John Reynolds 1965-2018: Louis Walsh Pays Tribute

John Reynolds was running shows in Longford when I first got to know him. I used to sell him the likes of In Tua Nua, Fountainhead, Cry Before Dawn, Aslan and Johnny Logan. He used to book all the bands off me. And I knew from back then, that this was a man who wanted to do a different kind of music.

From that starting point, we used to bring in different, exciting bands from the UK and take them around Ireland. He didn't want to just do showbands. The thing was - he was a real music fan.  He loved dance and indie and so much more.

He worked in a few clubs in London before opening the POD back in Dublin. Then he did the Red Box. The various festivals - from Homelands to Electric Picnic - followed and then the gigs in the Royal Hospital Kilhaimham. He loved Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Ennio Morricone, Roisin Murphy. One of his highlights, of course, would've been bringing Prince to Ireland with the POD. Another highlight was Electric Picnic - taking it from nothing and turning it into what it eventually became. That was a proud achievement for him.

John didn't just want to do an ordinary festival. He wanted things to be special. He wanted to bring in the arts. He always wanted people to get value for their money at these things. He was different to so many promoters, because he was into the music. He wasn't into the money, which is unusual in our line of business.

He was a huge help to me with Boyzone. I needed money and John gave it to me and so we had a 50/50 stake in it. We never had a row over the finances. Itıs funny looking back. We knew exactly what Boyzone were, and what they were capable of, early on. But the lads were never really in on the joke in the way that John and I were!

Behind it all, John was a business guy, and he knew all about marketing. He had to. But he was really forward -hinking when it came to music. He was into dance music before anyone else. And that's why the POD, Tripod, the Chocolate Bar and so on, were all ahead of their time. He was before his time. I always told him, "John, you're the right guy for the wrong country."

We had a great personal relationship. I could tell him anything - he got me totally. He liked the fact that I was irreverent, that I always taking the piss, always having a laugh. There was never anything taken seriously. He nicknamed me Lucifer, which I thought was hilarious.

I kind of lost touch with him for a year or two, but in the last six months or so, we used to meet in Ranelagh for coffee every so often, and I could see that he'd got his mojo back 100%. He was totally obsessed with All Together Now. He lived it. And he was so happy that it was such a success, because he'd invested so much of his time and energy into it. And now, it's set up nicely for next year, which is a wonderful testament to the work he put into it. Long may it continue.