Why was Garth Brooks so popular in Ireland?

Xavi6

kupus wrote: »

But one of the biggest recording artist of all time is coming to Ireland, to kickstart and fine tune his world tour (which is a massive privilege btw) and ye still whinge.

Let's be honest, he probably doesn't rate Ireland as any more important than all of the other countries he'll go to. Sure, he's spun a few lines, but it's all fantastic PR from him and his team.

Ireland is a nation of event junkies and, despite moaning about a recession and whatnot, folk will still shell out to be part of the herd mentality.

Brooks saw an opportunity to earn a bucket load of coin and pounced, fair play to him. Still shite music though.

kupus

Xavi6 wrote: »

Let's be honest, he probably doesn't rate Ireland as any more important than all of the other countries he'll go to. Sure, he's spun a few lines, but it's all fantastic PR from him and his team.

Ireland is a nation of event junkies and, despite moaning about a recession and whatnot, folk will still shell out to be part of the herd mentality.

Brooks saw an opportunity to earn a bucket load of coin and pounced, fair play to him. Still shite music though.

Of course he rates it, you just answered it by saying it was great spin. His PR team love it cos more than likely they'll tape it and sell bucket loads. It all generates interest in america where his client base is huge. Added bonus for tourism Ireland....... if they can find two brain cells between the whole lot of them useless government inbred snakes.
All this before he even starts selling tickets for his tour.

Ireland is a nation of event junkies. no more than anywhere else. Might as well say mongolia is a nation of event junkies they love their horse events. take out the word event and you may be closer to the truth.

folk will still shell out to be part of the herd mentality

Maybe just maybe and this is a long shot, did you ever stop and think that somebody else might like something that you dont like.

I dont like apple but im not going to go on a forum and say all apple heads
are beasts of burden. Oh, did i just quote a rolling stone song. I suppose I was following the herd when i saw them as well. baa baa

Jamsiek

kupus wrote: »

Ireland is a nation of event junkies. no more than anywhere else. Might as well say mongolia is a nation of event junkies they love their horse events.

I think the thing is Ireland is so small than the whole country can get excited about one event, or in this case, three.
It would never happen in a bigger country.

Another thing is that country is popular in rural Ireland, I'll never understand why but each to their own.
Ireland seems to be the only country in Europe that had this fascination with this genre.

kupus wrote: »

Oh, did i just quote a rolling stone song. I suppose I was following the herd when i saw them as well. baa baa

What? Big difference between going to the Rolling Stones in Slane (I was there) and queuing in the cold and rain for days and nights to see someone you wouldn't bother seeing if your friends weren't going to be there.

Xavi6

kupus wrote: »

Of course he rates it, you just answered it by saying it was great spin. His PR team love it cos more than likely they'll tape it and sell bucket loads. It all generates interest in america where his client base is huge. Added bonus for tourism Ireland....... if they can find two brain cells between the whole lot of them useless government inbred snakes.
All this before he even starts selling tickets for his tour.

So you're agreeing with me, it's not for the love of the country or the fans. It's generate a heap of cash and interest for the rest of the tour.

As I said, it's great business.

Ireland is a nation of event junkies. no more than anywhere else. Might as well say mongolia is a nation of event junkies they love their horse events. take out the word event and you may be closer to the truth.

Sure but, again, there's a reason he chose Ireland over anywhere else to stop first. How many other countries of a similar size/population do you think he would sell out three concerts and still have people crying for more?

folk will still shell out to be part of the herd mentality

Maybe just maybe and this is a long shot, did you ever stop and think that somebody else might like something that you dont like.

When did I say they didn't or couldn't?

I dont like apple but im not going to go on a forum and say all apple heads
are beasts of burden. Oh, did i just quote a rolling stone song. I suppose I was following the herd when i saw them as well. baa baa

That's up to you. It's a discussion forum and it wouldn't exist if all it contained were posts by people pulling themselves at the prospect of seeing Achy Breaky Heart live.

Sunglasses Ron

Jamsiek wrote: »

Another thing is that country is popular in rural Ireland,

The words "rural" and "country" would seem to go hand in hand I doubt Brooks could pack out a pub function room if he announced a gig in Brooklyn either.

Ireland seems to be the only country in Europe that had this fascination with this genre.

Are we really though? Daniel O'Donnell has and continues to have consistent top ten albums in the UK. Yes, a certain amount of those are elderly Irish women over there but a fair chunk must be native Brits as well. Just because you don't hear his stuff on BBC Radio 1 doesn't mean he isn't selling there.

European countries can be a funny old breed for music. Germans and Swedes are often surprised by how unknown American Celt- rock bands like the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly are in Ireland, it is quite a big genre in parts of the continent.

Tipsy McSwagger

Going to be some smell of cabbage in Croker.

Jamsiek

Sunglasses Ron wrote: »

I doubt Brooks could pack out a pub function room if he announced a gig in Brooklyn either.

I agree, not unless it was one of those redneck bars with chicken wire on the stage ;-)

Sunglasses Ron wrote: »

Daniel O'Donnell has and continues to have consistent top ten albums in the UK. Yes, a certain amount of those are elderly Irish women over there but a fair chunk must be native Brits as well.

Just because you don't hear his stuff on BBC Radio 1 doesn't mean he isn't selling there.

I think the difference is the age group that likes country music in the UK is from a much older generation and even then it's a niche market but in Ireland it seems to be mainstream and for all ages.

Many young people in the UK have never even heard of Garth Brooks but the same age group in Ireland are falling over themselves to see him.

Country music would never get on BBC Radio 1, it just wouldn't be popular enough with young people. Different story in Ireland though.

Sunglasses Ron wrote: »

Germans and Swedes are often surprised by how unknown American Celt- rock bands like the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly are in Ireland, it is quite a big genre in parts of the continent.

I wouldn't call the Dropkick Murphy's country though. I actually saw them in Glasgow a few years back when I was living there, good fun.

nlgbbbblth

NiallSparky wrote: »

I'd genuinely never heard of this Brooks lad until all the furore in the news lately.

I find that unacceptable.

Meangadh

nlgbbbblth wrote: »

I find that unacceptable.

As in you don't believe him? In fairness, before lately you'd rarely have heard anyone mention Garth Brooks since the 90s. Wouldn't have even heard him being played on the radio much either. You know, the good old days.


















(Only kidding, each to their own but it's definitely not for me. Shudder.)

MadsL

Meangadh wrote: »

As in you don't believe him? In fairness, before lately you'd rarely have heard anyone mention Garth Brooks since the 90s. Wouldn't have even heard him being played on the radio much either. You know, the good old days.

Here's the standing ovation he got at the ACM in 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWgCGkSESJY

nlgbbbblth

Meangadh wrote: »

As in you don't believe him? In fairness, before lately you'd rarely have heard anyone mention Garth Brooks since the 90s. Wouldn't have even heard him being played on the radio much either. You know, the good old days.

(Only kidding, each to their own but it's definitely not for me. Shudder.)

As in it displays a level of ignorance that surprises me.

I think Garth Brooks' music is bland and uninspiring but I don't begrudge anybody else who enjoys it.

RiverOfLove

I bought the star newspaper today and in it is a 16 page pullout on Brooks. A written piece in that said that some people camped out for tickets because they grew up with his music in the background. I wonder if half of these even own a cd or two or more from him.

Meangadh

MadsL wrote: »

Here's the standing ovation he got at the ACM in 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWgCGkSESJY

And you can be pretty sure that a lot of the people going to his concert this summer did not mention this standing ovation at the time. Or at the very least, it wasn't well publicised- I certainly didn't hear about it- so I can understand why someone may know nothing about him, particularly if they're under a certain age.

Meangadh

nlgbbbblth wrote: »

As in it displays a level of ignorance that surprises me.

I think Garth Brooks' music is bland and uninspiring but I don't begrudge anybody else who enjoys it.

Ah well, sure you know what they say, ignorance is bliss!! :P

I'd agree with you regarding his music, but I do genuinely hope people enjoy the concerts.

Femme_Fatale

ColeTrain wrote: »

No, this is different.

'Popular culture' is something like One Direction. Now, while I find One Direction deplorable, I can still see why they are popular, their music is never off the radio and they're always on TV - it's understandable.

This Garth Brooks craze is a different animal. My Facebook nearly exploded this morning with people proudly putting up pictures and statuses of their tickets.
Now, a lot of these people would generally have the intelligence of a dishwasher. There is absolutely no chance that they are fans of Mr.Brooks. Seeing as his music is not on the radio, he's not on TV and they would not seek him out. This is simply a bandwagon, nothing more and nothing else.

Do you remember about 1993 to 1996/7 when Garth Brooks was absolutely gargantuanly popular in Ireland? I mean, it was really off-the-scale stuff. And just because he disappeared doesn't mean people could no longer become fans in the years since.
It's presumptuous in the extreme to state as fact that it's just a bandwagon to a lot of people. I can't stand Garth Brooks but there is obviously something about his music that people really really love.

Iwasfrozen

What exactly is wrong with Brooks? I quite like him but people constantly complain about him on boards. I don't get it.

RiverOfLove

Came across something on donedeal earlier. Someone selling 4 tickets because they were an unwanted gift. It sounds dodgy as fúck. And 4 of them.

Sunglasses Ron

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Do you remember about 1993 to 1996/7 when Garth Brooks was absolutely gargantuanly popular in Ireland? I mean, it was really off-the-scale stuff. .

I actually genuinely don't!

I remember Oasis mania. I remember Oasis vs Blur. The Spice Girls were annoying the tits off any of us with workable ears. Boyzone were huge. Take That were what, just about ending then? There was some cheesey Eurodance making the charts back then as well.

But Brooks? It honestly does escape me bar that Low Places song.

Jamsiek

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

What exactly is wrong with Brooks? I quite like him but people constantly complain about him on boards. I don't get it.

His music isn't for me tbh, I find him cheesy and boring.

We are just commenting on why he's so popular in Ireland but it seems that lots of people including me don't like him.

rustedtrumpet

Read recently he has a vicious Ket habit, few grams a night, must have picked it up in Vegas. Be a funny affair with Garth Brooks wobblin round the stage playing his country music to the culchies in Croker, ketted off his rocker.

herdygerdyerdy

BadCompany wrote: »

Well said. I can't understand where this has come from. It's like the media hype up this gig (and others) to be something "not to be missed" and thousands of people with little or no interest in music completely buy into it. I'd liken it to the Bruce Springsteen phenomenon in Ireland of the last few years. Friends I met back in college were just going mental for him "oh can't wait for The Boss in June!", though they genuinely wouldn't have been able to name more than one song of his a mere two or three years earlier. Springsteen didn't come down in the last shower, it makes no sense.

Edit: Not saying for a second that there aren't thousands of genuine Brooks fans going, and more luck to them! He wouldn't be my cup of tea but horses for courses. I just think the hype has led an unusually large percent of people just following the crowd.

People may not admit that they are Garth Brooks fans to their friends, but because of the internet you can have tons of guilty pleasures.

Mrs Garth Brooks

It turns out half the country doesn't even know what he sounds like.

There's a facebook page set up by a bunch of 'so called' Garth Brooks fans. Trying to get him to play Thomond Park in Limerick.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/garthtolimerick/

A little bit down the page and there's a Friend's In Low Places video from youtube and some of them are thrilled that they found a Garth Brook's video on youtube.

And its not even him singing !!!

RiverOfLove

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

It turns out half the country doesn't even know what he sounds like.

There's a facebook page set up by a bunch of 'so called' Garth Brooks fans. Trying to get him to play Thomond Park in Limerick.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/garthtolimerick/

A little bit down the page and there's a Friend's In Low Places video from youtube and some of them are thrilled that they found a Garth Brook's video on youtube.

And its not even him singing !!!

Is this the video that they linked to:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mvCgSqPZ4EM

That's definately not Brooks singing.

Someone a page or two back said that for some people this is merely just a bandwagon to hop on.

RiverOfLove

4th night added to Croker announced this morning.

BuilderPlumber

Sunglasses Ron wrote: »

I actually genuinely don't!

I remember Oasis mania. I remember Oasis vs Blur. The Spice Girls were annoying the tits off any of us with workable ears. Boyzone were huge. Take That were what, just about ending then? There was some cheesey Eurodance making the charts back then as well.

But Brooks? It honestly does escape me bar that Low Places song.

I think all the above and Garth Brooks were huge in the 1990s. There were 4 strands of stuff I remember from this time (mid to late 1990s):

-All the boybands: Take That admittedly had a lot of above average material. Boyzone came onto the scene then and were ok by themselves. Then, the factory started with Westlife et al. And then the girl bands. The Spice Girls were everywhere. More or less, this format of music has lasted in Ireland until this day. Even the folk/country scene have boyband like acts like Mike Denver and so much so that even Derek Ryan was a former boyband member.
-The bluesier rock acts: The Oasis and Blur. Here we saw a form of pop music that had respect for blues, older R&B, 1950s rock 'n' roll, and especially 1960s Beatles-style music. What they did was often excellent: fresh and appealed to an audience sick of hearing the same pop sounds over and over.
-Some strangely titled dance novelties: Makarana (sp?) and Mr Bombastic are examples.
-Line dancing: Billy Ray Cyrus (yes, Miley's dad) started this craze with a countrified take on Elvis-style rock 'n' roll with 'Achy breaky heart' in 1992. Then, Garth took over and had hits with country-pop like 'Tomorrow never comes', blues-rock like 'Ain't goin' down til the sun comes up' and honky tonk anthems like 'Friends in low places'. His music was good and catchy but some loved it and others didn't.

While some 1990s stuff was repetitive by the end of the decade, at least we were spared the reality talent shows of the next 2 decades by and large .........

secman

Absolutely no idea how he is that popular. If he paid me €10 grand to go to a gig , I wouldn't jump at it, but would be tempted, could change the car.

ronjo

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Do you remember about 1993 to 1996/7 when Garth Brooks was absolutely gargantuanly popular in Ireland? I mean, it was really off-the-scale stuff. And just because he disappeared doesn't mean people could no longer become fans in the years since.
It's presumptuous in the extreme to state as fact that it's just a bandwagon to a lot of people. I can't stand Garth Brooks but there is obviously something about his music that people really really love.

Sunglasses Ron wrote: »

I actually genuinely don't!

I remember Oasis mania. I remember Oasis vs Blur. The Spice Girls were annoying the tits off any of us with workable ears. Boyzone were huge. Take That were what, just about ending then? There was some cheesey Eurodance making the charts back then as well.

But Brooks? It honestly does escape me bar that Low Places song.

I dont remember much about him other than that song too.
All the others you say absolutely and The Verve too.
Moby, Chemical Brothers and Prodigy but he was barely on my radar.

TeddyTedson

I suppose he's Daniel O Donnell on steroids really isn't he, so it's not hard to imagine a certain demographic going crazy for his lovely hat and so on.

Ghost Buster

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

It turns out half the country doesn't even know what he sounds like.

There's a facebook page set up by a bunch of 'so called' Garth Brooks fans. Trying to get him to play Thomond Park in Limerick.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/garthtolimerick/

A little bit down the page and there's a Friend's In Low Places video from youtube and some of them are thrilled that they found a Garth Brook's video on youtube.


And its not even him singing !!!

These would be the Gareth Brooks fans

BuilderPlumber

ronjo wrote: »

I dont remember much about him other than that song too.
All the others you say absolutely and The Verve too.
Moby, Chemical Brothers and Prodigy but he was barely on my radar.

And I bet you remember 'If tomorrow never comes' as well and maybe 'The dance'. 'Ain't goin' down til the sun comes up' is his best very famous hit, an attractive blues/rock hybrid.

Yeah, Chemical Bros, Verve and Prodigy (all that techno was massive) too in the 1994-1999 period. Earlier, there was all that rave stuff with 2 Unlimited and then there was Right Said Fred. Moby was more later on: 1999-2002 period.