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DEATH DISCO DUBLIN GOES EVEN MORE VERTIGAL continued...

A summer Holidai keeps it rockin’ as Pete treats us to a Merseybeat cellarful, everything from The Mojos Everything’s Alright to Lee Curtis & The All Stars Let’s Stomp before veering into a Freak Acid melter with Marc Bolan The Third Degree and Fire My Father’s Name Is Dad to a shiny Glamfest of Sparks, Bowie, Roxy and T.Rex climaxing in his legendary Pete Holidai Clockwork Groovies mix – the PH remake remodel of Clockwork Orange soundtrack and Flaming Groovies Teenage Head. Heads up!

Next, BP in his Death Disco New York T-shirt blasts with the likes of Little Richard & U2 & BB King glorious together on When Love Comes To Town [Live In The Kingdom Mix] and White Stripes Blue Orchid and LCD Soundsystem Yeah and The Fabs Twist And Shout and The Isley Brothers Shout and The Kings Of Leon Pistols Of Fire and The Kills No Wow and Aretha soaring through Think, wailing “Freedom! Freedom!”, lifting the vibe even higher, getting the dancefloor throbbin’.

Then BP, he says “Anything can happen at Death Disco!” as he introduces a surprise guest, “a man who has DJed at Death Disco in New York and at Death Disco in Dublin – the greatest living Irishman, Ronnie Drew!” and yes, it’s Ronnie from The Dubliners and beyond and the audience go bonkers. “I’m the oldest Death Disco DJ in the world!” this living icon announces, then dedicates his first track to his old friend Phil Lynott and plays Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back In Town. Whooosh! Then John Lennon Stand By Me and Pogues Dirty Old Town and it’s a done deal, can’t do better. Ronnie Drew rocks. We’re at the top.

Well nearly, cos now it’s Shane MacGowan who’s taking us over the top. Acknowledging the cheering crowd with a Papal wave or two, our straw-hatted DJ opens with Chicano rock’n’roller Chan Romero – Richie Valens’ guitarist - shaking it big with his song Hippy Hippy Shake and Shane rockets from rock’n’roll and rockabilly Little Richard The Girl Can’t Help It Gene Vincent Rocky Road Blues Billy Lee Riley Red Hot to the r’n’b of Bo Diddley Bring It To Jerome Slim Harpo Baby Scratch My Back to Motown psychedelic soul The Temptations Psychedelic Shack to mo’ town sweet soul Marvin Gaye How Sweet It Is [To Be Loved By You] to Del Shannon Runaway Dave Edmunds I Hear You Knocking Eddie & The Hod Rods Do Anything You Wanna Do Them [It Won’t Hurt] Half As Much T.Rex Ride A White Swan The Novas The Crusher Sex Pistols God Save The Queen Cliff Richard & The Drifters Dynamite. And Mr MacGowan DJ brings it to explosion by spinning Sid fronting the Pistols as Shane mimics My Way into the microphone, his hilariously spot-on Rottenesque Vicious impression a thing of joy, bewilderment and the result of long careful study. Shane MacGowan: you’re dynamite.

And among those attending this baccannalian Dublin soiree were New York’s hot upstarts The Bravery and Irish groups Ash and The Thrills and The Things - plus writer Mannix Flynn, Headrush writer/director Shimmy Marcus, Nashville songwriter Amanda Williams, New York designer Slava T Gordon who flew in from Glastonbury and Gerry O Boyle who popped over from London’s feted Boogaloo Bar & Juke Joint and managing The Lancasters. Life’s good.

Death Disco: vertigal, horizontal and every whichaway and loose. So low, you can’t get under it; so high, you can’t get over it. Over the top, indeed…

Photos: The Last Temptations of BP & Shane | Shane & Tim Wheeler from Ash & chums  by and ©Barbara Lindberg
Radiators Cait & Steve have a knees-up by BPF using Fuji Finepix S 7000

DD Thanks: Derek Nally, Gerry O Boyle & Russell, Maurice & Teresa MacGowan, Joey Cashman, Lib Lab Towers, Stevo Berube @ Berube Communications, Sean Fay, Kevin McNamara on sound, Fergal Henry & Ashley Holmes on lights, Conor Rooney & the tremendous staff @ The Village, VJ Joly & DJ Mojo @ Death Disco New York and the band and Susan Hunter @ Principle Management.

Yo Too: Ted Carroll & Roger Armstrong @ Ace Records and Pete Murphy @ EMI

DD “Are You Too Vertigal?” poster by Steve Averill & Steve Rapid
DD “Are You Too Vertigal?” flyer by lib-lab
Poster & flyer photography of BP & Shane by Joey Cashman

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