Strange Passion on the way
The new compilation delves into the fertile Irish music scene of the early '80s.
The Hot Press Newsdesk, 04 May 2012
We’re very much liking the look of Strange Passion – Explorations In Irish Post Punk And Electronic Music 1980 -83, a does-what-it-says-it does-on-the tin compilation featuring the likes of Dogmatic Element, The Threat, Choice, The Virgin Prunes, Operating Theatre, SM Corporation, Chant! Chant! Chant! and more.
“Ireland in the late 1970s and early 1980s was an island in the grip of unrest, with civil and political strife in the north, and a tardy economy and religious hegemony in the south,” reads the promo blurb. “To be young in Ireland at this time was extremely tough with many choosing to follow the well worn path of emigration. A significant number of those that stayed had little choice but to join the dole as employment opportunities were scant. However, the increasing influence of those windows to the wider world such as TV, radio and print were combining to fuel imaginations and plant seeds of disaffection amongst an increasingly sophisticated and pop literate youth desperate for change. Needless to say when punk entered the mainstream the cultural and social conditions were such in Ireland that a new generation of kids were perfectly primed to tap into its energies and values.
“Focusing on a three year period from 1980 to 1983, Strange Passion is a compilation of rare, unheralded and unreleased Irish music that emerged after the first wave of punk and new wave bands. A time when the raw primitive sounds of punk began to absorb new ideas and technologies and emerging acts were reaching audiences on an unprecedented scale thanks to new magazines such as Hot Press and Heat, RTE Radio 2 and it’s Fanning Sessions, as well as new youth magazine programmes on national TV like Anything Goes. Access to UK’s broadcasting and magazine cultural behemoths (Peel, NME, Morley etc.) as well as touring bands such as The Clash and PIL also played their part in creating an appetite for this thrilling new subculture and soon venues such as The Magnet, Dandelion and Project Arts Centre in Dublin and Kampus in Cork became significant live music
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