Dublin Opinion

(L-R: Ricky Dineen, Mick Stack, and Finbarr Donnelly)

A couple of months ago, as part of our Great Irish Bands series, we did a short post on Five Go Down To The Sea? and Finbarr Donnelly.

On Friday (15 February), a radio documentary on the life and times of Donnelly was released as a podcast. It´s available here, and fascinating stuff it is too. The website, getthatmonsteroffthestage.com, has a short biog of Donnelly, as well as a discography of his work. Thanks to Shane Fitzsimons for the link to the podcast.

The long quote below is taken from getthatmonsteroffthestage.com

Finbarr Donnelly was born in Belfast and moved to Cork city in the mid seventies with his family. By the late seventies he had formed Nun Attax, a rock and roll band, who played their first gig on Valentine’s night 1978 in a community hall in Mayfield.Nun Attax are synonymous with the Arcadia Ballroom, the lynchpin of Cork’s post-punk music scene, where they shared the stage with U2, The Virgin Prunes, UB40 and Microdisney.

Their live performances were unforgettable, incendiary events an example of which can be heard on the Kaught At The Kampus EP released by Reekus Records in 1980. In the early eighties the band changed its name to Five Go Down To The Sea and recorded the Knot A Fish EP for Kabuki Records which contains the infamous “There’s A Fish On Top Of Shandon Swears He’s Elvis”. Soon after the band left recession-ridden Cork for London. Margaret Thatcher’s Britain provided a stark backdrop for the music of FGDTTS.

As new immigrants to London, the band scraped a living but gradually gained critical acclaim, earning a reputation for astonishing live gigs and recording for Abstract Records (The Glee Club EP) and Alan McGee’s fledgling Creation Records (singing in Braille EP). In 1988, FGDTTS changed name to Beethoven and provided Setanta Records with its first release (Him Goolie Goolie Man, Dem EP). This single would go on to be named NME single of the week.

A few weeks later on 18 June 1989 Donnelly drowned in a swimming accident in the Serpentine Pond in Hyde Park. He was 27 years of age. Finbarr Donnelly left a far-reaching musical legacy despite his early and tragic death. His life and work also offers much insight into the role of the outsider in pop culture and of artistic expression during times of economic hardship. Spanning Cork, Dublin and London, the documentary features contributions from many of Donnelly’s friends, peers and contemporaries, including: Ricky Dineen (Nun Attax, Five Go Down To The Sea,Beethoven), Cathal Coughlan (Microdisney, The Fatima Mansions), Sean O’Hagan (Microdisney, The High Llamas), Giordaí Ui Laoghaire (Nun Attax, Nine Wassies from Bainne), Mick Lynch (Stump) and music journalist John Robb.

Here´s some information on the documentary itself. Again, taken from the same website.

A Radio Documentary on Finbarr Donnelly and his bands Nun Attax, Five Go Down To The Sea and Beethoven produced by Paul McDermott with assistance from Kieran Hurley and Conor O’Toole. Get That Monster Off The Stage is an audio portrait of Cork singer Finbarr Donnelly. Get That Monster off the Stage was originally broadcast on Cork Campus Radio in July 2001.

The documentary went on to win the “Radio Production of the Year” award at the O2 SMEDIA Awards 2002. Myles Dungan, chairman of the judging panel, commented: “This is a fascinating snapshot of the vibrant Cork music scene of the 80’s. The producer constructed a compelling account of cult rock hero Finbarr Donnelly. The programme itself is an excellent weave of music and the spoken word, and is unobtrusively informative.”

The last time I posted mp3s of “knot a fish” ep. Below is the “Glee Club” ep.

Enjoy.

 

 The Glee Club [2:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

 

 Jumping Joley [2:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

 

 Often [2:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

 

 Boon for travelists (duet) [2:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

 

 What happened your leg [2:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup