Great documentary on RTE now about concerts in the 80s in Ireland
The lineups for Slane were mouth watering with some of those acts in there Prime
Came into the World this day 33 years ago, same night U2 played the Point Theatre on the lovetown Tour
But relatively speaking the country did not attract big acts.
You had the one day a year at Slane, the very odd festival like Castlebar, the very odd big gig in Dublin or Cork like Springsteen or Michael Jackson.
But that was about it, you had no venue like the 3 Arena that could attract big acts all year round, and even during the summer you did not have places like Marley Park, St Ann's Park Raheney, Maladide Castle or regional GAA grounds to host gigs.
It's only since the Celtic tiger that big acts have really started to come to Ireland regularly
I must have imagined all those big international acts I saw in the late 80's and early 90's in the point and RDS to name just the bigger venues of the day. Dalymount Park was another that had some crackers back in the day.
Who were they?
Just looking at a small list of the names here from 2018 and you have
Kendrick Lamar
Niall Horan
Sam Smith
Arcade Fire
Dua Lipa
Harry Styles
Ed Sheeran
Taylor Swift
The Killers
In the mid '80s the equivalent of those big names were not coming to Ireland back then.
Your full of ****. The RDS Simmons court hugpavilion hosted major acts all year in the 80s. I saw Depeche mode, A-Ha, Duran Duran and loads more there. Held thousands. Add to that small venues like the SFX and National Stadium with big acts regularly. Big Country, Howard Jones, New Order. Month after months big acts rolled into town through the 80s.
In 1989 alone and in the point depot ... BB King, Beach Boys, Erasure, Decan Blue, U2, Stevie Nicks, Aerosmith, Transvision Vamp, Level 42 and the Eurhythmics ( personal favourite)
Same year Neil Diamond, REM, The Cure, and Bob Dylan played the RDS
In the second half of the 1980s, I saw the following play here
Simple Minds (Croke Park)
U2 (Croke Park)
Five Star (RDS)
Erasure (Point)
The Cure (RDS)
a-ha (RDS)
Bros (Point)
Michael Jackson (Cork)
Queen (Slane)
Depeche Mode (SFX)
R.E.M. (RDS)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood (RDS)
Duran Duran (RDS)
David Bowie (Slane)
The Housemartins (Waterford)
The Smiths (National Stadium)
Oh man the bands we saw in the SFX!!!!!!! I was there till the bitter end with Tool in 2001!!!!!!
I'm obviously misremembering then.
I've always had it in my head that there were far more big headline acts playing in Ireland more regularly in the past 20 years than I recall in the '80s.
I always felt that Ireland was bypassed back then.
But obviously it was only my perception.
I think my perception of this comes from the Hot House Flowers, Tracy Chapman, Deacon Blue concert in the RDS in late August 1988.
Even though I went I always had the attitude that it was a bit "B list".
I mentioned Dalymount, Bob Marley played there in the early 80's .... I wasn't there it was one I missed unfortunately.
Is this programme on the RTE Iplayer?
Edit: Actually scrub that just found it on the player.
Queen came to the RDS a few times and Slane of course.
The rest of the acts who headlined Slane, U2, Thin Lizzy and Rory of course, Michael Jackson, Status Quo, ABBA were in the RDS in 1979, AC/DC played here a few times in the 80s, Bob Marley, Judas Priest, REM, Bros, The Smiths, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, A-Ha, Simon and Garfunkal, ZZ Top, Bon Jovi, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel (although I think that could have been 1990?) Neil Diamond, The Clash, Echo and The Bunnymen, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Metallica, Dire Straits, Tom Waits...
That is a lot of big acts to come to Ireland in the 80s. Some of them the biggest of the biggest. It can be argued that the majority of them, if not all of them, were bigger and better than anyone on your list...
Rory who?
Gallagher? He never played Slane AFAIK never mind headlining
No, I meant he played in Ireland in the 80s. Hence why I put himself, Lizzy and U2 together. The Irish bands
Definitely a case to be said about Ireland missing out on the big American hair metal bands which you could say would be in there peaks in the 80s
Bon Jovi were here. As were Def Leppard and Whitesnake. Van Halen never really ventured out of the States unless it was for Castle Donington. Kiss came to Belfast once in the 80s. Don't recall them ever coming to Dublin. Metallica came too but, I wouldn't class them as hair metal band
ZZ Top and AC/DC were here at their peak in the 80s but, they're Rock n Roll, not metal.
I am probably wrong on this but, did GnR play The Point around 1990? Or am I imagining it?
Brush shiels musicality was definitely hilarious on that day
I wish there was a few more parts covered in the documentary going through the 90s and onto the noughties, so more Feile's were covered, Fleadh Mor in Waterford, Witnness, Oxegen, Electric Picnic, Forbidden Fruit and Longitude and All Together Now rather than just the 80s. Otherwise interesting and well presented.
I'm sure there will be a 90s/00s one as they previously did 'How Ireland Rocked The 70s'. https://www.rte.ie/player/movie/how-ireland-rocked-the-70-s/249166376397
Pretty sure they didn't.
The Appetite For Destruction tour was wrapped up at the end of 1988. I remember my friends going to Donington that year - Helloween, Iron Maiden, Kiss and Megadeth also played.
The Use Your Illusion tour started mid-1991.
We missed nothing , thrash was here instead
1988 - 1990:
Megadeth, Metallica, Sabbat, Suicidal Tendencies/MOD, Iron Maiden, Gang Green, Anthrax (abandoned 5 songs in), Sacred Reich, Xentrix, Faith No More, Sepultura, Acid Reign, Kreator/Death.
I'm sure I've left a few out and missed Slayer but we were spoiled rotten. All affordable gigs - I was in 2nd/3rd/4th year in secondary school and managed to see that lot more than once in some cases.
Yeah, I was thinking. GnR fan myself. Not sure what made me think that. The only gig they done in 1990 that I'm aware of was Adler's last gig.
Rock in Rio was January 1991 and as you said, the chaos began in mid 1991
They were supposed to support Iron Maiden but pulled out I think? Around the time Adler got fired.
Ahh that would make a lot of sense. Adler getting fired, Izzy, Slash and Duff on one of their first attempts to clean up.
Just always had the impression they had played Dublin before Slane. Sound for that. Thanks :)
Seems they were due to support Maiden on a few Euro dates alright. But Adler got fired a few weeks before.
Would that of been when Bruce was gone from Maiden ?
Are you me ? .... Was at all of those. The late 8's metal scene in Ireland was epic.
Motorhead were here too
Although, I'm sure if you said they were Metal, Lemmy would have given you a boot up the arse 😁
Watched the 70s programme and enjoyed it, but was surprised they omitted the Bob Marley gig, as this was the only time he ever played Ireland.
They also didn't mention the 1983 Black Sabbath gig or the Phoenix Park one same year with U2, Simple Minds & Eurythmics.
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