having number ones worldwide, we were getting 'Limerick, You're A Lady' and really weird songs about funerals. Ireland was like this sad nation.' GROWING REBELLION The whiff of growing rebellion was inspired by folk, punk and rock music. Advertisement The Showbands era was coming to an end by the mid-70s as new technologies began opening the country up to outside influences. Dunne said: 'I wouldn't have given them the time of day. I couldn't see any real distinction between the worst of country and western and the showbands. It was just all palaver, you know, men dressed as Indians. 'It was just a pile of sh*te, and it never, even for a second, beeped on my radar. 'PART OF SOME MAD VISION' 'It was part of some mad vision of Ireland that had got nothing to do with me whatsoever.' Advertisement Dunne was among those who credited Celtic rock band The Horslips with saving Ireland's youth during a decade which slowly began to take shape. 'In the north at that time, which was the nearest thing you could get to civil war, without it actually being civil war — and in a lot of people's eyes, it was — an awful lot of very, very innocent people died for nothing." Peter Aiken Horslips were the first Irish band to really take control of their own affairs, from album covers to production, and blazed a trail for others to follow. But they went further than that. Bass player and singer Barry Devlin said: 'There was a funky fun club where you got a joke record at Christmas. And you know, if you wrote in to the lovely 'Samantha', who was the secretary who took care of all these things, you would get a reply. LETTER WRITERS 'You always got a reply. But the lovely 'Samantha', unfortunately, was me and Eamon Carr. Advertisement 'And so we spent a lot of time writing return letters to lovesick teenage boys!' The Fields of Dreams podcast is presented by Irish singer-songwriter Róisín O, who introduces her Mary, who thought everybody could sing until she went to school and realised she might have real talent, said: 'On a Sunday afternoon, after the pubs closed and Daddy had come over, and all the men and the neighbours had come in, singing sessions and musicians all — Daddy always had instruments in our house. 'PUSHED AT THE FRONT' 'We didn't have a lot, but we always had plenty of instruments. Advertisement 'I was always the one pushed at the front to sing.' Promoter Philip Flynn put on Ireland's first weekend outdoor folk festival in a field in 'The early Seventies, there was nothing. A combination of the Church and the State, and a lack of radio had really kept the Sixties out of Ireland." Tom Dunne It was an early template for the major events of the future which would become summer staples, like Forbidden Fruit and Electric Picnic. 'THERE WAS NOTHING' The Boys of Ballisodare Festival founder said of his 1977 event: 'We didn't need planning permission, we didn't need a licence, we needed nothing because there was nothing. Advertisement 'What you did need in Ireland at the time was a dance licence, but that only applied if you wanted to do dancing. 'I have a significant memory of Christy Moore standing on the hill in Ballisodare with myself and my brother Kevin on the Monday after the first festival, just saying how great it was. 'He said every parish will be at this now. And he was right. 'People, when they see something, think they can replicate it. And they have an overblown view. People thought I was a millionaire.' Advertisement The first two episodes of Fields Of Dreams are available on 6 Willie Nelson said 'I can't come over to this bloodbath' Credit:6 Rory Gallagher was happy to perform despite the Troubles Credit: Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images 6 Tom Dunne from Something Happens joined our podcast to outline his music journey
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
People lose their minds when they meet my icon mum – going on tour was run of the mill & only my brother has normal job
RÓISÍN O has revealed how people still 'lose their sh*t' when they bump into her iconic mum Mary Black – including Vogue Williams who went weak at the knees for her hero. The singer-songwriter enjoyed a more unusual upbringing than most, under the watchful eye of the No Frontiers vocalist who has for decades been one of Ireland's 5 Róisín O lifted the lid on life as the daughter of a famous mum Credit: Gary Ashe 5 Singer Mary Black boasts a legendary decades-long career Credit: Getty 5 The Irish Sun's new podcast is available now Credit: The Irish Sun The sensational response to Mary's 'Backstage there was this massive long marquee tent for all the dressing rooms and across from us was My Therapist Ghosted Me's "I'm such a huge fan of the READ MORE IN SHOWBIZ Listen to Fields Of Dreams on from July 3 "And Vogue came over, she's so lovely. 'It was like my first time meeting her and she'd come in to say hello to the lads. "Like, she obviously saw the Coronas on the door. 'And then she saw my mam, she was like, 'Oh my God. Oh my God, holy sh*t. I'm sorry, I have to go get my sister'. Most read in The Irish Sun "Like, ran out of the room and brought her sister back and the two of them just absolutely fangirling over my mam. 'They didn't even say hello to the lads. It was the funniest thing ever. 'HUGE FANS' "They're actually huge fans. They really love my mam. "And Vogue and my mam and dad ended up hanging out the whole night, it was so funny.' She went on: 'And then obviously when mam came on stage that night at Electric Picnic the crowd just lost their minds. 'I've felt a lot of women and men, but particularly my age now, in their mid-to-late 30s, who grew up listening to Mary Black in the back of the car, on the CD player, whole albums that they know off by heart. "And when they were kids it was uncool. 'But now they're in their 30s and they're like, 'I love LIFE ON TOUR Róisín is the voice of the Irish Sun's new podcast, It is the ten-episode story of the musicians' astonishing successes and failures as the country opened up to become a live-entertainment powerhouse. Róisín is no stranger to being taken from festival to So much so that as a kid, it became run of the mill. 'CRAZY STUFF' Róisín said: 'Being on tour with my mum, a lot of the time we'd be on a tour bus. "And they'd all go in for soundcheck and I'd get to stay on the bus and watch all the VCR tapes. 'Like of old movies and all, that I just absolutely loved doing that. And I think coming from Ireland, seeing mam's reaction then. "She was doing crazy stuff like Five Nights At 'BEST THING EVER' 'She has the most crazy stories of being at festivals with Mary, 70, has opened up about the difficulties of touring while she had three young She had a three week rule, but it was long enough to put her youngest out. "And Vogue and my mam and dad ended up hanging out the whole night, it was so funny.' Róisín O Róisín explained: 'I was on the "So she came "But then she had to go again for another two weeks. 'And I was so devastated at the end of the week like, 'You're going back? I thought you were home?' 'Those parts were hard. But then she took me everywhere with her, like when she was on that MAGICAL CHILDHOOD "It had a pool and we went to 'I was all over the world as a kid with her, which was really magical. "But yeah, the pros and cons to it, we definitely missed her.' As the siblings grew older, their mother's fame was a bit mortifying. Róisín said: 'When I was really young, say if we were on 'And that stopped abruptly, I'd say about ten or 11 to the point where I would lie. (If I was asked) what does your mum do, I'd reply 'Nothing. Just a stay-at-home mum'. "And then I got into my 20s and I sort of became a mix of the two.' SOLO CAREER Róisín has her own solo career as well as performing with the Coronas, and has mixed emotions about being in Mary Black's shadow. She said: 'Sometimes it's hard. Obviously, Danny is the same. 'We want people to come to hear our music and it's hard when people are like, 'I'm not going to listen to that, that's Mary Black's daughter'. So they just judge it before they hear it. 'But at the same time, I definitely have fans who heard I was Mary Black's daughter and were like, 'I'm going to go listen to her'. LABOUR OF LOVE MUM-to-be Róisín O is going up against Robbie Williams in a bid to put on one last performance before her baby is due. The Heart and Bones singer goes head to head with the former Take That man when he plays Croke Park on August 23, while she's on stage at Whelan's on the same day. But with her baby on the way in October, she said: 'I wouldn't usually do a gig in the summer. 'But I'm pregnant so I need to get this gig in before this baby arrives, before I can't move around on stage anymore. "So Whelan's will be the only gig you'll see me at with 'Bump' on stage. 'So it will definitely be a night to remember. I'm really looking forward to it. "I was thinking about not gigging and that was driving me crazy. I really want to get some shows in before baby arrives.' But there won't be any major break for the star who plans to be back in action for the Christmas period. She said: 'December is the busiest for musicians. I have a load of shows that I could miss but I don't want to. It's the best time of year for gigging. 'I'll probably take about ten weeks off before I get back to work.' "So for me, it doesn't really matter why people have started to listen as long as they like it then I've won them over in my own merit. "I don't really don't care. I'm so proud of her as well. She does have this unbelievable career.' And as for working with her brother's band? 'I LOVE IT' Róisín said: 'I love it. I'm there as a session musician. I do backing vocals and I play keys. 'I know all the boys. I've grown up with them. We have the best craic on tour. It's really not work. 'It's dangerous how much I love it because in a way it stops me from sometimes doing my own gigs but it's worth it.' The first two episodes of Fields Of Dreams are available wherever you get your podcasts from July 3 5 Mary's kids Danny and Roisin have followed in her musical footsteps Credit: Journalist Collects 5 Roisin said podcaster Vogue Williams is a huge fan of her mum Mary Credit: Journalist Collects
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Dua Lipa downs pint of Guinness as she celebrates five-night sold-out stadium gigs
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