The revolution will be streamed

Dignam & Goff, recorded July 1992

34 years ago this year, one of my favourite groups played a free concert in HMV, Grafton Street. As a rebellious 17-year-old who happened to have a Walkman-sized cassette recorder, I surreptitiously recorded their set.

Fast forward more than three decades and, back home in Dublin for Christmas, my brother handed me three cassette tapes he’d discovered in my Mam’s house. One was junk, one was a signed copy of Dignam & Goff’s Walk On Water single and the third was the recording of the set.

Electronic music history

For a few years now, I’ve been doing shows on electronic music history as DJ Discordian on The Thursday Night Show. They’re all on Mixcloud, but I decided to do a kind of timeline with the shows in historical order:

Electronic music genealogy

Starting with my early electronica show, the shows cover everything from industrial and darkwave to the generally ignored “secret” history of dance music in the 1980s that hit the mainstream in 1988. And there’s some shows on EBM, new beat, hard beat and Belgian techno as well, for an alternative history of dance music.

I’ll keep updating the page as I do more shows, next up (in September) will be my second show on synthpop – moved back because of the death of Douglas J. McCarthy requiring a tribute show.

Dance music history: Injected with some Belgians (and Germans)

In an earlier piece, I mainly focused on the influences on the UK dance scene. Of course, the UK isn’t the centre of the world and Europe also has a huge dance scene.

Of course, you can’t write about European dance music without mentioning Kraftwerk. But, everyone knows about Kraftwerk.

Then came punk and industrial, spawning European bands, of whom Germany’s Einstürzende Neubauten and Slovenia’s Laibach are the longest lasting and best known.

Manchester talk on Harry Boland

I’m giving a talk on my great-granduncle Harry Boland’s Manchester roots in the Irish World Heritage Centre in the city on 5 June.

Tickets are free and can be ordered on Eventbrite.

Harry Boland Manchester talk

The underground history of UK dance music

I’ve watching another history of dance music in the UK and the same frustrations are rising up. Every single one tells the same story – interesting stuff was happening in the US – in particular DJ Frankie Knuckles in the Warehouse Club in Chicago in 1979 where House Music was born, and then it appeared in the UK – nearly a decade later.

In 1987, four DJs (Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Johnny Walker and Nicky Holloway) went to Ibiza and brought their holiday home – in particular with Rampling’s legendary Shoom club.

Continue reading “The underground history of UK dance music”

Reinterpreting the Milesians in Irish pre-history

Irish pre-history is a pain. Because Celtic culture was non-literary, it wasn’t until the arrival of Christianity that Irish myths and legendary history were written down.

As a result, a lot of the myths were Christianised. St Patrick crops up a bit, meeting legendary figures like Oisín.

One myth that has really suffered is that of the Milesians, the last group to “invade” Ireland and establish Irish culture according to the Lebor Gabála (Book of Conquests). It’s loaded with medieval history and links to Spain, Egypt, the Holy Land and has been discounted as being entirely created by monks.

Continue reading “Reinterpreting the Milesians in Irish pre-history”

19th century Irish history – help needed

I’ve been researching my family for a few years with a view to writing their story. My mother’s family were the Bolands – major figures in the Irish revolutionary movements pre-independence and government ministers in the decades afterwards.

I’m trying to go back over four generations. The more recent generations – Kevin Boland and his father Gerald and uncles Harry and Ned and aunt Kathleen – are fairly straightforward. Much has been written about their lives, including by themselves. And there’s no shortage of information about 1916.

Continue reading “19th century Irish history – help needed”

Last “whites” of the East End

So, after a great NUJ meeting with a brilliantly ethnic diverse turn-out, I turn on the TV and the BBC is showing “Last Whites of the East End“. Despite being fully aware it would annoy me, I watched it. I’ve been trying to think of something to blog about, so here’s another blog about history.

According to the programme, “white British” people are leaving the East London and it’s the end of the “good old East End”. This needs serious unpicking.

Continue reading “Last “whites” of the East End”

EU migrants to Britain and Irish people

There are some very careful phrased statements being made at the moment about EU migration into the UK. The wording is important, because there is a key difference between EU migrants and EU nationals working in the UK.

This difference is the Irish. While Ireland is in the EU and Irish people can correctly be described as EU nationals, in UK law, people born in Ireland are not EU migrants.

Continue reading “EU migrants to Britain and Irish people”

Slaveholders in Ireland

After yesterday’s popular blog about Irish slavery, I wanted to write a short one about another issue with Liam Hogan’s work.

Another thread of his work is researching Irish slaveholders. Where he’s traced information those who left Ireland and “became white” and bought into the slave owning population, that’s all well and good.

Continue reading “Slaveholders in Ireland”