Home | About BP | Books by BP | Photography | Articles | Contact | Archive | bpf.radio | search

DEATH DISCO DUBLIN XXXMAS A CRACKER! continued...

Shane shuffles onto the stage, a huge over flowing carrier bag in one hand, a light libation in the other and over his suit, a woollen green football scarf dangling around his neck. He sits down between Ronnie and BP to gather his thoughts and make un-Churchillian V signs at the adoring audience, then climbs to his feet, arms outstretched and eyes gazing upwards at some outer spirits, before blasting off with Chris Montez's call to arms - and legs - Let's Dance. We're off!

"Shane MacGowan was treated like a deity" reported Ken Sweeney in The Sunday Star. Proper order. Any man who as part of his set plays two tracks by Irish traditional singer Margaret Barry [Cottage With The Horseshoe O'er The Door and The Galway Shawl] into The Doors [The Wasp (Texas Radio & The Big Beat)] into Dylan [Love Minus Zero] into Sex Pistols [Did You No Wrong] into Joy Division [Atmosphere] into Stones [Parachute Woman] into Peter Tosh [I'm The Toughest] into two killers by Zeppelin [Communication Breakdown and Whole Lotta Love] into the ferocious snarl of Van Morrison on Them's punked up pugilistic rampage through Slim Harpo's Don't Start Crying Now… well, he's got to be a happening cat, especially when he adds his own idiosyncratic singing over Peter Tosh and Robert Plant and even over our Van. Brand New Cadillac by The Clash? Of course Shane plays it.

And both Ronnie Drew and Shane MacGowan in their separate sets played Brendan Bowyer & The Royal Showband's 1964 Irish smash The Hucklebuck . It wasn't a very good record and it was great. "Do the hucklebuck, do the hucklebuck!", young Brendan Bowyer Ireland's homegrown Elvis from Waterford chortled, adding "If you don' know how to do it, well then you're out of luck". Well, Lady Luck didn't fuck about either time, no sir or ma'am. People wiggled like snakes and waddled like ducks and did whatever the heck they fancied, as indeed it should be.

And after he's played The National Anthem with everyone standing to silent attention including Shane, BP sneaks on the new national anthem of Christmastime, Shane with The Pogues and dear Kirsty MacColl and Shane's classic composition Fairytale Of New York. "And the band of the NYPD choir, were singing Galway Bay..."

And BP and Shane hug each other, happy to be here... happy to be anywhere.

Not bad for a couple of fucks DJing at the DDD XXXmas Party - plus the revered and rockin' 70 years young Ronnie Drew DJing and singing too with more lead in his pencil than a Faber-Castell factory.

From America where Death Disco New York is slayin' 'em there every week, DD brought it on home to its Irish birthplace for an emotional and rocking return to the town where Death Disco Dublin was born two years ago.

Death Disco loves you. Happy whatever you want, happy whatever you got. Let it rock.

Photo: Luke Kelly & BP Fallon & Ronnie Drew in 1967 by Tom Collins

All photography of DDD XXXmas Party 2004 DJs Shane MacGowan & BP Fallon & Ronnie Drew
by and © Barbara Lindberg

BP & Shane dressingroom shot by Jade O'Callaghan

DDD XXX thanks Derek Nally. Liam O'Connor, Conor Rooney, Sinead Barry & the staff at The Village. Stevo Berube of Berube Communications. Noel Hennessy on sound & Austin Holmes on lights. MCD at The Pogues gig.

CD giveaways The Very Best Of The Pogues [WEA] courtesy Pat Reid & Darren & Leah Feagan at Warners Ireland; The Best Of Luke Kelly [Celtic Airs] courtesy of Emma Harney & Aileen Galvin at Entertainment Architects.

Poster by Barney @ Lib-Lab


home | top^