19:91

19:91 from; Dublin Active; 1980 – 198?
Style;
Line up;
Rhythm Guitar &; Vocals; Des Traynor
Lead Guitar; Tom Bowes
Bass; Declan Lucas Bass
Drums; Robbie Holmes

Tom Bowes

American Tom Bowes was the founder and leader of the band.

Declan Lucas

Declan Lucas would later go on to join “The Departure” in late 1981 or 1982.

Magnet Bar

19:91are also known to have played dates with Human Dance Faction, Chant Chant Chant, Low and D.C. Nien at Dublin’s Magnet Bar.

Stimulators

The biggest gig they probably played was support for touring American band The Stimulators at the Project in August 1980, at this time it’s not known if they also supported the Stimulators at their gig at the Downtown Kampus in Cork.

Gig review by Hot Press

13/09/1980 Boddis The Magnet Bar, Dublin with Modern Disgrace Modern Disgrace were young, energetic, enthusiastic and playing their third gig. I can’t say it was a cause for celebration, but beneath the dull pastry of ramonic guitar and vocals prat – antics lurked some surprisingly good punk pop songs; beaty, melodic little chewns, knowarramean? Modern Disgrace are no disgrace, but where is their place in the universal scheme of things? Is it too early to say or is it too early to tell?

The Gap

The gap between new and neu is the difference between being modern and being modern for the sake of it, a tightrope of distinction stretched across a grand canyon of Germanic spellings – new:neu; modern: modern (hip:hype, anyone?). 1991 walk that tightrope and for most part keep their feet, though sometimes wobbling badly.

Down To Basics

Where Modern Disgrace are down to basics, counting their fingers and thumbs, 1991 are on another hand and have the upper hand. They are musicians and as a result are able to realise their ideas with much greater accuracy – they are the most professional and well rehearsed new, young band I have ever seen.

Bass Drum Foundation

Their sound is built on a very solid, hard, bass/drums foundation, over layed with a chiming and imaginative guitar: Joy Division spring to mind, but this is more “rock”. Various other suggestions loom: Magazine, D.C. Nien, Echo and the Bunnymen, XTC….. Dylan?!

Semi Melodic

The songs are short, semi – melodic, well – constructed, often very dynamic. They are also occasionally boring, generally too similar and though lyrics were difficult to make out, they did at times seem to evince a dangerously “holier – than – thou” attitude.

Frontman

The group functions very much as a solid unit, in which vocalist Des “Are you going to say I worked for the Hot Press! Traynor is the focal point: undeniably a solid element of the whole, he also presents the groups most apparent weakness. A frontman he has not yet found the measure of the stage or himself and he tumbles down the hole left by Bono of U2, looking awkward when he is perhaps trying to look vulnerable, silly when he is trying to be strong. Equally, as a vocalist he doesn’t cut, basically because he does not understand his voice: Des can’t sing, but he sometimes works as a non singer, which to a certain extent accounts for the echoes of Magazine, XTC and especially Dylan, but more control and understanding is required, less straining to reach the impossible note. 1991 have made a promising introduction, playing a driving and for the most part cohesive set (discounting two dubiously included Dylanesque country songs!). This is a first report and whether they will sharpen up and straighten out, tomorrow only knows. They deserve your attention. Hot Press Neil McCormick