Fagin

'To cut a long story short…..' (Spandau Ballet)

The short sharp shocks of the 3 min pop song from the late 70s and 80s zapped from the speakers in Mickey Martins early last Saturday week. Think school disco if you are 30-ish, or think 'catchy!' if otherwise. Behind the decks in all his peroxide ganglyness was Fagin, flinging around vinyl with a coating of mould on each single. "Its Eighties mixin Kid!," he shouted, "one off, one on! Someone had obviously been out to the garden shed and in the attic", he confirmed.

Fagin was a club Dj in the early 90s when Dance music was piano pulsed anthems and the house based Hiphouse groove looked then like a motorised horse to bet on. At this time the City held a couple of Music shops and in them were 'Dance compilations'. These selections always had a couple of killer beats that were balanced with Euro pop strangeness. The hot contents of these 'Deep Heat' packages not only allowed heads to catch up with current grooves but provided a forum for a good old argument, "Whaat!..how can you like that ?? " etc. If you thought the flick knifed phrase 'Gay!!' was a recent insult, I can testify that there were some very creative variants of it applied to those early House music adopters !

With Sir Henrys down the road, Djs like Fagin began to challenge what the conventional notion of the towns Dance/Disco scene should be. Less we forget at this time the country was still accommodating the 'Hall-Showband- Fanning session rock band- visit by a 2fm roadshow' notion of music in venues. Like a whiff of Old Spice, I was reminded of this tonight when a promo postcard of the broadcaster Gerry Ryan popped out from one of Fagins old singles. Ryans lipsticked façade, teased mullet and Miami Vice garb stared from the card, 'I have the Power' the picture seemed to say. "Hang on to that", the blond Fagin says to me, "I have a few of them."
In the early 90s, moves were being made to develop the idea of a night of progressive music in Limerick as in other towns. Those carrying out these plans aimed to break the grip of the 'Fast, Slow, Rock, ballad, Pop' that constituted a night at the Disco'.

Through the airwaves hints of a change could be heard from amongst others, Limericks own wireless guy 'Mickey Mac. Mickey was one of the traditional commercial jocks who embraced the Church of dance with an enthusiasm that was alien to the likes of Gerry Ryan and the D4 jocks. The Dublin 'real Djs' who had in the main transferred from pirate stations placed their cultural and financial stock in a traditional entertainment model that securely looked to BBC Radio1. Dance music seemed to be  way 'too fancy' to merit more than a passing tolerance. Mike Murphy, when he was a Radio institution used to use the disco group  Chics chant 'yowsa yowsa yowsa' as a catchphrase.This was his version of Gay Byrnes patronising 'deerie deerie me' phrase that he pulled out when trends appeared that as gatekeepers, they felt were a litte Un–Irish. These were the things that  Homer Simson would sneeringly refer to as 'European'.

DJ Dave Fanning for example who then  was probably the 'hippest' spinner in Rte Radio 2  had no problem castigating the mid school forms of Hip hop and 'Dance' on his show. This gallingly, was after initially giving the embryonic art form airtime that allowed those of us deep in the countryside without access to  Pirate radio or Record shops to experience the evolving rhythms . In retrospect this makes Mickey macs flagwaving significant. His contribution to the Dance is now forgotten, which is a shame as he was responsible for more than he is remembered for. When we look back his flag should fly alongside the skull and crossbones of the independents.
Specific nights hosted by the likes of Fagin soon got the Kids throwing down to tracks like 'Voodoo Ray' mixed with the Limerick youth club staples (ie Ska and anything by Bowie). The stage was now set for the rush of adrenalin fueled Rave business that dominated in the 90s.

So many innocent stories from those 'Tape it off the Radio days' are gradually being forgotten as a generation settles down. For example, an image of a stage masked with a white screen flanked with the shapes of  mysterious female figures flickering behind it may sound touchingly naive today, but Fagin assures me that in initiating it in a Limerick venue, it became 'quite the thing' in pre-digital dancehalls.
The history of the period from 1985-1995 in the scene described above says more about growth in the country through music than an equivalent document from 1995-2005 when the history would have to factor in drug use in venue/scene description. There is more transitional texture in this earlier narrative as distinct from the latter apeing of the English Scene post the Criminal justice Bill.The seminal history of the showband days is rounded up in the book 'Send em home sweatin' but I believe there is certainly a book to be had mapping the scene from Dublin, Galway, Limerick, and to Cork ('Get im in to Sweat'?).
Like his new romantic Haircut, tonights performance in Mickeys by this dangerous fossil, mixed post punk classics with Top of the Pops jaw droppers ('Si Si je suis un rock star'). It  proves that if you wait long enough for something it all comes around again. Keep your ears out for his repeat performance and hopefully we might see some other survivors from that era surveying hair product and poking around their attics. Remember, any records you won't play ill probably take off your hands!
( I received 'Voice of America' by Cabaret Voltaire and 'Making plans for Nigel' by XTC from Fagin. I let him keep the Bill Wyman single)

Paul Tarpey.

(Photo of Fagin by Adam)

Comments

[Shane]

A good story although I'm sure many might debate the history. Mickey Mac had a predecessor of course in Simon Young who disappeared off the rader soon after. I think simon was a judge in Meks first DMC win.
I would think that from all over the country E usage exploded and indeed helped to fuel the fledgling movement from much earlier then 95. 1989-90 been a more likely date. Having said that it's use was probably overestimated.

I like the 'Fisher King' reference

[Phil Wade]

Great article,(not as good as Ryan's Soccer Shocker hair though).
When i was in secondary school my mate Ken bough a pair of Decks and was listening to the pirates as that was where most of the dance music of the time,Opus 3,Toxic II "Rave Generator" etc..was being played, but Mickey Macs show on 2fm was listened to by all of these guys too because he did get the exclusive mixes and tracks from Abbey discs and he would have the child like enthusiasm for them...Now the lads would give Mickey an awful slaggin but they still tapped his show every week and begged for the pocket money to go out and buy the hot new tunes. I was not rave generator at that time,i liked the odd track Everybody in the Place by The Prodigy was the first rave track i ever bought..but it was a long time before the seduction of decks and mixing grabbed a hold..Incidentally an old Friend of mine, Pat ,lent me one of his many sets of Technics and an eccler mixer for about 2 months as a Birthday present once and he always said that his proudest moment was doing a 4 deck 60 min set on Mickey Macs show,a performance that led him to having a packed club for a longtime afterwards...thanks for stirring some long locked away memories..

[Shane]

talking of those times
someone just posted a 1993 investigation from RTE includes, Greg Dowling Sir Henrys, Fish Records when it was in liberty Street, Cork and the asylum in Dublin
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts15HoRXWHQ
and
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=JCnE4uPprF4
and
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=pFhSk8Gl1No

[Phil Wade]

Watched last night..

Hilarious,i was never in the asylum myself,(UFO was my particular baptism into Techno that was soundtracked by one Francois..No drugs mind you..so it was a particularly scary experience)
Temple of Dance was quite good though..friendly people (i wonder why?)

[Shane]

Fanning catches up with electronica etc in 2008
http://mattvinyl.blogspot.com/2008/01/happily-eva-naphta.html