Triumph Of The Underdog

Several weeks back, independent Dublin dance label Abbey Discs scored its first number one hit with its thirteenth release, which had entered the previous week's Irish singles charts at number two.

But despite the fact that Maddie's label, Warner's, spent #10,000 on Irish advertising to ensure she flew straight to the summit, Abbey Discs' unadvertised - and very cheaply produced - cover of the Michael Sembello smash 'Maniac' beat the most famous chameleon in the world to the top. The minnow that beat the mighty is owned and run by record emporium manager Billy Murray, and the track is credited to Mark McCabe. In the words of the infamous TV show - how did they do that?

To tell the story of 'Maniac' accurately, one must first go back six years to 1994. That was when a young Simon Fitzpatrick and his band 4 Rhythm approached fledgling Irish dance label Red Records with a poppy dance remake of 'Maniac', the incredibly infectious Michael Sembello hit, first featured in the massive '70s movie Flashdance. 4 Rhythm's equally catchy update had dispensed with Sembello's verses and inserted a more contemporary rap. All that remained from the original lyrics was the 'she's a maniac, maniac on the floor' chorus, sung on 4 Rhythm's version by an unknown American vocalist from an aspiring Dublin rock combo.

At the time I was running Red Records with Tim Hannigan (now better known as the dance scene's eccentric genius, Mister Spring), and we signed the track for its rather obvious hit potential. The track was serviced to radio and 2FM immediately added it to its A-list, rotating it innumerable times a day. However, Sembello's American publishers Warner Chappell weren't happy with the change of lyrics and blocked the release - 4 Rhythm's response was to re-record it rapping the original lyrics instead, which was given the all clear by Warner Chappell. Unfortunately, because of the lengthy delay re-recording and re-pressing, the initial radio support had been lost by the time the record came out, and it only managed to reach number 28 on the Irish charts. The single's club appeal was an extended Sound Crowd remix produced by Hannigan and myself, which dispensed with all the rapping, left in the soaring chorus, and added lots of ravy synths and an OTT piano break.

The first DJ that I saw performing his own rap live over the Sound Crowd remix was Enda Colfer, at his own 21st party, back in the summer of 1995. It had been his favourite party trick at all his gigs. The DJ who claims to be the first to add a rap in public is DJ Wicked - at Hollywood Nights in Stillorgan, again in 1995 - and to this day the man first known as Wicked Willy calls himself 'The Original Maniac'. The DJ that most people assume was the first to add his own rap as a centrepiece to his stage act is former Pulse FM star and current PoD resident, Al Gibbs, again at Hollywood Nights, although this time in 1996. It's at this point that Mark McCabe comes into the frame.

"There really is an awful lot of politics involved," sighs Mark, weary of explaining the history of a track that he himself is unsure of. "I had been DJing since I was twelve or thirteen, and took over Al's gigs in Hollywood Nights late in 1996. I was plagued with requests to do 'Maniac', and having seen Al do it many times, I eventually gave in to demand and started doing it, adding my own spin to Al's lyrics." Before long, Mark was being asked to do 'Maniac' at every gig he played.

Prior to this, McCabe had been running a pirate radio station in Wexford, and following his return to Dublin he began presenting shows on Dublin pirate Pulse FM, eventually taking over the running of the station (later in 1997) with Ronan Brady and Daragh Sullivan. The trio ran a series of successful sell-out teenage discos at Temple Theatre in Dublin, and it was at one of these, early in January 1998, that Mark's version of 'Maniac' was recorded live. He recounts: "I did the rap live over the Sound Crowd mix, we recorded the crowd cheering, and then played the end result on Pulse FM a few days later. That's when things started to take off. We were besieged with calls and 'Maniac' soon became the most requested song on the station."

Enter the astute Billy Murray, owner of Dublin dance shop Abbey Discs and A&R manager of its in-house label. He had seen the pirates make huge hits of dance tracks before, and quickly realised its potential. As Mark recalls: "Billy wanted to put it out, and at first I shied away because of the potential politics problems. But he kept at it, and got the all-clear from Al Gibbs to use some of his lyrics."

As regular customers of Murray's, 4 Rhythm's Simon Fitzpatrick and Sound Crowd's Tim Hannigan had no problem with Billy releasing Mark's variation. Both came on board to co-produce a re-recorded version. All that remained to be sorted was clearance from MCD's Denis Desmond (copyright owner of the Red catalogue) and Sembello's publishers Warner Chappell. This time around Warner Chappell gave the all-clear to the altered lyrics, and almost eighteen months after his quest began, a delighted Murray informed me late in 1999 that 'Maniac 2000' was finally coming out, early in January. A video (featuring footage shot at Pulse FM's Temple Theatre show in January 1998) was produced for "a couple of hundred quid".

'Maniac' now had legendary status on the Dublin pirates. By putting back the release date week by week, until February 11th, at which stage regional and national radio was also supporting it heavily, Murray ensured his imprint's highest chart entry yet, which exceeded his expectations by turning out to be number two. On the day in question, I asked him: will you go all the way?

"It's going to be very hard," he revealed. "We're up against major new releases from Madonna and All Saints, and Warners are spending ten grand promoting 'American Pie'."

It was a David versus Goliath scenario, and to the shock of almost the entire Irish music industry David won hands down. 'Maniac' has now sold over 30,000 copies and a deal with a major label for a UK release now looks a certainty. Mark McCabe's radio career, meanwhile, has taken a turn for the best. As he explains: "I had stood in for John Power (an old colleague from Mark's Pulse FM days) on his holidays and now 2FM have offered me Damien McCaul's slot every Friday and Saturday, starting on April 15th."

Billy Murray believes the 2FM job is just the tip of the iceberg for his protege.

"He's very level-headed and has the potential to go all the way. He should become a massive star."

Watch out Madonna!