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Best Irish groups who never made it

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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,556 ✭✭✭Nolanger


    Hippo wrote: »
    They certainly had the exposure at the time, maybe it just wasn´t the right time.
    Chart music in the late '80s was sh*t and everyone was getting into dance music. Nothing happens sounded too dated and '60s to make it!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 865 ✭✭✭A Disgrace


    Fentdog84 wrote: »
    For me, the greatest Irish band who never made it has got to be A House. They released five albums, all with different a sound, all masterpieces. They had offbeat songs with pop sensibilities, clever lyrics, mixed with interesting and often odd experimentation. They Just too good for the mainstream.

    .

    Apparently were on a 'call' to be on Top of the Pops when 'Here come the Good Times' made number 37 in the UK charts in 1995 but they didn't get it, which was probably the final straw for them. Considering they'd been nominated for an MTV video award, had 4 singles land between 60 and 40 in the UK, took Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Supergrass, Go-Betweens and Radiohead on tour with them as support and had the ENTIRE 'I am the greatest' album playlisted by BBC Radio, they have to be the unluckiest Irish band around..

    And to quote NME 'The greatest Irish band of all time, and that includes U2'


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,790 ✭✭✭PaulBrewer


    endabob1 wrote: »
    Something Happens like That Petrol Emotion were unlucky in that their best work came out when Virgin were falling apart at the seams, those 2 albums (Chemicrazy & Stuck together) got no promotion worth talking about outside Ireland, if they did I'm sure both would have sold bucketloads.
    Any record company that couldn't make Parachute a hit record needed their head examined.

    I used to tour with both of them - I remember that dark day when both got dropped, however they never made a bob for the label, TPE got 2million plus written off !


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,886 ✭✭✭Hippo


    A Disgrace wrote: »
    Apparently were on a 'call' to be on Top of the Pops when 'Here come the Good Times' made number 37 in the UK charts in 1995 but they didn't get it, which was probably the final straw for them. Considering they'd been nominated for an MTV video award, had 4 singles land between 60 and 40 in the UK, took Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Supergrass, Go-Betweens and Radiohead on tour with them as support and had the ENTIRE 'I am the greatest' album playlisted by BBC Radio, they have to be the unluckiest Irish band around..

    And to quote NME 'The greatest Irish band of all time, and that includes U2'

    Just shows how much exposure they had, and blanco y negro were certainly strongly behind them. I don´t see where the 'unlucky' is there.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11 ManInTheMiddle


    Crystal swing by faaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,668 ✭✭✭nlgbbbblth


    I saw A House live at least a dozen times. Great band. Interviewed them in the Rock Garden for my first zine in 1996 but never published it. If only I could find my notes....

    Albums I'd rank as follows
    1 Wide-Eyed and Ignorant
    2 I Want Too Much
    3 I Am The Greatest
    4 No More Apologies
    5 On Your Big Fat Merry-Go-Round

    Couse told me that the vinyl sales of Wide-Eyed and Ignorant were the lowest ever recorded by any band on their label.

    Pity their career-spanning compilation omitted Heart Happy.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 865 ✭✭✭A Disgrace


    nlgbbbblth wrote: »

    Couse told me that the vinyl sales of Wide-Eyed and Ignorant were the lowest ever recorded by any band on their label.

    Well it was Parlophone in fairness, but still.. Think they suffered from the whole 4 year gap between album thing. Wide Eyed is a good album, but it felt weirdly out of place when it was released. Britpop had just peaked and it just didn't fit and the people who took an interest during I am the Greatest had moved on.. pity, but as a previous post said maybe they weren't that unlucky after all? They had plenty of exposure and a legacy of 5 albums, a BBC live record and a Best Of is not to be sniffed at..


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,734 ✭✭✭J_E


    JJ72 seemed to fizz out just as fast as they got noticed.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 504 ✭✭✭Loveless


    Fentdog84 wrote: »
    For me, the greatest Irish band who never made it has got to be A House. They released five albums, all with different a sound, all masterpieces. They had offbeat songs with pop sensibilities, clever lyrics, mixed with interesting and often odd experimentation. They Just too good for the mainstream.

    The only band that could seamlessly get the word 'obstreperous' into the lyrics of a song (Small Talk) :cool:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 252 ✭✭teekayd25


    Loveless wrote: »
    The only band that could seamlessly get the word 'obstreperous' into the lyrics of a song (Small Talk) :cool:

    Indeed, a lyrical triumph that song is. :D

    A House had 4 UK hits and got into the top ten on one of the US billboard charts. Couse also mentioned on the radio one night how he was ferried around in a limo in some US city with Michael Stipe on one side of him and Grant McLennan of the Go-Betweens on the other - not bad for a band that never made it. ;)


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 865 ✭✭✭A Disgrace


    nlgbbbblth wrote: »
    Pity their career-spanning compilation omitted Heart Happy.

    Yeah, but we could be here all night talking about the songs that were left out.. Funnyman, Serious Loving, Hit Me Over The Head With Your Handbag Dear. All could have been there (even if I've never heard the last one!)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5 setantalive


    The Frank and Walters


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