The Blades (Complete 1981 Session)

Thanks to the continued efforts of Dan Hegarty we now finally have the complete 1981 session for Dave Fanning by The Blades. The band at that time were; Paul Cleary (vocals & guitar), Brian Foley (bass) and Jake Reilly (drums). The Blades of course play The Academy, Dublin on March 19th.

This Sunday at 10pm Dan Hegarty has a treat in store for fans of Power Of Dreams with an hour long documentary on their debut album ‘Immigrants, Emigrants and Me’.

Downmarket (1981)

Me & My Girl (1981)

Tears That Tell The Truth (1981)

Empty Shell (1981)

Dave Fanning’s Irish Show (March 1984)

Today we have a treat, a 45 minute recording of the Dave Fanning show from March 1984 courtesy the Irish Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Dave announces he is playing Irish tracks only and plays a number of sessions and even a demo we’d never previously heard from Blue In Heaven. There is one track we haven’t been able to identify so if you know your 80s Irish rock then please put us out of our misery.

u2 – surrender
max – song number 6 (session)
undertones – you’re welcome (live)
the outcasts (1981 session)
auto da fe – bad experience
some kind of wonderful – do you read my letter
pop mecanics – round & round (1984 session)
blue in heaven – say (demo)
blades – revelations of heartbreak
cuba dares (session)
?
microdisney – hello rascals
gerry cott? – ballad of the lone ranger

The Studio 8 Sessions (2fm 29th Dec 2016)

Legend has it that the first Fanning session was by a band from Dublin called U2 in 1980. Whilst that event would have predated our tenure we can vouch for the importance in subsequent years of the Dave Fanning show to Irish rock music both in terms of the sessions recorded but also the demos played. Thanks to the efforts of Dave and long-time producer Ian Wilson the show was to become a veritable institution (not forgetting the efforts of Jim Lockhart, Pete Holidai and Paddy Breen who toiled in front of the console).

Originally broadcast Thursday December 29th on RTÉ 2fm and produced by Yvonne Judge, this special radio documentary looks back at the sessions recorded in Studio 8 over the last 36 years. It features contributions from Dave Fanning, Ian Wilson, Billy McGuinness and Christy Dignam (Aslan), Paul Cleary (The Blades), Gavin Friday (The Virgin Prunes), Martin Cowan (The Outcasts), Cathal Coughlan (Microdisney) and Noel Hogan (The Cranberries).

 

Paul Cleary (2013 Interviews)

Photo (c) Sunday Times

George Byrne, Irish Independent (22/11/2013)
Declan Lynch, Sunday Independent (24/11/2013)
RTE.ie (24/11/2013)

Tom Dunne, Newstalk (4/12/2013)

Ray D’Arcy Show, TodayFM (28/11/2013)

John Caddell, ‘Finest Worksongs’ Phantom FM (28/11/2013)

The Blades – Olympia Theatre – 13th & 14th December 2013

As announced by Ken Sweeney on twitter and then by Ian Dempsey on his TodayFM breakfast this morning The Blades are to play The Olympia Theatre, Dublin on Friday 13th December. Tickets are €26 – €33.50 and on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets from Friday 4th October.

Paul Cleary will be joined by former members drummer Jake Reilly (drums) and Brian Foley (bass) with the original brass section The Blue Brass (Frank Duff and Paul Grimes) [Hot Press]

Ian Dempsey (26th Sep 2013)

Update: Friday 13th December is now SOLD OUT! An extra date Saturday 14th December has been added tickets go on sale Wednesday 9am

Paul Cleary interview with Pat Kenny (1986)

http://www.broadsheet.ie/tag/paul-cleary/

Paul Cleary, founder and lead singer of the recently defunct Blades, now with new band The Partisans talking to Pat Kenny in 1986 about school, early careers and what he might have done if music had not intervened. Paul talks about why The Blades called it a day, who The Partisans are and what they’ll be doing. He also explains why he didnt perform at Self Aid. Thanks to Mick for digging this out.

Paul Cleary part 1

Paul Cleary part 2

The Blades (1980 Session)

The 1981 Blades session has already featured but today it is the turn of the first incarnation of that band and their 1980 Fanning session.

The 1980 session features the original three-piece with Paul Cleary and his brother Lar, with Pat Larkin on the drums with some cover versions not available elsewhere. The line-up for the 1981 session featured Brian Foley on bass, and Jake Reilly on drums. RTE 2fm

‘Walk Back Renee’ (1980)

‘Breaking Out Of The Ruts’ (1980)

The Blades – Live at the SFX (9/11/85)

The last Blades post was very popular so I think it deserves an encore. Many thanks to Niall for digging this one out..

Live at the SFX (9/11/85)

Last Man In Europe
Mayday
Real Emotion
If I Go Away
Revelations of Heartbreak
Boy One
Time Waits For No Man
Too Late
Our Secret Dream
Hot for You
Downmarket
Those were the days
Not So Blue
Young, Gifted and Black
Ghost Of A Chance
Last Man In Europe
Downmarket

The Blades (1981 Session)

Today we have a second track from The Blades 1981 Fanning session. Another track, ‘Downmarket’ from the same session can be found here. By the way, the ‘Blades In Concert‘ post is now officially the most viewed item on this blog, nudging Light A Big Fire into second place.

Me & My Girl (1981)

The Blades (In Concert)

On Saturday I was enjoying some sunshine listening to Mr Fanning on the tranny talking to Paul Deacy about his trip to the Vespa World Days in Norway. Paul mentioned he was a big fan of The Blades and how he would love to see them perform again. It turns out Paul also runs a well known shop in Galway called ‘Bell Book & Candle‘ which is also home to independent record store Wingnut Records.

Bell Book & Candle is a legend of a shop in Galway. Based in the heart of the city centre next to the Crane bar, this quirky little place specializes in vinyls, comics, records, books and other rarities. A must-see for any Galway visitor, or indeed city-dweller. [super8ireland ]

The interview with Paul is now online and can be heard here:

A day later I received an email from a reader who had just dug out a radio recording of The Blades RTE in concert performance and who kindly offered to digitize and share it. Updating following some comments, the broadcast is from 1985 and is the second of a two part broadcast.

Revelations Of Heartbreak
My Girl
Downmarket
The Time Tunnel
Those Were The Days
I Heard A Cry
Not So Blue (aka Memory Lane)
Same Old Song
Young Gifted And Black

The Blades – In Concert (1985)

The Blades (1981 Session)

A band that needs no introduction and one that has achieved near mythical status in the Dublin music scene.  The great unsolved mystery is how they didn’t become huge. The original 1977 Blades lineup was Paul Cleary (vocals & bass), his brother Lawrence or Lar Cleary (guitar) and Pat Larkin (drums). They recorded a session for Dave Fanning in 1981 and this track underlines their quality, sounding amazing 30 years on. A second band lineup in 1982 featured Paul Cleary (guitar), Brian Foley ex. The Vipers (bass) and Jake Reilly (drums). Read the bio on the Irish Punk & New Wave Discography for more details. Recommended listening is the ‘Those Were The Days‘  box set which includes their only album release ‘The Last Man In Europe’ (1985) and a second posthumous singles compilation ‘Raytown Revisited‘. With thanks to ParnellMooney for this particular YouTube upload, checkout ReekusUnfare for some Blades as well as other Reekus artist footage.