Cuba Dares

Cuba Dares From; Dublin Active; Oct 1981 – 1989
Style; Indie
1982
Vocals; Blathain Clancy
Guitar; Ronan Stokes
Bass;Tony Kennedy
Drums; Gerry Farrely
Keyboards; Francis McBride

1986
Vocals; Blathain Clancy
Guitar; Ronan Stokes
Guitar & Keyboards; Rory Stokes
Bass; Chris McKenna
Drums; John McGrath

The earliest info I can find on Cuba Dare is an article for October 1981. It states that Cuba Dares along with Amuse, The Sussed & Belfast Band Big Self will be play two concerts at St Louis High School in Rathmines 30-31/10/1981 and the another two concerts in November at The Christian Brother De La Salle school in Churchtown. At this time I can only assume that Declan Jones played two sets one with Amuse then a second with The Sussed.

The band was formed by Blaithín Clance and me in 1982. Our first recording, ‘Zigzags’, with all instrumentation generated by me via overdubbing

Ronan Stokes

By Ronan Stokes In short, the name is a statement that the band embraced the politics of the left, but we were also committed to guitar-based pop music on its own merits.

The Cuba Dares bio from the Irish Rock website is nonsense – it was written, to my knowledge, by one of the others named, in an attempt to bolster the credentials of another band named in the blurb. I have never dwelt on the goings-ons of the inward-looking Dublin scene, and have never been bothered rectifying the errors in the bio.

Performing as a duo

The facts: the band was formed by Blaithín Clance and me in 1982. Our first recording, ‘Zigzags’, with all instrumentation generated by me via overdubbing, received airplay on the Dave Fanning Rock Show on Irish national radio.

A Standard Line up

Shortly afterwards we assumed a standard vocals/guitar/bass/drums lineup, but reverted to the two-piece format for our first significant live performance – supporting Factory Records’ ‘A Certain Ration’. Shortly after that we supported Depeche Mode in Ireland’s National Stadium, having begun to make an impression on the Dublin live scene. ABC soon after released the ‘Lexicon of Love’ album, which was a massive No 1 in the UK, and they began their British and Irish tour in Dublin, with Cuba Dares as the support act. Next up was the support role to New Order in Dublin at the time of the release of Blue Monday, one of the epochal concerts of the 80s in Dublin.

“Wrapped Up”

At this time the band recorded a track called “Wrapped Up” which was subsequently used on a regular basis as the outro track for Ireland’s most popular radio rock show, though it was never released on vinyl.

Film Sound Track

Also at this time the band appeared in and performed soundtrack music for an independent film called ‘The Statistic’, the subject matter of which was Ireland’s absolutist anti-abortion stance.

Leaving Dublin

At that point the band was faced with remaining in Dublin, with a continuing high profile, or relocating to London where we would be starting from scratch. We moved to London in 1983, with no contacts and no financial resources. We worked the live circuit, hoping for some financial input from a record label. We were repeatedly advised by A&R types that our name and our leftist stance were major impediments. Cuba Dares self-released the One-Nine-Eight-Six EP which was the focal point of the piece above, but the band did so without any real knowledge of how to get airplay in the UK, how to get the record into the shops, and how to ingratiate ourselves with the music press.

Joe Strummer

Cuba Dares continued to play live and to record, but didn’t release any other records. There is a substantial list of high-quality multi-track recordings from the late 1980s. The tenor of the music is generally darker, harder and more complex than was the case with the music released on the EP, and at this time the band had become a stable five piece line-up, expanded to include keyboards. Among those who expressed an interest in the band during this time was Joe Strummer.

Leftist View

It should be noted that the mid to late 80s was not the best of times for guitar-based bands who included leftist sentiments in their output. The band would have been well-placed to profit from the return of guitar-based rock and pop in the early 90s, but by this time the onset of parenthood for key members had introduced the necessity to earn a regular income. Not so radical now, I know.

Unreleased Recordings

There are at least 20 unreleased tracks by Cuba Dares which exist still on multi-track master tapes. Myself and Blaithín Clancy maintain a deep friendship, and it is our intention to reopen the band’s catalogue with a view to releasing most of this material, at a time when the need for record-company involvement is minimal in comparison to the era in which we worked.

1,000 Copies

For info: there were 1,000 copies of the EP, and you are welcome to one of the remaining ones.