Jerry Fish

Imelda May

The rise and rise of Imelda May has been unstoppable since the release of her album, “Mayhem” in 2010. Already hugely popular in Ireland (with a triple platinum album under her belt) the release of Mayhem in the UK set her on the path to international stardom. That success resulted in Imelda performing at The Grammy Awards, touring the US with Jeff Beck, playing an extensive festival circuit both at home and abroad – including a storming Glastonbury performance; as well as winning Best Breakthrough Artist at the Classic Rock Awards.

Born in The Liberties, Dublin, Imelda is the youngest of five siblings and was the most susceptible to the various influences from her older brothers and sisters, which she could hear constantly through the walls of their two bedroom house. There was folk, the obligatory chart pop, and then there was Elvis. “My brother was a mad Elvis fan, and I found a tape in his room with Elvis, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent. I thought the music was fantastic.” By the age of nine Imelda had fallen in love with rockabilly and the blues – singing along at home and recording herself with a plastic Fisher Price tape recorder! “I started singing in a church with my sister Maria when I was four and I’ve been singing pretty much ever since. There was no stage school or musical colleges – just variety club competitions – but I was determined as I love singing so much.”

Imelda began performing in clubs when she was 16 years old and had the honour of being occasionally barred from her own shows at Dublin’s Bruxelles club for being underage. “I got really obsessed about going to those clubs even though I was way too young to be allowed in. The security guards would turn a blind eye because they knew I was just there for the music. I used to stand at the side of the stage, hoping to get asked up to join a jam session, writing the keys on my arm so I knew what to sing.”

After fifteen years of singing in other peoples bands Imelda finally took the plunge and set up her own band in 2006. Acclaimed guitarist (and also Imelda’s husband) Darrel Higham took the role of lead guitarist, although Imelda was unsure at the beginning if it was the best idea. “History doesn’t bode well for married couples in bands – look at Ike and Tina Turner, Sonny and Cher, but we tried it and it worked out great. Life and the band is all one mish mash, but we do get time together as husband and wife and time apart – it just works.” The band recorded their previous album, “Love Tattoo” independently and only expected to sell a few hundred copies at gigs, but one Jools Holland performance later and the album had sold triple platinum in Ireland.

The current album, “Mayhem” released on Decca Records has Imelda’s trademark rockabilly sound but it’s lyrics are firmly set in the here and now. “I’m always observing people so my songs are an amalgamation of my own life and watching the craziness out of the window. The title track came to me after leaving a gig at 3am and seeing two guys having a fight and a girl standing there crying. It happens in every town on a Friday or Saturday night. – Mayhem!” Another of the album tracks, “Kentish Town Waltz” was re-recorded as a duet with the legendary Lou Reed for release as a single last year. The bittersweet love song lends itself well to the duet format while Reed’s gravelly tones sit perfectly with Imelda’s powerful yet playful voice. Describing the song Imelda says, “We were badly broke and the bailiffs were knocking on the door but we were mad about each other so we got through it.”

« back to top

Alabama 3

Best known internationally for supplying the theme to the American TV series ‘The Sopranos’ with their song ‘Woke Up This Morning’, Alabama 3 have carved a unique niche for themselves which transcends considerations of chart success and runs far deeper than the transitory fame of modern celebrity culture. They are undoubtedly the greatest American act the UK ever did produce, and their heady combination of techno and C&W, alongside a proclivity for rock ‘n’ roll decadence and an acute social conscience means that they are effectively a unique entity in modern music.

They are Alabama 3, from Brixton and beyond…
The band’s nucleus of Rob Spragg and Jake Black met towards the end of the 1980s at a south London house party. Still together, and still resident in the heart of their beloved London SW9 postcode, with a fluid and ever changing membership, Alabama 3 are more a way of life than a rock’n'roll band. Their headquarters in the Jamm building in Brixton incorporates a recording studio, a club venue where A3 put on their own Outlaw nights in between many other events, and an administrative centre where various managers, promoters and other support staff keep the whole operation ticking over. Working in this grubby mansion, over looking London’s most vibrant, music-savvy, multi-cultural quarter, there are DJs, artists, recording engineers and assorted admin and creative types who wander in and out of a warren of rooms with a purposeful air. “We’re very proud to be independent,” Rob says. “It’s a cottage industry that’s been empowered by a form of narcotic Marxism.” And also, it should be said, by a history of brilliant music-making.

« back to top

Jack L

Cutting his teeth on the bohemian busking circuit around Europe, Jack Lukeman first came to prominence in the summer of 1995 when he and The Black Romantics took up a residence at The Da Club in Dublin. The band played mostly Jacques Brel songs, with one or two of Jack’s own, and recorded the album ‘Wax’ in 1995. His first solo album, released in 1999, called ‘Metropolis Blue’ was universally lauded and went platinum in Ireland. Hot Press magazine stated “this is a timeless collection of fine songs, beautifully delivered, from an artist as unique as Ireland has ever produced”. This was followed in 2001 by the album ‘Universe’ and in 2006 by ‘Broken Songs’, which many regarded as Jack’s best album yet. It was closely followed by ‘Burn On’ in 2008 featuring the songs of the great Randy Newman, and in 2009 Jack released his milestone album ‘The Story So Far’ featuring many unreleased tracks and live recordings.

Lukeman has also appeared with Nick Cave and writer Patrick McCabe in a series of performances mixing spoken word, poetry reading and song. His powerfully expressive vocals have been compared to such disparate types as David Bowie, Tom Waits, and Frank Sinatra. In 2010, Jack performed a ‘Month of Mondays’ at the Spiegeltent as part of the Edinburgh Theatre Festival, where he received a host of 5 Star reviews and the Spotlight best music award. 2011 saw Jack taking to the airwaves with a 26 part series on radio called ‘High Fidelity’ the history of song.

Seventeen years into his career, Jack hit an all-time high in 2012 with the most successful show and album he has ever done. ‘The 27 Club’ is a collection of brilliant songs by those iconic rock stars that all died at the age of 27. Classics by Janis Joplin, The Doors, Robert Johnson, The Rolling Stones, Amy Winehouse, Echo & The Bunnymen, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Manic Street Preachers and Big Star (to name a few) are interpreted by Lukeman, interweaving their legacy in a rip roaring musical celebration, a dramatic and unforgettable explosion of song. After a fantastic sell-out show at the Theatre Royal at the start of 2013, Jack L brings his ’27 Club’ show back to Waterford at Day Tripper.

« back to top

Jerry Fish

With a career spanning three decades, one of Ireland’s most enigmatic songwriters and performers brings his dynamic live show to Day Tripper Festival. Jerry Fish (aka Gerard Whelan) toured the globe throughout the 1990’s as frontman of An Emotional Fish, the alternative rock band that gave us the rock anthem ‘Celebrate’. The single became a hit second time around last year, when it was re-released by Jerry with all proceeds of Irish sales in 2012 donated to Barretstown Children’s Charity.

On his MySpace, Jerry Fish, aka Gerard Whelan, lists his influences as “Beat poetry, dog, bone and sailor stories, Tom Waits, Dean Martin, Dr John, Jacques Brel, Ray Charles, One Mint Julep, Mingus and Ellington”. He goes on to describe his sound as “indie lounge-lizard schmooze, mariachi swampadelica”. He ticks all those eclectic boxes and more. His swaggering vocal has been described as Tom Waits in a good mood, or Leonard Cohen doing Dean Martin. Yes, the smiles come aplenty and witty lyrics are definitely Mr. Fish’s currency of choice, but Jerry’s songs have been so well crafted that they deserve more than a casual, amused listen.

Jerry always makes music that ‘bucks the zeitgeist with so much enthusiasm you just have to love it’. including the hit crooner ‘True Friends’, now truly ingrained in the Irish hum-along psyche, and two platinum selling albums ‘Be Yourself’ and ‘The Beautiful Untrue’ featuring guest appearances from among others, Damien Rice and Imelda May.

« back to top

Propeller Palms

Propeller Palms were the subject of a 3 page feature in a recent issue of Hot Press, something you rarely if ever see for a new band. Their Dublin album launch last year attracted a huge crowd of the capital’s movers and shakers to the Grand Social venue. That debut album “All In This Together” received a 4 star review in Hot Press and several of its tracks are on heavy rotation on both local and national airwaves. What is really creating the fuss about Propeller Palms though is their potency as a live act.

Paul Butler, heads up an amazing 10 piece band who hark back to the glory days of Springsteen’s E Street Band, Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue and The Band’s Last Waltz. With a full brass section and the beautiful Palmettes on backing vocals, Paul and the boys deliver a passionate and uplifting set of rock and soul.

« back to top