Why Can't I...Be Like Any Other Guy? Hooleygan---Belfast's Punk Godfather Terri Hooley tells all (or at least some)

I just finished reading a fantastic book by the Belfast punk rock legend Terri Hooley (and Richard Sullivan), and I must admit it was a corker! Honestly, I started reading the book yesterday and already had finished it by this afternoon. If you are interested in Irish Rock music, or punk rock in general you need to read thisAnd his story is a great example of the DIY ethos in action..

Hard to Beat

We know him as the man behind Good Vibrations, the Belfast label that spawned the great Undertones, who brought them to the attention of John Peel, who played Teenage Kicks, and loved the song so much that he played it a second time on air, right after the first. I've discussed the amazing confluence of events in a prior post about the Undertones DVD. Hooley was a great promoter of local bands in Belfast--he saw that the rest of the UK viewed the area as a musical backwater, and he helped a lot of bands get heard through the release of singles on his label. Bands like Rudi, Protex, The Moondogs, Victim, Xdreamysts, and The Outcasts. From his earlier days in the folk scene, the hippie years of the 60's, and through the excitement of the punk rock explosion, he displayed a great love of good music and a deep healthy hatred of the music business.



The book is filled with great descriptions of the era, loaded with anecdote after anecdote. I don't really want to elaborate on them too much--I don't want to spoil the fun. Because Hooley by all accounts is a one of a kind guy, a fun loving mischievous guy who isn't afraid to speak his mind and stand up for his convictions. As you will find out in the book, he probably is not the greatest businessman. Owning a record store was almost a front for everything else he did. He was someone who got involved in music the arts, who DJed, ran record stores, a music label, managed bands, even did pirate radio. And this was happening in what was a pretty miserable place at the time. It seemed that punk music was one of the few outlets for young people that was able to bridge the sectarian gap. At least in the clubs...the long walk home at night was apparently an entirely different story.



In addition to Hooleys anecdotal reflections, you have short chapters in the book written by some of his friends, musicians and writers who have kind and amusing things to say about Belfast's Godfather of Punk.
On the back of the book there is a great quote from Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol. "a drunken lunatic, a lucid guru, a hilarious storyteller, a cuddly bear, and many more things besides." He even had a #1 hit on the charts with his rendition of Sonny Bono's "Laugh at Me". There are great descriptions of the club scenes of the day, like The Harp, and The Pound. The biography is loaded with pictures and promotional photos in addition to the many stories. Though I was most interested in learning about the Northern Irish Bands that recorded on Good Vibrations, I enjoyed reading about his encounters with Dylan, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Bob Marley, and Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy. My only wish would have been that it included a disc full of songs Good Vibrations catalog. But hey, I guess you can't have everything. Hopefully this vibrant punk scene will eventually be more accessible to the public some day soon.

But believe me, if you love music you will love this book. Hooley is a real charmer---somehow I feel like I'm reading this and being schmoozed by him, and he is accomplishing this from an ocean away. His story is definitely worth documenting though, and this year they are filming a biopic about this life entitled Good Vibrations, the Terri Hooley story.

A story that will make you laugh and cry--and think. As a fellow music lover your heart will beat a little faster with each and every page turn. His enthusiasm and zest for life is contagious.  More people could use such infection!

Good Vibrations--The Singles Collection--Crispy Punk Goodness From Northern Ireland

The Punk Single Collection is a nice introduction to Northern Irish Punk Rock, featuring the music released on the legendary Good Vibrations label, by Terri Hooley, who began releasing singles of local acts so they would gain the recognition they were deserving of. Maybe they are best known as the label that introduced those Derry Destroyers, The Undertones to the world. But judging by this anthology,  it was clear that there was a lot more going on in Northern Ireland at the time. This year Hooley's autobiography came out, entitled Hooleygan: Music,Mayhem, Good Vibrations. Haven't read it yet, but I imagine it will be an enlightening book.

Overall Good Vibrations PSC is a good to great collection, with a few songs a little pedestrian and undistinguished. The Undertones are represented here with Smarter Than U, which is a b-side from their Teenage Kicks ep. The Undertones are simply a fantastic group, certainly no secret to fans of classic punk, so while I'm glad they are here, the other bands are more interesting to me. I certainly would like to here more of them. Some of these bands may have only had a handful of songs of quality, but there are a few groups here that are flat out exciting.

The collection begins with Rudi's awesomely energetic Big Time. They have 2 more fine songs here, I Spy and Overcome By Fumes. I know that a compilation came out about 15 years ago of these guys, but it seems to be impossible to get a copy now. Probably the best known band here are The Outcasts, who recorded a couple full length albums back in the day. They are well represented on this anthology, with four songs here. My favorite numbers are Love You For Never and the cheeky pop of Self Conscious Over You.

There are so many bands here I'd never heard before, and half of them I hadn't heard of. Bands like The Bankrobbers who play some engaging new wavey pop on On My Mind. How about The Lids, who play a bass driven Ruts-like brand of pop on I Don't Want You. And then you have Decisions by the Pistolly sounding Bears. I wonder if there are more recordings someplace by those guys? The punk-pop of the Tearjerkers song Love Affair is terrific in a more commercial radio-ready way. The same can be said of The Moondogs Ya Don't Do Ya, the guitar sounding a little like a revved up Clean.



Additionally you have a great raucous scorcher by Victim, A Strange Thing At Night. You also get two songs by Protex who are one of the more accomplished acts here, who play an engaging style of punky pop.
Additionally you get to hear the X Dreamysts' Dance Away Lover, a good song, but the singer seems to have a Phil Lynott thing going on here. Not really a bad thing. Ruefrex's Cross The Line is one of my favorites on this collection, with guitar reminiscent of Pink Flag era Wire. They actually do have an anthology out that is readily available.



All in all, a Punk Rock delight for all your St Patrick's Day needs and more. It beats listening to The Cranberries or some other nonsense on March 17th. It just leaves me wanting to here more. I hope that more collections highlighting this scene come out because it's clear that there was a lot of great music created that most fans today are simply unaware of. The album ends where it all began, with label founder Terri Hooley himself performing a charismatically sloppy version of Sonny Bono's old chestnut Laugh At Me. Happy St Pat's to all.