Flex And The Fastweather (1985 Session)
Originally from Cork but later Dublin based, Flex And The Fastweather at the time of the Fanning session were Paul Tiernan (vocals & guitar), Maurice Seezer aka The Man Seezer (keyboards), John O Sullivan (bass), Earl Gill Jnr (drums), John Stokes (guitar), Mandy Murphy and Carolyn Fox (backing vocals). Wayne Sheehy was on drums for ‘Behind The Wire’, followed by Dave Whyte circa single ‘The Darkness’, followed by John Donaghy when Flex took up a residency in of all places Stockholm, Sweden. All three tracks here I believe were from that Fanning session. ‘Whatever Happens To Girls Like Alice’ later appeared on the RTE Radio 2 / Hot Press Street Carnival Rock EP in 1986. ‘The Darkness’ appeared as a single in 1986 and there was one further single ‘Stan’ in 1987 according to The Irish Punk And New Wave Discography. Paul Tiernan has been active as a solo artist and has released 4 albums as well as appearing on irish TV as a member of Interference on RTE’s Other Voices series. Watch him interviewed and performing on TV3’s Ireland:AM. Maurice Seezer went on to collaborate with Gavin Friday contributing on a number of soundtracks including ‘In The Name Of The Father‘.
The Darkness
Behind The Wire
Whatever Happens To Girls Like Alice
The Fanning Sessions Archive 
January 7, 2010 at 2:17 am
Hi, I found my way here via a search for Screechowls – I have immense admiration for Debbie Schow – and ended up browsing through from start to finish.
I was a big fan of Dave’s show back in the 80s, even though listening from here in Lancashire it was often little more than atmospheric whistling and noise on 612 AM.
Seeing all the familiar names here brings the memories flooding back, and there’s any number of entries I could have commented on, but hearing that riff from Behind The Wire again after so many decades was rather moving.
Great work.
Mike.
January 7, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Thanks Mike. I sometimes question if the blog is of value so it’s nice to hear when it triggers some nice memories. Please feel free to share comments on other posts, it is nice when a conversation develops e.g. with The Swinging Swine and The Wild Herrings. As a result of your comment I went back to The Screech Owls myspace to listen to the some tunes and realised I hadnt read Debbie Schow’s blog.
January 7, 2010 at 10:39 pm
As regards Myspace and Fanning, do you remember a band called Above The Thunderclouds? They sent him a demo tape in the mid 80s and he played a stunning track called Cage a couple of times. After the second time he went on to say they had disbanded, so with nothing ever released, I was destined never to hear Cage again.
Fast forward over two decades and Declan, the bass player, uploads the tracks to Myspace. No word of a lie, my hair stood on end when I found it – in a decade online, it’s got to be one of my greatest finds.
Here’s a link if you want to hear it –
http://www.myspace.com/abovethethunderclouds
Mike.
March 18, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Just to clarify the lineup for Flex and the Fastweather….the drummer was actually Earl Gill Jnr and another vocalist was Carolyn Fox.
February 28, 2011 at 9:03 pm
hi
saw them one night in the Baggot Inn , mid week on a visit to Dublin for an exam , should have been revising
it was a great gig and have the 2 singles
November 16, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Paul Tiernan is kicking off an Irish tour in The Pavilion Cork tomorrow with further dates in Schull, Clonakilty, Cobh and The Odessa Club in Dublin, full details here http://www.paultiernan.com/concerts.html. Some of these gigs are double headers with Interference.
June 18, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Mike check out the Above The Thunderclouds session including that track ‘Cage’ here https://fanningsessions.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/above-the-thunderclouds/
September 21, 2012 at 12:38 pm
I`ll never forget their fantastic gigs at Engelen in Stockholm. I also had a very nice conversation with Mandy Murhy after the concert. This gave me happy memories, and I have often wondered what happened with Mandy and the group
October 17, 2013 at 1:04 pm
love what your doing here, some really brilliant finds, keep up the good work…regards interference
November 17, 2013 at 4:05 pm
‘Stan’ was a good single – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in7qArpaDQ8
April 18, 2016 at 8:12 am
[…] point or another, dabbled in live music to some extent. I remember seeing a couple of really ace Flex And The Fastweather shows in what was then Zoes nightclub, for instance, while over on Washington Street, Spiders, run […]
August 14, 2016 at 11:36 pm
Got to see Flex and the Fastweather in the Central Hotel in Mallow back in the late 80’s, and thought they were a class act. Their live version of “The Darkness” was astonishing. All aided with Mandy Murphy’s superb backing vocals (who was taken from us too soon RIP-April ’16). A really lovely bunch of people to meet afterwards as well.
The autographed poster of that gig adorned my bedroom wall for a good few years!
March 7, 2018 at 11:13 pm
Who would have thought, this session still floating round, but good to hear after all these years.
Big Hi to Mr Tiernan and any of the band still around.
So sorry to hear of Mandy’s passing, she was a awesome singer and a beautiful person.
I still have a recording of our first gig in Dun Leoghaire if anyone is interested.
May 28, 2019 at 2:43 pm
[…] the best pop songs out of Cork over the last forty years are Kooky’s ‘The Good Old Days’, ‘The Darkness’ by Flex And The Fastweather, ‘Scorch Avenue’ by The Chapter House, ‘Backwater’ by Benny’s Head and ‘Sparkle’ by […]
October 2, 2022 at 7:52 pm
Maurice “Seezer” Roycroft is my uncle! I’m so happy that people still remember & love Flex’s music as much as I do and I would love if they got traction in this day and age, especially with the current trend of people making lesser known bands famous! They absolutely deserve it, such amazing songs!