Stevo
McAllister lead singer of local 80's legends Falon has been involved
in the local ROCK/METAL scene for over 25 years & has been (un)lucky
enough to see how the scene has developed at close hand.
Here he gives us his own personal history of ROCK in Derry from firstly a punter's viewpoint then as an integral part of this town's thriving ROCK community.
A
SHORT HISTORY OF ROCK BANDS IN DERRY (part one)
(Stephen Mc Allister)
Okay, First
I've got to start by saying that this just my personal view of our local
Rock History, and if I have omitted any bands, sorry you didn't do enough
for me to mention you, or I've just plain forgotten. Feel free to write
to myself or into
Kellz here.
I suppose I had better set the scene first. I started going to see bands around 1977, with my big sister, as I was fifteen at the time. The Rocking Chair (The rocker) had taken over as the main place to play, since the Casbah had closed. I had just missed out on seeing the likes of King Rat and Cricklewood Green in their, so it's up to others to fill in the history of these bands and any others that came before.
So
the first bands to mention is what some of us call locally the 'Holy
Trinity' of bands, namely Gentleman Tramp,
Pegasus and Toejam.
These three between them, inspired so many others that came after them,
that a book could be wrote on them alone.
Firstly, you had Gentleman Tramp
listen, with
the first real local 'Rock star' the late Tony Cooper. A great guitarist
but an even better showman, Tramp's 'live' shows were never a dull affair
with this guy kicking up a storm on guitar. It was a sad day when this
guy died; personally I think a memorial should be put up in Waterloo
Street as remembrance to him. With a mix of Rock and Celtic Rhythms,
Tramp provided plenty of musical punch, but was as much a visual experience
as they were audio. With Cooper strutting his stuff like a proud peacock,
and Skull 'upfront' trying to equal Cooper's antic's, They provided
me with many a memorable night. Skull ended up on drums, replacing the
excellent Gerry Mc Daid, when Ian Flanagan was drafted in on vocals.
This line-up proved to be even better with Flanagan's cultured vocals,
providing a great platform for Cooper's guitar style.
Then there was Pegasus, the best way to describe these guy's is probably as a musician's band. Maybe not quite as Visual as Tramp, but musically a lot stronger. A three-piece featuring Norman Doherty (guitar/vocal), Peter Kelly (bass/vocal) and Terry O'Donnell (drums) these guys soaked their music in a more Blues/Rock style, with emphasis on the songs, there was less showmanship, but in a way you didn't care because of the high quality performance of each tune. Each one of these guys was on top of their game, and it was a pleasure to have been there. A great band with a big influence on others bands to come later.
Which leads me on to Toejam, again another three-piece that featured Gerry Anderson (bass/vocal) Colm Arbuckle (guitar/vocal) and Jim Whiteside (drums). Another great band, which had a big influence, not just on myself, but also on other's who later were to turn up in various bands. Probably the most mainstream of the three bands, playing a good mix of popular Rock, filled out with some very good songs of their own. Colm's nice chord play combined with Gerry's rasping vocals was pretty damn good on the ear. They also had one of the best Drummers in Ireland, who's drum solo's had to be seen to be believed (I once saw him do a lap of Mason's Bar, Drumming on everything in site, Walls, Tables, Bottles etc.) Yeah three great bands, which set the Standard for everything, that was to follow. They all remained unchallenged until 1979/80 when a new wave of 'heavy metal' was about to hit the scene.
A couple of other bands worth a mention from around this time are, Mad Hatter and Rock Tonic. Hatter made up from the talented McLaughlin bros. (who went on to form the trad band: Thundering Down) had a Lynyrd Skynyrd 'southern feel' to them not unlike the Nameless who came along much later. Again a good live band who knew how to push the songs to the limit and soak them in atmosphere. As for Rock Tonic, they were a really good hard rock covers band that drew from the likes of Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake for their material. Rock Tonic you could say is probably the link between the old style and new that was to come
A NEW WAVE HITS TOWN (part two)
So
the local scene broadens, new venues like Mason's Bar, the 720 Bar,
the New Ross, as well as the odd gig here and there (Gweedore Bar, Top
of the hill centre, New York New York, etc) and also a new style of
Rock hits the scene, namely 'Heavy Metal'. This sparks a new breed of
band such as Deathwish, Demon and
the College Boy's. As much as the
bands that came before had their merits, there comes a time when a more
exciting, powerful, fresh sound slips it's way in. Deathwish
was the first of this new wave. Playing songs from new bands
like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and UFO, plus bands that had changed with
the times like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Scorpions. This new harder
edged Rock blew the ever-growing rockers away; they were not use to
this high-octane musical rush. Also it was probably the first time that
such dynamics was played with two guitarists (Brian 'Doc' Doherty and
Paul Mc Meninmin). Deathwish had opened a door, which many a 'metal'
band even now, gladly stepped through (this was the band that also feat.
Paul Biddle/Bass, my friend who was killed in his prime, and is sadly
missed today). At the same time almost, came the band Demon,
made up from some serious musicians namely Peter Vale (guitar) Mickey
Bell (Bass) 'Snowy' Mc Knight (Drums) and 'Jap' Colton (vocal). Not
the most 'long lived' band to have sprung into exsistance, but a pretty
damn good one. Playing a mixture of Zeppelin, Rush, Van Halen etc, they
had a real theatrical show with Jap even wearing face paint from time
to time.
These guys were making a lot of heads turn, with some great live shows.
But as time went by and bands break-up for whatever reasons, Deathwish
and Demon merged into one band, as Vale and Mc Knight came in to join
Deathwish and replace Doherty and Gary Mc Menimin, respectively.
I've also mentioned the College Boys here, but can't remember a lot about them. Although I do remember them having a good fan base (maybe if any of them are out there they can contact me and we can revise our notes on them.) and I remember one gig they did in New York New York, which was a good nights Rockin' and a great version of AC/DC's Night Prowler that sticks in the memory. I had to mention these guys as they did have an impact on a lot of young rockers at the time.
Now that our local music scene was up and running, a few more bands hit the scene. We are now in the early to mid 80's and a string of bands seem to spring all at once. The first to mention here is Philby. When Philby first arrived on the scene it was a very different band to what it was going to be. I'm sure that they will feature on this website so I'm not going into too much detail concerning the line-up. But the line-up I will mention i.e. Jeanette Hutton (vocal) Greg Cunningham (guitar) Sean Healy (drums) and Ciarann Murray (bass) is the definitive one. After a few attempts to get the right mix, Philby settled on the above line-up, and really made a massive impact on the local scene. With Sean and Ciaran, laying down a strong foundation, it gave Greg the space to show why he was regarded so highly as an up-an-coming guitarist (which he goes on to prove correctly) this would be enough to have made these guys/gal stand out alone, but then you add Jeannette's vocals in. Wow where do you start? Suddenly this young slightly shy looking Girl jumps out onto the stage, and BOOM! Out comes this amazing voice. I couldn't believe it, big, rasping, not unlike Janice Joplin, but more rock than blues. The material Philby played at this time demanded that all four were at their game, and Philby rarely let you down. A big Zeppelin influence could be felt, plus Greg's love of Rory Gallagher mixed with his Eddie Van Halen style, was pretty apparent. These guys should have gone all the way, if talent and skill mean anything. The only criticism that could be levelled at them is Original material, which wasn't focused on enough. That is probably why they didn't go on to great heights. Well worthy of a mention and up there as one of the best Rock bands Derry produced.
Another band of note is the excellent Fremonte. Fremonte played around the end of the 70's through the early 80's. Featuring one Terrance Morrison on vocals (Jeanette and Terrance are still my heroes locally) they had quite a loyal following also. Playing material from artists like Bowie, Rolling Stones, Foreigner etc. they had a slightly lighter R&B meets Rock sound, a band that could have done a lot more but for Work and Education not getting in there way at the time. Terrance now has a solo career, which seems to be going great, a nice guy with a big voice.
This was probably the end of this phase of bands, with a few who came and went that I didn't remember for whatever reason. So in part three we'll talk about the next clutch of Bands to come along. When Rock is really at it's height, and things really picked up locally.
THE GOLDEN YEARS (part three)
Bad
Penny, Mothra, Argus, Scabbard, Middle-Earth, Falon, XLR8,Tokyo, Teaser
and Crisis to name but a few. This was a period in Derry
when there seemed no end to the amount of bands it could produce. Rock
was at its pinnicle, and no less so than in Derry. The building bricks
laid down by the first bands, was proving a solid foundation. Each of
these new bands had something different to offer, by either their music
or through their musicians. While bands like Crisis
and Teaser were probably fringe
bands, in terms of 'gigging' both did their jobs well and produced a
few new 'Muso's' (like Andy Keanie for example). Bands like Argus
and Middle-Earth were more cultured
and musically more mature. Playing a more classic rock set rather than
an all out headbanging approach. Argus
another of the bigger bands of their time, had a good mix of songs mainly
drawing from the likes of Sabbath, Purple and Rush with a little Zeppelin
thrown in. With 'Bonzo' Coyle (bass/vocal), 'Arny' Armstrong (guitar)
and Kevin Quiggy Quigg (vocals) being the main creative force behind
the band, they made quite a good reputation for themselves, and were
probably the mainstay of the newest rock bar the Cutty Sark. They were
also one of the bands that helped push bar owners to open its doors
to rock bands, a lesson that would be a wise one to follow now.
Middle Earth on the other hand,
were the first rock band to introduce Keyboards to their sound. Falling
into a more progressive Rock type sound, again it was something new
to the scene, which was already becoming more diverse.
As with these last two bands mentioned you could also add Bad
Penny to the more 'classic rock' style, with the sounds of
Whitesnake,Gillan,Purple and Rory Gallagher being heard during a typical
set. I think looking back, Bad Penny was one of those bands that had
the potential to have really done well and make a bigger impact outside
Derry, but never quite got the breaks. The band was originally formed
back in early 80's (only Gerry Mc Garrigal remained from original line-up
through out) but it was around 83/84 that they were best known, after
Stevie Gillespie joined them on vocals.
More toward the Heavy Metal side of things, you had Falon, Mothra and Scabbard. Falon has been written about elsewhere so go read that for details. Mothra, not unlike Falon in musical preference, was another hard working band. After several line-up changes, they settled on Kevin 'koke' O'Kane-vocal, Mickey Mc Williams-Drums, Anthony Phillips-Guitar, Brian Morrison-Guitar and Nim on Bass. (later, in came Dougal to replace Brian Morrison). These guys knew how to kick a storm up live, and were all very capable musicians. Their First gig, playing at the excellent Top of the Hill Centre (of rock excellence!) proved to themselves that they were good enough, and they never looked back. Personally when Koke and Nim joined the band, that's when it really happened, both musically and visually. They built up a solid fan base, which is no small feat considering the amount of bands playing at that time. Their run came to an end when Koke left for a spell in England, and on his return he then formed the band Terminal Beach (around 1990) which you will probably hear of elsewhere in these pages.
Of
the other bands from this time, I never really got a chance to see many
of them, because of playing myself. I can remember Scabbard
playing a 'guest' slot with us (Falon) at the Union Hall, and thinking
that these guys would do well for themselves. Another of the Heavy Metal
styled bands around at that time, but alas, I lost any other memories
of them after that time.
The likes of Crisis, Teaser and XLR8,
I never really got to see, Although I once saw XLR8,
the first Trash Metal band to play in the town, and they had a real
energy about them, not being a 'thrasher' myself I was told by others
that they had it down to a fine art.
As for Teaser and Crisis, it wouldn't
be fair for me to pass any comment, but it would also not be fair, if
I didn't mention them. So write in to Kellz (kellz@freeuk.com)and
tell your story.
So
guys as I say, this is my own personal opinion, not a definitive History
piece. It was written to inspire others to write in, and tell their
story of how it was. Any of the bands I wrote about, I apologise if
I have offended or been 'off the mark' with my facts. This is how I
seen it up to around 1989/90. After that its up to someone else to pick-up
the story, so come on guys lets hear from ya!!!
Well
there ya go, Derry Rock 1975-1990.Please feel free to comment on what
Stevo has written or share some of your memories people DO want to hear
what you have to say & if you have any photos of any of the bands
mentioned please send them in as people are interested
Contact Stevo with any comments stevomcallister@hotmail.com
Contact Kellz with comments & photos kellz@freeuk.com