Warning!!!! This article is basically a rose tinted spectacles wearing trip down memory lane. In fact it's so far down memory lane that by the time this thing is finished you will probably need Marty McFly and his DeLorean to get you back. Occasionally I am going to delve into the deepest parts of my mind to share with you some of my favourite memories of Rocking in "The Union Hall". Because of the often huge amounts of alcohol consumed on the nights in question none of this can even be trusted to be accurate. If you would like to add to this please feel free to contact me at kellz@freeuk.com .Now where did I put that Mundie's?
What does the Union Hall mean to you? Piss, vomit, beer and water flowing down from the always packed bogs upstairs? The big stage at the back which helped make every band look cool as fuck no matter how bad the mullet? Standing outside on the Walls shivering whilst trying to pin as much Steiger/Mundie's/Harp/Clan Dubh(Jesus that shit reeked)/Concorde(for the women)/Breaker/Special Brew/Charger/Whatever else was cheap (Delete where applicable) as possible before going inside? 5 bands for £1.50? Being the first out to headbang? Stage diving? Making sure some Fuckin' stage Diver didn't land on you? Negotiating the already mentioned soaking stairs after the gig whilst trying to act cool?
Let me tell ye that for me all of the things mentioned above were what made The Union Hall the best place to go and see bands in Derry, in fact for a good while the union Hall was the ONLY place in Derry we could go and see bands in Derry as we were all 16/17 at the time and at that point in history bars in Derry tried to stop underage drinking on their premises as opposed to the current situation in the town where if you go into a place You are the over 18.Anyway, I digress, No, wait a minute I remember Mason's having two bouncers on the door whose job was to stop both underage drinkers and anybody from up the walls using the facilities…when I was young etc. etc. As I was saying, The Union hall was the place to go.
Performing
onstage
Yes,
I once actually got onstage and sang a song. I was working/dossing in
Springtown training centre at the time (October 1988), also there was
a guy called Brian Glenn aka 'Yorkie'. Now Yorkie played drums in a
band called Casteel along with Barry Kelly (Bass and vocals) -no relation-
whose brother John had played in a band called Argus- Ironically enough
I now live beside Barry's Ma's house in Carnhill-and Rory McNamee(Guitar).
Now Yorkie and me always got along and we basically hung around with
each other in work. One day he said to me that Casteel were playing
in The Union Hall that Friday night and would I fancy singing a song
"What song?" I asked "Johnny B. Goode" he said "Fair
enough" I said, this might be a good time to point out that I'd
never played in a band before never mind sung, I'd never met the other
two guys in the band and that Yorkie had never heard me sing. Feck it,
you could get away with shit like that in those days.
Anyway, come Friday night and the situation regarding never singing
etc. hadn't changed and the time had come. I can't for the life of me
remember what other bands were playing that night but I do remember
that the joint was bunged that night. It was a cold October night but
the moisture was dripping down the walls with the heat being generated
by the crowd who were on top form that night. Casteel played their usual
set and were going down a storm when finally I could hear Barry who
played bass and sang call out over the mic for John Craig, apparently
Yorkie had only told them just before the gig that I was singing and
Barry had picked up my name wrongly. Yorkie then came up from behind
the kit and saw me in the crowd, he beckoned me up and the next thing
I knew I was standing onstage.
As I'd never been onstage before I must confess that it came as quite a shock to look out over a packed Union Hall to see just about everybody I knew looking up at me with looks on their faces that said "What the fuck is that tube doing up there?" and at that moment I could only agree. Luckily I'd had the presence of mind to consume enough alcohol to make Oliver Reed wince and I didn't notice that I was paralysed with fear….that was until I tried to sing. Again I had a bit of luck in that Barry had decided to invite somebody else up to sing as well, I believe that it was Skierny from Carnhill. Unfortunately he didn't actually know the words to the song but that didn't matter because his girlfriend was so proud of her fella that she stormed the stage and hugged him for the rest of the song. By chance I regained power in my vocal chords again at this moment so I could sing the rest of the song unimpeded.
Needless
to say I was crap but an almighty roar did come from the crowd at the
end of the song which made the actual performance meaningless. Well,
that's part one, I bet you can't wait for part two, neither can I. All
I have to do is try to place my fragments of memories together and I'm
laughing. See ya next time.
If you want to add to this or even better you have photos of bands playing in The Union Hall or pics of punters in the Union Hall send them to me at kellz@freeuk.com