“Punk Festival”
Attendance; 600
Support for; New Versions, Berlin, Strange Movements, Virgin Prunes, The Citizens, Skank Mooks
Admission; £0.90
Set; Bono sings the Sex Pistols version of “My Way” with Emmett from the Citizens. Bono is behind the curtain & not on stage when singing.
U2 don’t perform at this gig after they have a row with the promotor George Purdy. They think they should be higher in the running order.
Punk Festival
A group of like minded people used hangout in McDonalds on Grafton street in Dublin. They were dubbed the Skank Mooks. They would travel into the city centre in their civi’s. Then change into their punk alto ego in the McDonalds toilets. At the heart of the group were the Purdy twins. George & Dick, George would go on to organise the now legendary St Anthony’s punk festival. If you have a copy of the poster for this concert please get in touch.
The Citizens
This was the first gig The Citizens played. Like the Skank Mooks they were managed by George Purdy. On the night The Citizens included a Sex Pistols style version of “My Way”. Bono shared the lead vocals with Emmett. Bono never came on stage, he sang from behind the curtain.
Skank Mooks
Although there were only 4 members in the band about 10 were on the stage for this their first gig. Tommy McCann was their vocalist for this concert. The one and only time he sang with the band. They also had female backing singers (the Mooketts). The Skank Mooks played about 13 gigs in their brief career. The are probably better known for having Paul Woodfall, Johnny Bonnie & Dick Purdy in the line up.
Strange Movements
Due to an argument over the running order on the day. Strange Movements did not play.
Virgin Prunes
New Versions
The New Versions were part of the first wave of Dublin Punk/New Wave bands. Trouble broke out during The New Versions set, with fans climbing on stage and setting fire to rags and bits of paper that the Virgin Prunes into the crowd during their earlier set. There was no fire extinguisher in the hall , so organisers had to run out to the nearest pub to get one. Regine Moylett and her sister Susan run the “Punk” clothing stall No Romance in the Dandelion Market.
Berlin
Berlin headlined on the night.
U2, don’t play the festival
Although U2 were on the bill, they did not play a set. Bono had wanted U2 to headline. When he was told “no” by George Purdy the band did not play. However Bono did sing during the Citizens set from behind the stage curtain. The Edge also guested on guitar with
Where The Streets Have 2 Names
All the photographs on this page were supplied by Patrick Brocklebank. Patrick was U2’s first photographer taking many early pictures of the band. Click the link below to Patrick’s excellent book Where The Streets Have Two Names.
Where the streets have 2 names by Patrick Brocklebank Where the Streets Have Two Names: U2 and the Dublin Music Scene, 1978-83: Amazon.co.uk: Brocklebank, Patrick, Moloney, Sinéad: 9781907593574: Books
