Critics Roundup 1987

Lazy, hazy days indeed. While The Master of the Universe made his glorious presence felt in Dublin, Stock, Aiken and Waterman belched out a ghastly amount of dirge in London, working puppets like the god-awful Rick Astley to the bone in an effort to combat the wave of hip-ho and house music that gripped the city in the summer. In chart terms, S, A & W scored hit after hit, while Def Jam mercifully failed to become, as the NME predicted, ‘the most important musical movement since punk’.

Dublin remained blissfully unconverted, as Aidan Walsh supplied the laughs and Light A Big Fire, Paul Cleary and the Partisans and Davy Spillane offered the memorably vinyl. Off the record, Aslan and Something Happens! both consolidated their position with major deals which should bear vinyl fruit next year while The Candyshop, Hallelujah Freedom, The Mountain Climbers and O.E.D. all displayed massive potential live, establishing themselves as contenders for 1988’s record company favours.

Internationally, Prince astounded again, with ‘Sign Of The Times’ flattening all competition for Album of The Year, while releases by The Christians, The Go Betweens and the wonderful proclaimers suitably impressed. Less memorable were the Eurythmics ‘Savage’ and The Communards’ ‘Red’, neither coming even close to the band’s last elpees, ‘Revenge’ and ‘The Communards’ respectively.

Mystic Meg promises that ’88 will be a vibrant and eventful year – but will Aidan walsh at last be canonised?

Rock your brainy heads!