Welcome to Ghostown 1976
Exclusive photo’s from 1977
Ghostown 1976 is dedicated to giving you the very best in a true history of the Irish punk/rock/pop music scene from 1976 to 1983. With pictures & stories from those that were there. This includes many rare and never before seen artifacts.
Including photo’s form the 1977 St. Finton’s School concert with Rat Salad & Artur Phybes Band. U2’s fist paying concert. Please reach out if you want to know more!
Many thanks to Robbie Campbell of Rat Salad for supplying the photograph.
The Radiators from Space play one of their very first gigs at the Baggot Inn, Dublin. Image supplied by Stephen Averill. See more images on the Baggot Inn page.
To borrow a phrase from a certain Danish beer company “Probably the best fanzine ever”. See all issues on the Fanzine page.
Strougers, Boy Scoutz & The Vipers
Pete McLuskey of the Strougers @ the Dandelion Market..Image supplied by Pete
The Boy Scoutz at Blackrock Part, with Adam Clayton highlight with the red arrow. Image supplied by Patrick Brocklebank. Where The Streets Have Two Names. A book by Patrick Brocklebank featuring many early photographs of U2 before the the gobal superstars we know today. The Boy Scoutz were featured in the last ever issue of Heat.
The Vipers, One of the very first of the new wave of bands to come out of Dublin. Photograph taken at the back of the shed at Daves parents house. The graffiti can still be seen to this day. Ray Ellis, Dave Moloney, Paul Boyle & Paul Cusack. Image supplied by Dave Moloney.
Virgin Prunes, Fabulous Fabrics & Revolver
The Virgin Prunes backstage at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin. Photo by Patrick Brocklebank.
The Fabulous Fabrics in their rehearsal room with Jude Carr from Heat. Darlings of the punk elite. As was the punk style at the time they all have different materials as their surnames (Cotton, Nylon etc etc).
Revolver on stage at Moran’s Hotel. Image supplied by Kevin Helly. Revolver were one of the first & best of the new breed of bands to come out of Ireland in the mid 70’s.
Keeping the scene alive in Cork
The two major venues in Cork at this time were thr Arcadia Ballroom (Downtown Kampus) and Sir Henry’s. Pat Galvin manage to document many of the concerts held there with his amazing photographs. Including the one below featuring Mick Lynch of Mean Features.
Ghostown Welcomes Punk
Belfield Burning Punk Festival
In Ireland, the year saw the emergence of a number of commercially successful punk bands, including The Radiators From Space, who achieved chart success with “Television Screen”, a song which captured the frustrations of the youth of the day in less than two minutes, boasting of how “I’m going to smash my Telecaster through the television screen, ‘cause I don’t like what’s going down.”
Leather Jackets & Spiked Hair
Michael Murphy in Village described the single perfectly as “a vitriolic musical statement of defiance from a country where silence and shame reigned”. The chart success of “Television Screen” frightened some in Irish society, suggesting that even the Irish youth would succumb to the leather jackets and spiked hair of the punks.
In the ’70’s Dublin was like a Ghostown. You had to travel to the UK to buy a copy of “Good Save The Queen” by the Sex Pistols. There was no national music press or radio stations. A few pirate radio stations existed, such as Big D & Radio 257. This created a unique situation for the youth of Ireland to create their own brand of “Punk”. Many of the first wave of bands could play their instruments, they were influenced by Bowie, Bolan, Roxy Music, The Faces, Flamin’ Groovies, Jazz, soul & RnB. In mid 70’s Ireland, showbands ruled the roost. The Radiators, Revolver & The Vipers kicked in the door. For the likes of U2 to come out from under the boot of showbands. By the mid ’80’s the Showbands rule had all but come to an end.
The goal of my site is to uncover as much information on the In early career of U2. Very little is known about their early days in Dublin. I also shed light on their long forgotten contemporaries. How many of you know of The Radiators From Space, D.C. Nien, The Atrix, The Blades, Revolver, Nun Attax, Mean Features, Fabulous Fabrics, Virgin Prunes, The Vipers, The Spies, Nuero, Aslan, The Village, and many more. Hopefully after taking a look on this site you will know a lot more.
“I remember seeing Stephen Averill on Grafton Street. It was probably ’74, and thinking what the fuck is that! He was Dublin’s only “Glam Rocker”. “The Skank Mooks were a group of people, it was a way of life, not just a band”. Paul Woodfall (Former Skank Mook, Joshua Trio & Ding Dong Denny O’Reilly)
Some Of The Music You Will Find On Ghostown 1976
U2
U2
U2
Ghostown welcomes your help, yes you!
Do you have any demo tapes? Did you work in a recording studio?
Pictures, Posters, Flyers, Concert ticket stubs?
Were you at a gig were a local band supported a international band on tour? please let me know the details.
Are you from Cork, Silgo, Dorgheda, Galway, Limerick etc. I need information & photo’s on your local bands & the venues they played.
Irish singles, “A” & “B” sides.
I don’t need your originals, mp3 recording are great. Same goes for posters/pictures etc, copies are fine.
Did you work for Hot Press or In Dublin, a recording studio? Drop me a line.
https://www.theradiators.irish/
http://www.thetroublepilgrims.com/ The current band of Pete Holdai, Steve Rapid, Tony St Ledger, Bren Lynton & Johnny Bonnie.
https://theleeharveys.bandcamp.com https://www.facebook.com/theleeharveys The current band of Bitzy Fitz